Friday, December 30, 2005

Biologists and Computer Scientists Join Forces to Lead Biology Revolution
Just as computers assist detectives in finding people by comparing fingerprints from crime scenes with millions in databases, Argonne scientists are using computers to mine genetic information from pathogens, people and plants. This information is essential to progress in medical science and biotechnology.

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Energy Department Requests Proposals for Advanced Scientific Computing Research
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have issued a joint Request for Proposals for advanced scientific computing research. DOE expects to fund $67 million annually for three years to five years under its Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) research program.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Spallation Neutron Source Amazing Science Facts
The New Year is bringing the science community a grand present: The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. On schedule for completion in 2006, the Department of Energy's new science facility will provide researchers with the world's most powerful and most advanced tool for analyzing a host of materials with neutrons.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Los Alamos National Security LLC Selected to Manage Los Alamos National Laboratory
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman has announced that Los Alamos National Security LLC has been selected to be the management and operations contractor for Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

ORNL's Thin Film Lithium Technology May Power Christmas of the Future
Battery-powered toys, radios, and portable electronic devices make fun Christmas gifts - until the batteries run down. But advances in rechargeable thin-film lithium battery technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory might one day provide a solution to the dead-battery dilemma.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Department of Energy Awards $2.2 Million to Save Energy in the Pulp and Paper Industry
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $2.2 million in research and development grants for projects to save energy in the pulp and paper industry. The research will focus on removing water from pulp in the paper making process and determining the technical and commercial feasibility of next generation manufacturing concepts.

Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Increases Carbon Retention in Soil
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory – with collaborators from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Kansas State University and Texas A&M University– have shown that soils in temperate ecosystems might play a larger role in helping to offset rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2 ) concentrations than earlier studies had suggested. Results of the new study are published in the current issue of Global Change Biology.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Energy Department Sets Tougher Standards for Clothes Washers to Qualify for the ENERGY STAR® Label
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced tougher standards for clothes washers to qualify for the ENERGY STAR® label, which lets American families identify which clothes washers save the most energy and use the least water. The new standards take effect January 1, 2007, and will increase the efficiency of new clothes washers up to 37 percent. The more energy-efficient clothes washers will have the potential to save up to $70 million in energy bills and 8.9 billion gallons of water each year.

AMES Lab Alloy Could Boost Next Generation Jet Fighter
The next generation of jet fighter aircraft could fly farther and faster thanks to a new high-strength aluminum alloy prepared at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. The new alloy is one material being developed for use in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a cutting-edge aircraft that will see widespread use as the primary fighter for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marines as well as U.S. allies abroad.

Argonne Wins $5 Million NIH Grant to Study Membrane Proteins for Drug Development
Biologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have been awarded a $5 million, five-year research grant from the National Institute of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH/NIGMS) to study membrane proteins, important for pharmaceutical development.

Friday, December 2, 2005

Department of Energy Launches Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Progress E-Alerts
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has launched a new free e-bulletin to announce new and significant developments in EERE's programs and research. The “EERE Progress Alerts” will be sent via email and posted online as new developments in technology research occur.

New Insights Into Protein Synthesis and Hepatitis C Infections
Scientists have uncovered key new information towards understanding the crucial first step in protein synthesis, the process by which the genetic code, harbored within DNA and copied into RNA, is translated into the production of proteins. This new information also helps to explain how viruses, such as Hepatitis C, are able to highjack protein synthesis machinery in humans for their own purposes.

Thursday, December 1, 2005

DOE Awards $6.3 Billion Contract Extension for Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a five-year, $6.3 billion extension to its current management and operating contractor, UT-Battelle, LLC, for the continued operation of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the Department’s Under Secretary David Garman announced during remarks to the East Tennessee Economic Council today.

DOE Announces Two New Senior Appointments
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman has announced two new senior appointments by naming Ingrid Kolb as Director of the Office of Management and Tom Pyke as Chief Information Officer for the Department of Energy (DOE).

