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Tuesday, December
28, 2004
New
Technique for Tracking Gene Regulators
Finding out where gene-regulator proteins bind
to DNA and identifying the genes they regulate
just got a step easier thanks to a new technique
developed by scientists at the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.
The technique could greatly speed the process
of unraveling the role these proteins play in
turning on and off the genes that establish
the very identity of cells — be they brain
cells, liver, or blood — as well as what
might go awry in certain conditions like cancer.
Tuesday, December
21, 2004
United
States and Spain Sign Agreement to Prevent Trafficking
of Nuclear Material
The United States and Spain signed an agreement
to begin a joint effort in the war on terrorism
by installing special equipment at one of Spain’s
busiest seaports to detect and stop hidden shipments
of nuclear and other radioactive materials.
Monday, December
20, 2004
Department
of Energy Launches New Web Site With Government-Wide
Energy Saving Tips
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched
a new web site with detailed information and
tips on how to save money by developing smart
energy habits. The site, www.EnergySavingTips.gov,
serves as a consumer-friendly portal to detailed
energy saving information from various federal
agencies.
Wednesday,
December 15, 2004
Department
of Energy Issues Final Request for Proposals
for E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Contractor
The Department of Energy (DOE) released a final
Request for Proposals (RFP) for the competitive
selection of a management and operating (M&O)
contractor for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL), a major DOE Office of Science research
facility located in Berkeley, California.
Tuesday, December
14, 2004
PNNL's
Body Scanner Garners Federal Commercialization
Award
A technology developed by researchers at the
Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory has been recognized for its successful
transfer to the commercial market. The Federal
Laboratory Consortium announced PNNL has won
a 2005 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award
for the lab's holographic body scanner, an imaging
technology that is being applied in two widely
divergent industries - apparel and security.
The
Secret Life of Acid Dust
Dry dust reacts with air pollutants to form
dewy particles whose sunlight-reflecting and
cloud-altering properties are unaccounted for
in atmospheric models.
Monday, December
13, 2004
December
13 Issue of DOE Pulse. Pulse is a Newsletter
About Accomplishments at the Department of Energy's
National Laboratories. Here is Some of What
You'll Find in This Issue:
* Jefferson Lab: Puzzling neutron structure
* Brookhaven: Blocking infection
* Idaho: Capturing corrosion's path
* Argonne: Marketing nanomaterials
U.S.
Department of Energy Authorizes the Exercise
of UT-Battelle Operating Contract Option for
Oak Ridge National Laboratory for Five Years
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced
the decision to authorize the exercise of a
competitive contract option to extend the University
of Tennessee-Battelle LLC management and operating
contract of the Department of Energy’s
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for an
additional five years.
Friday, December
10, 2004
Statement
of Energy Secretary Abraham on the Nomination
of Sam Bodman
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has released
a statement regarding the nomination of Sam
Bodman as the 11th Secretary of Energy.
Glass
Gives Up Secrets Under Pressure
Glass is a mysterious material, but when researchers
apply pressure, it reveals secrets. Using a
variety of techniques, researchers at Argonne
National Laboratory saw for the first time ever,
the atomic structure of a dense, purely octahedral
glass that has eluded scientists for decades.
They also witnessed a continuous structural
change in the glass, disproving the theory that
tetrahedral glasses go through a distinct transition
between low- and high-density phases.
New
Method for Studying Protein Structure Could
Advance Drug Development
Structural changes in proteins can now be seen
in increased detail, using a new application
of an existing technique. The application, developed
at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National
Laboratory, could help produce lead drugs for
disease therapy.
Wednesday,
December 8, 2004
New
Oil and Gas Projects to Enhance Energy Security,
Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
the selection of 35 new cost-shared projects
that promise to strengthen our nation’s
energy security and reduce greenhouse emissions.
In announcing the awards, Secretary Abraham
lauded the wide-ranging projects as “an
investment in our future that will benefit the
Nation for years to come.” The total award
value of the new projects is more than $39 million.
Monday, December
6, 2004
NIU
launches Institute for Neutron Therapy at Fermilab
Northern Illinois University announced plans
to revive a unique and proven cancer treatment
that blends advanced medical science with accelerator
physics developed at Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory, a Department of Energy laboratory
in Batavia, Ill.
Energy
Department Extends Acceptance Policy for Spent
Nuclear Fuel from Foreign Research Reactors
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that he has extended a policy that to date has
enabled the United States to recover nearly
500 kilograms of uranium-235 – enough to
build about 20 crude nuclear weapons –
in U.S.-origin high-enriched uranium (HEU) used
to fuel foreign research reactors. The Department
of Energy’s (DOE) decision to extend the
period for spent fuel acceptance will provide
additional time for research reactors to convert
from HEU to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel.
