In a new perspective, SLAC and University of Paderborn scientists argue that research at synchrotrons could help improve water-purifying materials in ways that might not otherwise be possible.

The prestigious awards provide at least $2.5 million over five years in support of their work in understanding photochemical reactions and improving accelerator beams.

They discovered the messy environment of a chemical reaction can actually change the shape of a catalytic nanoparticle in a way that makes it more active.

Understanding nature’s process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy from sunlight and water.

New machine learning methods bring insights into how lithium ion batteries degrade, and show it’s more complicated than many thought.

It combines human knowledge and expertise with the speed and efficiency of “smart” computer algorithms.

The lab is responding to the coronavirus crisis by imaging disease-related biomolecules, developing standards for reliable coronavirus testing and enabling other essential research.

The 1950s and ‘60s poisoning event was long attributed to methylmercury, but studies at SLAC suggest a different compound was to blame. The findings could reshape toxicologists’ understanding of disease related to mercury poisoning.

A better understanding of this phenomenon, which is crucial to many processes that occur in biological systems and materials, could enable researchers to develop light-sensitive proteins for areas such as biological imaging and optogenetics.

These inexpensive photosensitizers could make solar power and chemical manufacturing more efficient. Experiments at SLAC offer insight into how they work.