News By Location

News from DC

Select a state to view local articles and features

Meet the Director: David Hill, DIII-D

DOE/US Department of Energy

Inspired by the Space Needle as a child, David Hill used his education in physics to pursue fusion research. Now, he's the director of DIII-D at General Atomics, the largest magnetic fusion experiment in the US.

Meet the director: Nigel Mouncey, Joint Genome Institute

DOE/US Department of Energy

A childhood love of microbiology led to a 20-year career in industry. Now, Nigel Mouncey is the director of the Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute, where he helps scientists dig into a diverse array of genetic information.

Science up-close: Developing a cookbook for efficient fusion energy

DOE/US Department of Energy

To develop a future fusion reactor, scientists need to understand how and why plasma in fusion experiments moves into a 'high-confinement mode' where particles and heat can't escape. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory simulated the transition into that mode starting from the most basic physics principles.

Blasting molecules with extreme X-rays

DOE/US Department of Energy

To understand how damage from high-energy X-rays affects imaging studies, scientists supported by the Department of Energy shot the most powerful X-ray laser in the world at a series of atoms and molecules. Surprisingly, the atoms within the molecules acted far differently than the isolated ones.

Capturing a snapshot of a complex catalyst

DOE/US Department of Energy

A promising catalyst may enable creating fuel from sunlight, but we first need to understand how it splits water. When Daniel Nocera and his team shed light on a key step in the complex process, they got more than they expected.

Meet the Director: Mark Palmer, Accelerator Test Facility

DOE/US Department of Energy

Mark Palmer, the director of the Department of Energy's Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), adapts to challenging situations in the same way that the ATF can adapt to users' needs. Researchers at the ATF work to make particle accelerators smaller, more powerful, and more cost-efficient.

Overspending on defense arsenal bankrupts a plant's economy

DOE/US Department of Energy
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory has genetically tuned a plant to become highly resistant to insect attacks. But becoming such a fortress compromises its growth and procreative capabilities.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

The stories behind the science: How does the ocean's saltiness affect Tropical Storms?

DOE/US Department of Energy

Two researchers with personal experience of hurricanes set out to investigate the role of an underestimated factor in storm's strength -- salinity. They found that salinity plays a larger role than anyone thought, including them.

Solving a plasma physics mystery: Magnetic reconnection

DOE/US Department of Energy

Magnetic reconnection causes space storms that can damage satellites and disrupt the grid. While it's a common process in the universe, plasma physics researchers don't fully understand why it occurs so abruptly and quickly. New research is supporting a theory that may hold the key.

New biofuel production system powered by a community of algae and fungi

DOE/US Department of Energy

MSU scientists have a new proof of concept for a biofuel production platform that uses two species of marine algae and soil fungi. It lowers cultivation and harvesting costs and increases productivity, factors that currently hold back biofuels from being widely adopted.