2012 News & Highlights

Don Hillebrand elected President of SAE International

December 11, 2012 -- SAE International's general membership has elected officers and directors to its Board of Directors. Read the press release.

Solar team awarded $3.8M

December 11, 2012 -- A team of institutions that includes Argonne has been awarded $3.8 million by the U.S. Department of Energy to combine new methods in cloud physics and modeling, big-data integration and processing, and deep machine learning to make solar energy more viable in the energy marketplace. Read the story.

UChicago: How the first chain reaction changed science

December 10, 2012 -- The Atomic Age began at 3:25 p.m. on Dec. 2, 1942 -- quietly, in secrecy, on a squash court under the west stands of old Stagg Field at the University of Chicago. Read the story.

UChicago video: How the Atomic Age Began at UChicago

December 10, 2012 -- On Dec. 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi and his team achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, as part of the wartime Manhattan Project. This UChicago video looks back at the momentous event and its impact on the University. View the video.

Argonne image "Carbon Galaxy" wins first place

December 5, 2012 -- Carbon Galaxy, an image submitted to the 2012 Materials Research Society's (MRS) Science as Art Competition by Argonne materials scientist Vilas Pol, was awarded a Blue Ribbon and First Place. Read the story.

Argonne's ABMS tutorials remain popular resources

December 4, 2012 -- At the 2005 Winter Simulation Conference, Argonne researchers Charles Macal and Mike North gave a popular tutorial on agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS). Seven years later, their talk remains a valuable resource to the modeling community. Read the story.

Argonne marks 70th anniversary of first man-made nuclear chain reaction

December 2, 2012 -- Seventy years ago today on Dec. 2, 1942, World War II was raging overseas, and Enrico Fermi and 48 other scientists gathered in a squash court beneath the football stadium at the University of Chicago. They were about to witness the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction -- soon to be a revolutionary new source of energy. Read the story.

Department of Energy awards up to $120 million for battery hub to Argonne-led group

November 30, 2012 -- U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu was joined today by Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to announce that a multi-partner team led by Argonne National Laboratory has been selected for an award of up to $120 million over five years to establish a new Batteries and Energy Storage Hub. Read the story.

Faibish appointed Fellow to Senate Committee

November 20, 2012 -- Ron Faibish, principal nuclear engineer at Argonne, has been appointed the new Science Fellow with the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Read the story.

Wang receives Outstanding Young Engineer Award

November 20, 2012 -- Jianhui Wang, Argonne computational engineer, was awarded the 2012 Outstanding Young Engineer Award by the IEEE-Chicago Section. Read the story.

SHARP could slash nuclear reactor design costs

November 16, 2012 -- Researchers are using some of the world's most powerful computers at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility to take a leap forward in nuclear reactor design, analysis and engineering. Their efforts could shave millions of dollars off the cost of reactor design, development, preparation for licensing, and construction. Read the story.

Roger Blomquist: Getting to Know Nuclear Energy

November 15, 2012 -- As part of the public lecture series Argonne OutLoud, nuclear engineer Roger Blomquist discusses the history of nuclear energy, advanced reactor designs and future technologies, all aimed at the safe, sustainable and secure use of nuclear power worldwide. Watch the video.

Argonne receives Homeland Security commendation

October 30, 2012 -- Argonne assisted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region V in Chicago, who was tasked by the Department of Homeland Security, with developing a response plan if an Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) was released by a terrorist group in a large metropolitan area. Read the story.

Argonne to study safer handling of electric vehicle batteries after accidents

September 17, 2012 -- Researchers in Argonne's Vehicle Systems group will be receiving $1.5 million in funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to develop a procedure for managing the stranded energy left in high-voltage electric vehicle battery packs after an accident. Read the story.

Argonne Hosted Consortium to Address Wide Band Gap Materials for Improved Power Electronics Devices

September 14, 2012 -- The focus of the workshop was to gather collective input on industry needs in the area of improved wide band gap power electronic devices based on GaN and Silicon Carbide materials. Read the story.

Argonne Contributes Expertise Towards Safer Handling of High Voltage EV Batteries After an Accident

September 14, 2012 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has awarded researchers at Argonne $1.5 million in funding to develop a procedure for dealing with the stranded energy left in high voltage EV battery packs. Read the story.

