Argonne National Laboratory

Discovery Science

Fundamental research that drives innovation

Argonne is dedicated to the pursuit of big, ambitious ideas that redefine what is possible.

Argonne conducts fundamental research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic and molecular levels. Through dedication to rigorous inquiry and a collaborative approach, our broad research agenda and unique scientific facilities support a cross-cutting research program that advances the leading edge in basic research.

Project

Improving energy storage using autonomous experiments

Argonne developed a theoretical and AI framework to identify molecules with the desired energy storage properties from a large chemical space.

Argonne National Laboratory

Improving energy storage using autonomous experiments preview image

Project

Reducing electronics waste using autonomous discovery

Argonne is working to develop an autonomous method to identify the best stressor-specific, low-energy deconstruction pathways for conjugated polymers.

Argonne National Laboratory

Reducing electronics waste using autonomous discovery preview image

Project

Building a mobile robotic scientist to speed materials discovery

An important component of self-driving laboratories, dexterous, free-roaming robots — basically, robotic scientists – will free up researchers for more complex tasks.

Argonne National Laboratory

Intellectual Property

Three-Dimensional Thermal Tomography (3DTT) Advances Cancer Treatment (ANL-IN-06-017)

Thermal tomography is used to create three-dimensional images of skin damage due to radiation treatment

Project

Mining for new materials using continuous flow chemistry

An autonomous laboratory based on continuous flow chemistry will improve productivity and enable design, development, synthesis, and scaleup of advanced materials.

Argonne National Laboratory

Project

Designing the perfect peptide

The ultimate goal of the project is to enable design of peptides with predictable functions. The capabilities we develop will be critical in advancing scientific discoveries in biology and other fields.

Argonne National Laboratory

Designing the perfect peptide preview image

Project

Devising a data platform for autonomous discovery

There is an urgent need to develop a data infrastructure comprising autonomous synthesis and characterization platforms that can manage and analyze the heterogeneous datasets that will be produced at massive volumes and rapid rates.

Argonne National Laboratory

Devising a data platform for autonomous discovery preview image

Intellectual Property

Ultra- Fast Boriding Technologies

Argonne’s ultra-fast boriding technologies cut cycle time to ~0.5 hour, enabling high throughput hardening with minimal environmental burden. By leveraging charge-driven boron transport, it achieves superior layer quality while reducing energy consumption

Project

Argonne Emergency Management

Argonne’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) uses the ATMOS 60-meter tower for decision making in severe weather events, potential flooding events and safety of Argonne employees.

Environmental Science

Project

Development of Predictive Models: Medium Range and Sub seasonal Forecasting

Argonne is using vision transformers to build highly accurate medium-range weather forecasting models. They run at a fraction of the cost of traditional Numerical Weather Prediction and will help the energy industry respond to weather extremes.

Computing, Environment and Life Sciences

Development of Predictive Models: Medium Range and Sub seasonal Forecasting preview image

Project

Development of Emulators: Process Emulators

Argonne is employing deep neural networks to replace computationally expensive parameterizations of certain physical schemes in the Weather Research and Forecasting model.

Computing, Environment and Life Sciences

Development of Emulators: Process Emulators preview image

Project

Integrated Imaging to Understand and Advance Photocatalysis

The photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels has the dual advantages of carbon recycling for global climate change mitigation and solar energy capture for renewable energy development.

Integrated Imaging Institute

Integrated Imaging to Understand and Advance Photocatalysis preview image

Intellectual Property

Electrolysis System For Hydrogen Production And Carbon Dioxide Capture And Delivery (ANL-IN-23-082)

A novel electrochemical reactor that efficiently produces hydrogen and captures CO2. By eliminating bipolar membranes, it enhances durability and reduces costs, offering improved efficiency for bioprocessing and energy sectors.

Project

High-Fidelity Large Eddy Simulations (LES)

Demonstrating that demonstrated that large eddy simulations can qualitatively and quantitatively predict equivalence ratio distributions, ignition delay, soot distribution and more.