Picking Particles Faster Than One at a Time
Computer scientists and biologists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed software that can select tens of thousands of high-quality images of biological molecules from electron microgaphs, rapidly and automatically, with accuracy approaching that of experienced human analysts.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005

DOE Launches New Website Aimed at Improving Industrial Energy Savings
Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman has announced the launch of a new website providing U.S. manufacturing plants a quick and easy way to sign up for the Department of Energy’s Industrial Energy Saving Teams program. The program, launched on October 3, 2005 as part of a national energy saving effort, seeks to improve the energy efficiency of America’s most energy-intensive manufacturing facilities through comprehensive energy assessments.

Thursday, November 3, 2005

Federal Government Increases Renewable Energy Use Over 1000 Percent since 1999; Exceeds Goal
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that the federal government has exceeded its goal of obtaining 2.5 percent of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by September 30, 2005. The largest energy consumer in the nation, the federal government now uses 2375 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy -- enough to power 225,000 homes or a city the size of El Paso, Texas, for a year.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Department of Energy Seeks Public Comment on Designation of Energy Corridors in the West
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it and several other federal agencies will host eleven public meetings to discuss the designation of multi-purpose energy corridors on federal lands in the western United States.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

DOE-Funded Researchers Honored by R&D Magazine
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman congratulated the leader of the Department of Energy’s Artificial Retina Project, who has been honored as R&D Magazine’s “Innovator of the Year.” Secretary Bodman also congratulated the researchers at DOE national laboratories who won 29 of the 100 awards given this year by the magazine for the most outstanding technology developments with commercial potential.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

'Physics of the Blues' to Air on 203 TV Stations
A video featuring an explanation of “The Physics of the Blues” by Murray Gibson, Argonne's Associate Laboratory Director for Scientific User Facilities, will air on 203 TV stations starting this weekend. The video will be featured on “Teen Kids News,” a syndicated television program from My Weekly Reader.

Friday, October 14, 2005

GREETing a Cleaner, More Energy-Efficient Future
With gas prices soaring, the fuel and vehicle options open to Americans are more varied than ever. But what fuel and vehicle combination provides the lowest total emissions with the highest energy efficiency?

Thursday, October 13, 2005

U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman Demonstrates "Easy Ways to Save Energy" This Winter
U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman visited Lowe’s Home Improvement Store to highlight easy and inexpensive ways consumers can reduce their energy bills this winter. With higher home heating costs expected over the next several months, all citizens and businesses are encouraged to take simple steps to reduce their energy consumption. This visit to Louisville is Energy Secretary Bodman’s second stop on the national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Fuel Economy Information for 2006 Models Now Available
The U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released the 2006 Fuel Economy Guide to help consumers make well-informed choices when purchasing a new vehicle.

Deputy Secretary of Energy Demonstrates "Easy Ways to Save Energy" This Winter
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell was joined by Rep. Mike Castle to highlight easy and inexpensive ways consumers can reduce their energy bills this winter. With higher home heating costs expected over the next several months, all citizens and businesses are encouraged to take simple steps to reduce their energy consumption. This visit to Wilmington is Deputy Secretary Sell’s first stop on the national “Easy Ways to Save Energy” campaign.

Monday, October 3, 2005

Energy Secretary Bodman Kicks Off National "Easy Ways to Save Energy" Campaign
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman unveiled a comprehensive national campaign to highlight how American families, businesses and the federal government can save energy in response to rising winter energy costs.

Energy Department Awards $92 Million for Genomics Research
The Department of Energy has announced research awards totaling $92 million for six projects to better understand microbes and microbial communities. The microbial world and biotechnology promise solutions to major Energy Department challenges in: energy, including the production of ethanol and hydrogen; cleanup of pollution at former nuclear weapons production sites; and minimizing global warming by controlling the cycling of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

New Training Course Focuses on Public Health Emergency Preparation
In light of the growing threat of infectious disease epidemics, bioterrorism and natural disasters, the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has produced a new training course on public health emergency preparedness.

