2019 | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Big Bang Query

Rosi J. Reed, an assistant professor in Lehigh University's Department of Physics whose research includes experimental high-energy physics, is part of the STAR Collaboration , an international group of scientists and engineers running experiments on the Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC (STAR). STAR's specialty is tracking the thousands of particles produced by each ion collision at RHIC in search of the signatures of quark-gluon plasma.

After Mapping Millions of Galaxies, Dark Energy Survey Finishes Data Collection

After scanning about a quarter of the southern skies over 800 nights, the Dark Energy Survey finished taking data on Jan. 9. It ends as one of the most sensitive and comprehensive surveys of its kind, recording data from more than 300 million distant galaxies.

‘Realistic’ New Model Points the Way to More Efficient and Profitable Fracking

A new computational model could potentially boost efficiencies and profits in natural gas production by better predicting previously hidden fracture mechanics while accurately accounting for the known amounts of gas released during the process.

Climate Change Tipping Point Could Be Coming Sooner than We Think

A new study at Columbia University shows that vegetation may not be able to continue abating the effects of emissions from human activities.

$750,000 Granted to Cal Poly Professor to Further Work in His Field

Cal Poly physics professor Themis Mastoridis was given $750,000 through the Early Career Research Program grant to further his work with particle colliders. The grant will pave the way for Cal Poly students to help with research that would only be available to graduate students at other universities.

Clean and Green: UCI Physicist Helps Invent Novel Way of Converting Nitrogen to Ammonia

Huolin Xin, UCI assistant professor of physics & astronomy, and colleagues have come up with a way to more sustainably produce ammonia using atoms of molybdenum as a catalyst for electrochemical conversion.

Artificial Skin Could Give Superhuman Perception

A new type of sensor could lead to artificial skin that someday helps burn victims ‘feel’ and safeguards the rest of us, University of Connecticut researchers suggest in a forthcoming paper in Advanced Materials.

Unlocking Graphene’s Superconducting Powers with a Twist and a Squeeze

A Columbia University-led team has developed a new method to finely tune adjacent layers of graphene—lacy, honeycomb-like sheets of carbon atoms—to induce superconductivity. Their research provides new insights into the physics underlying this two-dimensional material’s intriguing characteristics.

Surface Effect

Boston College physicist Ilija Zeljkovic and a team of researchers have succeeded in modifying a cuprate high-temperature superconductor material into an insulating state, where they found an exotic liquid crystal phase.

Researchers Aim to Develop Radiation Therapy with Short Exposure Times

New accelerator-based technology being developed by the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University aims to reduce the side effects of cancer radiation therapy by shrinking its duration from minutes to under a second.

Research Rochester: Computational Physicist Tetef Studies Mysterious Subatomic Particles

Senior physics and computer science major Sam Tetef is doing computational physics research with Dr. Steve Manly as part of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, or “DUNE.” They are interested in characterizing neutrinos because of the broad impact the particles may have on the very existence of matter.

New Biosensor Highlights Best Biofuel-producing Microbes

A major goal of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center is to harness the power of microbes to create biofuels. But often, it’s an expensive challenge for scientists to identify the most useful individual variants among thousands of similar microbe strains. A new study led by Vatsan Raman, an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, unveils a biosensor that may light the way to the best microbial candidates for biofuel production.