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26 February 2024

The Search Engine of Materials Data: How the Materials Project Advances Research

The stone age didn’t end because people ran out of stones. Instead, people found better materials that met their needs. Throughout history, the discovery of new materials has led to breakthrough technological advancements. They have ranged from the discovery of bronze to create better tools and weapons to the discovery of semiconductors used in microelectronics. Historically, scientists and inventors have found new and better materials through a mix of intuition and trial-and-error. It can often take decades to find a useful, new material. The Materials Project aims to accelerate this process.

Learn more about how The Materials Project enables and accelerates materials research.  

NEWS CENTER

The Office of Science posted 49 science headlines and university and stakeholder news pieces between 2/14/24 and 2/26/24.

Ants and fungus: Being able to break down lignin – a major part of plants’ cell walls – could help scientists access more material for bio-based products while reducing waste. A microbial community made of fungus, leafcutter ants, and bacteria can naturally break down lignin. Researchers at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a new imaging method that allows scientists to analyze these communities down to the molecular level. They found important metabolites and enzymes that are essential to the degradation process.  

Alloys: Alloys are materials made by combining two or more metallic elements. They are essential as building materials. But most alloys can’t be both tough and flexible. Certain alloys called medium- and high-entropy alloys can be both, but scientists need to understand them better to take full advantage of their benefits. A team led by UCLA researchers used the Molecular Foundry (a DOE Office of Science user facility) to create a 3D map of the atomic coordinates of these alloys. In the process, they found a new approach to increasing alloys’ toughness and flexibility.   

Destroying PFAS: The chemicals called PFAS are both ubiquitous and do not break down via natural processes – hence, their moniker as “forever chemicals.” As a result, they accumulate in the environment, animals, and human bodies. Researchers at DOE’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in collaboration with 3M discovered that electron beams can destroy the two most common types of PFAS that are found in water.

Quantum processors: Harvard University researchers have developed the first programmable, logical quantum processor. It can encode up to 48 logical qubits and carry out far more logical gate operations than previous processors. It’s the first time that large-scale algorithms have been demonstrated on an error-corrected quantum computer and is a big step forward for the technology.   

Ions: Ions play important roles in vast numbers of chemical processes, including lithium-ion batteries. But understanding how ions form and transform, especially in the gas phase, has been very difficult. Researchers at DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Institute for Basic Science in Korea used an “electron camera” to observe ultra-fast and ultra-small movements of ion molecules.

Cyanobacteria: Cyanobacteria photosynthesize like plants and algae do, but function in a very different way. Researchers at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory at Michigan State University examined how cyanobacteria balance how much energy they produce with how much energy they use. They found that just a few regulatory proteins play a major role in the central network that regulates energy balance.

SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

The Office of Science posted four new highlights between 2/14/24 and 2/26/24.

Proton mass: How mass is distributed inside protons has been a long-standing question in physics. Most of the proton’s mass comes from the quarks and their interactions. Some comes from the gluons as well. A team led by researchers from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory used the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (a DOE Office of Science user facility) to make new measurements. They found that the primary source of the mass generated by gluons is in the central region of the proton.

IN THE NEWS

CNN: Scientists say they can use AI to solve a key problem in the quest for near-limitless clean energy

Researchers at DOE’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have found a way to use artificial intelligence to predict and prevent instabilities in plasma in fusion devices.

Grist: How air pollution delayed a surge in extreme rain

While the pollution that causes smog contributes to health problems, it also reflects back sunlight and reduces climate change. Researchers at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory explored how this dynamic has affected severe rainfall.

NPR: Scientists explore whether to add a ‘Category 6’ designation for hurricanes

Climate change is making more powerful storms more common. Berkeley Lab researchers wrote a paper discussing how these storms push the boundaries of the current categorization system.

BASIC TO BREAKTHROUGH

Combining User Facility Resources to Maximize Their Impact

As DOE’s user facilities improve in power and precision, they are creating more data that scientists need to process and analyze. For example, the upgrade to the Advanced Photon Source user facility will produce about 20 to 40 times more data than the current version of the light source. Altogether, the DOE Office of Science's light sources will be producing about 1 billion gigabytes of data a year in the coming decade.

To handle this data, DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory and other national labs are finding new ways to integrate experimental facilities and computer technology. Argonne’s Nexus effort is coordinating all of the lab’s work on developing an integrated research infrastructure. This type of integration will allow scientists to adjust instrumentation quickly and analyze data in near real-time.   

END NOTES

Meaningful Partnerships to Diversify Science

Bringing together researchers with different knowledge and skill sets empowers teams to face complex scientific challenges. Samson Hagos at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been a leader in creating diverse teams. As he contemplated a lack of conferences at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided that there needed to be new ways for scientists to network. In particular, he wanted to bridge the gap between DOE’s national labs and minority serving institutions (MSIs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In response, he reached out to colleagues and launched a network to bring together climate researchers from a wide range of communities. Now the PNNL-HBCU/MSI Climate Research Network has more than 30 participating institutions. It has helped facilitate the development of two Climate Resilience Centers and three Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce projects.  

Please see the archive on Energy.gov for past issues.

No. 113: 26 February 2024