Secretary
Abraham Congratulates International Partnership
for the Hydrogen Economy on its One-Year Anniversary
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham congratulated
the International Partnership for the Hydrogen
Economy (IPHE) on its successful first year.
Led by the United States, fifteen nations and
the European Commission signed the Terms of
Reference establishing the IPHE on November
20, 2003.
Tuesday, November
30, 2004
DOE
Researchers Demonstrate Feasibility of Efficient
Hydrogen Production from Nuclear Energy
In a major step toward achieving President George
W. Bush’s goal of ensuring America’s
energy security through innovative technologies,
researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory (INEEL) and Ceramatec, Inc. of Salt
Lake City, Utah have demonstrated the feasibility
of using nuclear energy to efficiently produce
hydrogen from water.
Friday, November
26, 2004
Research
Opportunities Expand at Nation's Premier X-ray
Facility
The Advanced Photon Source (APS), located at
Argonne National Laboratory and the premier
hard X-ray research facility in the nation,
each year hosts thousands of experimenters who
carry out research that impacts nearly every
aspect of our lives. Now, the outlook for this
essential U.S. Department of Energy(DOE)-funded
program is even brighter as changes in the way
scientists access the APS are significantly
increasing opportunities for experimentation.
Wednesday,
November 24, 2004
Isotron
Licenses ORNL Cancer Treatment Technology
Patients with cancers previously next to untreatable
may have new hope because of a license agreement
between Isotron of Norcross, Ga., and UT-Battelle,
which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Monday, November
22, 2004
Argonne
Realigns Top Management
Argonne National Laboratory has modified its
organization to address changing national research
priorities as well as to address the upcoming
transition of Argonne's Idaho component –
Argonne-West – to the newly formed Idaho
National Laboratory.
Friday, November
19, 2004
Pier
Oddone of Berkeley Lab Named Fermilab Director
Officials of Universities Research Association,
the consortium of universities that operates
the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator
Laboratory, today (November 19) announced the
appointment Piermaria Oddone as Fermilab's fifth
director. Acting on the recommendation of its
Board of Overseers and with the approval of
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, URA's Board
of Trustees appointed Oddone to succeed Fermilab's
current director, Michael Witherell, on July
1, 2005. Witherell announced in October 2003
that he would serve as Fermilab director through
June 2005.
Monday, November
15, 2004
Abraham
Thanks President Bush for the Privilege To Serve
the Nation
In a letter to President George W. Bush dated
November 14, 2004 resigning his position pending
the confirmation of a new Energy Secretary,
Spencer Abraham touted DOE’s significant
success toward reducing America’s dependence
on foreign sources of energy, improving the
environment and further securing the homeland
through efforts to reduce nuclear proliferation.
New
Results From Anti-Neutrino Studies at KamLAND
First they were seen to go away, now, for the
first time, they’ve been seen coming back.
An international team of researchers at KamLAND,
an underground neutrino detector in central
Japan, has shown that not only do anti-neutrinos
emanating from nearby nuclear reactors “disappear,”
they also “reappear.” This is further
evidence that the three known types or “flavors”
of neutrinos — electron, muon and tau —
all have mass and can oscillate or change from
one type to another.
Thursday, November
11, 2004
Sandwich
Clusters May Improve Magnetic Memory Storage
A new type of molecular magnet known as a “sandwich
cluster” is being studied under a joint
research collaboration between the U.S. Department
of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, the
University of Chicago and Keio University in
Japan.
Tuesday, November
9, 2004
DOE
Awards Battelle Energy Alliance Contract to
Establish World-Class Nuclear Energy and Technology
Lab in Idaho
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that the U.S. Department of Energy has selected
the Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC (BEA) to establish
the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as the Nation’s
premier laboratory for nuclear energy research,
development, demonstration and education within
a decade.
Monday, November
8, 2004
Brookhaven
Lab and BioSurface Engineering Technologies,
Inc. Develop a Synthetic Peptide That Enhances
the Effect of a Bone Growth Factor, BMP-2
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and BioSurface
Engineering Technologies, Inc. (BioSET) have
developed a synthetic peptide that enhances
the effects of a tissue growth factor known
as bone morphogenetic protein 2, or BMP-2. BMPs
are a family of proteins in the human body responsible
for the proliferation, repair, and differentiation
of cells in many tissues, including bone.
Thursday,
November 4, 2004
Secretary
Abraham Announces Record Breaking Supercomputer
Performance
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that a supercomputer developed for the nation’s
Stockpile Stewardship Program has attained a
record breaking performance of 70.72 teraFLOP/s
(trillion floating point opera.
Monday, November
1, 2004
Climate
Uncertainty with CO2 Rise Due to Uncertainty
About Aerosols
Climate scientists agree that atmospheric carbon
dioxide (CO2) has increased about 35 percent
over the industrial period and that it will
continue to rise so that CO2 will reach double
its pre-industrial value well before the end
of this century.
