News By Location

News from DC

Select a state to view local articles and features

19-May-2022

DOE announces $53 million for small businesses pursuing clean energy and climate solutions

DOE/US Department of Energy
Grant and Award Announcement

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $53 million in funding awards for diverse small businesses to pursue advanced scientific instrumentation and technologies to address climate change. The funding will support 259 projects across 38 states that cover security and resilience, renewable energy, energy storage, carbon capture and conversion, and fusion energy, including projects that invest in disadvantaged communities to promote equitable research, development, and deployment of solutions. Developing new clean energy solutions is a key component of achieving President Biden’s goal of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

17-May-2022

For plasma with a hot core and cool edges, Super-H mode shows promise

DOE/US Department of Energy

Fusion reactors face a challenge called “core-edge integration,” which involves maintaining a plasma that is hot at the core but not too hot to damage reactor walls. New research finds that a previously identified operating regime called Super H-mode can leverage the use of impurities such as nitrogen to address this challenge. The research also indicates that Super-H mode can be scaled up to future fusion plants.

Journal: Nuclear Fusion

16-May-2022

Researchers stick out their necks to understand how fusion plasmas fuel up

DOE/US Department of Energy

The nuclei that smash together to produce fusion energy in a reactor originate from ionized neutral particles. The edges of fusion devices have large numbers of neutrals available to gain or lose electrons to become ions. These neutrals influence several important features of the plasma, including the rate at which the plasma fuels a reactor. A new pinhole camera system called Lyman-alpha Measurement Apparatus (LLAMA) on the DIII-D tokamak helped researchers better understand these neutrals.

Journal: Review of Scientific Instruments

11-May-2022

Artificial intelligence agents argue to enhance the speed of materials discovery

DOE/US Department of Energy

Researchers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered approach to analyzing X-ray diffraction (XRD) data. The X-ray Crystallography companion Agent (XCA) approach assembles a group of AIs that debate each other while analyzing live streaming X-ray data. Once the AIs cast their final votes, the XCA approach uses the vote tally to interpret what the most likely atomic structure is and to suggest how confident the researchers should be of the AI analysis. The AI analysis matches human effectiveness but takes just seconds.

Journal: Nature Computational Science

10-May-2022

How does drizzle form? Machine learning improves models of these processes

DOE/US Department of Energy

Drizzle is an important factor in how clouds form and change and how water moves around the Earth. This is an extremely complex process, so scientists simplify it for climate models using parameterization. However, many models do not model drizzle formation with sufficient accuracy. This research used data collected in the field along with machine learning to create new methods to estimate drizzle formation. The results also reveal the importance of drizzle drop number concentration in drizzle formation.

Journal: Geophysical Research Letters

5-May-2022

Recycling greenhouse gases with biotechnology

DOE/US Department of Energy

Industry produces acetone and isopropanol using processes that release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Researchers have now developed a new fermentation process that efficiently converts waste carbon oxide gases into acetone and isopropanol. This use of engineered bacteria advances progress on “carbon-negative” biomanufacturing for more sustainable industrial production and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Journal: Nature Biotechnology

5-May-2022

Department of Energy announces $6 million for research on nuclear data benefitting nuclear science and applications

DOE/US Department of Energy
Grant and Award Announcement

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $6 million in funding for seven projects in nuclear data for basic and applied nuclear science.

5-May-2022

New error mitigation approach helps quantum computers level up

DOE/US Department of Energy

Quantum computers are prone to errors that limit their usefulness in scientific research. While error correction would be the ideal solution, it is not yet feasible due to the number of qubits needed. New research shows the value of an error mitigation approach called noise estimation circuits for improving the reliability of quantum computer simulations.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

3-May-2022

Particle accelerators may get a boost from oxygen

DOE/US Department of Energy

Scientists have developed a new theoretical model for preparing particle accelerator structures made of niobium metal. The model predicts how oxygen in the thin oxide layer on the surface of the niobium metal moves deeper into the metal during heat treatment. Tests indicate that the treatment should improve accelerator structure performance and make accelerators easier to build.

Journal: Applied Physics Letters

2-May-2022

DOE’s Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program selects 80 outstanding US graduate students

DOE/US Department of Energy
Grant and Award Announcement

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science has selected 80 graduate students representing 27 states for the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program’s 2021 Solicitation 2 cycle. Through world-class training and access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources at DOE national laboratories, SCGSR prepares graduate students to enter jobs of critical importance to the DOE mission and secures the U.S. position at the forefront of discovery and innovation.