Science Briefs 2018

Los Alamos pursues technology for more affordable fuel cell electric cars
New work at Los Alamos will create polymer fuel cells designed to make electric cars less expensive. - 11/30/18
New web-based technology assesses health of civil, mechanical and aerospace structures
Researchers have developed a revolutionary new way to measure the response of civil, mechanical and aerospace structures to dynamic loads and analyze their structural health. - 10/29/18
Clues to creating an HIV vaccine
Recent work at Los Alamos sheds light on the mechanisms that lead to broader immune responses in HIV infected individuals and will help inform future vaccine designs. - 10/23/18
Photocathodes grown on atomically thin layers of graphene
Researchers developed a unique approach that decouples two competing physical mechanisms that have prevented scientists from improving cold cathode efficiency. - 10/11/18
Radiation Hardened Single-Board Computer for space applications
These higher, more exclusive orbits may soon be accessible to small satellite vendors thanks to a novel technology, the Radiation Hardened Single-Board Computer. - 10/5/18
Narrow-band single-photon emission through selective aryl functionalization of zigzag carbon nanotubes
The researchers showed in this work that they can narrow the response by a factor of 4-6 by functionalizing so-called zigzag nanotube structures. - 9/27/18
Aluminum triple bond made for first time
The discovery of the Al≡Al classical triple bond represents a fundamental chemical bonding issue. - 9/27/18
New video highlights turbulence research essential to Lab mission
Los Alamos researchers are using experiments and computer modeling to enhance the Laboratory’s understanding of turbulence and the ability to predict turbulence. - 9/11/18
Finding the infant massive black holes in the early universe
This work combines state-of-the art cosmological simulation with a radiative transfer post-processing analysis tool. - 9/10/18
Chemical selection of emission state configuration in a quantum-light emitter
Los Alamos researchers and their collaborators have found a new way to control quantum-light emitters using so-called zigzag nanotube structures. - 9/6/18
National Criticality Experiments Research Center
Welcome to the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC), home to some of the most highly trained individuals and specialized capabilities on Earth. - 9/5/18
Muon radiography verifies spent nuclear fuel in sealed casks
Researchers and collaborators have investigated a method to “see” inside sealed casks using naturally occurring cosmic-ray muons. - 8/29/18
Los Alamos National Laboratory's Discreet Oculus team recognized in DTRA’s Hyper Critical Campaign
DTRA designated Los Alamos to lead this complex, multi-agency Campaign that went from inception to successful execution in seven months. - 8/28/18
All-solid-state cryocooler becomes a reality
Markus Hehlen and collaborators have — for the first time — demonstrated an all-solid-state optical refrigerator that operates at cryogenic temperatures and has no moving parts. - 8/21/18
ACCObeam technology produces novel collimated sound beam
The team determined that it could produce a highly collimated, powerful sound beam that also minimizes unwanted side lobes. - 8/20/18
A new neural network approach for seismic event detection
Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have applied what is known as a “deep dense neural network” approach to the detection of seismic events. - 8/16/18
Multipoint satellite observations provide insight into the origins of substorms
A research team has investigated observations from multiple satellites to develop a more comprehensive picture of substorm interactions with the Earth’s magnetosphere. - 8/16/18
Cuprate superconductor shows unique conductivity
Resistance studies reveal ‘strange metal’s’ electrical peculiarity - 8/3/18
Los Alamos simulation tests innovative cancer treatment approach
More than 30 percent of human cancers have mutations in a small, specific group of genes, but attempts to design drugs specifically for these cancers have been unsuccessful. - 7/25/18
Laboratory lands Energy Frontier Research Center
DOE funds these research centers to accelerate scientific breakthroughs that are needed to strengthen the United States’ economic leadership and energy security. - 7/24/18
Chikungunya challenge gets a close review by experts
To improve forecasts of emerging diseases, DARPA launched the Chikungunya Challenge to forecast the number of cases and spread of chikungunya disease in the Americas. - 7/24/18
Shining light on excited-state dynamics in perovskite materials
This study reveals the polaron formation via nuclear dynamics in perovskite that may be important for efficient charge separation and collection. - 7/17/18
Coherent exciton-vibrational dynamics and energy transfer in conjugated organics
Understanding this phenomenon is important when designing carrier transport in optoelectronic materials. - 7/3/18
NNSA awards Laboratory management & operating contract
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration announced it has awarded Triad National Security, LLC the management and operating contract. - 6/8/18
Los Alamos OSRP team recognized with Hodes Award 2018
The National Nuclear Security Administration and Off-Site Source Recovery Program were recognized with the Richard S. Hodes Award at the Waste Management ’18 Symposium. - 6/5/18
AISES recognizes Los Alamos as top employer
In the latest AISES report, published in the spring 2018 issue of Winds of Change magazine, the Lab made the Top 50 list for the third year in a row. - 5/16/18
Leadership changes at the G.T. Seaborg Institute
Franz Freibert and Ping Yang have been named acting director and acting deputy director of the Los Alamos branch of the G.T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science. - 4/25/18
David Fry named as a Fellow of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing
The ASNT Fellow Award acknowledges and honors members for outstanding service in the field of nondestructive testing. - 4/4/18
Wireless sensor network monitors remote areas
A research team has developed a novel system which covers large geographic areas using a self-healing, self-forming mesh network of long range radios. - 3/29/18
Dingus receives Mexican Physical Society Medal
The award honors her developments for physics in Mexico, particularly her work establishing the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory and her ongoing work on the project. - 3/26/18
A short history of women at Los Alamos
As part of the Laboratory’s 75th Anniversary this year, this is the second in a series of stories celebrating the people and achievements that made us into an extraordinary scientific institution. - 3/22/18
Machine learning discovers patterns that reveal earthquake fault behavior
A new artificial intelligence-based method identifies sounds that indicate when a fault is about to rupture. - 3/20/18
Arthur Voter receives American Chemical Society Award
The American Chemical Society has awarded Arthur Voter the 2018 ACS Physical Chemistry Division Award in Theoretical Chemistry. - 3/19/18
Anderson-Cook chosen for American Society of Quality’s Shewhart Medal
The American Society for Quality has selected Christine Anderson-Cook to receive the 2018 Shewhart Medal. - 3/19/18
Lighthouse directional radiation detectors
These novel detectors are a broad class of directional radiation detectors that use differential attenuation to reveal the vector components of a radiation field. - 3/8/18
Submit LANSCE proposals by March 2
The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center invites proposals for experiments to be performed at one of its three user facilities. - 2/8/18
Conduct research at CINT
The next call for proposals at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) is March 1—31. - 2/7/18
Los Alamos sensors watch for potential nuclear explosions
If North Korea or anyone else were to detonate a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere or in space, how would we know? A fleet of sensors aboard satellites would tell us. - 1/31/18