Supported by his Early Career Research Award at the University of Oregon, computer science professor Hank Childs created new approaches to store, load, and visualize large data sets generated by high-performance computers.
Researchers recently produced single-photon sources with operating wavelengths compatible with existing fiber communication networks using two-dimensional molybdenum ditelluride semiconductor layers on nano-size pillars.
While peatlands have historically stored massive amounts of soil carbon, warming is expected to enhance decomposition, leading to a positive climate change feedback effect. This study experimentally warmed peatlands in northern Minnesota and observed increased methane production relative to carbon dioxide release. This methane release process is likely to amplify global climate warming.
Scientists measuring the nucleus of calcium-48 to determine how its 20 protons and 28 neutrons are distributed inside its nucleus found that the protons and neutrons aren’t simply sprinkled throughout the nucleus. Instead, they form a neutron-rich “thin skin” around a core of evenly distributed protons and neutrons. This skin is thinner than many theoretical models predicted and not consistent with expectations based on recent observations of lead’s thick skin.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $4.3 million in funding for 16 projects in artificial intelligence (AI) research for high energy physics (HEP). These awards support the DOE Office of Science initiative in artificial intelligence research to use AI techniques to deliver scientific discoveries that would not otherwise be possible, and to broaden participation in high energy physics research.
Northern peatlands contain one third of the Earth’s soil carbon, making them important for carbon storage. In northern peatlands, carbon losses from soil during the winter can exceed carbon storage during the warm growing season, primarily because of the activity of microbes. To better understand how microbes interact in peatland soils during the winter months, this study incubated Arctic peat soils under winter conditions, then analyzed the microbes to understand how the microbes released carbon dioxide.
Quarks are distributed differently in free protons and neutrons versus those inside nuclei, something called “the EMC effect.” Scientists previously thought that the EMC effect treated the up and down quarks in protons and neutrons equally. New high-precision data from the MARATHON experiment indicates that the EMC effect may exert more influence on the distribution of down quarks compared to up quarks inside nuclei.
As precipitation patterns shift in response to climate change, scientists must understand how this change affects soil viruses. In this study, scientists analyzed DNA viruses in three grassland soils with different historical precipitation patterns: low precipitation from eastern Washington, intermediate precipitation from Kansas, and high precipitation from Iowa. The researchers found that viruses were more diverse and more common in drier soil.
Subatomic particles’ spin dictates how they propagate, interact, and form bound states. But how proton spin arises from quarks and gluons is a mystery, and experimental measurements of the individual contributions of quark and gluon spin don’t add up to the proton’s total spin. The orbital motion of quarks and gluons in the proton may account for the rest. Theorists have now proposed a way to measure this property using the future Electron-Ion Collider.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $8.6 million in funding for nine projects in accelerator research and development that will advance scientific discovery in nuclear physics research.
A teaspoon of soil contains billions of viruses and other microorganisms. In this study, scientists examined viruses in soil from Kansas prairies to sequence genetic material, identify viruses’ proteins, and look at how viruses’ activity varied under different environmental conditions. They found that some viruses were more abundant in wet soils, while others were more active.
Edge localized modes (ELMs) associated with plasma instabilities in tokamak fusion reactors can damage reactor walls, a challenge in the design of future fusion power plants. Scientists have now discovered that internal resistance of the plasma can cause additional instabilities that drive ELMs in the National Spherical Torus Experiment. This will help researchers mitigate and control ELMs in spherical tokamaks.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it is accepting applications for the 2023 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program to support the research of outstanding scientists early in their careers. The program will support over 80 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions, DOE national laboratories, and Office of Science user facilities.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $10 million in funding for three projects providing classroom training and research opportunities in computational high energy physics to train the next generation of computational scientists and engineers needed to deliver scientific discoveries.
James McKinlay is an associate professor of biology at Indiana University. His group used genetics, analytical chemistry, and computational modeling to identify factors that determine hydrogen gas production levels. More broadly, we identified factors that govern cooperative relationships between microbes.
The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today announced $1.5 billion from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to build and upgrade America’s national laboratories.
Microalgae play an important role in the Earth’s climate, converting carbon dioxide into solid carbon. This research sought new ways to study these microalgae and their associated bacterial communities across time and space. The researchers created a new co-culture method called a “porous microplate” that passes nutrients and molecules associated with metabolism between culture cells while blocking physical contact between algae in adjacent wells.
Nuclear fission and fusion reactors use carbon and silicon in shielding, structural materials, fuel, and neutron moderators. Neutrons are the drivers of the nuclear energy production processes. This makes understanding how neutrons scatter from all reactor materials critical for nuclear plant design and other applications. In this research, scientists investigated the interaction of neutrons with silicon and carbon.