Monday, October
25, 2004
Eight
Energy Dept. Lab Directors Receive Energy Secretary's
Gold Award
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today presented
the Secretary’s Gold Award to eight current
and former directors of Department of Energy
national laboratories. The award is the Energy
Department’s highest honorary award and
includes a plaque with citation, a medallion
and a rosette.
Former
BNL Director John Marburger Among the Recipients
Fermilab
Director Witherell One of Eight Directors to
Receive Energy Secretary's Gold Award
Friday, October
22, 2004
New
Method Studies Living Bacteria Cells
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's
Argonne National Laboratory have found a new
way to study individual living bacteria cells
and analyze their chemistry.
Tuesday, October
19, 2004
Scientists
See an “Effect” of Superconductor
Research
Recent research by a scientist at the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory
and his collaborators may lead to new advances
in electronic circuitry and new clues to the
causes of high-temperature superconductivity.
The researchers found evidence to support the
existence of the theoretical “Giant Proximity
Effect,” a physical phenomenon in which
a thick layer of a conventional metal conducts
like a superconductor – that is, with no
resistance – when it is placed in contact
with a superconducting material.
Monday, October
18, 2004
October
18 Issue of DOE Pulse. Pulse is a Newsletter
About Accomplishments at the Department of Energy's
National Laboratories. Here is Some of What
You'll Find in This Issue:
* Brookhaven: A mechanism for HIV dementia
* Argonne: Medical implant, detection research
* Jefferson Lab: New views on nuclei
* Ames: Bioanalysis boon
Feature: Fermilab's quantum chromodynamics contributions
A
Nanowire with a Surprise
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory and their collaborators
have discovered that a short, organic chain
molecule with dimensions on the order of a nanometer
(a billionth of a meter) conducts electrons
in a surprising way: It regulates the electrons’
speed erratically, without a predictable dependence
on the length of the wire. This information
may help scientists learn how to use nanowires
to create components for a new class of tiny
electronic circuits.
Friday, October
15, 2004
Department
of Energy Issues Draft Request for Proposals
for E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Contractor
The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking comments
on a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) for the
competitive selection of a management and operating
(M&O) contractor for Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (LBNL), a major DOE Office of Science
research facility located in Berkeley, California.
2nd
Annual Energy Dept. "What's Next"
Expo to be Held in Albuquerque
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and U.S.
Rep. Heather Wilson announced today that the
Department of Energy’s 2nd annual “What’s
Next” Expo will be held in Albuquerque
in the fall of 2005.
Transportation
Research Takes Multi-pronged Approach to Clean
Fuels, Engines
Cleaner, more efficient engines are at the top
of the nation's transportation technology goals.
To improve the nation's economy, environment
and energy security, researchers in Argonne's
Energy Systems Division (ES) work with engines
ranging in size from small auto engines to 10-foot-tall
single-cylinder diesel locomotive engines.
Thursday,
October 14, 2004
Energy
Secretary Abraham Hosts "What's Next Expo"
Featuring Exhibits of "Future Science for
Future Scientists" to Interest Chicago-Area
Students in Math and Science Careers
As part of a science education initiative he
launched earlier this year to inspire young
people to pursue careers in mathematics and
the sciences, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham
hosted more than 500 Chicago-area seventh- and
eighth-graders and their teachers at the inaugural
Department of Energy “What’s Next
Expo” at the Navy Pier in downtown Chicago.
DOE
Labs, Universities and Second Sight Partner
to Speed Development of "Artificial Retina"
In an effort to speed the design and development
of an artificial retina that could potentially
help millions of people blinded by retinal diseases,
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that five Department of Energy (DOE) national
laboratories, a private company and three universities
have signed agreements to form a research partnership.
Argonne
Plays Important Role in Development of Artificial
Retina
A collaborative research and development agreement
signed between the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) and Second Sight LLC will help bring hope
to hundreds of thousands of Americans who are
losing their sight to degenerative retinal diseases.
Tuesday, October
12, 2004
DOE-Funded
Research Projects Win 36 R&D 100 Awards
for 2004
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that researchers at Department of Energy (DOE)
national laboratories and companies with research
funded by DOE have won 36 of the 100 awards
given this year by R&D Magazine for the
most outstanding technology developments with
commercial potential.
Friday, October
8, 2004
Paul
Sworn in as NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham administered
the oath of office to Jerry Paul this week to
be the principal deputy administrator of the
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Thursday,
October 7, 2004
DOE/EPA
Announce Fuel Economy Leaders for Model Year
2005
DOE and EPA provide several online sources for
more fuel economy information. The joint DOE
and EPA Web site, http://www.fueleconomy.gov,
offers detailed information on vehicle fuel
economy, including a complete version of the
Fuel Economy Guide.
