Current News

Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

November 19, 2009 -- Whether you call them myths, urban legends, fables or old wives' tales, there's a lot of misinformation out there about plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. Argonne engineer Forrest Jehlik discusses six of these myths. (More...)

Argonne gets $8.8 million for battery research

November 19, 2009 -- Argonne National Laboratory Wednesday was awarded $8.8 million to build or remodel three battery research-and-development facilities on its DuPage County campus. The Daily Herald covers the story. (More...)

Argonne to construct $95 million energy research facility

November 17, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing $8 million to Argonne National Laboratory for detailed design work for a new, world-class energy research facility.  This is the first step in beginning work on what is expected to be a $95 million construction project. (More...)

Why Do We Power Our Cars With Gas?

November 13, 2009 -- NBC Chicago interviews Argonne transportation engineers Mike Duoba and Thomas Wallner for this video report. (More...)

Argonne Cleans Up Brownfield Sites

November 11, 2009 -- Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago has what it claims is a new, inexpensive way to clean up contaminated areas of land - by planting trees. Clean Skies News provides a report (More...)

Argonne wins contract to develop flexible turbine system

November 11, 2009 -- Argonne researchers recently won a Department of Energy (DOE) contract to help develop an integrated system that enables conversion of biomass to power. (More...)

Argonne "homegrown" hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power

November 10, 2009 -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" polymers directly inside them. (More...)

New Battery Technology at Argonne Nat. Labs

November 6, 2009 -- Clean Skies News provides an inside look at Argonne's battery research. (More...)

EnerDel and U.S. Army Collaborate on New “Hybrid Humvee”

November 5, 2009 -- As part of the project, the U.S. Army will test an Argonne/EnerDel-developed battery chemistry for the Hybrid Humvee. (More...)

Argonne, partners to receive $7 million in Recovery Act funds for solar energy projects

November 5, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Argonne National Laboratory nearly $2.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for three solar-energy related research projects. In addition, Argonne will share another $5 million in ARRA funding for projects with Commonwealth Edison Co., GridPoint and the University of Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. (More...)

Particle passion: Argonne physicist honored with HENAAC award

November 2, 2009 -- Mayly Sanchez, an Argonne particle physicist, received an Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from HENAAC, the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation. (More...)

DOE's ARPA-E Awards $6 Million to Two Argonne Projects

October 26, 2009 -- Two Argonne energy research projects were selected for a combined total of more than $6 million in funding through the Department of Energy's (DOE’s) recently-formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). (More...)

Argonne scientist named top young innovator

October 23, 2009 -- Elena Shevchenko spends her days mixing and matching nanoparticles that measure one billionth of a meter. A Chicago Tribune article highlights the Argonne scientist. (More...)

Argonne scientists find new set of multiferroic materials

October 20, 2009 -- The trail to a new multiferroic started with the theories of a U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory scientist and ended with a multidisciplinary collaboration that created a material with potential impact on next generation electronics. (More...)

Argonne featured on the Science Channel

October 2009 -- Argonne's research on recycling nuclear waste is featured on the Science Channel. (More...)

The Road to Sustainability

October 1, 2009 -- In Physics World, George Crabtree (Argonne) and John Sarrao describe what makes a technology sustainable, and outline the materials-science challenges standing between us and clean, long-lasting energy. (More...)

New Idaho National Lab collaboration tackles nuclear fuel recycling science

September 25, 2009 -- A new research project at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Argonne National Laboratory will use an innovative approach to learn how to get more use from nuclear fuel. (More...)

Your Tax $$$ At Work: Argonne Lab's Better Batteries, Greener Fuels

September 22, 2009 -- Argonne National Laboratory--one of a network of 17 national labs funded by the Department of Energy--has a slew of programs aimed at making renewable energy practical, and enabling carmakers to build better, cheaper electric cars. GreenCarReports.com picked four to focus on. (More...)

Argonne opens new chapter in battery research: Li-Air

September 2009 -- Argonne is now pursuing research into Lithium-air batteries. Li-air batteries hold the promise of increasing the energy density by as much as five to 10 times compared to lithium ion batteries. (More...)