Monday, September 26, 2005

President Discusses Hurricane Effects on Energy Supply
On Monday, President Bush came to the headquarters of the Department of Energy (DOE) to get a briefing on the Nation's energy infrastructure from Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman and Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

Energy Department Awards $2.6 Million to Boost Combustion Efficiency in Industrial Boilers
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of three new combustion technology research and development (R&D) projects that will receive nearly $2.6 million in total cost-shared funding over the next two years. The selected R&D teams plan to develop advanced industrial boilers that deliver superior energy and environmental performance.

Volunteers Welcome at Fermilab's Prairie Harvest on Oct. 1 and 29
Continuing its long-term prairie reconstruction project, the Department of Energy's Fermilab again invites neighbors and friends to help harvest prairie flower seeds. The harvesting will take place on Saturday, October 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. A second harvesting will take place on Saturday, October 29, again from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

DOE Releases Draft Strategic Plan for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Deployment of Advanced Technology
The Department of Energy has released for public review and comment a plan for accelerating the development and reducing the cost of new and advanced technologies that avoid, reduce, or capture and store greenhouse gas emissions – the technology component of a comprehensive U.S. approach to climate change.

AMES Lab Chemists Resolve Century-Old Controversy
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory on the Iowa State University campus have resolved the 100-year-old debate over the mechanism that triggers one of the most powerful oxidizing reactions available for breaking apart organic molecules. The Ames team has generated, characterized and ruled out iron(IV), an obscure and short-lived (half-life of seven seconds) intermediate, as the crucial substance in the Fenton reaction, a tremendously important, complex and pervasive reaction in matters associated with biological systems, environmental and atmospheric processes, and catalytic chemistry.

Collaborative Cross to Provide Powerful Resource for Mouse Model Researchers Worldwide
A thousand new strains of mice being bred at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of an international effort will provide researchers with a powerful resource for studying human disease.

Monday, Sepember 19, 2005

DOE Announces Additional Loan of Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman has announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) approved a seventh loan request for crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The agreement with Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc., for 600,000 barrels of sour crude takes the total volume DOE has agreed to loan to 13.2 million barrels.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Energy Secretary Bodman Tours Alabama Red Cross Facility and Attends National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service with Governor Riley
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman traveled to Montgomery, Alabama, to commemorate a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance in honor of victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Secretary Bodman Announces Sale of 11 Million Barrels of Crude Oil from the Nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced that the Department of Energy has approved bids for the sale of 11 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Combined with the 12.6 million barrels of crude previously approved for loans these SPR releases, in response to the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina, will provide 23.6 million barrels of crude for the U.S. market.

DOE Signs Decision to Move Moab Tailings
U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that a Record of Decision (ROD) clearing the way for the removal of 11.9 million tons of radioactive Uranium Mill Tailings from the banks the Colorado River in Utah has been signed. Under the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project Site Record of Decision, the tailings will be moved, predominately by rail, to the proposed Crescent Junction, Utah, site more than 30 miles from the Colorado River.

Making Plant Cells Work Like Miniature Factories
The biotech field of genomics gives scientists genetic roadmaps to link certain genes to diseases. The subsequent study of proteins produced by certain genes spawned the field of proteomics.

Helping Out a High-Temperature Superconductor
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a way to significantly increase the amount of electric current carried by a high-temperature superconductor, a material that conducts electricity with no resistance.

Hot Topics Featured at World Year of Physics Symposium for Students and Teachers, Saturday, October 8 from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Fermilab's Ramsey Auditorium
Some of the hottest topics in the field of physics today, ranging from "Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe," to "The Warpings of Spacetime" and "The Coming Revolutions in Particle Physics," will energize the World Year of Physics Symposium for Students and Teachers, to be held on Saturday, October 8, 2005 in Ramsey Auditorium at the Department of Energy's Fermilab.

Friday, September 9, 2005

DOE's Office of Science Sets up Program to Aid Scientists Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science has established a program to assist scientists displaced by the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Wednesday, September 7, 2005

Study Examines Role of Cannabinoid Receptors in Alcohol Abuse
A new set of experiments in mice confirms that a brain receptor associated with the reinforcing effects of marijuana also helps to stimulate the rewarding and pleasurable effects of alcohol. The research, which was conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and was published online September 2, 2005 by the journal Behavioural Brain Research, confirms a genetic basis for susceptibility to alcohol abuse and also suggests that drugs designed to block these receptors could be useful in treatment.