Book
Review: The Fermi Agez
Fermi age, Fermi constant, Fermi-Dirac gas,
Fermi energy, Fermi hole, fermion, Fermi selection
rules, Fermi statistics, fermium… “No
serious student can enter physics without finding
the name Fermi everywhere.” These are the
words of James W. Cronin — editor of Fermi
Remembered, a collection of essays recently
published by the University of Chicago Press.
Wednesday,
October 6, 2004
$12.5
Million in Subcontracts Awarded for Fusion Experiment
at Princeton
The U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE) Princeton
Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) has awarded
two subcontracts for the fabrication of major
components for the National Compact Stellarator
Experiment (NCSX), now under construction at
the Laboratory. NCSX will explore the physics
of an innovative concept for fusion energy production
and will advance the understanding of the related
basic science. PPPL is building the new experiment
in partnership with the USDOE's Oak Ridge National
Laboratory in Tennessee.
Tuesday, October
5, 2004
More
than 500 Chicago Students to Attend "What's
Next" Expo Sponsored by Energy Department
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham will join
more than 500 Chicago area seventh- and eighth-grade
students and their teachers at the first ever
“What’s Next” Expo on October
14, 2004, at Chicago’s Navy Pier.
DOE-Supported
Physicists are Co-Winners of 2004 Nobel Prize
in Physics
Dr. Raymond L. Orbach, Director of DOE’s
Office of Science said, “The award of this
year's Nobel Prize to Gross, Wilczek and Politzer
for their fundamental, groundbreaking theoretical
investigation of the forces between quarks brings
to mind the original discovery of quarks themselves
at several DOE national laboratories. The Office
of Science is proud of its long association
with research into the fundamental constituents
of matter and of the scientists whose work it
has supported.”
Monday,
October 4, 2004
Jack
Craig Named Director Of Energy Department's
Environmental Management Consolidated
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the
appointment of Jack Craig as director of the
Department of Energy’s (DOE) Consolidated
Business Center (CBC) in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Friday, October
1, 2004
Nanomaterials
Break out of Laboratory into Marketplace
Miniature medical machines that can bring sight
to the blind and computers that work at the
speed of light are no longer the stuff of futuristic
novels. Argonne National Laboratory researchers
are creating nanomaterials and nanotechnology
to make these and other innovations possible,
and collaborating with industry to bring new
technologies to the marketplace.
Friday, September
24, 2004
Quantum
Universe Web Site Launched
New site describes revolution in 21st-century
particle physics http://interactions.org/quantumuniverse/
U.S.
Department of Energy Awards SEC Closure Alliance,
LLC $235 Million Small Business Contract To
Complete Closure of Fast Flux Test Facility
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded SEC
Closure Alliance, LLC of Hanford, Wash., a $235
million small business contract to complete
the deactivation and closure of the Fast Flux
Test Facility (FFTF) nuclear reactor at its
Hanford, Wash. site by 2011. The FFTF is a 400-megawatt
liquid-sodium cooled nuclear test reactor in
Hanford’s 400 Area, about 13 miles north
of Richland, Wash.
Spun
From Bone - PNNL-USC Team Discovers how Protein
in Teeth Controls Bone-like Crystals to Form
Steely Enamel
Bone and enamel start with the same calcium-phosphate
crystal building material but end up quite different
in structure and physical properties.
Thursday,
September 23, 2004
Department
of Energy Announces Negotiations for Loan of
Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Department of Energy announced that it intends
to enter into negotiations to make available
a limited quantity of crude oil from the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (SPR), to help relieve physical
shortages of crude oil supplies in the Gulf
of Mexico following recent hurricanes.
Wednesday,
September 22, 2004
New
Insights into Hydrated Electrons Will Aid Biologists,
Chemists
Sometimes, it pays to think small. By observing
how a single electron behaves amid a cluster
of water molecules, a team of scientists has
gained a better understanding of a fundamental
process that drives a myriad of biological and
chemical phenomena, such as the formation of
reactive molecules in the body that can cause
disease.
Tuesday, September
21, 2004
Sequencing
of Poplar Genome Giant Step for Research Community
Sequencing the Populus genome represents a huge
international success, and scientists at Oak
Ridge National Laboratory expect it to sprout
big gains in research involving alternative
energy production and environmental restoration.
Monday, September
20, 2004
HIV
Dementia Mechanism Discovered
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered
a key mechanism in the brains of people with
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) dementia.
The study is the first to document decreases
in the neurotransmitter dopamine in those with
the condition, and may lead to new, more effective
therapies. HIV dementia is a type of cognitive
decline that is more common in the later stages
of HIV infection.
