January 2019 – July 2022
A powerful combination of experiment and theory has revealed atomic-level details about how silver helps transform carbon dioxide gas into a reusable form. The results will help in the design of more efficient metal catalysts. The Lab’s ALS and JCAP were part of this research collaboration. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/05/23/a-silver-bullet-for-the-chemical-conversion-of-carbon-dioxide/
Murray Gell-Mann helped develop a growing body of data associated with newly discovered subatomic particles explored at Berkeley Lab and elsewhere. A paper Art Rosenfeld co-authored with Gell-Mann served as the genesis for the particle property reports produced by the Lab’s Particle Data Group. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/24/obituaries/murray-gell-mann-died-.html?searchResultPosition=4
In a special issue of mSystems, JGI’s Rex Malmstrom, Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh, and Simon Roux contribute perspectives on what the next five years of innovation genomics might look like. Their forecast includes emerging research on restructuring individual microbes and developing the field of ecogenomics. https://jgi.doe.gov/jgi-researchers-msystems-innovation-issue/
As part of Military Appreciation Month, energy.gov features Lab employee Michael Johnson. After completion of the Naval Nuclear Power School, Johnson was assigned to duty as a nuclear reactor operator. He later made his way to the Lab as the research coordinator for the 88” cyclotron. https://www.energy.gov/articles/military-appreciation-month-berkeley-lab-s-michael-johnson
A presidential executive order encourages federal agencies to use the Lab’s eProject Builder, a data management application that standardizes the collection, tracking, and reporting of information for energy and water retrofit projects in government, institutional, and private sector facilities. https://emp.lbl.gov/news/presidential-executive-order-instructions
Using cutting-edge theoretical calculations performed at NERSC, researchers at the Molecular Foundry have predicted fascinating new properties of lithium – a light alkali metal that has intrigued scientists for two decades with its remarkable diversity of physical states at high pressures. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/05/23/lithium-under-pressure/
A team including Biosciences Area researchers used advanced computational methods to develop a comprehensive model of the human preinitiation complex, an assembly of proteins that is vital for gene transcription. The model sheds light on how mutations lead to three inherited genetic diseases. https://biosciences.lbl.gov/2019/05/21/researchers-create-comprehensive-model-of-transcription-preinitiation-complex/
As of May 20, the kilogram will no longer be defined by Le Grand K — a golf-ball-sized hunk of platinum and iridium — but by a fundamental property of nature known as Planck’s constant, which cannot fluctuate. Researchers devoted to the science of measurement say it’s a turning point for humanity. https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-new-definition-kilogram-mole-ampere-kelvin-20190517-story.html#nws=true
Berkeley Lab has been awarded $6 million by the California Energy Commission to find “super emitters” of methane. Methane is commonly released from rice fields, dairies, landfills, and oil and gas facilities — all of which are plentiful in California. https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2019/05/21/berkeley-lab-project-to-pinpoint-methane-super-emitters/