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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Livermore researchers seek to understand the disease mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and, with that knowledge, identify therapies to cure this always-fatal disease. As the article beginning on p. 4 describes, the ALS research effort combines Laboratory core competencies in bioscience, engineering, computational modeling, and data science.
This is the final report for this project. The long-term objective of our project is to develop a general molecular-level picture of the surface chemistry associated with ALD processes. Our central hypothesis is that the chemistry of ALD precursors can differ significantly from that seen in solution. Awareness of such differences should provide general guidelines on what to watch for when synthesizing new ALD precursors and designing and optimizing new ALD processes, especially in terms of minimizing the incorporation of impurities in the growing films and of carrying out depositions under mild pressure and temperature conditions. The main objective of our research project has been to advance the fundamental knowledge of the surface chemistry of ALD precursors needed for the design and optimization of film deposition processes. A modern surface-science approach has been implemented to both elucidate the mechanism of the reactions of the precursors on the surface and characterize the composition and morphology of the growing films.
This report summarizes insights from the 2025 Workshop on Next-Generation Ecosystems for Scientific Computing: Harnessing Community, Software, and AI for Cross-Disciplinary Team Science, which convened more than 40 experts from national laboratories, academia, industry, and community organizations to chart a path toward more powerful, sustainable, and collaborative scientific software ecosystems. To address urgent challenges at the intersection of high-performance computing (HPC), AI, and scientific software, participants envisioned agile, robust ecosystems built through socio-technical co-design—the intentional integration of social and technical components as interdependent parts of a unified strategy. This approach combines advances in AI, HPC, and software with new models for cross-disciplinary collaboration, training, and workforce development. Key recommendations include building modular, trustworthy AI-enabled scientific software systems; enabling scientific teams to integrate AI systems into their workflows while preserving human creativity, trust, and scientific rigor; and creating innovative training pipelines that keep pace with rapid technological change. Pilot projects were identified as near-term catalysts, with initial priorities focused on hybrid AI/HPC infrastructure, cross-disciplinary collaboration and pedagogy, responsible AI guidelines, and prototyping of public-private partnerships. This report presents a vision of next-generation ecosystems for scientific computing where AI, software, hardware, and human expertise are interwoven to drive discovery, expand access, strengthen the workforce, and accelerate scientific progress.
This is the final report for this project. The long-term objective of our project is to develop a general molecular-level picture of the surface chemistry associated with ALD processes. Our central hypothesis is that the chemistry of ALD precursors can differ significantly from that seen in solution. Awareness of such differences should provide general guidelines on what to watch for when synthesizing new ALD precursors and designing and optimizing new ALD processes, especially in terms of minimizing the incorporation of impurities in the growing films and of carrying out depositions under mild pressure and temperature conditions. The main objective of our research project has been to advance the fundamental knowledge of the surface chemistry of ALD precursors needed for the design and optimization of film deposition processes. A modern surface-science approach has been implemented to both elucidate the mechanism of the reactions of the precursors on the surface and characterize the composition and morphology of the growing films. In general, emphasis is being placed on: • Identifying the primary reactions that may lead to the deposition of clean films; •Identifying the secondary reactions that may help the ALD process, by, for instance, helping with the reduction (or oxidation) of the metal atom; • Identifying the secondary reactions that may lead to the deposition of undesirable impurities in the growing films; • Determining the kinetic parameters of the relevant surface reactions in order to define the optimum conditions for film deposition and to minimize impurity deposition. • Characterizing the nature of the resulting films, with focus on their stoichiometry and on the final oxidation states of the constituent elements; and • Using the information obtained to propose better precursors for given ALD processes.
Raw data for publication: Moni Qiande and Fredy Altpeter. 2025. Comparing four heat-inducible promoters in stably transformed sugarcane regarding spatial and temporal control of transgene expression reveals candidates to drive stem preferred transgene expression. Frontiers in Plant Science (accepted for publication).
Single-molecule FRET (smFRET) has become a mainstream technique for studying biomolecular structural dynamics. The rapid and wide adoption of smFRET experiments by an ever-increasing number of groups has generated significant progress in sample preparation, measurement procedures, data analysis, algorithms and documentation. Several labs that employ smFRET approaches have joined forces to inform the smFRET community about streamlining how to perform experiments and analyze results for obtaining quantitative information on biomolecular structure and dynamics. The recent efforts include blind tests to assess the accuracy and the precision of smFRET experiments among different labs using various procedures. These multi-lab studies have led to the development of smFRET procedures and documentation, which are important when submitting entries into the archiving system for integrative structure models, PDB-Dev. This position paper describes the current ‘state of the art’ from different perspectives, points to unresolved methodological issues for quantitative structural studies, provides a set of ‘soft recommendations’ about which an emerging consensus exists, and lists openly available resources for newcomers and seasoned practitioners. To make further progress, we strongly encourage ‘open science’ practices.