'Smart'
Drilling Prototype Yields More Oil, Gas; Reaches
Milestone
A Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored technology
that allows natural gas and oil explorers to
drill safer, more productive wells by using
a high-speed, down-hole communications system
has achieved a major milestone with the successful
testing of a prototype in a full-scale commercial
well for the first time, putting the technology,
called Intellipipe™, on the fast track
to commercialization.
University
of Chicago: "Nuclear Power Competitive
With Coal & Natural Gas"
While experts have debated the costs associated
with developing advanced nuclear power generation,
the first exhaustive study examining the economic
competitiveness of nuclear power has been completed
by the University of Chicago and it shows that
the future cost associated with nuclear power
production is comparable with gas and coal-based
energy generation.
Friday, September
17, 2004
Accelerator
Systems Division Keeps Nation's Brightest X-rays
Beaming
Argonne is home to the Advanced Photon Source,
this hemisphere's most brilliant source of X-rays
for scientific research. The Accelerator Systems
Division maintains the equipment to provide
optimal X-ray quality with few interruptions
to scientists. Researchers come from a variety
of disciplines and from industry, academia and
national and international laboratories.
ORNL
Microscope Pushes Back Barrier of 'How Small'
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, using
a state- of-the-art microscope and new computerized
imaging technology, have pushed back the barrier
of how small we can see--to a record, atom-scale
0.6 angstrom. ORNL, a Department of Energy national
laboratory, also held the previous record, at
0.7 angstrom.
Thursday,
September 16, 2004
Successful
CO2 Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery
Project Heads Into Phase II
In a multinational project that includes the
U.S. Department of Energy, more than 110 billion
cubic feet of 95 percent pure CO2 have been
injected into the Weyburn Oilfield in Saskatchewan,
Canada, near the North Dakota border. The effort,
known as the Weyburn Project, is expected to
store about 22 million tons of CO2 and produce
130 million barrels of oil over 20 years. Most
of the injected CO2 comes from the Dakota Gasification
Company’s synfuels plant in Beulah, N.D.,
via a 320-kilometer pipeline.
Neutron
Physics Instrument may Unlock Mysteries of Universe
Fundamental questions that particle physicists
have pondered for decades might be answered
when a $9.2 million neutron physics beam line
is built at the Department of Energy's Spallation
Neutron Source on Chestnut Ridge.
Tuesday, September
14, 2004
Peering
Inside the Body, With a New Spin-literally
This story is unabashedly all spin. What's the
angle? Why, magic. Its subject—a mouse
in a form-fitted Plexiglas tube—performs
the honors, spinning like an old phonograph
record, at a leisurely one to three revolutions
a second. The mouse chamber is tilted just so
inside a magnetic field being pelted with radio
waves. The tiny rodent-adventurer and her cohorts
are put under and are no worse for the wear.
Fermilab
Offers Tours of Antimatter Production Site,
October 3 and 24
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory are offering
special "Antimatter Tours" on October
3 and October 24, at 1 p.m. The two-hour program
includes a 30-minute presentation by a Fermilab
scientist, followed by a tour through a section
of the accelerator tunnel that is used to produce
antiprotons.
Friday, September
10, 2004
PNNL
Lands $10.3 Million NIH Biodefense Contract
to Unlock Proteomes of Salmonella and Pox
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has received
a $10.3 million biodefense contract from the
National Institute of Allergies and Infectious
Agents (NIAID) to identify the proteins that
regulate the bacteria that cause salmonella
poisoning and typhoid fever, and the monkey
pox virus.
Thursday,
September 9, 2004
Energy
Department Early Career Scientists and Engineers
Honored
At a White House ceremony, seven researchers
funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and
its National Nuclear Security Administration
were honored for their work ranging from nanoscale
materials to the geology of Nevada.
Wednesday,
September 8, 2004
DOE
AND OPIC Form Partnership to Promote Environmentally
Sound Economic Development in Emerging Markets
U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) President
and CEO Dr. Peter S. Watson signed an agreement
acknowledging their partnership in the effort
to promote investment in cleaner, more efficient
energy technologies in emerging markets throughout
the world.
Monday, September
6, 2004
Historic
Research Division Continues to Push Nuclear
Frontiers
The building housing Argonne's Chemical Engineering
Division (CMT) was named a Nuclear Historic
Landmark this summer by the American Nuclear
Society. The award recognizes the division's
significant contributions to the development,
implementation and peaceful use of nuclear technology.
Friday, September
3, 2004
$18
Million Bioinformatics Center to Become Weapon
Against Deadly Diseases
A computer database designed to help biomedical
scientists identify and exploit the weak spots
in scores of deadly microorganisms will be established
with an $18 million contract from the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID).
Thursday,
September 2, 2004
PNNL
Scientist Selected for National Academy Symposium
Yong Wang, a senior scientist at the Department
of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
has been invited to participate in the National
Academy of Engineering's 10th annual Frontiers
of Engineering symposium, September 9-11, in
Irvine, Calif.