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Energy Department Expands Gas Gouging Reporting System to Include 1-800 Number: 1-800-244-3301
Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced today that the Department of Energy has expanded its gas gouging reporting system to include a toll-free telephone hotline. The hotline is available to American consumers starting today.

Smoking Damages Key Regulatory Enzyme in the Lung
Smoking appears to reduce a key enzyme in the lungs, possibly contributing to some of smoking’s deleterious health effects, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and their collaborators. The study, which used a radiotracer to track the enzyme, also shows that smokers had a lower concentration of the tracer in the bloodstream than nonsmokers did, leading to speculation that smokers and nonsmokers may respond differently to a variety of substances administered by inhalation or intravenously, including therapeutic, anesthetic, and addictive drugs.

Saturday, September 3, 2005

President Bush Directs Energy Secretary to Draw Down Strategic Petroleum Reserve
U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman released a statement regarding President Bush’s historic decision to authorize the drawdown and sale of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Friday, September 2, 2005

Secretary of Energy Welcomes International Response to Hurricane Katrina
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman released a statement regarding today’s announcement by the International Energy Agency.

Department of Energy Announces Two Additional Loans of Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that the Department of Energy has approved two additional loans of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Department of Energy Response to Hurricane Katrina
Secretary Bodman is leading the most comprehensive response effort to a natural disaster in the history of the Department of Energy (DOE). Even before Hurricane Katrina came ashore, the Department began its work to restore the many significant portions of our nation’s energy infrastructure affected by the storm.

Thursday, September 1, 2005

Department of Energy Announces Loan of Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that the Department of Energy has approved a request for a loan of 6 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Department of Energy Announces Second Loan of Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that the Department of Energy has approved an additional loan request of one million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Department of Energy Announces Third Loan of Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that the Department of Energy has approved another loan request of 1.5 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Argonne Expert Addresses Energy, Environmental Impacts of Fuel Ethanol
A recent national debate has arisen over the net energy and environmental benefits of ethanol as a substitute for gasoline in transportation fuels. Argonne researcher Michael Wang, a world-leading expert in this field, presented the results of his research at the Ethanol Energy Open Forum, sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Split Beamlines can Double Research Capacity at Advanced Photon Source
A new beamline dedicated this summer at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) sets a new standard for structural biology research at synchrotrons. The GM/CA CAT facility exploits the latest technology to double the number of beamlines and create finer X-ray beams to capture data from hard-to-study biomolecules.

Midwest Center for Structural Genomics: Filling the Structural Biology Pipeline
Faster, easier-to-use X-ray beamlines, such as those operated by the new GM/CA CAT, are allowing researchers to increase the pace of determining atomic structures of biomolecules important to life. This structural information will help reveal the roles that proteins play in health and disease and lead to structure-based medicines and therapies to treat genetic and infectious diseases.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Argonne Taps IBM Blue Gene for DOE INCITE Program
A new collaboration between IBM and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory will provide significant enhancements to computer capabilities available to scientific researchers around the world. IBM and Argonne have agreed to augment Argonne's INCITE computer capacity with compute cycles on IBM's Blue Gene system at IBM T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Berkeley Lab Scientist Sees Risk to Insurance Industry From Climate Change
The insured share of the world’s total economic losses from weather-related catastrophes is rising, increasing from a negligible fraction in the 1950s to 25 percent in the last decade, says a scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The ratio has climbed more quickly in the United States, with more than 40-percent of the total losses insured in the 1990s.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Argonne, Purdue-Calumet Agree on Water Research, Economic Development
Researchers from Purdue University Calumet and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory today signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on applied research to advance knowledge in water resources and support regional economic development.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Fermilab Education Office Brings World Year of Physics Back to Area Classrooms for the New School Year
The Education Office of the Department of Energy's Fermilab greets the new school year with another complete program of classroom presentations to celebrate the World Year of Physics, marking the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "Miraculous Year."