Transportation and Power Systems

High-Fidelity Large Eddy Simulations (LES) preview image

Project

Effect of Nozzle Orifice Geometry

Investigating the influence of nozzle orifice geometry on nozzle flow, fuel spray, combustion and emission characteristics.

Transportation and Power Systems

Effect of Nozzle Orifice Geometry preview image

Project

Development of Simulation Approaches for Drop-in Biofuels

Developing new spray and combustion models to optimize the performance of biodiesel in engines.

Transportation and Power Systems

Development of Simulation Approaches for Drop-in Biofuels preview image

Project

Combustion Modeling with Detailed Chemistry

Developing high-fidelity reduced mechanisms for use of biodiesel fuel in combustion systems.

Transportation and Power Systems

Combustion Modeling with Detailed Chemistry preview image

Project

Organosilicon Chemistry at High Temperatures

Developing a detailed understanding of the reaction paths involved in the early stages of the pyrolysis and oxidation of siloxanes and silanols at temperatures and pressures relevant to flame synthesis and power generation

Chemical Sciences and Engineering

Project

Covetics

Argonne is developing processing methodologies to improve thermal and electrical properties of metals/alloys to create high performance thermal and electrical conducting materials

Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center

Project

VISION Model

Estimating potential energy use, oil use and carbon emission impacts of advanced light- and heavy-duty vehicle technologies and alternative fuels

Energy Systems and Infrastructure Assessment

Intellectual Property

Thermal Multi-layer Coating Analysis (IN-05-125), (IN-14-032)

2D layer property images, automated processing.

Project

Single electron qubit on solid neon

Team demonstrates a fundamentally new type of qubit based on single electrons trapped on solid neon surface with ultralong quantum coherence times of ~0.1 ms, establishing a new promising platform for universal quantum computing.

Argonne National Laboratory

Single electron qubit on solid neon preview image

Project

Quantum-enhanced metrology with trapped ions for fundamental physics

Developing and using single-ion clocks for investigating the time variation of fundamental constants and for searching for low-mass dark matter

Argonne National Laboratory

Sketch of a setup for a Heisenberg-limited measurement between a lattice clock and an ion clock.

Project

Exploring lossy quantum computation

Quantum computers are subject to inevitable noise processes. A theoretical understanding of noise can help lead to more efficient quantum computations.

Argonne National Laboratory

Artist’s interpretation of “hypersurfaces” embedded in “noise space.” By combining experiments at different noise rates (spheres) and fitting hypersurfaces to the data (surfaces), Argonne scientists are able to recover “noise-free” quantum information.

Project

Advanced characterization of polytypic silicon carbide for quantum technologies

This project aims to realize next-generation platforms for quantum information science based on silicon carbide crystals that are promising theoretically but require development of rational synthesis strategies.

Argonne National Laboratory

Advanced characterization of polytypic silicon carbide for quantum technologies preview image

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related ORGANIZATIONS

Division

Accelerator Systems

The Accelerator Systems Division provides best-in-class operation, maintenance and upgrade of the Advanced Photon Source accelerators and support users in doing outstanding science in a safe environment.

Directorate

Advanced Energy Technologies

We are driving innovation to solve the most pressing energy, mobility, materials, and manufacturing challenges with world-class science and engineering.

Collaborative Research

Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems Center

Argonne partnering with the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Princeton University to gain deeper understanding and control of what occurs at water/solid interfaces

Division

Applied Materials

The Applied Materials Division accelerates the development of new materials and processes using scalable synthesis, advanced characterization, and device fabrication and testing to drive innovation from invention to commercialization.

Division

Biosciences

Argonne’s Biosciences Division seeks to use state-of-the-art technology to conduct multidisciplinary basic research that will increase our understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms of life.

Collaborative Research

CMB-S4

The CMB-S4 experiment will provide a dramatic leap forward in our understanding of the fundamental nature of space and time and the evolution of the universe.

