• New Sodium, Aluminum Battery Aims to Integrate Renewables for Grid Resiliency

    A new battery design could help ease integration of renewable energy into the nation’s electrical grid at lower cost, using Earth-abundant metals.

  • Supporting Dams with Innovative Materials

    There are about 91,000 dams in the United States. About half the dams built in the past century and a half are starting to show their age, with resulting wear and tear. Severe weather events, extreme temperatures, erosion and rising water levels are all straining the infrastructure and exacerbating the impacts of deterioration and aging processes. In many cases, simply replacing the dams and levees is not a viable option due to high costs.

  • Deepfakes Could Create Audience Trust Issues

    Deepfakes could ‘shatter’ moviegoers’ trust and lead to big job cuts in the film industry. That’s the verdict from deepfake expert after it was revealed the latest development in the technology is set to be used in “Here,” an upcoming film starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis.

  • Climate Change-Driven Water Crises More Severe Than Previously Thought

    The interference of climate change with the planet’s water cycle is a well established fact. New analyses suggest that in many places, runoff responds more sensitively than previously assumed.

  • U.S. Nonfuel Mineral Production Jumps $3.6 Billion in 2022

    U.S. mines produced approximately $98.2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities in 2022—an estimated $3.6 billion increase over the 2021 revised total of $94.6 billion.

  • Creating Buildings That Can Withstand the Most Extreme Stress Loads

    By Sølvi Normannsen

    Combined ballistic impacts pose a major challenge for engineers who build structures that must withstand extreme stresses. An explosion can hurtle fragments and debris at enormous velocities so they strike the surroundings. Then comes the shock wave. It’s a scary combination.

  • There’s a Deal to Save the Colorado River — If California Doesn’t Blow It Up

    By Jake Bittle

    After months of tense negotiation, a half-dozen states have reached an agreement to drastically cut their water usage and stabilize the drought-stricken Colorado River — as long as California doesn’t blow up the deal. The plan would cut water use on the river by roughly a quarter, drying up farms and subdivisions across the Southwest.

  • Electric Cars Reach Peak EU Market Share in 2022

    Battery electric vehicles have climbed to a record share of new car sales in the EU, albeit still a modest 12.1%. In the last quarter, alternatively powered vehicles outsold petrol and diesel for the first time.

  • Grant to Support High-Potential Computer Science Students

    The University of Texas at El Paso received a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide financial support and professional development experiences to talented students in the field of computer science.

  • Rats Sniff for Victims Under Rubble

    Rats are commonly known as pests and spreaders of disease and many people’s worst nightmare. Yet they are very clever creatures, and can be trained just as well as dogs. Researchers train African hamster rats to search for earthquake victims under rubble.

  • Restoring Power to the Grid

    Computer scientists have been working on an innovative computer model to help grid operators quickly restore power to the electric grid after a complete disruption, a process called a black start.

  • Sandia, AMD Collaborate to Support Nuclear Stockpile Mission

    Sandia National Laboratories, in partnership with Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs, has awarded a contract to AMD that funds research and development of advanced memory technologies expected to accelerate high-performance simulation and computing applications in support of the nation’s stockpile stewardship mission.

  • Illuminating the Barrier to Next-Generation Battery That Charges Very Quickly

    By Andrew Myers

    In the race for fast-charging, energy-dense lithium metal batteries, researchers discovered why the promising solid electrolyte version has not performed as hoped. This could help new designs – and eventually battery production – avoid the problem.

  • Exxon Disputed Climate Findings for Years. Its Scientists Knew Better.

    By Alice McCarthy

    Projections created internally by ExxonMobil starting in the late 1970s on the impact of fossil fuels on climate change were very accurate, even surpassing those of some academic and governmental scientists. The oil company executives sought to mislead the public about the industry’s role in climate change, contradicting the findings of the company’s own scientists and drawing a growing number of lawsuits by states and cities.

  • What Is Microstamping, and Can It Help Solve Shootings?

    By Chip Brownlee

    Laws to expand the technology’s use have passed in three states and the District of Columbia. But some are questioning its effectiveness.