Friday, August 5, 2005

Inspection Technologies Protect and Enhance Materials for Power Plants
In modern healthcare, doctors use imaging tools – such as X-ray computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance and ultrasound – to see beneath the patient's skin without making a single incision. Researchers in Argonne's Energy Technology Division (ET) are adapting these and other technologies to evaluate critical components of modern energy systems that push the limits to achieve maximum efficiency.

Thursday, August 4, 2005

New DOE Program Funds $20 Million for Mathematics Research
Under a new program funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, researchers will use mathematics to help solve problems such as the production of clean energy, pollution cleanup, manufacturing ever smaller computer chips, and making new “nanomaterials.” Thirteen major research awards totaling $20 million will go to 17 universities and eight DOE national laboratories.

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Friday, July 29, 2005

Secretary of Energy's Statement on the Senate Passage of the Energy Bill
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman released a statement regarding Senate passage of the energy bill.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Malaria Mechanism Revealed
By determining the molecular structure of a protein that enables malaria parasites to invade red blood cells, researchers have uncovered valuable clues for rational antimalarial drug design and vaccine development. The findings are reported in the July 29 issue of the journal Cell.

Groundbreaking Combustion Research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Featured on Cover of Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences
Computational and combustion scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have earned national recognition in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) with a cover article about unparalleled computer simulations of turbulent flames.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

JLab FEL Wins R&D 100 Award
Researchers and engineers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) have been awarded an R&D 100 Award, R&D Magazine's picks for the 100 most technologically significant new products of 2005. This is Jefferson Lab's second R&D 100 award.

Argonne Researcher Wins $1 Million Math Project Award
Hans G. Kaper, researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, has received a $1 million grant from DOE's Office of Science to study a multiscale approach to self-organization of microtubules.

A Gold Mine for Science
It is the deepest mine in the United States and was the site of the single largest gold deposit ever found in the Western Hemisphere. What has, for the past 125 years, been known as the Homestake gold mine, outside the town of Lead, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, could become the home of an enormous underground multipurpose national scientific laboratory.

Friday, July 22, 2005

New Bioreactor Could Pave Way for Chemical Feed Stocks from Biomass
When Argonne biochemical engineer Seth Snyder drives past a corn field on the outskirts of Chicago, he sees the potential to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil while benefiting rural economies. Snyder and his colleagues in Argonne's Energy Systems (ES) Division are partners with agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), Decatur, Ill., in a cooperative research and development agreement to develop a technology that turns corn sugars into valuable chemicals.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

“Tall” Crystals from Tiny Templates
Achieving a first in the world of novel optical materials, researchers at the U. S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory are making 3-D photonic band gap crystals four millimeters square (approximately one-eighth of an inch square) and 12 layers high without benefit of a “clean room” environment or the multimillion dollar equipment traditionally required to create such structures. The fundamental research, supported by the Basic Energy Sciences Office of the DOE’s Office of Science, holds potential for significantly reducing the costs associated with fabricating PBG crystals, devices that make it possible to route, manipulate and modify the properties of light.

Seven Projects Receive Argonne-University of Chicago ‘seed grants' for Collaborative Research
The University of Chicago's Board of Governors for Argonne has selected seven proposals for Collaborative Research Seed Grants for 2005.

Meet the Fermilab Director Pier Oddone at Ask-a-Scientist program on Sunday, August 7
Fermilab Director Pier Oddone, who took office on July 1, will be the guest speaker at the lab’s Ask-a-Scientist program on Sunday, August 7, at 1 p.m. Now in its third year, the monthly program gives lab visitors the chance to meet scientists and to ask them questions ranging from “Who was Fermi?” to “What is antimatter?”

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

ORNL Mirrors Powerful Tools for Studying Micro-, Nano-materials
Precision mirrors to focus X-rays and neutron beams could speed the path to new materials and perhaps help explain why computers, cell phones and satellites go on the blink.