Division

Computational Science

The Computational Science (CPS) Division focuses on solving the most challenging scientific problems through advanced modeling and simulation on the most capable computers.

Directorate

Computing, Environment and Life Sciences

The CELS directorate integrates Argonne’s research in the life sciences with the environmental sciences and the computing sciences and has established a leadership computing facility essential for advanced simulation.

Argonne's Polaris super computer, featuring the wired inside as well as vivid blue doors.

Collaborative Research

Cosmic Microwave Background

Cosmic microwave background research explores the relic radiation left over today from an early hot phase of the universe.

Collaborative Research

Energy Frontier Research Centers

Argonne pulls together science and engineering leaders across institutional boundaries, allowing them to take a collaborative approach to specific scientific challenges.

Collaborative Research

Energy Storage

Composed of scientists and engineers across Argonne, ACCESS aims to tackle complex energy storage challenges through multidisciplinary research.

Division

Environmental Science

Our mission is to perform basic and applied research and assessment that seeks to understand how natural and human-managed environmental systems function and how system components respond to various perturbations.

Division

Experimental Operations and Facilities

The Experimental Operations and Facilities (EOF) division provides design engineering, analysis, experimental technical support services, and operates accelerator facilities.

Division

High Energy Physics

Research in the High Energy Physics division is driven by the goal of understanding the fundamental constituents of matter and energy, and illuminating the ultimate nature of space and time.

Collaborative Research

High-Energy Partnership

The collaboration between Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, and the University of Chicago — which runs both laboratories — has yielded tremendous benefits across a wide range of experiments situated literally all around the world.

Collaborative Research

Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology

The Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology (IGSB) is an engine for discovery that utilizes the latest approaches in genome analysis.

Strategic Initiative

Materials Manufacturing Innovation Center

Discovery science, to scale up, to testbeds and end-use applications.

Division

Materials Science

The Materials Science division emphasizes the study of the structure and function of novel materials to solve America’s energy challenges.

Division

Nanoscience and Technology

The Nanoscience and Technology division at Argonne National Laboratory hosts the Center for Nanoscale Materials, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science user facility, in addition to performing world-class nanoscience.

Collaborative Research

Northwestern Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering

Two organizations. Linked to create a new space for studying science and engineering.

Division

Nuclear Science and Engineering

The Nuclear Science and Engineering Division advances the design and operation of nuclear energy systems and applies nuclear energy-related expertise to current and emerging programs of national and international significance.

Directorate

Nuclear Technologies and National Security

Using longstanding, world-leading nuclear energy expertise and unique, first-in-class nonproliferation and infrastructure science capabilities to tackle diverse energy and security challenges.

Directorate

Photon Sciences

Providing the brightest storage ring-generated x-ray beams in the Western Hemisphere to more than 5,000 scientists worldwide.

Directorate

Physical Sciences and Engineering

The work of the Physical Sciences and Engineering directorate in fundamental and applied physics, chemistry and materials science provides a foundation for unparalleled collaborations.

Division

Physics

The mission of the Physics division is to understand the origin, evolution and structure of baryonic matter in the universe – the matter that makes up stars, planets and human life itself.

Strategic Initiative

Quantum

Argonne leverages multidisciplinary teams, world-class facilities, and powerful scientific tools to confront some of the most profound scientific and technological challenges in quantum information science.

Collaborative Research

The Microbiome Center

The Microbiome Center is an intellectual home for researchers across the University of Chicago, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory to advance understanding of the identity and function of microbes.

Collaborative Research

Virtual Engine Research Institute and Fuels Initiative

VERIFI is the first and only source in the world for high-fidelity, 3D, end-to-end, combustion engine simulation/visualization and simultaneous powertrain and fuel simulation, with uncertainty quantification.

Division

X-ray Science

World-class research using x-rays

related FACILITIES

Research Facility

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