Autonomie used to support CAFE 2017-2025 standards

September 11, 2012 -- Argonne National Laboratory used its vehicle simulation tool, Autonomie, to provide the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT/NHTSA), with fuel-efficiency improvement results for both transmission and electric drive technologies. Read the story.

Merzari awarded ANS award

September 10, 2012 -- Elia Merzari was awarded the Young Member Excellence Award by the American Nuclear Society. Read the story.

New boriding technique coats metal workpieces in minutes

September 5, 2012 -- A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory recently won an R&D 100 Award for a technology that rapidly converts metallic surfaces into a hard, durable boride layer. Large-scale ultra-fast boriding can be used to enhance the strength and performance of metal or alloy mechanical parts. Read the story.

Turning up the heat: Argonne's thermal cell facility puts vehicles to the test

August 30, 2012 -- Imagine having to don shades and a sun hat, then gloves and a heavy winter coat, all in the course of the same day. That's within the realm of possibility for automotive researchers working in Argonne's Advanced Powertrain Research Facility, which now includes a thermal chamber that can deliver temperatures ranging from frigid cold to sweltering heat. Read the story.

The research bench meets industry: New facility scales up production of battery materials

August 21, 2012 -- Cue Argonne’s new Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF): using its state-of-the-art labs and equipment, researchers can safely determine fast and economical ways of producing large quantities of advanced battery materials for commercial testing. Read the story.

Award-winning technology provides a breakthrough in particle physics

August 6, 2012 -- High-energy physics, it turns out, is a lot like life - it's all about the timing. In order to identify the tiny subatomic particles that erupt from the atom-smashing experiments that occur in subterranean laboratories like the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, scientists need detectors that have split-second reflexes. Read the story.

First-Hand Recollections of the First Self-Sustaining Chain Reaction

August 3, 2012 -- On December 2, 1942, 49 scientists, led by Enrico Fermi, made history when Chicago Pile 1 (CP-1) went critical and produced the world's first self-sustaining, controlled nuclear chain reaction. Seventy years later, two of the last surviving CP-1 pioneers, Harold Agnew and Warren Nyer, recall that historic day. The DOE website features an article and video to commemorate the 70th anniversary of CP-1. Read the story.

Biofuels anywhere, anytime

August 2, 2012 -- Argonne bioscientist Phil Laible answers five questions about Argonne's Endurance Bioenergy Reactor. Read the story.

The long, winding road to advanced batteries for electric cars

July 18, 2012 -- Batteries have come a long way since Alessandro Volta first discovered in 1800 that two unlike metals, when separated by an acidic solution, could produce an electric current. In their evolution, batteries have taken on various forms, ranging from lead-acid, to nickel-metal hydride, to current-day lithium-ion. Read the story.

Five scientists join ranks of Argonne Distinguished Fellows

July 18, 2012 -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has named scientists Khalil Amine, Larry Johnson, Ernst Rehm, Marc Snir and Brian Stephenson as Distinguished Fellows, the laboratory’s highest scientific and engineering rank. Read the story.

Argonne, Evigia finalize licensing agreement for next-gen RFID sensor technology

July 16, 2012 -- Evigia Systems and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory announced today that they have finalized a licensing agreement under which Argonne's patented, application-specific radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor/seal technology and its custom-developed ARG-US software suite will be further developed and marketed by Evigia as a comprehensive nuclear and hazardous material handling solution. Read the story.

Argonne holds Director's Special Symposium to commemorate 70th anniversary of CP-1

July 12, 2012 -- June 28, 2012 marked a special day at Argonne National Laboratory, when nearly 600 Argonne staff members had the privilege of hearing two of the pioneers in the nuclear energy field discuss the early days of their careers and their roles in Argonne's nuclear energy legacy. Read the story.

Biochips to investigate cattle disease win entrepreneurial challenge

July 9, 2012 -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are feeling bullish about new biochips that can detect bovine mastitis infection in dairy cows. Read the story.

Argonne flows into utility-scale battery research

June 28, 2012 -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have developed an all-organic non-aqueous lithium-ion redox flow battery that would help expand use of large-scale solar and wind energy on the nation's electrical grid. Read the story.

New Version of GREET Available

June 27, 2012 -- A new GREET release (GREET1_2012) is now available on the GREET website. See the update.

