Science isn’t scary, but it can be spooky! For Halloween, we’re highlighting some “spooky” research that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science supports. In fact, the physics community celebrates Dark Matter Day on Halloween! We hope that this roundup puts you in the mood to dig a little deeper into the wonders that surround you.

Create a prototype of an efficient aircraft capable of flying with ion propulsion. This is the aim of the IPROP project, led by Politecnico di Milano, and funded by the EU with an EIC pathfinder worth €3 million and lasting four years.

The search for dark matter includes expertise in radio frequency signal detection, quantum sensing, and high-energy physics at PNNL.

Healing continues in the atmosphere over the Antarctic: a hole that opens annually in the ozone layer over Earth’s southern pole was relatively small in 2024 compared to other years. 

Romero, an expert on voter behavior and political representation, offers insights into what it will take to restore trust in America’s electoral process and safeguard inclusive democracy.

Dr. Keshawa Shukla, professor of practice in subsea engineering, and interdisciplinary engineering doctoral student Vy Le, are designing an offshore hydrogen hub that can produce green hydrogen from the electrolysis of water, using the electricity obtained from an offshore wind substation.

Argonne develops a breakthrough material for the cathode in lithium-ion batteries. It enables an across-the-board improvement in battery performance, supporting widespread adoption of electric vehicles and grid batteries.

Calculating quantum chemistry quickly allows scientists to refine their understanding of complex chemical systems.

Forensic science students at New Jersey institute of Technology are giving criminal investigators a step up on solving cases, and they're doing it by enlisting the campus community's help through an enticing offer — “lend your soles” for free pizza. The university’s Forensic Science Student Association (FSSA) is hosting pop-up events on campus to collect shoe impressions from willing volunteers in an effort to expand NJIT's Shoeprint Image Capture and Retrieval (SICAR) database — one of only two forensic footwear databases in New Jersey.