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced two national laboratory scientists as DOE Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellows. This honor, authorized by the America COMPETES Act, is bestowed on national laboratory scientists with outstanding records of achievement. The award provides each Fellow with $1 million over three years to support activities that develop, sustain, and promote scientific and academic excellence in DOE Office of Science research.
Controlling gene activity is important for engineering plants for improved bioenergy crops and other applications. This research developed synthetic genes that use Boolean logic gates to achieve specific patterns of gene expression within a plant. The researchers used these gene circuits to redesign the root architecture by tuning the number of root branches.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, today held a groundbreaking for the Stable Isotope Production and Research Center (SIPRC), which will expand the nation’s capability to enrich stable isotopes for medical, industrial, and research applications.
Registration is open for the 33rd National Science Bowl® (NSB), hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Thousands of students compete in the contest annually as it has grown into one of the largest academic math and science competitions in the country.
A new study examined how microbial genes, enzymes, and cultures interact with carbon stored in soils in Svalbard. The study found that microbes can produce enzymes able to degrade carbon compounds in Arctic soils and that these enzymes also work well at low temperatures. The study further found evidence that Arctic soil microbes can take up carbon dioxide. They are thereby well-adapted to take advantage of permafrost thawing in response to climate change.
Applications are currently being accepted for the Summer 2023 term of two undergraduate internship programs offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science: the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) program and the Community College Internships (CCI) program. The application deadline is January 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. EST.
Applications are currently being accepted for the Summer 2023 term of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science’s Visiting Faculty Program (VFP). The application deadline is January 10, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Electrochemical reduction can convert carbon dioxide into multicarbon products for use as a raw material in chemicals and fuels. In this research, scientists improved this conversion process by using a tandem catalyst electrode. The electrode includes a silver or iron-nitrogen-carbon-based catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and incorporates a second segment that contains a copper catalyst to convert carbon monoxide into multicarbon products. Relative to prior methods, the developed approach more selectively converts carbon dioxide into desired compounds.
Scientists use high-energy protons to create isotopes for cancer treatment. In space, such protons pose a risk to astronauts and spacecraft. To learn more about both the risks from these protons and about methods of using these protons to produce medical isotopes, scientists measured the cross sections (probabilities) for high-energy proton reactions used to produce radiopharmaceuticals. The research helps to optimize the quantity and purity of medical isotopes and improve the design of spacecraft shielding.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $47 million to U.S. scientists conducting experimental research in fusion energy science at tokamak and spherical tokamak facilities in the U.S. and around the globe. The awards support research that aims to close gaps in the science and technology basis for the tokamak approach to fusion energy. These awards will help support the Biden Administration’s decadal vision to accelerate fusion as a clean energy technology.
In a new experiment, scientists have finally found the long-sought tetraneutron predicted using theory and supercomputer support at least six years ago. The tetraneutron is a combination of four neutrally charged neutrons. Unlike individual neutrons and combinations of two or three neutrons, the tetraneutron has a stable state—called a resonant state—that is long enough to be determined by the new experiment. The results are an important advance for nuclear physics and understanding of the strong nuclear force.
Daniel Hayes is an associate professor in ecosystem science at the University of Maine. His Early Career Award allowed him to collaborate with scientists around the world to study the impacts of thawing permafrost, using field measurements, remote observations, and simulation modeling.
Researchers attach green fluorescent protein (GFP), a protein that changes light from one color into another, to other proteins to observe how and where cells produce those proteins and thus how cells express genes. However, the use of GFP is time consuming and requires expensive equipment. Researchers have now designed and developed a special type of GFP visible with the unaided eye and a simple black light.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $6.4 million in funding for three initial Department of Energy national lab-led team projects in artificial intelligence research for high energy physics. These awards support the DOE Office of Science (SC) initiative in artificial intelligence research to use AI techniques to deliver scientific discoveries that would not otherwise be possible and to broaden participation in high energy physics research.
Scientists have previously shown that superparameterized (SP) climate models are better able to simulate clouds than other models. However, scientists must still determine how to represent the small-scale processes—called microphysics—that govern cloud droplets and ice crystals. This study examined how choices of microphysics processes affect how SP models predict extreme precipitation.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced an up to $400 million funding opportunity for basic research in support of DOE’s clean energy, economic, and national security goals. The funding will advance the priorities of DOE’s Office of Science and its major programs, including Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Isotope R&D and Production, and Accelerator R&D and Production. This funding opportunity will help achieve the Biden Administration’s plan to employ science and innovation to tackle our greatest challenges.
