Steven Spurgeon, the lead workshop organizer, explains the functions of an autonomously controlled electron microscope on NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus during a workshop tour. Photo by Agata Bogucka, NREL.
More Than 50 Experts Gathered at NREL To Consider How Incorporating Artificial Intelligence Into Materials Synthesis, Characterization, and Modeling Could Unlock New Insights and Speed New Technologies to Market Artificial intelligence (AI) could accelerate scientific discovery by helping researchers to more quickly gather data, search that data for patterns, and—eventually—generate … [continued]
New Tool Lets Researchers and Partners Cut Prototyping Costs, Wait Times, and Design Barriers for Ocean Energy Technologies and More By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy When it comes to marine energy, metal is metal. “Compared to plastic, metal components can withstand five to 10 times as much force,” said Paul Murdy, a mechanical … [continued]
When not in the lab solving AI problems, Hilary Egan enjoys outdoor activities like paddleboarding, climbing, and biking. Photo by Hilary Egan, NREL.
Welcome to the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science (MCCS) Early-Career Spotlight, a monthly feature showcasing NREL’s early-career researchers’ interests, motivations, and achievements. This month features Hilary Egan, who has been a data scientist at NREL since 2020. For Hilary Egan, a data scientist at NREL, a career in science was … [continued]
NREL Provides Expertise to Local Governments and Tribes Through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program From capital cities in the East to Alaskan villages in the West, NREL is advancing community-driven energy solutions from coast to coast through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation … [continued]
Transportation researchers from NREL received awards at the 2025 Annual Merit Review meeting for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO). Each year, VTO presents awards to individuals from partner institutions for contributions to overall program efforts and to recognize research, development, demonstration, and deployment achievements in specific areas. … [continued]
From technologies for extracting rare earth elements from plants to advanced membranes for water filtration, and from vertical-axis wind turbines to next-generation, long-lived flywheel energy storage, innovators bring exciting ideas to the fourth cohort of West Gate—NREL’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program. “We are supporting the vast landscape of energy technologies that … [continued]
Experts Explore Potential of Google AI Tools To Mitigate Potential Energy Limits for Quick Growth of US Data Centers By Kerrin Jeromin NREL and Google teamed up to host a hackathon, bringing together leading researchers from nine U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories to explore and leverage Google’s generative … [continued]
The Alliance for Sustainable Energy (Alliance) today announced the appointment of Jud Virden, Ph.D., as director of NREL and president of the Alliance, which manages the laboratory for the Department of Energy (DOE). Dr. Virden will officially join NREL in this role on Oct. 1, 2025. Virden was selected following … [continued]
On a Christmas morning in the early 1990s, in a small town north of Barcelona, a young Violeta Sanchez i Nogue’s interest in chemistry was born. She unwrapped a junior chemistry lab kit that would ignite a love of science and lead to a successful career as a senior researcher at NREL. … [continued]
NREL Researcher Uses His Field Experience To Help Increase Energy Affordability for Americans Through the Weatherization Assistance Program At 17 years old, NREL researcher Cory Chovanec was traveling door to door in his hometown of Berlin, Wisconsin. His mission: to sell enough vacuum cleaners to qualify for an all-expenses-paid trip … [continued]