Congressional Testimony on the Role of Basic Research for the Hydrogen Economy
George Crabtree, Argonne Senior Scientist and Director of the Materials Science Division, testified about the role of basic research for the hydrogen economy before the Energy and Research subcommittees of the House Science Committee.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Brookhaven Lab, Kansas State University, and Yinnel Tech, Inc. Win a R&D 100 Award for Developing a Novel Radiation Detector
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Kansas State University and Yinnel Tech, Inc., of South Bend, Indiana, have won a 2005 R&D 100 Award for developing a highly efficient, low-cost radiation detector. The detector can be used for homeland security applications, nuclear medical imaging, environmental monitoring and cleanup, galactic events studies, and nuclear-weapons safeguards.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Energy Department Awards $92.5 Million to 19 States to Weatherize Homes of Low-Income Families
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced that $92.5 million has been awarded to 19 states to improve the energy efficiency of low-income family homes. The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program makes improvements such as plugging air leaks, improving insulation and tuning air conditioning and heating systems, which reduces energy waste and lowers energy bills. Through DOE’s weatherization program, approximately 92,300 homes will be upgraded this year.

Friday, July 8, 2005

Argonne Wins Four R&D 100 Awards for Scientific, Technological Innovation
Advances in technology ranging from help for victims of Parkinson's disease and epilepsy to more efficient combustion in industrial furnaces are likely with award-winning research at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and its partners.

Bad Cholesterol: Genes Make the Difference
Why does it seem like some people can eat all the ice cream they want without increasing their cholesterol or gaining much weight, while others with high cholesterol have to watch their diets like a hawk? Because no matter what their lifestyle, people's genes play an overriding role in their cholesterol response.

Thursday, July 7, 2005

Berkeley Lab Wins Three Prestigious R&D 100 Awards for Technology Advances
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have garnered three R&D 100 Awards, R&D Magazine's picks for the 100 most technologically significant new products of 2005. This is the first time since 1992 that Berkeley Lab has captured three of the prestigious awards in a single year, bringing the Lab's total of these "Oscars of Invention" to 37.

Wednesday, July 6, 2005

Emergency-response Software is Largest Technology License in Argonne History
All Hazards Management, LLC, of Denver, Colorado has obtained worldwide exclusive rights to the Sync Matrix technology portfolio, a unique toolset of emergency preparedness software and systematic, structured services developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

Argonne Wins Diversity and Multiculturalism Best Practices Award
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory won the Diversity and Multiculturalism Best Practices award – one of the top 10 “Elite” awards of Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For – presented by the National Association for Business Resources. The awards recognize companies that use innovative practices and tools in human resources activities.

AMES Laboratory Scientists Win R&D 100 Award for a Discovery that Improves Jet Engines
Two researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University have won a prestigious R&D 100 Award for a coating that may allow gas turbine engines in jet aircraft and other power-generating technologies to better withstand severe, high-temperature environments.

PNNL Wins Prestigious R&D 100 Award for Airline Safety Software
The Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has earned a 2005 R&D 100 Award for a computer software product called the Morning Report, which is being used to improve airline safety.

Cancer Comes Full Circle
Researchers in the Life Sciences Division of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered a key molecular pathway by which an enzyme that normally helps remodel tissues initiates the pathway to breast cancer. The same molecular pathway, the researchers found, links both the loss of tissue organization in cancerous organs and the loss of genomic stability in individual cancer cells.

Friday, July 1, 2005

$50 Million Grant Will Aid Studies of Protein Structures
Proteins are the molecular machines that make growth possible, and understanding their structure is key to developing pharmaceuticals, A new window to that understanding is being made possible under a $50 million grant to the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

Monday, June 27, 2005

Brookhaven Scientists Create a New Nanostructure
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have devised a method to create a new, intriguing nanostructure: ultra-thin, ribbon-like "nanobelts" bound to nanotubes. Their research achieves several "firsts" in the field of nanoscience, the study of materials on the scale of a billionth of a meter. Additionally, the new structure, described in the June 4, 2005, online version of Nano Letters, is likely to have unique electrical and mechanical properties, and may be useful in many developing nanotechnologies.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Douglas L. Faulkner Named Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Douglas L. Faulkner has been named Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), following the confirmation of David K. Garman as Under Secretary of Energy for Energy, Science and Environment.

