Feature Stories

Date Postedsort ascending
Argonne scientist Valerii Vinokour (left) with Russian scientists Tatyana Baturina (center) and Nikolai Chtchelkatchev, who discovered why the superinsulators are so good at blocking electric current.
 Argonne scientists discover mechanism behind superinsulation

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have discovered the microscopic mechanism behind the phenomenon of superinsulation, the ability of certain materials to completely block the flow of electric current at low temperatures. The essence of the mechanism is what the authors termed "multi-stage energy relaxation."

 December 11, 2009
Argonne scientists Brad Orr and Mike Ritsche assemble the Vaisala Present Weather Detector. This device optically measures visibility, present weather, precipitation intensity, and precipitation type. It provides a measure of current weather conditions by combining measurements from three independent sensors; a rain sensor, a temperature sensor, and a visibility sensor.
 ARRA funding to help scientists better understand climate change

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science provided $60 million in ARRA funding for climate research to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility, a DOE national user facility that has been operating climate observing sites around the world for nearly two decades.

 December 8, 2009
Argonne scientists are creating a virtual network to model the movement of the deadly bacterium MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. (Photo: Dr. Kari Lounatmaa / Science Photo Libary).
 Argonne, University of Chicago scientists chase deadly MRSA bacteria with new models

Argonne senior systems scientist Charles Macal and U of Chicago associate professor Diane Lauderdale received a grant from the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to begin a five-year study to mathematically model MRSA outbreaks.

 December 7, 2009
A pair of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are tested at Argonne's Transportation Technology R&D Center.
 Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

Argonne National Laboratory has taken a lead role in developing and testing plug-in hybrid technologies. At the lab's Center for Transportation Research, vehicle systems engineer Forrest Jehlik and his colleagues work to bring these cars to market quickly and cheaply. Here, he dispels some commonly held myths about plug-in hybrids.

 November 19, 2009
This computer-generated image shows nanotubes, 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, which comprise a new technique developed at Argonne for "growing" solar cells.
Argonne "homegrown" hybrid solar cell aims for low-cost power

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have refined a technique to manufacture solar cells by creating tubes of semiconducting material and then "growing" polymers directly inside them.

 November 10, 2009
This image shows the 3-D concentration distribution of swimming bacteria Bacillus subtilis in thin liquid film obtained by optical coherence tomography.
 Bacteria mix it up at the microscopic level

In studies of the motion of tiny swimming bacteria, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory found that the microscopic organisms can stir fluids remarkably quickly and effectively. As a result, the bacterial flagella could act like tiny motors to mix chemicals in biomedical kits, among other applications.

 November 2, 2009
The interior of the TCS Building features a zen rock garden.
 Argonne's computing Zen

Argonne National Laboratory recently opened a world-class interdisciplinary research center which is dedicated to large-scale computation and builds on Argonne’s strengths in high-performance computing software, advanced hardware architectures and applications expertise.

 November 2, 2009
Mayly Sanchez, an Argonne particle physicist, received an Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from HENAAC, the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation.
 Particle passion: Argonne physicist honored with HENAAC award

Mayly Sanchez, a particle physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, received an Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Corporation.

 October 28, 2009
Argonne opens new chapter in battery research: Li-Air

In a natural progression, Argonne is now pursuing research into Lithium-air batteries. Li-air batteries use a catalytic air cathode that converts oxygen to lithium peroxide, an electrolyte and a Li anode.

 September 15, 2009
Science Beyond the Stimulus: America needs to 'reignite innovation ecology'

To build a national economy based on sustainable energy, the nation must first "reignite its innovation ecology," Argonne National Laboratory Director Eric Isaacs told members of the National Press Club last week in Washington, D.C.

 September 15, 2009
RSS Feed