Argonne showcases science, technology at open house

August 27, 2009 -- ABC7 Chicago talks with Argonne's Ted Krause, Forrest Jehlik and Matt Howard to preview the 2009 open house. (More...)

Scientists at Argonne Discover New Battery Chemical That Could Increase Durability and Decrease Cost of Li-Ion Technology

August 25, 2009 -- Two researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory have discovered that adding less than a gram of a molecule they created can effectively control a lithium ion's battery voltage from increasing outside of the safe operating range. (More...)

Chemistry Change in Batteries Could Make for Safer Electric Cars

August 24, 2009 -- The powerful lithium-based batteries used in electric vehicle systems, laptops and cell phones are prone to overheating and even blowing up, but adding less than a gram of a new substance could keep both temperatures and costs down, federal researchers say. (More...)

Building a Better Lithium-ion Battery

August 24, 2009 -- The batteries in everything from computers to future electric cars might be improved by adding a compound containing boron and fluorine. (More...)

Chemical & Engineering News features Argonne on its cover

August 17, 2009 -- The magazine cover features Argonne National Laboratory scientist Robert Winarski peering at a sample inside a hard X-ray nanoprobe. (More...)

Lithium Battery Recycling Gets a Boost

August 12, 2009 --The U.S. Department of Energy has granted $9.5 million to a company in California that plans to build America's first recycling facility for lithium-ion vehicle batteries. Argonne's Linda Gaines is interviewed. (More...)

Roadsides, contaminated fields could be unlikely solutions to fuel shortages, water pollution

August 11, 2009 -- The lonely, weed-choked roadsides along America's highways may turn out to be an unexpected solution to two of the biggest issues facing the U.S. today—potential fuel shortages and water pollution. (More...)

Grants aim to rev alternative vehicle technology

August 5, 2009 -- President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials took to separate stages nationwide Wednesday to announce $2.4 billion in federal grants to develop next-generation electric vehicles and batteries. Argonne's Don Hillebrand is quoted. (More...)

Argonne's Elena Shevchenko is named one of 35 Technology Review 2009 Young Innovators

August 2009 --Elena Shevchenko is a master at making nanoparticles and assembling them into precise structures with useful properties. Materials made from the nanocrystals created with her methods could lead to ultra-efficient solar cells, tiny but powerful magnets, super-dense hard disks, and faster computers. (More...)

Argonne to help Nissan, EnerDel develop material for lithium-ion batteries

July 30, 2009 -- Advanced lithium-ion automotive battery producer EnerDel and the Nissan Motor Co. of Japan are teaming up to research a new generation of electrical conductive material intended to reduce cost and improve the performance of electric and hybrid vehicle batteries. The research is to be centered at Argonne. (More...)

Argonne's Recycling Pilot Plant video

July 22, 2009 -- A video on Argonne National Laboratory's Recycling Pilot Plant demonstrates how shredder residue can be recycled. (More...)

Four named to Argonne’s highest science, engineering rank

July 2009 -- Efim Gluskin (ASD), Valerii Vinokour (MSD), Michael Pellin (MSD) and Arthur Barry Wicklund (HEP) have been named Argonne Distinguished Fellows, Argonne’s highest scientific and engineering rank. (More...)

EnerDel Awarded $3.3 Million For Safety Research on Auto Lithium-ion Battery

June 22, 2009 -- Advanced lithium-ion automotive battery developer EnerDel has been awarded up to $3.3 million for a cost-share research project under the U.S. Department of Energy ... The project will be conducted jointly with Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago and will focus on a new chemical additive that acts as a "shuttle agent" to effectively cap the voltage of the cell. (More...)

Argonne, Korea's KATECH Partner on Green Technologies

June 16, 2009 -- On June 16, 2009, Argonne entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH), with the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary and the Korea Ministry of Knowledge Economy Minister in attendance. (More...)

Electric Car Superbatteries Surge Ahead

June 4, 2009 -- Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory on June 3 signed a global licensing agreement with BASF Corp. for the chemical giant to mass-produce and market Argonne’s patented composite cathode materials to battery makers — a deal that could give a big charge to environmentally friendlier cars. (More...)