In this April 23, 2012 Science at the Theater event, Berkeley Lab scientists discuss how they uncover the mysteries of disease in unlikely places. Speakers and topics include: World-renowned cancer researcher Mina Bissell's pioneering research on the role of the cellular microenvironment in breast cancer has changed the conversation about the disease. How does DNA instability cause disease? To find out, Christie Canaria images neural networks to study disorders such as Huntington's disease. Fruit flies can tell us a lot about ourselves. Susan Celniker explores the fruit fly genome to learn how our genome works. DNA is not destiny. Gary Karpen explores how environmental factors shape genome function and disease through epigenetics.
Science at the Theater, June 6th, 2011: Berkeley Lab scientists reveal how nanoscience will bring us cleaner energy, faster computers, and improved medicine. Alex Weber-Bargioni: How can we see things at the nanoscale? Alex is pioneering new methods that provide unprecedented insight into nanoscale materials and molecular interactions. The goal is to create rules for building nanoscale materials. Babak Sanii: Nature is an expert at making nanoscale devices such as proteins. Babak is developing ways to see these biological widgets, which could help scientists develop synthetic devices that mimic the best that nature has to offer. Ting Xu: How are we going to make nanoscale devices? A future in which materials and devices are able to assemble themselves may not be that far down the road. Ting is finding ways to induce a wide range of nanoscopic building blocks to assemble into complex structures. Delia Milliron: The dividends of nanoscience could reshape the way we live, from smart windows and solar cells to artificial photosynthesis and improved medical diagnosis. Delia is at the forefront of converting fundamental research into nanotechnology. Moderated by Jim DeYoreo, interim director of the Molecular Foundry, a facility located at Berkeley Lab where scientists from around the world address the myriad challenges in nanoscience.
There are billions of microbes in a handful of soil, some of which could hold the key to our climate and energy future. Find out how at Secrets of the Soil, our next Science at the Theater Nov. 7 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. At the event, four Berkeley Lab scientists will reveal how our scientists travel the globe -- to deserts, rainforests, and the Arctic tundra -- to explore the secret world of soil microbes -- and what they mean to you. More info: http://www.lbl.gov/LBL-PID/fobl/
PNNL’s atmospheric science research provides data required to make decisions about challenges presented by climate change: Where to site power plants, how to manage water resources, how to prepare for severe weather events and more. Our expertise in fundamental observations and modeling is recognized among the national labs and the world.
Opioid overdoses killed more than 50,000 people in the U.S. in 2016, reaching epidemic proportions. New opioid drugs that suppress pain but are neither addictive nor likely to cause overdose deaths are now in the pharmaceutical pipeline, the result of decades of research into how medicines attach to and communicate with the body’s cells. Critical to that research was a new method of determining the structure of large biological molecules, using extremely powerful beams of X-rays developed and supported at shared research facilities by the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) office of DOE. Such X-ray studies are now central to new drug development: the BES facilities are used by the pharmaceutical industry to screen most new drug candidates.
A significant fraction of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) released to the atmosphere during energy production is taken up by terrestrial ecosystems. This carbon “sink” represents an important but poorly characterized buffer for offsetting the greenhouse gas effects of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions. Also unclear are the effects of related processes such as nutrient, water, and energy cycling—in addition to climate variability and change— on that uptake. Resolving the terrestrial biosphere’s role in the global carbon cycle is consequently a high priority for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) program within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Understanding the mechanisms and dynamics of ecosystem processes in the face of a changing climate is also essential for improving the representation of terrestrial ecosystems and climate feedbacks in Earth system models (ESMs). TES supports research to advance fundamental understanding of terrestrial ecosystems and their roles in a changing climate.
National Science Bowl finals and awards at the National Building Museum in Washington D.C. Monday 5/3/2010.