Scientists recently tested the ability of three techniques called entanglement witnesses to accurately identify pairs of entangled magnetic particles. Of the three, quantum Fisher information (QFI) performed best, routinely locating entanglement in complex materials. This work is the most thorough examination of QFI’s capabilities to date and is the first to apply QFI to massive solid materials.
The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science has selected 44 graduate students representing 24 states for the Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) program’s 2022 Solicitation 1 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 our national position at the forefront of discovery and innovation.
The quarks and gluons in a proton and their interaction determine the proton’s structure. This structure deforms when exposed to external electric and magnetic (EM) fields, a phenomenon known as polarizability. Scientists use Effective Field Theories (EFTs) to link the description of neutron structure and polarizability to theories of the strong neutron force. In this research, scientists validated EFTs using proton Compton scattering.
Physicists have observed a narrow proton-decaying resonance in beryllium-11. This result supports evidence that the beta-delayed proton decay of beryllium-11 is a sequential two-step process where a near-threshold resonance in beryllium-11 is populated first in a beta decay with a subsequent proton emission.
Subsurface permeability is a key parameter of subsurface flow and transport processes in watersheds, but it is difficult and expensive to measure directly at the scale and resolution required by watershed models. This study used deep learning to accurately estimate the subsurface permeability of a watershed using widely available stream discharge data.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $56 million in funding for four projects in fundamental mathematics research on problems of interest to DOE that require the integration of multiple mathematical topic areas.
Victor M. Zavala, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a computational mathematician in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory, is developing scalable algorithms and software to handle the nation’s energy infrastructure challenges.
Nuclear physicists have experimentally confirmed the existence of the tetraneutron, a meta-stable nuclear system that can decay into four free neutrons. Researchers have predicted the tetraneutron’s existence since 2016. The new results, which agree with predictions from supercomputer simulations, will help scientists understand atomic nuclei, neutron stars, and other neutron-rich systems.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $50 million to launch a new milestone-based fusion development program as authorized in the Energy Act of 2020. This program will support for-profit entities, who may team with national laboratories, universities, and others to meet major technical and commercialization milestones toward the successful design of a fusion pilot plant (FPP) that will help bring fusion toward technical and commercial viability. The program is informed by recent reports from the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; community workshops; and input from private industry.
Understanding how protons and neutrons are distributed in nuclei can reveal how large those nucleons appear when probed at high energy and contribute to understanding of their constituent quarks and gluons. This work used comparisons between model calculations and new precision data from collisions of heavy ions to access the distribution of gluons and predict the size of the proton. This knowledge can eliminate significant uncertainties about the initial state of the quark-gluon plasma created in heavy-ion collisions.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $30 million in funding for five projects in computation and simulation techniques and tools to understand the universe via collaborations that enable effective use of DOE high-performance computers. The Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) partnership in high energy physics brings together applied mathematicians and computer scientists with physicists to deliver scientific discoveries that would not be possible without advanced high-performance computers (HPCs).
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $8.5 million in funding for basic research in the development of randomized algorithms for understanding and improving the properties and behavior of complex energy systems. Problems involving the design of scientific experiments or energy and communication infrastructures can often be viewed as a discrete, networked system of systems that needs to be optimized. Such discrete optimization problems cannot be efficiently solved with conventional algorithms that are not well-suited for graphs, networks, and streaming data.
The role of microbes in the carbon cycle is likely to shift as microbial communities respond to environmental shocks such as drought and wildfire. This research studied how depth below the ground surface affects bacterial communities’ resistance to these shocks. It found that bacterial communities closer to the soil surface were more sensitive to drought and fire, suggesting that deeper soils may serve as a refuge.
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $15 million in funding for basic research to explore potentially high-impact approaches in scientific computing and extreme-scale science. The projects will address disruptive technology changes from emerging trends in high-end computing, massive datasets, artificial intelligence, and increasingly heterogeneous architectures such as neuromorphic and quantum computing systems.
Researchers have created a new intrinsic ferromagnetic topological insulator consisting of layers of manganese, bismuth, and tellurium atoms. The material requires no external magnetic field to study its unique properties, providing opportunities to explore novel phases of matter and the basic science of quantum material and to develop new technologies.
To simulate stellar novae accurately on computers, researchers need accurate inputs for nuclear reaction rates. Nuclear physicists have now determined an important and challenging proton-capture reaction rate using laboratory experiments. A state-of-the-art nova simulation incorporates the new experimental information, allowing physicists to compare the results for comparison to actual nova observations.
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