Argonne's lithium-ion battery technology to be commercialized by BASF

June 3, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and BASF, the world's largest chemical company, have signed a world-wide licensing agreement to mass produce and market Argonne's patented composite cathode materials to manufacturers of advanced lithium-ion batteries. (More...)

Argonne, Korea's KATECH Partner on Green Technologies

June 2009 -- Argonne’s Transportation Technology R&D Center (TTRDC) now has another international partner in its efforts to take automotive technologies to new heights. On June 16, 2009, Argonne entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). (More...)

Argonne involved in Naperville's proposed Green Fuels Depot

June 2009 -- Using grass clippings to power next-generation vehicles – now that’s green transportation. This is one of the ideas being considered at Naperville’s newly proposed Green Fuels Depot. The project, which will require $4 million in funding to get started, would bring together Argonne National Laboratory, the city of Naperville, Packer Engineering and the College of DuPage for an innovative plan to produce renewable energy. (More...)

Zheng-Tian Lu honored by American Physical Society

May 2009 -- Senior Physicist Zheng-Tian Lu (PHY) has received the 2009 Francis M. Pipkin Award of the American Physical Society. The honor recognizes Lu for the development of techniques to laser cool and trap rare and radioactive atomic species, and for applications of these techniques ranging from trace isotope analysis to tests of fundamental symmetries. (More...)

Tiffany Santos wins prestigious L'Oreal Fellowship for work in materials science

May 27, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory scientist Tiffany Santos has been awarded a L'Oreal USA Fellowship for Women in Science for her work in materials science at the Center for Nanoscale Materials. (More...)

Putting U.S. Trucking on a Diet

May 18, 2009 -- The backbone of U.S. commerce, given America’s vast distances and reliance upon highway transportation, is the combined fleet of 500,000 U.S. long-haul trucks. And to many Americans, the macho trucking life holds a certain romance. It has, to be sure, its drawbacks, not least the pollution from all those rumbling diesels. But new technologies are emerging that should at least mitigate some of that. (More...)

Argonne Lifecycle Analysis Calculates Energy Use and GHG Emissions for PHEVs Fueled With Petroleum, E85 and Hydrogen

May 14, 2009 -- Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have published results of a well-to-wheels (WTW) lifecycle analysis of petroleum energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles employing gasoline, diesel, E85 and hydrogen (fuel cell) fuels, with an all-electric range between 10 to 40 miles. (More...)

Argonne scientists receive tech transfer award for battery R&D

May 8, 2009 -- Three scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have won an Excellence in Technology Transfer Award for a battery system expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as America's dependence on imported oil. (More...)

Will America's Power Grid Be Able To Keep Pace With Future Demand?

May 8, 2009 -- America's power grid today resembles the country's canal system of the 19th Century. A marvel of engineering for its time, the canal system eventually could not keep pace with the growing demands of transcontinental transportation. More than 150 years later, America's infrastructure is again changing in ways that its designers never anticipated. (More...)

"Interest in Fuel-Efficient Cars Out of Gas?"

May 4, 2009 -- Don Hillebrand is interviewed by Fox Business. (More...)

DOE to establish Energy Frontier Centers at Argonne

April 28, 2009 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory will be home to two of 46 new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) announced by the White House in conjunction with a speech by President Barack Obama at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. (More...)

Monica Regalbuto one of 25 Outstanding Hispanic Women in Business

April 23, 2009 -- HispanicBusiness.com has honored Argonne National Laboratory's Monica Regalbuto as one 25 outstanding Hispanic women in America. Regalbuto leads Argonne's Aqueous Processing in support of U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, which conducts research that supports the development of nuclear technologies related to closing of the fuel cycle, environmental remediation and non proliferation. (More...)

Parallel computing enables Argonne to speed simulations

April 20, 2009 -- In 1995, Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, developed the Powertrain System Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) as an industry-standard tool to help automotive engineers analyze advanced powertrain configurations. Since making the product widely available in 2003, the use of PSAT for analysis and simulation has expanded worldwide to more than 120 companies and 600 users. (More...)