Anthropogenic aerosol impacts on clouds constitute the largest source of uncertainty in quantifying the radiative forcing of climate, and hinders our ability to determine Earth's climate sensitivity to greenhouse gas increases. Representation of aerosol–cloud interactions in global models is particularly challenging because these interactions occur on typically unresolved scales. Observational studies show influences of aerosol on clouds, but correlations between aerosol and clouds are insufficient to constrain aerosol forcing because of the difficulty in separating aerosol and meteorological impacts. In this commentary, we argue that this current impasse may be overcome with the development of approaches to conduct control experiments whereby aerosol particle perturbations can be introduced into patches of marine low clouds in a systematic manner. Such cloud perturbation experiments constitute a fresh approach to climate science and would provide unprecedented data to untangle the effects of aerosol particles on cloud microphysics and the resulting reflection of solar radiation by clouds. Here, the control experiments would provide a critical test of high-resolution models that are used to develop an improved representation aerosol–cloud interactions needed to better constrain aerosol forcing in global climate models.
Large-scale electrical energy storage has become more important than ever for reducing fossil energy consumption in transportation and for the widespread deployment of intermittent renewable energy in electric grid. However, significant challenges exist for its applications. Here, the status and challenges are reviewed from the perspective of materials science and materials chemistry in electrochemical energy storage technologies, such as Li-ion batteries, sodium (sulfur and metal halide) batteries, Pb-acid battery, redox flow batteries, and supercapacitors. Perspectives and approaches are introduced for emerging battery designs and new chemistry combinations to reduce the cost of energy storage devices.
Superconducting quantum metamaterials are expected to exhibit a variety of novel properties, but have been a major challenge to prepare as a result of the lack of appropriate synthetic routes to high-quality materials. Here, the discovery of synthesis routes to block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly-directed niobium nitrides and carbonitrides is described. The resulting materials exhibit unusual structure retention even at temperatures as high as 1000 °C and resulting critical temperature, T c , values comparable to their bulk analogues. Applying the concepts of soft matter self-assembly, it is demonstrated that a series of four different BCP-directed mesostructured superconductors are accessible from a single triblock terpolymer. Resulting materials display a mesostructure-dependent T c without substantial variation of the XRDmeasured lattice parameters. Lastly, field-dependent magnetization measurements of a sample with double-gyroid morphology show abrupt jumps comparable in overall behavior to flux avalanches. Results suggest a fruitful convergence of soft and hard condensed matter science.
Medical radiation science (MRS) disciplines include medical imaging, radiation therapy and nuclear medicine. These allied health fields are technology driven and evolving rapidly with regard to imaging and treatment techniques within the clinical environment. This research aims to identify the activities academics are currently participating in to maintain clinical currency and offer strategies to support academics to connect with an ever-changing clinical environment. A cross-sectional designed survey was sampled across the nine Australian universities where MRS programmes are offered. The survey targeted academic teaching staff that were working in MRS programmes at the time of distribution (n ≈ 90). Enablers and barriers to maintaining clinical currency as well as support to participate in continuing professional development were rated by the respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, and free-text comment responses were collated and themed. There were 38 responses to the survey (42%) and all three disciplines were represented. Responses highlighted activities valued by academics as contributing to their knowledge of current practice and as resources to inform their teaching. Positive elements included participating in clinical work and research, attending clinical sites and training days and attending scientific meetings. Common barriers identified by academics in this area were time constraints, workload allocation and employer/financial support. This research has identified that Australian MRS academics participate in a broad range of activities to inform their teaching and maintain knowledge of contemporary clinical practice. A connection with the clinical world is valued highly by academics, however, access and support to maintain that link is often a difficulty and as a result for MRS teaching staff keeping up with the clinical [MRS] Joneses is often a challenge.
Resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSoXS) is an emerging, powerful technique to probe the nano-to-mesoscale structure of polymers and other molecules. It joins together small-angle X-ray scattering (a statistical nanoprobe) with X-ray spectroscopy that brings with it unique chemical and bond-orientation sensitivity. Through over a decade of discovery and development, RSoXS is moving from a niche technique applied to organic electronic thin films to a mature tool applicable to a plethora of polymeric and molecular systems, encompassing new modalities, analyses, and simulation methods. This development promises to deliver increasingly quantitative answers to challenging questions in polymer science as well as expand its usefulness to complementary fields. Here, this review presents a full synopsis of the technique, including background on the theoretical underpinnings, measurement best practices, and examples of recent RSoXS applications and discoveries provided here to accelerate the transition to a broader range of soft matter and polymeric fields.