Argonne Researchers Becoming Nation's Experts in Lithium-battery Technology
Next-generation soldiers will wear vests with a battery to power the many high-tech devices that modern soldiers use in battle. Argonne – the nation's expert in lithium battery research – is developing the materials and cell chemistry for that battery.

Building a Better Virtual Raindrop
A new way of mathematically modeling the formation of rain drops in clouds may improve our understanding of Earth’s climate, cloud formation and movement, and the effect that small airborne particles have on rainfall. In a paper published online by Geophysical Research Letter the week of June 20, 2005, atmospheric physicist Yangang Liu and atmospheric chemists Peter Daum and Robert McGraw of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory present a new model, which, they say, helps to overcome some of the shortfalls of previous approaches.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

David K. Garman Sworn in as Under Secretary of Energy
David K. Garman was sworn in as Under Secretary of Energy for Energy, Science and Environment at a small ceremony held at the Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Mr. Garman was sworn in by Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman after being unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on Wednesday, June 15, 2005.

Unlocking Hydrogen's Fuel Potential
Hydrogen is being touted as the fuel of the future, a clean-burning, renewable and inexpensive replacement for petroleum. But a major stumbling block for hydrogen-powered vehicles is figuring out a way to carry enough hydrogen onboard to travel even moderate distances between refueling stops.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Genomic Sequences Processed in Minutes, Rather than Weeks
A new computational tool developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is speeding up our understanding of the machinery of life – bringing us one step closer to curing diseases, finding safer ways to clean the environment and protecting the country against biological threats.

Friday, June 17, 2005

G-Zero Finds that Ghostly Strange Quarks Influence Proton Structure
In research performed at the Department of Energy's Jefferson Lab, nuclear physicists have found that strange quarks do contribute to the structure of the proton. This result indicates that, just as previous experiments have hinted, strange quarks in the proton's quark-gluon sea contribute to a proton's properties. The result comes from work performed by the G-Zero collaboration, an international group of 108 physicists from 19 institutions and was presented at a Jefferson Lab physics seminar June 17.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Argonne Scientists Receive Distinguished Performance Awards
Five scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have received the 2005 University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne Distinguished Performance Award, which recognizes outstanding scientific or technical achievements or a distinguished record of achievements.

Argonne Employees Honored for Outstanding Service
Four employees of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have received the 2005 University of Chicago Board of Governors for Argonne Outstanding Service Award, the highest honor the university gives to Argonne employees in support positions.

Argonne Director Discusses Key Science Issues with Media
Robert Rosner, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, appeared this month on a number of Washington, D.C., TV and radio news programs to discuss key issues related to nuclear waste, sustainable energy and the importance of women and other minorities in science programs.

New "biosensor" Screens Air Force Personnel and Equipment for Contamination – Within Minutes
Air Force personnel will soon know within minutes if they or their equipment are contaminated with a biological agent, thanks to a new technology developed by the Air Force and a national laboratory.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Media Invited to Attend Pierre Auger Observatory Celebration, to be Held November 9-11, 2005 in Malargüe, Argentina
Scientists of the Pierre Auger Observatory, a project to study the highest-energy cosmic rays, will hold a celebration to mark the presentation of the first physics results from the nearly-completed detector array in Malargüe, Argentina, from November 9 to November 11, 2005. Media representatives wishing to attend should make arrangements as soon as possible, and should begin by contacting Rosa Pacheco at the Pierre Auger Southern Observatory (+54 2627) 471 562, email: augercelebration@auger.org.ar. Sign-up through the Web site is also available at www.interactions.org/auger/.