Kentucky, Argonne partner to help build domestic battery industry

April 8, 2009 -- The Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the University of Kentucky (UK) and University of Louisville (U of L) are partnering with the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory to establish a national Battery Manufacturing R&D Center to help develop and deploy a domestic supply of advanced battery technologies for vehicle applications that will aid in securing U.S. energy independence, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help in strengthening the economy. (More...)

New high-energy cathode material can significantly increase safety, life of lithium batteries

April 7, 2009 -- A new high-energy cathode material that can greatly increase the safety and extend the life-span of future lithium batteries has been developed through the close international collaboration of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Hanyang University in South Korea. (More...)

Auciello honored by Materials Research Society: speaks at first U.S.-Argentina nanotech conference

April 2009 -- Argonne materials scientist Orlando Auciello (MSD) has been named a fellow of the Materials Research Society for his “seminal and pioneering research in diverse fields of materials science and technology such as surface-plasma interactions, ferroelectric and dielectric thin films, multifunctional ultrananocrystalline diamond thin films, and nano-bio-interfaces.” (More...)

Argonne's Nuclear Energy Exhibit on Display in Nuclear News

April 2009 -- Argonne’s newly renovated Nuclear Energy Exhibit is featured in the April 2009 issue of Nuclear News. (More...)

Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center now online

April 2009 -- The Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research (ANSER) Center brings together scientists from many disciplines to explore the Sun's enormous potential to supply energy for human needs. (More...)

Argonne Labs: Nation's Oldest Laboratory

March 31, 2009 -- On Chicago Tonight, listen to new Argonne Director Eric Isaacs' interview; answers transportation questions. (More...)

New RFID technology tracks and monitors nuclear materials

March 24, 2009 -- Radio frequency identification (RFID) devices have been widely used for tracking for years; recently, scientists from U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed a unique tracking technology that also monitors the environmental and physical conditions of containers of nuclear materials in storage and transportation. (More...)

New combustion strategy accelerates hydrogen-engine development

Argonne scientists reveal interaction between supersonic fuel spray and its shock wave

March 12, 2009 -- Shock waves are a well tested phenomenon on a large scale, but scientists at Argonne and their collaborators from Wayne State University and Cornell University have made a breakthrough that reveals the interaction between shock waves created by high-pressure supersonic fuel jets. (More...)

Energy Secretary honors Gohar, Roglans-Ribas for nonproliferation work

Gregar receives special honor from scientific glassblowing society

February 2009 -- Argonne’s glassblower, Joe Gregar, received an unexpected award at the American Scientific Glassblowers Society’s 53rd Annual Symposium, held recently in Atlantic City: the society’s first-ever President’s Achievement Award. (More...)

New control of nanoscale 'magnetic tornadoes' holds promise for data storage

January 30, 2009 -- At the human scale, the tightly wrapped spinning columns of air in a tornado contain terrifying destructive power that ravages communities. At the nanoscale, however, closely coiled magnetic vortices hold the promise of a new generation of computers.(More...)

Worldwide race to make better batteries

January 22, 2009 -- Christian Science Monitor. Down in his basement laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech­nology, Donald Sadoway and his students are hunting for the perfect battery. Not for cellphones or laptop computers, but to power a future generation of automobiles or perhaps the electric grid. The Battery Alliance's Jim Greenberger and Argonne's Jim Miller are quoted. (More...)

First Molecular-Level Enzyme Images Could Improve Breast-Cancer Therapy

Ions stopped, reaccelerated in charge breeder for CARIBU

January 2, 2009 -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have successfully stopped and then reaccelerated a stable ion through a newly constructed charge-breeder, bringing the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) project closer to completion. (More...)

Argonne, Battery Tech Group among most-cited in past decade

January 2009 -- Argonne ranks among the most influential energy and fuel R&D institutions in the world, when ranked by most-cited and influential scientific papers. (More...)

Argonne scientist wins 2008 Ernst W. Thiele Award

TRACC Cluster at 88th Annual Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting

January 2009 -- Argonne National Laboratory’s Transportation Research and Analysis Computing Center (TRACC) will  demonstrate the TRACC Cluster at the 88th Annual Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. (More...)