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Why Fracking Matters in the 2024 U.S. Election
The fracking boom has transformed the United States into the world’s leading producer of oil and gas. With presidential candidates Harris and Trump clashing on climate and energy policy, the practice is once again in the spotlight.
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$100 Million to Accelerate R&D and AI Technologies for Sustainable Semiconductor Materials
The U.S. Commerce Deprtment ssued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to announce an open competition demonstrating how AI can assist in developing new sustainable semiconductor materials and processes that meet industry needs and can be designed and adopted within five years.
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The CHIPS Act: How U.S. Microchip Factories Could Reshape the Economy
The CHIPS and Science Act seeks to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry amid growing fears of a China-Taiwan conflict. Where is the money going, and how is the effort playing out?
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NNSA Completes and Diamond-Stamps First Plutonium Pit for W87-1 Warhead
During the Cold War, the United States could manufacture hundreds of plutonium pits per year. Pit production ceased in 1989, and NNSA continues to recapitalize production capabilities that atrophied in the post-Cold War era.
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New Piggyback-Tech May Revolutionize Rail Travel
Trains are safe, reliable, cost effective and energy efficient. They’re a great mode of transport in almost every way, except for one thing. The gaps between them.
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In 2019, Congress Finally Funded Gun Violence Research. Here’s How It’s Changed the Field
A Trace analysis of federal data found that the amount of money going to gun violence studies has soared since lawmakers lifted a de facto federal funding ban.
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Counties Call for Rural Groundwater Management Despite Some Voters Rejecting It
Four rural Arizona county supervisors are asking for more regulation when it comes to pumping rural groundwater, something that their constituents denied them in 2022.
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Why Are So Many Historically Rare Storms Hitting the Carolinas? Geography Puts These States at Risk, and Climate Change Is Loading the Dice
Why have so many storms that, historically and statistically, should be exceedingly rare, struck the Carolinas in just a few years? In regions near the coasts, the frequency of heavy rainfall has increased as a result of human-caused climate change. Warmer air can hold more moisture, and warmer oceans provide that moisture as the fuel for heavy rainfall.
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Software Application Keeps Public Safer from Potential Airborne Radiological Releases
Developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, QUIC-DEPDOSE accurately measures the spread of radiological particles from the kilometer to micron level.
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Simultaneous Detection of Uranium Isotopes, Fluorine Advances Nuclear Nonproliferation Monitoring
Fluorine is essential for converting uranium into a form suitable for enrichment, so spotting both elements together may help inspectors determine the intended use of a nuclear material.
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GPS Jamming? No Problem, LEO Satellites Hold the Key to Resilient, Interference-Free Navigation
Increasingly occurring GPS jamming disrupts the daily civilian activities, posing major navigational challenges. A new method using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites and massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antennas addresses these location vulnerability issues, presenting means for precise navigation even where traditional global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) fail.
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Deflecting Doom: How Sandia Research Could Save Earth from Asteroids
The most efficient way to prevent potentially dangerous asteroids from damaging or even obliterating Earth may involve a coordinated nuclear response to deflect the menacing asteroid. Free-floating experiments at Sandia provide deflection data.
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New Security Protocol Shields Data from Attackers During Cloud-Based Computation
The technique leverages quantum properties of light to guarantee security while preserving the accuracy of a deep-learning model.
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Effectiveness of 1,500 Global Climate Policies Ranked for First Time
The world can take a major step to meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Accord by focusing on 63 cases where climate policies have had the most impact, new research has revealed
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The U.S. Is Finally Curbing Floodplain Development, New Research Shows
Over the past century, the United States has built millions of homes along coastlines and rivers, developing on land that is all but destined to flood. At the same time that the warming of the planet has raised sea levels and increased rainfall, annual flood damages have surged in recent decades in large part because more homes are in flood-prone areas now than ever before.
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The long view
Encryption Breakthrough Lays Groundwork for Privacy-Preserving AI Models
In an era where data privacy concerns loom large, a new approach in artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape how sensitive information is processed. New AI framework enables secure neural network computation without sacrificing accuracy.
AI-Controlled Fighter Jets May Be Closer Than We Think — and Would Change the Face of Warfare
Could we be on the verge of an era where fighter jets take flight without pilots – and are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI)? US R Adm Michael Donnelly recently said that an upcoming combat jet could be the navy’s last one with a pilot in the cockpit.
The Potential Impact of Seabed Mining on Critical Mineral Supply Chains and Global Geopolitics
The potential emergence of a seabed mining industry has important ramifications for the diversification of critical mineral supply chains, revenues for developing nations with substantial terrestrial mining sectors, and global geopolitics.
AI and the Future of the U.S. Electric Grid
Despite its age, the U.S. electric grid remains one of the great workhorses of modern life. Whether it can maintain that performance over the next few years may determine how well the U.S. competes in an AI-driven world.
Using Liquid Air for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
New research finds liquid air energy storage could be the lowest-cost option for ensuring a continuous power supply on a future grid dominated by carbon-free but intermittent sources of electricity.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A Promising Source of Round-the-Clock Energy
With its capacity to provide 24/7 power, many are warming up to the prospect of geothermal energy. Scientists are currently working to advance human-made reservoirs in Earth’s deep subsurface to stimulate the activity that exists within natural geothermal systems.