Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A multiprogram national laboratory

Founded in 1931, on the belief that the biggest scientific challenges are best addressed by teams, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and its scientists have been recognized with 13 Nobel Prizes. Today, Berkeley Lab researchers develop sustainable energy and environmental solutions, create useful new materials, advance the frontiers of computing, and probe the mysteries of life, matter, and the universe. Scientists from around the world rely on the Lab’s facilities for their own discovery science. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

Thu, 05/27/2021 - 12:02
The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic An environmental and technological analysis suggests that eco-friendly plastic is almost ready to hit the shelves
Thu, 05/27/2021 - 12:02
Plastics are a part of nearly every product we use on a daily basis. The average person in the United States generates about 100 kg of plastic waste per year, most of which goes straight to a landfill. A team led by Corinne Scown, Brett Helms, Jay…
How to Catch a Magnetic Monopole in the Act Berkeley Lab-led study could lead to smaller memory devices, microelectronics, and spintronics
Wed, 03/27/2019 - 12:01
A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has created a nanoscale “playground” on a chip that simulates the formation of exotic magnetic particles called monopoles. The study—…
Scientists Bring Visual ‘Magic’ to Light Berkeley Lab and Magic Leap Inc. scientists create widely controllable ultra thin optical components
Wed, 09/27/2017 - 12:00
(Lawrence Berkeley National Lab: Berkeley, CA) -- A butterfly’s wings and a peacock’s feathers use nanoscale architecture to bend light and produce brilliant colors without pigments or dyes, and scientists have been trying to emulate nature’s…
Coming to a Lab Bench Near You: Femtosecond X-ray Spectroscopy Scientists use a novel instrument to make an X-ray spectroscopic 'movie’ of electrons
Mon, 05/01/2017 - 12:00
(Lawrence Berkeley National Lab: Berkeley, CA) -- The ephemeral electron movements in a transient state of a reaction important in biochemical and optoelectronic processes have been captured and, for the first time, directly characterized using…
New Machine Learning Data can be used across domains with limitations removed
Wed, 04/12/2017 - 12:00
(Lawrence Berkeley National Lab: Berkeley, CA) -- A team of scientists at Berkeley Lab has developed an unsupervised multiscale machine learning technique that can automatically and specifically capture biomedical events or concepts directly from…
For This Metal, Electricity Flows, but Not the Heat Study finds law-breaking property that could lead to applications in thermoelectrics, window coatings
Wed, 02/22/2017 - 12:00
There’s a known rule-breaker among materials, and a new discovery by an international team of scientists adds more evidence to back up the metal’s nonconformist reputation. According to a new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s…
A Bridge to Better Batteries New Berkeley Lab energy storage website aims to expand collaborations with industry
Wed, 07/22/2015 - 13:22
(Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Berkeley, CA) -- A major automaker came to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently wanting to better understand battery degradation. After many months of intense collaborative research with a Berkeley…
Weatherizing Homes to Uniform Standard Can Save Billions Upgrading to the International Energy Conservation Code would be both effective and achievable
Mon, 10/28/2013 - 11:18
With winter around the corner, some homeowners may be thinking about plugging all the leaks in their homes to make them less drafty. Imagine if every homeowner in the country did that: How much energy could be saved? Using physics-based modeling of…
Still Standing Fast Ancient Roman cement holds the secret to durable and sustainable concrete
Wed, 06/05/2013 - 11:37

The chemical secrets of a concrete Roman breakwater that has spent the last 2,000 years submerged in the Mediterranean Sea have been uncovered by an international team of researchers. The team has pinpointed why the best Roman concrete was…
Parking Lot Science: Is Black Best? Berkeley Lab lays out cool pavement technology to combat urban heat islands
Tue, 10/02/2012 - 09:15
On those sweltering summer days—when it’s too hot to play at the playground, it seems like you could fry an egg on the pavement, and your car feels like an oven after a couple hours parked at the mall—it’s not just the beating sun that’s driving up…