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December 12, 2017
Press Release
Scientists Discover Path to Improving Game-Changing Battery Electrode
They created a comprehensive picture of how the same chemical processes that give these cathodes their high capacity are also linked to changes in atomic structure that sap performance.
Illustration of electrode structure for lithium ion battery
October 26, 2017
Press Release
Scientists Get First Close-ups of Finger-Like Growths that Trigger Battery Fires
Remarkable cryo-EM images that reveal details down to the individual atom will yield new insights into why high-energy batteries fail.
October 9, 2017
News Feature
A Battery Based on Sodium May Offer More Cost-Effective Storage Than Lithium
Lithium ion batteries may remain tops for sheer performance, but when cost-per-storage is factored in, a design based on sodium ions offers promise; research was conducted in part at SSRL.
September 26, 2017
News Feature
Kasper Kjaer Wins First LCLS Young Investigator Award
The early career award from SLAC’s X-ray laser recognizes Kjaer’s work in ultrafast X-ray science.
photo of Kasper Kjaer in Panofsky Auditorium
September 25, 2017
News Feature
Researchers Develop a Way to Better Predict Corrosion from Crude Oil
The X-ray studies performed at SLAC will help the oil industry improve guidelines for corrosion from sulfur in crude oil.
Oil refinery
September 14, 2017
Press Release
SLAC-Led Project Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Prevent or Minimize Electric Grid Failures
It's the first to employ AI to help the grid manage power fluctuations, resist damage and recover faster from storms, solar eclipses, cyberattacks and other disruptions.
An illustration of electric grid components
August 21, 2017
Press Release
Scientists Create ‘Diamond Rain’ That Forms in the Interior of Icy Giant Planets
SLAC’s X-ray laser and Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allow researchers to examine the exotic precipitation in real time as it materializes in the laboratory.
A cutaway depicts the interior of Neptune (right) and an illustration of diamond rain (left)
August 15, 2017
News Feature
Newly Upgraded Laser Allows Scientists to Peer Further Into the Extreme Universe at SLAC’s LCLS
Tripling the energy and refining the shape of optical laser pulses at LCLS’s Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allows researchers to recreate higher-pressure conditions and explore unsolved questions relevant to fusion energy, plasma physics and materials science.
Laser engineers with the upgraded Matter in Extreme Conditions optical laser
July 11, 2017
News Feature
Scientists See Molecules ‘Breathe’ in Remarkable Detail
The research team was able to watch energy from light flow through atomic ripples in a molecule. Such insights may provide new ways to develop a class of materials that improve efficiency and reduce the size of applications like solar cells and memory storage devices.
View of the The X-ray Pump Probe instrument at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source.
June 19, 2017
News Feature
Discovery Could Lead to Sustainable Ethanol Made from Carbon Dioxide
A recent discovery by scientists from the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis could lead to a new, more sustainable way to make ethanol without corn or other crops.

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