Wednesday,
September 1, 2004
A
Guiding Light on the Nanoscale
Another important step towards realizing the
promise of lightning fast photonic technology
has been taken by scientists with the U.S. Department
of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(Berkeley Lab) and the University of California
at Berkeley. Researchers have demonstrated that
semiconductor nanoribbons, single crystals measuring
tens of hundreds of microns in length, but only
a few hundred or less nanometers in width and
thickness (about one ten-millionth of an inch),
can serve as "waveguides" for channeling
and directing the movement of light through
circuitry.
Monday, August
30, 2004
AMES
Laboratory Wins Regional Technology Transfer
Awards
The U. S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory
will be presented two technology-transfer awards
at the Federal Laboratory Consortium Mid-Continent
and Far-West Regional Meeting, Sept. 7-10, in
South Padre, Texas. The FLC awards recognize
Ames Lab for superb efforts in linking its mission
and expertise with potential users of government-developed
technologies and services.
Monday, August
23, 2004
Energy
Technology Researchers Solve Energy and Medical
Problems
Argonne's Energy
Technology Division (ET) provides innovative
materials and engineering solutions to national
energy challenges that range from energy production
and conservation to transportation. Researchers
also find creative ways to re-use and extend
the value of their discoveries.
Sunday, August
22, 2004
Taking
Charge of Molecular Wires
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University
of Florida have uncovered information that may
help “molecular wires” replace silicon
in micro-electronic circuits and/or components
in solar energy storage systems. The scientists
were studying how electric charge is distributed
in polymer molecule chains that are several
nanometers, or billionths of a meter, in length.
Why
Damaged DNA Gets a Case of the Bends
Our knees may become stiff when injured, but
banged up DNA becomes flexible, suggests the
most detailed computer model of damaged DNA
to date. Further, this flexibility explains
how the body's enzymes recognize and fix damaged
DNA, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's
Maciej Haranczyk reported at the American Chemical
Society national meeting.
Thursday,
August 19, 2004
PNNL
Researchers Join 2004 Class of HPS Fellows
Don Bihl and Bruce Napier, researchers at the
Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory, recently were named fellows
of the Health Physics Society. The honorees
were recognized in July at the HPS annual meeting
in Washington, D.C., for their outstanding contributions
to health physics.
Wednesday,
August 18, 2004
Oil
Well Pump Tests May Dramatically Reduce Operating
Costs, Increase Domestic Oil Recovery
A new hydraulic pump currently undergoing near-flawless
field tests at the Department of Energy’s
Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC)
could reduce the operating cost of high-volume
offshore oil wells by 40 percent, adding to
America’s oil reserves and energy security
by prolonging the life of mature oil fields.
Argonne
Researcher Wins Award from Hispanic Engineering
Society
A researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's
Argonne National Laboratory has won the Outstanding
Technical Achievement Award from an Hispanic
engineering organization, the third Argonne
researcher – and the second in a row –
to do so.
A
Better Catalyst for Ammonia Production
Research by scientists at the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory
may help lead to a more efficient catalyst for
ammonia production, one of the country’s
largest industries.
Fermilab
Scientists Present New Physics Results at ICHEP
Beijing
Scientists from the Department of Energy's Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory are presenting
new results from experiments performed at the
world's highest-energy particle accelerator
during the 32nd International Conference on
High Energy Physics in Beijing, China, August
16-22. The physicists from Fermilab and from
universities and laboratories around the world
traveled to Beijing to present new results from
the DZero and CDF experiments.
The
First Engineering of Cell Surfaces in Living
Animals
Four years ago Carolyn Bertozzi, a member of
the Materials Sciences Division at the Department
of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
and a professor of chemistry at the University
of California at Berkeley, introduced a new
way of engineering the surfaces of cells, by
arming cell-surface sugars to take part in a
modified chemical reaction known as the Staudinger
ligation.
Tuesday, August
17, 2004
Secretary
Recognizes 2004 Project Management Awardees
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham recently
recognized the winners of the Secretary of Energy’s
Fourth Annual Project Management Awards at a
ceremony at the Department of Energy. The awards
acknowledge outstanding performance based on
successful completion or near completion of
a project and overall management of the project
or program.
Monday, August
16, 2004
New
Projects Selected to Ensure Energy Security
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
the selection of nine projects totaling $10
million to develop the Nation’s oil and
gas resources and protect the environment. The
new projects, part of the Department of Energy’s
Natural Gas and Oil Environmental Program, will
address issues to further boost President Bush’s
emphasis on energy security.
