Feature Articles

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 21-Jun-2026 08:16 ET (21-Jun-2026 12:16 GMT/UTC)

Berkeley Lab researchers record successful startup of LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter detector at Sanford Underground Research Facility

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Deep below the Black Hills of South Dakota in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), an innovative and uniquely sensitive dark matter detector - the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment, led by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) - has passed a check-out phase of startup operations and delivered first results.

Céline Bonfils : Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner

DOE/US Department of Energy

Physicist Céline Bonfils studies the multiple influences affecting climate change. Her team identified these “fingerprints” in historical climate simulations to help separate the signals from the noise in observations.

The futuristic South Pole Telescope looks far back in time

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

Designed to detect the oldest light in the universe, the South Pole Telescope is helping researchers at Argonne and around the world to learn about the beginnings of the universe.

Cooking up a conductive alternative to copper with aluminum

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The first-ever simulation of aluminum conductivity offers a recipe for an inexpensive, lightweight alternative to copper.

Journal: Physical Review B

Pioneering partnership opens doors to a new generation of engineers

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

In a pioneering partnership, Argonne, the DOE Packaging Certification Program, the University of Nevada, Reno, and other DOE national labs are helping to meet demand for new expertise in nuclear packaging by offering a novel graduate certificates program that trains future leaders in the field.

Small business test promising new battery at INL

DOE/Idaho National Laboratory

The high energy density of lithium-sulfur batteries could lead to lighter, smaller batteries that can last longer on a single charge. Cogent Energy Systems, a small business in eastern Idaho, applied their technology — carbon nano-onions — to lithium-sulfur batteries as the sulfur host to improve the battery cycling performance.

A novel crystal structure sheds light on the dynamics of extrasolar planets

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

Scientists uncover a new crystal structure of a mineral in extrasolar planets using Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Exploring explosives for expanding geothermal energy

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

Why are scientists setting off small-scale explosions inside 1-foot cubes of plexiglass? They’re watching how fractures form and grow in a rock-like substance to see if explosives or propellants, similar to jet fuel, can connect geothermal wells in a predictable manner.

Argonne introduces Safe Zone training during Pride Month to advance allyship, inclusion for LGBTQIA+ employees

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

The first Safe Zone Project workshop at Argonne focuses on allyship with more vital topics to help increase communication, safety and bias-free inclusion in the workplace for LGBTQIA+ employees.

Bo Peng ensures quantum computers don’t ‘bring in da noise’

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

A profile of Bo Peng, a scientist at PNNL working on error correction for quantum computing. He is a collaborator with Q-NEXT, one of the DOE National QIS Research Centers.