Monday, June 13, 2005

Energy Secretary Bodman Kicks Off "Energizing America for Energy Security" Tour with Visit to Habitat for Humanity "Net-Zero Energy Home"
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman kicked off the "Energizing America for Energy Security" Tour with a visit to Habitat for Humanity’s first "true net-zero energy home" to highlight the need to improve energy efficiency, a key component of President Bush’s National Energy Policy (NEP). The NEP calls for using energy wisely by increasing energy conservation and efficiency.

Argonne Researchers Receive Presidential Early Career Awards
Physicist John Arrington and computer scientist Robert B. Ross of the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory today received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) to recognize their contribution to the advancement of science.

Two Brookhaven Lab Physicists Honored with Presidential Early Career Awards For Scientists and Engineers
Two physicists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory – Paul Vaska and Zhangbu Xu – were among 58 researchers honored in Washington, DC today as recipients of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Energy Secretary Bodman Announces SPR Fill to be Complete in August
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced that the planned fill of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) will be complete in August, when the SPR reaches 700 million barrels of oil. President Bush directed the fill in November 2001 as a means to strengthen the nation's energy security in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. When the fill is complete, the President’s decision will have added approximately 159 million barrels of crude oil to the nation’s emergency stockpile.

Argonne Research Could Lead to Cooler Aluminum Production
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and NorandaFalconbridge, Inc. are developing a way to produce aluminum at significantly reduced temperatures. The collaborative research effort could eventually lead to significant reductions in the energy costs and emissions of greenhouse gases associated with aluminum production.

Argonne's Near-frictionless Carbon Coatings Find New Use
A research collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the Kurt J. Lesker Company will study the durability of nearly frictionless carbon surface coatings in high-performance, vacuum environments.

Thursday, June 9, 2005

Department of Energy Advances Commercialization of Climate Change Technology
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman in a speech before the National Coal Council in Washington, DC today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $100 million to further develop carbon sequestration technologies used to capture and permanently store greenhouse gases. The research is part of President Bush’s Global Climate Change Initiative, which is designed to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent by 2012 in part through the development of significant sequestration technologies.

Energy Department Announces Second Solar Decathlon
The U.S. Department of Energy announced that 18 teams from the United States, Canada and Spain will travel to Washington, DC on October 7-16, 2005 to participate in the second solar decathlon competition to be held on the National Mall. The solar decathlon presents cutting edge architecture, engineering, and technology all of which can all be applied in building homes to generate their own energy, not simply consume it.

Secretary of Energy Announces New Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman announced the completion of the merger of the former Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution and Office of Energy Assurance into the new Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability (OE) whose goal is to lead national efforts to modernize the electric grid, enhance security and reliability of the energy infrastructure, and facilitate recovery from disruptions to energy supply.

Secretary of Energy to Kick Off "Energizing America for Energy Security" Tour
Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced the "Energizing America for Energy Security" Tour. Secretary Bodman and other Department of Energy officials, including Deputy Secretary Clay Sell, will travel the country this summer to speak directly to the American people about the need for Congress to pass comprehensive energy legislation before the August Congressional recess.

Wednesday, June 1, 2005

Argonne Named One of “Chicago's 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work For”
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has been named one of “ Chicago 's 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work for” by the National Association of Business Resources. The award is made even more significant by the organization's decision to recognize only 40 area organizations on this year's list.

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Keep Your Cool and Save Money Too: Summer Energy-Saving Tips from the Department of Energy
Save money and keep your cool this summer by saving energy. As part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) continuing outreach and education efforts, here are some easy, energy saving tips that are also available in a free guide for consumers. By following a few easy, common sense guidelines, properly maintaining or upgrading your air conditioner, adding insulation and taking other easy energy-saving measures, you can cut your energy bills by 10 to 50 percent.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Argonne-designed Instruments Vital in RHIC Discovery
Argonne researchers played a significant role in research that led to the surprising finding of a possible ideal liquid instead of the expected quark-gluon plasma at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC).

Berkeley Lab Scientist Proposes Solution to Reduce Developing World’s Expensive, Polluting Fuel-Based Lighting
The use of highly-efficient, cost-effective white light-emitting diodes as a replacement for inefficient, polluting kerosene lamps common in the developing world, could potent