ORNL
to host Small Business Day Aug. 30
Small businesses interested in working with
four Department of Energy national laboratories
managed or co-managed by the Battelle Memorial
Institute of Columbus, Ohio, may participate
in a two-day conference Aug. 30-31 at DOE's
Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Friday, August
13, 2004
U.S./Canada
Report Details Actions Taken to Reduce Blackout
Risk
The American and Canadian co-leads of the Power
System Outage Task Force, David Meyer and Dr.
Nawal Kamel, have released a joint report called
The
August 14th Blackout One Year Later: Actions
Taken to Reduce Blackout Risk. The report
details key accomplishments over the last year
and identifies major challenges still ahead.
Thursday,
August 12, 2004
Energy
Department Announces 2004 University Coal Research
Recipients
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that 22 universities in 18 states will receive
$3.4 million in fossil energy research grants
through a Department of Energy (DOE) program
that brings science, university students, and
their professors together to advance the study
of new clean and efficient coal-use technologies
and concepts. Southern Illinois University will
receive $49,997 for a clean coal project.
Wednesday,
August 11, 2004
Jefferson
Lab Detector Technology Aids Development of
Cystic Fibrosis Therapy
To study the structure of the nucleus of the
atom, DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator
Facility develops and employs a wide range of
cutting-edge detector technologies. Now, Jefferson
Lab scientists have used their expertise to
build a small animal medical imager that’s
helping researchers develop a new gene therapy
technique for cystic fibrosis.
Near-zero-energy
Buildings Blessing to Owners, Environment
An electricity meter that sometimes runs backwards
is just one of the cool aspects of Department
of Energy near-zero-energy homes.
Tuesday, August
10, 2004
DOE
Completes First Global Threat Reduction Initiative
Shipment Returning Nuclear Fuel to the United
States
In another step in the Bush administration's
efforts under the Department of Energy's (DOE)
new Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI),
a shipment of spent nuclear fuel from three
research reactors in Germany was completed on
August 5.
PNNL
Testing Reliability of Radiation Detectors
A marathon of testing is under way at the Department
of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory to ensure that personal radiation
detection equipment purchased with Department
of Homeland Security funds meets new standards
for identifying potential threats.
Monday, August
9, 2004
Energy
Department to Award Illinois $280,000 for Two
Energy Savings Projects
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide
$280,000 to the state of Illinois for two energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects. Funding
is being provided through DOE’s State Energy
Program Special Projects competitive grants.
Energy
Department to Award $16.3 Million for 162 Energy
Savings Projects
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide
$16,337,695 for 162 energy efficiency and renewable
energy projects in 43 states and the District
of Columbia. Funding is being provided through
DOE’s State Energy Program Special Projects
competitive grants.
Powerful
Results: Abraham Releases Report on Energy Department's
Successful Efforts to Implement the President's
Management Agenda
At the direction of Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
released a report detailing the results of its
department-wide effort to implement management
reforms called for under President Bush’s
Management Agenda (PMA). In July 2004, the Department
of Energy was ranked first among all cabinet
agencies in its efforts to implement the PMA.
Department
of Energy Projects Win R&D Magazine Technology
Awards
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
that researchers at the Department of Energy’s
(DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory
(NETL) and companies conducting DOE-funded research
have won four awards given this year by R&D
Magazine for the most outstanding technology
developments with the greatest commercial potential.
Automated
Science Speeds Solution of Human Genome Data
Scientists in Argonne 's Biosciences
Division are automating and accelerating
the complex processes that coax a protein to
reveal its structure so they can learn the role
Nature assigned it.
The
Telomere Crisis: A Crucial Stage in Breast Cancer
Telomere crisis is an important early event
in the development of breast cancer, and its
occurrence can be identified with precision,
according to recent findings by a team of scientists
at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory and the University of California
at San Francisco. Their report is now available
through advance online publication of Nature
Genetics.
Friday, August
6, 2004
Energy
Secretary Abraham Announces Plan to Help Compensate
Sick Nuclear Workers in Iowa
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has
announced a major breakthrough that should allow
expedited payment of workers’ compensation
claims for the former employees of the Iowa
Army Ammunition plant.
Thursday, August
5, 2004
Research
Reveals Functions of Anti-Cancer Molecule
A research team including Huilin Li, now a scientist
at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven
National Laboratory, has discovered the mechanism
of epothilone A (EpoA), a next-generation cancer
treatment. Now in Phase III clinical trials,
EpoA may avoid many of the problems associated
with paclitaxel (Taxol), the widely used chemotherapeutic
agent, which acts in a similar way. Understanding
these mechanisms may help drug designers create
even more effective drugs.
Tuesday, August
3, 2004
How
They Spent Their Summer Vacation: QuarkNet Students
Experience Real Work of Fermilab Scientists
Inaugurating a new phase of the QuarkNet education
program, four local high school students spent
eight weeks soldering electronic equipment,
writing code for computer programs, analyzing
data from particle physics experiments, standing
shifts in a particle detector control room,
attending lectures and collaboration meetings,
and experiencing the real-life environment and
challenges of scientists at the U.S. Department
of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
Monday, August
2, 2004
U.S.
