Anchoring individual iridium atoms on the surface of a catalytic particle boosted its performance in carrying out a reaction that’s been a bottleneck for sustainable energy production.

SLAC and Stanford scientists used it to zoom in on an iconic RNA catalyst and a piece of viral RNA that’s a potential target for COVID-19 treatments.

Their work aims to bridge two approaches to driving the reaction – one powered by heat, the other by electricity – with the goal of discovering more efficient and sustainable ways to convert carbon dioxide into useful products.

An international team led by SLAC/Stanford Professor Ed Solomon used a tantalizing principle borrowed from nature to turn harmful methane into useful methanol.

She toured the lab’s powerful X-ray laser, looked at the construction of the world’s largest digital camera, and discussed climate research, industries of the future, and diversity, equity and inclusion in the sciences.

Nickelate materials give scientists an exciting new window into how unconventional superconductors carry electric current with no loss at relatively high temperatures.

Measuring the process in unprecedented detail gives them clues to how to minimize the problem and protect battery performance.

The lab will help fund the work of researchers who use artificial intelligence and machine learning to make energy systems more sustainable, affordable, resilient and fair to all socioeconomic groups.

With a new suite of tools, scientists discovered exactly how tiny plate-like catalyst particles carry out a key step in that conversion – the evolution of oxygen in an electrocatalytic cell – in unprecedented detail.

Zhenan Bao, Axel Brunger and Robert Byer are among 252 new members elected to the society, which honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists and innovators engaged in advancing the public good.

It’s an example of how surprising properties can spontaneously emerge in complex materials – a phenomenon scientists hope to harness for novel technologies.