Department of Energy Announces $80 Million for Research to Accelerate Innovations in Emerging Technologies

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $80 million, provided by the Office of Science, to support fundamental research to drive the innovation cycle in support of the Accelerate Innovations in Emerging Technologies (Accelerate) initiative.

VULCAN forges new science for the future of 3D-printed metal

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a novel experimental platform called OpeN-AM to study additively manufactured metal in real time using beams of neutrons. The experimental system features a robotic arm that 3D-prints metal welds to create complex shapes and objects.

Engineers discover new process for synthetic material growth, enabling soft robots that grow like plants

An interdisciplinary team of University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has developed a new, plant-inspired extrusion process that enables synthetic material growth, and the creation of a soft robot that builds its own solid body from liquid to navigate hard-to-reach places and complicated terrain.

Senators, industry leaders discuss the meaning of CHIPS Act to national economy and security

Two panel discussions overviewed the importance of the new $52-billion CHIPS and Science Act as a catalyst for improving American research, manufacturing, workforce development and national security related to semiconductors. The event was hosted by Arizona State University and the Washington Business Journal on Sept. 22 in Washington, D.C.

Pitt is the only university in the U.S. with this giant 3D printer for metal

The University of Pittsburgh is in exclusive company with a new state-of-the-art technology — the first Gefertec arc605 3D printer at any university in the U.S, thanks to funding from the Department of Energy and U.S. Army. The printer makes use of welding, melting wire made from metals like stainless steel, titanium and aluminum alloys and depositing it layer by layer. Pitt’s new Gefertec arc605 is much faster than previous metal 3D printers, which used lasers and metal powder.

Department of Energy Announces $78 Million for Research in High Energy Physics

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $78 million in funding for 58 research projects that will spur new discoveries in high energy physics. The projects—housed at 44 colleges and universities across 22 states—are exploring the fundamental science about the universe that also underlies technological advancements in medicine, computing, energy technologies, manufacturing, national security, and more.

B-Roll from Louisiana-Based PPE Factory

Facility footage from SafeSource Direct in Broussard, La., where personal protection equipment (PPE) is manufactured. It’s been one year since Ochsner Health, Louisiana’s leading healthcare system, partnered with Trax Development on a joint venture to create SafeSource Direct, making it the only U.S. provider-owned PPE manufacturer with U.S. provider-owned quality control.

New scalable method resolves materials joining in solid-state batteries

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a scalable, low-cost method to improve the joining of materials in solid-state batteries, resolving one of the big challenges in the commercial development of safe, long-lived energy storage systems.

New $3 million National Science Foundation center aims to connect materials data science research to industry

Case Western Reserve University and the University of Pittsburgh will launch a joint center this fall that uses cutting edge data-science and materials research to help companies make more reliable and durable products.

The Center for Materials Data Science for Reliability and Degradation (MDS-Rely) is a $3 million center supported by a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) .

Bubbling to the surface: WVU engineers develop new geothermal energy technology

As part of the American-Made Geothermal Manufacturing Prize competition, a challenge designed to spur innovation and address manufacturing challenges in geothermal environments, associate professor Terence Musho and Berry Chair Emeritus Nigel Clark in West Virginia University’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, have developed a new airlift approach to optimize current geothermal pump technologies.

‘Artificial Chemist’ Combines AI, Robotics to Conduct Autonomous R&D

Researchers have developed a technology called “Artificial Chemist,” which incorporates artificial intelligence and an automated system for performing chemical reactions to accelerate R&D and manufacturing of commercially desirable materials.

MAGNET Delivers Improved COVID-19 Testing Platform in Partnership with University Hospitals and the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance

The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET), in collaboration with University Hospitals and The Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19, has developed a new, protective testing platform for health care workers assessing the spread of COVID-19. Health care experts at University Hospitals and UH Ventures, their innovation and commercialization division, believe these specially designed barriers could decrease the need for valuable Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), speed up the testing process, and better protect frontline health care workers.

Liquid metal research invokes ‘Terminator’ film — but much friendlier

Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed “the first liquid metal lattice in the world.” The team has created a series of prototypes that return to their shapes when crushed.

A Great New Way to Paint 3D-Printed Objects

Rutgers engineers have created a highly effective way to paint complex 3D-printed objects, such as lightweight frames for aircraft and biomedical stents, that could save manufacturers time and money and provide new opportunities to create “smart skins” for printed parts. The findings are published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Nature might be better than tech at reducing air pollution

Adding plants and trees to the landscapes near factories and other pollution sources could reduce air pollution by an average of 27 percent, new research suggests.

The study shows that plants – not technologies – may also be cheaper options for cleaning the air near a number of industrial sites, roadways, power plants, commercial boilers and oil and gas drilling sites.

In fact, researchers found that in 75 percent of the counties analyzed, it was cheaper to use plants to mitigate air pollution than it was to add technological interventions – things like smokestack scrubbers – to the sources of pollution.

ORNL develops, deploys AI capabilities across research portfolio

To accelerate promising artificial intelligence applications in diverse research fields, ORNL has established a labwide AI Initiative. This internal investment brings the lab’s AI expertise, computing resources and user facilities together to facilitate analyses of massive datasets.