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Getting to the root of the mystery: New research project could tell us how plants “talk” to microbes in soil

To better understand the rhizosphere -- a narrow zone around roots of intense microbial activity -- Ames Laboratory researchers are working to develop a model instrument that will enable scientists to look at the biological interactions in the rhizosphere in real time, in the field, a capability that doesn’t currently exist.

Scientists measure exact edge between superconducting and magnetic states

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have developed a method to accurately measure the “exact edge” or onset at which a magnetic field enters a superconducting material. The knowledge of this threshold— called the lower critical field— plays a crucial role in untangling the difficulties that have prevented the broader use of superconductivity in new technologies.

Laser pulses light the way to tuning topological materials for spintronics and quantum computing

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered a means of controlling the surface conductivity of a three-dimensional (3D) topological insulator, a type of material that has potential applications in spintronic devices and quantum computing.

Middle School Science Bowl Feb. 16

Middle school students from across Iowa will gather in Ames on Feb. 16 to compete in the 2019 Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Regional Middle School Science Bowl. Thirty-two teams of students will compete to answer questions about biology, chemistry, earth and space science, energy, mathematics, and physics in the day-long, quiz-bowl format competition.

Catching atoms in action: watching next-gen materials crystallize

Experts in capturing atomic-level details of complex materials transformations, Ames Laboratory scientists melted, super-cooled and then reheated a model alloy of aluminum and samarium, and monitored the reheating process in real time with a combination of high-energy x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.

Taking magnetism for a spin: exploring the mysteries of skyrmions

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have discovered the relaxation dynamics of a zero-field state in skyrmions, a spinning magnetic phenomenon that has potential applications in data storage and spintronic devices.

Ames Laboratory hosting 29th annual High School Science Bowl

Iowa's top science and math students will face-off here on Jan. 26 in an intense question and answer competition in the 29th annual Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Regional High School Science Bowl. Forty teams of students will compete to answer questions that test their knowledge of biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, energy, mathematics, and physics in the day-long, quiz-bowl format competition.

What should we do about single-use plastics? Tackling the growing problem of trash we can’t recycle

Researchers are looking at ways to upcycle plastics -- breaking down long polymer chains into shorter segments that can then be reused for a variety of chemicals and materials.

Physicists uncover new competing state of matter in superconducting material

A team of experimentalists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and theoreticians at University of Alabama Birmingham discovered a remarkably long-lived new state of matter in an iron pnictide superconductor, which reveals a laser-induced formation of collective behaviors that compete with superconductivity.

Depiction of laser pulse excitement of electrons in superconducting material

CMI one of 32 R&D 100 Award winners for Department of Energy

Researchers at the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) and Ames Laboratory are winners of an R&D 100 Award. Researchers invented a magnet recycling process in which magnets are dissolved in water-based solutions, recovering more than 99 percent purity rare earth elements.