Nuclear fuel recycling could offer plentiful energy

June 22, 2012 -- Imagine the mess if we mined one ton of coal, burned five percent of it for energy, and then threw away the rest. That is what happens with uranium for nuclear fuel today. Read the story.

Argonne wins four R&D 100 Awards

June 20, 2012 -- Four technologies developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have received this year’s R&D 100 awards. Read the story.

Grid realities cancel out some of wind power's carbon savings

May 29, 2012 -- Wind energy lowers carbon emissions, but adding turbines to the current grid system does not eliminate emissions proportionally, according to a report by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. Read the story.

New class of battery materials discovered

May 10, 2012 -- Researchers have discovered a new class of battery electrode materials that will be essential to attaining safe and efficient lithium (Li) and sodium (Na) rechargeable energy storage systems for vehicle and large-scale electric utility use. Read the story.

Tracing the Fingerprints of Bioterrorism

May 8, 2012 -- This brochure highlights Argonne's biodetection technologies team. View the brochure.

Energy to Renew Our World

April 26, 2012 -- A brochure featuring Argonne's work in renewable energy. View the brochure.

Driving the Future

April 18, 2012 -- A brochure highlighting Argonne's vehicle systems research. View the brochure.

New nanoparticle technology cuts water use, energy costs

April 12, 2012 -- Nuclear and coal power plants are some of the thirstiest machines on earth. The turbines that spin inside of them to generate electricity require tons and tons of steam, and all of that water has to come from somewhere. Read the story.

Pointer receives Landis Award from ANS

April 3, 2012 -- Argonne nuclear engineer Dave Pointer is the recipient of the 2012 Landis Young Member Engineering Achievement Award from the American Nuclear Society (ANS). Read the story.

Autonomie selected by GM

March 21, 2012 -- Autonomie has now been selected as the standard tool for Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) for GM's next generation of hybrid and electric vehicle controls. Read the press release.

EcoCAR2 Announces Vehicle Architectures

February 22, 2012 -- Today, the 15 North American universities participating in EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future announced the vehicle architectures they will implement in their General Motors-donated 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. Read the story.

Increasing the Life of Batteries

Feb. 17, 2012 -- Argonne's Battery Post-Test Facility is featured in this brochure. Download the brochure.

Sattelberger is Chair-Elect of AAAS Chemistry Section

February 13, 2012 -- Al Sattelberger, Argonne's Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for Energy Engineering & Systems Analysis, has been elected Chair-Elect of the Chemistry Section of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS). Read the story.

Small modular reactor design could be a 'SUPERSTAR'

February 9, 2012 -- At the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, a team led by senior nuclear engineer James Sienicki has designed a new small reactor cooled by lead—the Sustainable Proliferation-resistance Enhanced Refined Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor, or SUPERSTAR for short. Read the story.

A 'natural' solution for transportation

February 2, 2012 -- As the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG). Read the story.

Two Startup Companies Use Argonne’s Technology to Compete in “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator”

February 1, 2012 -- Two startup companies, California Lithium Battery and Umpqua Energy, are using Argonne National Laboratory’s technology to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “America’s Next Top Energy Innovator Challenge," a competition where Americans vote online for the most innovative and promising startup companies that are using technologies from the Department’s national laboratories to develop new products and businesses. Read the story.

Argonne presents talks at 2012 Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference

January 24, 2012 -- Argonne researchers participated in the third IEEE PES Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT 2012), sponsored by the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES), held January 16-20, 2012 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in the District of Columbia, USA. The Conference was a forum for participants to discuss state-of-the-art innovations in smart grid technologies. The Conference featured plenary sessions, technical papers and tutorials by international experts on smart grid applications. View the papers.

New TRACC Brochure

January 17, 2012 -- Read all about TRACC research and their supercomputing resources for transportation. Read the brochure.

New book tells story of Intregal Fast Reactor

January 13, 2012 -- The scientific, engineering and political history of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) is the subject of a new book by Charles E. Till and Yoon Chang, who together led the IFR program at Argonne. Read more.

Battery, heal thyself: Inventing self-repairing batteries

January 11, 2012 -- Imagine dropping your phone on the hard concrete sidewalk—but when you pick it up, you find its battery has already healed itself. Read the story.

National Security Information Systems brochure

January 5, 2012 -- Argonne’s National Security Information Systems (NSIS) Team designs and develops innovative computer software and systems to better protect our nation’s critical information networks and infrastructure. Read the brochure.