Energy Secretary Reappoints Connelly to Top
Federal Advisory Board
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has reappointed
Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications
and Energy Commissioner James Connelly to serve
on the Department of Energy’s Electricity
Advisory Board.
New
Light on How Metals Change Shape at the Nanoscale
A nanocrystalline metal is one whose average
grain size is measured in billionths of a meter,
much smaller than in most ordinary metals. As
the grain size of a metal shrinks, it can become
many times stronger, but it also usually loses
ductility. To take advantage of increasing strength
with decreasing grain size, researchers must
first understand a fundamental problem: by what
processes do nanosized crystals of metal stretch,
bend, or otherwise deform under strain?
Physicists
Discover Dramatic Difference in Behavior of
Matter Versus Antimatter
Physicists conducting the BaBar experiment at
the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC),
a Department of Energy laboratory operated by
Stanford University, announced exciting new
results demonstrating a dramatic difference
in the behavior of matter and antimatter. They
submitted their results to the journal Physical
Review Letters for online publication.
Friday, July
30, 2004
Energy
Department Issues Three Advance Notices of Proposed
Rulemaking for Appliance Energy Efficiency Standards
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has announced
the upcoming publication of Advance Notices
of Proposed Rulemaking regarding energy efficiency
standards for three products: distribution transformers,
commercial air conditioners and heat pumps,
and residential furnaces and boilers. Each of
these products will be the subject of an upcoming
public meeting at which the Department of Energy
(DOE) will summarize its analysis and seek public
comment.
Thursday,
July 29, 2004
Energy
Department Awards Illinois $13.85 Million to
Weatherize Homes of Low-Income Families
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has announced
the award of $13.85 million to the State of
Illinois to improve the energy efficiency of
the homes of low-income families. This amount
is part of a July 1 award of $94.8 million to
20 states.
Wednesday,
July 26, 2004
President's
Clean Coal Initiative Attracts "Second
Wave" of Technologies to Address Environmental,
Energy Priorities
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced it
has received proposals for projects in a new
generation of clean coal projects, valued at
nearly $6 billion, in the latest phase of the
President’s Clean Coal Power Initiative
(CCPI).
Friday, July
23, 2004
Energy
Secretary Abraham Directs Complex-Wide Stand-Down
of Classified Operations Using Controlled Removable
Electronic Media
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today ordered
that all Department of Energy (DOE) operations
using such controlled removable electronic media
(CREM) as classified hard drives or computer
discs conduct an immediate stand-down to improve
procedures for protecting such media.
Wednesday,
July 21, 2004
Energy
Department Announces Resignation of James Glotfelty,
Director of Office of Electric Transmission
and Distribution
The Department of Energy announced the resignation
of James Glotfelty, Director of the Office of
Electric Transmission and Distribution (OETD)
effective August 2, 2004. The office’s
current deputy director, William Parks, will
be the acting director of the office.
Monday, July
19, 2004
PNNL
Wins Three R&D 100 Awards, Shares a Fourth
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been
honored with three R&D 100 Awards for 2004,
while four additional PNNL researchers share
an R&D 100 Award with Battelle for their
work on a Battelle-funded project.
Fuel
Cells to Advance Zero-Emissions Energy
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced
a new phase of fuel-cell research designed to
hasten the wider availability of zero-emissions
energy. Eleven new projects with total value
of nearly $4.2 million, including private-sector
cost-sharing of more than 20 percent, focus
on solving the remaining issues in developing
solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) systems for commercial
use.
Implementing
Agreement Signed With Romania Under the Newly
Created Global Threat Reduction Initiative
In the most recent step in the Administration’s
efforts to secure nuclear materials at potentially
vulnerable sites in the world, the United States
and Romania signed an implementing agreement
to accelerate the groundwork for future work
on nuclear nonproliferation activities.
Friday, July
16, 2004
'Flying'
Nanotubes are Strong and Hard
Diamonds are the hardest known substance. Carbon
nanotubes are the strongest. Scientists at the
U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National
Laboratory tried to combine the best of both
worlds by creating a composite nanostructure.
They wanted to grow tiny carbon tubes with tiny
diamonds.
Wednesday,
July 14, 2004
Argonne
Scientists Determine Structure of Staph, Anthrax
Enzyme
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's
Argonne National Laboratory and the University
of Chicago have determined the crystal structure
of sortase B, an enzyme found in the bacteria
that cause staph and anthrax. While an antibiotic
is probably five to seven years away, the structure
could provide the first clue in developing a
treatment for the infections.
ORNL
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