RICHLAND, Wash.—You’d think there’s nothing surprising left to discover about water. After all, researchers have been studying its properties for centuries. But today researchers at Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory report a new …
The Science Through photosynthesis, cyanobacteria harvest energy from light to fix carbon dioxide into glucose during the daytime. This glucose is used to create valuable chemical products to fuel their activities at night. Modeling this process is …
The Science Quantifying the fundamental interactions between molecules and the walls of zeolite pores is essential to designing better zeolite-based catalysts and sorbents. However, teasing out values for the individual types of interactions is challenging …
The idea that a small number of select individuals can have a disproportionately large influence on a social network is known as “influence maximization.” From viral marketing to tracking contagious viruses, or anything else that can spread through a …
Biodiesel, bioplastics, penicillin: “If you look at important industrial bioprocesses, most of them use organisms that naturally make a product,” said Jeff Czajka, a bioprocess scientist and Linus Pauling Fellow at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) …
Ten years ago, I was given the honor of a lifetime and began serving as director of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. After a decade of contributing monthly articles to the Tri-City Herald, this valedictory column reflects …
A spinning tool plunges into two pieces of metal, rotating at a high rate of speed. As the tool begins to move, it softens and mixes the metal, creating a powerful weld—one that can securely join similar and dissimilar materials (particularly metals and …
Peter Heine, senior advisor in the Strategic Threat Analysis group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), recently travelled to Brussels, Belgium, to support the World Customs Organization's Operation Stingray. Conducted under the Nuclear …
The Science High-entropy oxides (HEOs) possess exceptional compositional flexibility and structural stability, making them highly promising for energy and catalytic applications. Understanding the electrocatalytic activity and stability of HEOs requires …
The Science Peptoids are highly tunable biomimetic molecules capable of self-assembling into crystalline nanomaterials with complex 3D structures. These assemblies can mimic the active sites of enzymes, including the carbonic anhydrases (CAs) that convert …
The Science Peptoids are a promising class of biomimetic molecules that are more stable and tunable than natural peptides. Designing larger materials from peptoids requires molecular models that capture peptoid conformational preferences. Researchers …
The Science Magnetic fields influence groups of ions and particles in solutions, but the exact details of these effects remain unclear. Researchers developed a new theoretical framework to better understand and predict how external magnetic fields affect …
The Science Iron oxide minerals, such as goethite, are known hosts of rare earth elements (REEs), with significant deposits that could potentially be used to bolster domestic supply chains. Despite the size difference between iron and REE ions, the REEs …
A team of researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has received the prestigious 2025 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Achievement Award for developing an innovative solution to enhance …
David Heldebrant, a chemist and director of the Physical Sciences Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), received the 2025 Distinguished Service Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Energy & Fuels (ENFL). …
The Science Proton transfer reactions are fundamental to biology, materials, and chemistry. While classical models offer reasonable accuracy, a precise description requires capturing nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) such as zero-point energy, tunneling, and …
Over the course of a century, the natural gas industry has proven the effectiveness and convenience of its vast pipeline network. As the United States continues to explore opportunities in American-made hydrogen fuel for transportation and industry, …
The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process advanced by bioenergy researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) can turn wastes and biomasses ranging from sewage sludge to fry crumbs into commercially viable biofuels and products. Algal …
RICHLAND, WA—Battelle announced today that Deborah (Deb) Gracio has been appointed as the next director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), effective October 1. Gracio succeeds Steven Ashby who announced his intent to step aside as director …
This summer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) hosted the inaugural “As Conductive As Copper” (AC2.0) workshop, bringing together industry leaders, government program managers, researchers, and investors at the PNNL’s campus in Richland, …
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