News

Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) have developed a new infrared approach to probing the first few molecular layers of a liquid in contact with a graphene electrode under operating conditions.The research, conducted at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), offers a new way to study the interfaces that are key to understanding batteries, corrosion, and other bio- and... Read more

A recent CNBC video story on ocean desalination technologies, one of several options being explored to address world water shortages, featured Prakash Rao of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab). Rao, a research scientist within the Lab's Energy Technologies Area, conducts analysis of large-scale desalination, focusing on its energy implications. He has co-authored research, for example,... Read more

Six researchers in the Energy Technologies Area have been recognized in the annual Director's Awards, which applauds outstanding scientific contributions at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).Tom McKone received the Berkeley Lab Prize, a lifetime achievement award; Nihar Shah, a research scientist/engineer, received a societal impact award; and the... Read more

Adam Weber’s research team sits together in a cluster of offices, cubicles, and laboratories deep in the labyrinth of the Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab) Buildings 62 and 70.A staff scientist/engineer who won a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2014, Weber has now collected a solid and multidisciplinary group... Read more

The National Alliance for Water Innovation, which is led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), has been awarded a five-year, $100-million Energy-Water Desalination Hub by DOE (pending appropriations) to address water security issues in the United States. The Hub will focus on early-stage research and development for energy-efficient and... Read more

A researcher at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been awarded a $50,000 fellowship for innovative electrochemical research in green energy technology. Nemanja Danilovic and four other selected fellows from other institutions will each receive funding to conduct research as outlined in their proposals. Danilovic studies electrochemical technologies in the... Read more

The Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant near U.S. Route 101 (the Pacific Coast Highway) in the northern portion of San Diego County; Carlsbad, California. (Credit: Art Wager/iStock)As populations boom and chronic droughts persist, coastal cities like Carlsbad in Southern California have increasingly turned to ocean desalination to supplement a dwindling fresh water supply.Now... Read more

When Hannah Moring was growing up she loved tinkering around with her Dad in his woodworking shop, and learning how things worked and were put together, a fascination that flourished throughout high school, where she excelled in math and science.Today that experience has led her to a prestigious internship this summer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Moring is one of nine... Read more

Sure, computers can be used to play grand-master level chess, but can they make scientific discoveries? Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have shown that an algorithm with no training in materials science can scan the text of millions of papers and uncover new scientific knowledge.A team led by Anubhav Jain, a scientist in Berkeley Lab’s... Read more

Two researchers are working at the forefront of water-energy technologies as 2018 Rosenfeld Postdoctoral Fellows at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).Akanksha Menon and Arkadeep Kumar joined Berkeley Lab's Energy Technologies Area last year for two-year terms as part of the fellowship, which is awarded to outstanding recent Ph.D. recipients. Both are doing work that honors... Read more

A group of industry leaders learned the latest techniques and technologies to save energy and water at a recent two-day event hosted by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings, Better Plants program.The event was held at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).Through the Better Plants program, DOE works with industrial partners... Read more

Researchers have designed a biomedical device for absorbing excess chemotherapy drugs during cancer treatment, characterizing the active surface layer using x-ray microtomography at the Advanced Light Source (ALS).The work at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) opens up a new route to fighting cancer that minimizes drug toxicity and enables personalized, targeted, high-dose... Read more

New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) opens up new possibilities for packing more energy into batteries with electrodes made out of low-cost, common materials.The study focused on the rechargeable batteries we depend on for everything from mobile phones to electric vehicles. A team of scientists quantified a strong, beneficial, and highly reversible chemical reaction... Read more

A select audience recently gathered for the 2019 Art Rosenfeld Symposium on Energy Efficient and Grid Interactive Buildings. The day was dedicated to the ongoing scientific discoveries and research inspired by Rosenfeld, a Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist, UC Berkeley Professor and former Commissioner of the California Energy Commission.Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell greeted the audience with a... Read more

When scientists are trying to make things better, they will often turn to a standard rule and try to disprove or disrupt it.A consortium of researchers using the unique Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) set out to do just that with Planck’s Law.Planck’s Law, which forms the basis of quantum theory, states that electromagnetic radiation from heated bodies... Read more

Water-purifying technology developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) was named among only five in the world that meet current international standards in a recent study from United Nations University examining systems for small communities.The Lab's Electro Chemical Arsenic Remediation (ECAR) removes arsenic from drinking water effectively while remaining affordable—a rare... Read more

A grid communications model that began as a research project at Berkeley Lab has now become an international standard, paving the way toward smart grid improvements around the world.The standard, OpenADR, aids in demand response, the practice of managing energy demand from customers with signals based on price or reliability. OpenADR offers a common language energy customers and grid operators can... Read more

A new research team bringing together a multidisciplinary group of experts to explore ways to make our cities more efficient has been created at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).The Urban Systems group will focus on buildings and their interactions with the urban environment. The group is part of the Building Technology & Urban Systems division in Berkeley Lab’s Energy... Read more

Computer gaming accounts for about 5 percent of all residential energy use in California -- equal to the same amount as 10 million new refrigerators – yet gamers do not routinely think about energy efficiency or ways to trim energy costs while gaming.In a recent study sponsored by the California Energy Commission, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) have revealed... Read more

Students and early career researchers in the areas of building science, energy-efficiency and the electricity grid are invited to enter a prestigious poster competition sponsored by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.Five winners will be invited to give a five-minute lightning talk at Rosenfeld Symposium 2019 - Energy-Efficient and Grid-Interactive Buildings, to be held at the David Brower... Read more

A recent segment on CNBC about how a growing battery industry is changing the world featured Vince Battaglia, leader of the Energy Storage Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), along with the lab's Advanced Light Source (ALS) user facility.The eight-minute piece features Battaglia and other scientists talking about the history and future of batteries. The introduction of... Read more

An online data management tool for water/energy retrofits, and a device that recycles carbon dioxide into renewable fuels have both been recognized in the 2018 R&D 100 Awards given to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).eProject Builder won the 2018 R&D 100 Award, and Opus 12 is a co-recipient of a Special Recognition Award. The... Read more

In a recent Facebook post, Energy Secretary Rick Perry lauds the DOE’s national labs and “the incredible work being undertaken by our nation’s brightest minds.” The post includes a video that features his visit to all 17 national labs, including Berkeley Lab.... Read more

ETA staff members were recently honored for outstanding efforts to improve diversity, implement innovative lighting in a "Living Lab" and performing breakthrough discoveries in thirdhand smoke research.The 2018 Director's Awards for Exceptional Achievement recognize accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multi-disciplinary science, cross-divisional projects and commitment to excellence in... Read more

October 8 marks the 4th annual National Hydrogen Day—a date that gives a nod to the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008) and to the increasing role hydrogen fuel is playing nationally. Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) scientists are working every day on research that allows hydrogen to be produced, stored, and used in cleaner and even more efficient and affordable ways.Hydrogen fuel is... Read more