Argonne

ARGONNE, Ill. -- June 9, 2008 -- The Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology (IGSB), a joint venture of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago, has acquired two new instruments that provide an enhanced ability to sequence genomes more quickly and broadly.

Argonne's genomics research is primarily funded DOE's Office of Science, which supports research that provides a fundamental scientific understanding of plants and microbes necessary to develop strategies for sequestering carbon gases, producing biofuels and cleaning up waste.    » read more »

ARGONNE, Ill. -- May 23, 2008 -- When air-quality monitors and environmental regulators inspect the pollution levels of certain cities, the difference of one or two parts per million in the concentration of pollutants like ozone and carbon monoxide can mean the difference between achieving a target and having to implement additional costly provisions to get failing areas back on track.

Because of the high stakes involved in meeting air-quality targets, scientists, city officials and regulators all desire an effective and accurate way not only to measure air quality but also to predict where pollution "hot spots" will occur and plan for additional control strategies.    » read more »

ARGONNE, Ill. (March 28, 2008) – Independent tests conducted by engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory on the mono-fueled version of the BMW Hydrogen 7 prototype have found that the car's hydrogen-powered engine surpasses the super-ultra low-emission vehicle (SULEV) level, the most stringent emissions performance standard to date.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 Mono-Fuel demonstration vehicle, a near-zero emissions car: undergoes testing at Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility (APRF), the principal U.S. Department of Energy facility for assessing advanced hybrid electric vehicle technologies.    » read more »

March 17, 2008 -- [WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was joined by a bipartisan group of Senators in sending a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting an additional $350 million for critical science programs administered by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the National Science Foundation which would ensure that both Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory as well as other scientific facilities are able to continue their research and retain staff.    » read more »

Patented cathode materials result in longer-lasting, safer batteries for cars, phones, computers

ARGONNE, Ill. (March 13, 2008) — The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Toda Kogyo Corp. of Japan have reached a world-wide licensing agreement for the commercial production and sales of Argonne's patented composite cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, which result in longer-lasting, safer batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, cell phones, laptop computers and other applications.    » read more »

Hundreds of jobs in jeopardy under Bush budget cuts

January 8, 2008 -- CHICAGO – Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today sent a letter to the president asking him to reverse his decision to cut funding from Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, two of the most important research centers in the nation, located in Illinois.    » read more »

Effect on staffing undetermined, but job reductions called a certainty

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan.7, 2008) – The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory today announced the shutdown of its Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), one of the most productive neutron scattering facilities in the world, as the result of the fiscal year 2008 spending bill approved by Congress prior to the holidays. Moreover, the lab may have to scale back other operations at its Advanced Photon Source (APS) and High Energy Physics (HEP) Division due to lack of funding.    » read more »