Crystallography for the Misfit Crystals
January 19th, 2022As the name implies, crystallography requires crystals – specifically, purified samples of the molecule of interest, coaxed into a crystal form. But most molecules form powders composed of jumbled granules, not picture-ready crystals. A new computer algorithm, combined with a state-of-the-art laser, can adapt X-ray crystallography for the many not-so-neat-and-tidy compounds that scientists seek to study.
Three Berkeley Lab Scientists Receive AAAS Fellowship
January 27th, 2022Three staff researchers and one affiliate have been elected into the 2021 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
National Labs Support Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal by Studying Safety Material for Underground Sites
January 18th, 2022Geoscientists from Berkeley Lab and two other DOE National Laboratories, Sandia and Los Alamos, are collaborating on the HotBENT project. This international field experiment is evaluating how well the natural, clay-based material (bentonite) placed around canisters of buried, high-level nuclear waste retains its safety functions when exposed to simulated long-term heating.
Electricity Regulation with Equity and Justice for All
January 14th, 2022Advancing Equity in Utility Regulation, a new report published by Berkeley Lab, makes a unifying case that utilities, regulators, and stakeholders need to prioritize energy equity in the deployment of clean energy technologies and resources.
Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Creates Largest 3D Map of the Cosmos
January 13th, 2022The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has capped off the first seven months of its survey run by smashing through all previous records for three-dimensional galaxy surveys, creating the largest and most detailed map of the universe ever.
Technique Tunes Into Graphene Nanoribbons’ Electronic Potential
December 22nd, 2021Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have discovered how to directly measure the unique magnetic properties of superthin graphene nanoribbons. The breakthrough could lead to high-speed, low-power nanoscale data storage technologies.
Berkeley Lab’s Top 10 Science Stories of 2021
December 21st, 2021Dealing with our climate crisis continues to be top of mind, although batteries, magnets, and exotic elements also captured the imagination.