Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne's Out Loud Lecture Series

Mission Driven Science, Research and Development

The best and brightest minds come to Argonne to make scientific discoveries and technological innovations that improve the quality of life throughout the nation and the world.

Argonne conducts fundamental research to understand, predict, and ultimately control matter and energy at the electronic, atomic, and molecular levels in order to provide the foundations for new energy technologies and to support the nation's missions in energy, environment, and national security. Our world-class basic and applied scientific capabilities touch virtually every aspect of energy resources, production, conversion, transmission, storage, efficiency, and waste mitigation.

Energy

Argonne is poised to help our nation build an economy that is based on renewable energy and free from dependence on foreign oil, while reducing our carbon footprint. Adopting renewable energy on a grand scale requires next-generation technologies born out of real breakthroughs in materials, chemistry and engineering.

To achieve this goal, our scientists and engineers are advancing the basic energy sciences, focusing their research and development on a broad portfolio of sustainable and clean energy technologies. Innovations in transportation, energy storage and alternative energy sources—including nuclear, solar, and biofuels—are all critical to reshaping America's future.

Environment

True energy security depends on understanding the impact that energy production and use has on the world around us.

Argonne is leading a strategy to moderate the effects and causes of climate and environmental changes. Our biological and environmental research is focused on understanding the physical impact of climate change from soil to sky and assessing the regional economic, health and social consequences of these changes. This research will provide a solid base for informed environmental decision-making.

Our environmental management programs help solve the nation's environmental problems and promote responsible environmental stewardship throughout society. Research in this area includes alternative energy systems; environmental risk and economic impact assessments; and hazardous waste site analysis and remediation planning.

Transportation

Revolutionary advances in transportation are critical to reducing our nation's petroleum consumption and the environmental impact of our vehicles. Some of the most exciting new vehicle technologies are being ushered along by research conducted at Argonne National Laboratory.

Our Transportation Technology R&D Center (TTRDC) brings together scientists and engineers from many disciplines across the laboratory to work with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), automakers and other industrial partners. Our goal is to put new transportation technologies on the road that improve the way we live and contribute to a better, cleaner future for all.

Advanced Photon Source

The Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory provides the brightest storage ring-generated X-ray beams in the Western Hemisphere to more than 5,000 scientists worldwide each year.

Argonne Leadership Computing Facility

The ALCF provides the computational science community with a world-class computing capability dedicated to breakthrough science and engineering.

In 2012, Argonne will be home to, Mira, an IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer capable of carrying out 10 quadrillion calculations per second. If you recruited every single person on earth to solve one calculation per second, around the clock, it would take them more than two weeks to do the work that Mira will do in one second.

Community and Education

Argonne's role as a world leader in science and engineering depends on the trust and support of our neighbors.

One of the nation's leading federally funded research and development centers, Argonne occupies 1,500 wooded acres about 25 miles southwest of Chicago in DuPage County. At Argonne, we take great pride in being a part of a vibrant community and engage one another as scientists and neighbors. Argonne aims to keep our community relationships strong and to continue to serve as a vital resource for the region. We work hard to maintain channels of open dialogue and to offer activities that let community members share in the excitement of doing scientific and engineering research for the nation.

Argonne's Nuclear Pioneers

Argonne has contributed to the development of civilian nuclear power for over 50 years. Our scientists and engineers conduct research in advanced nuclear energy systems, nonproliferation and national security, and environmental management.

Nuclear energy is the largest generator of carbon-free electricity in use today, and it will play an increasing role in worldwide power generation as advanced reactor designs and improved fuel-cycle technologies are brought into commercial application.

Nearly every commercial reactor in operation today was developed from Argonne research. Building on this heritage, we are supporting the reliable, safe and secure use of nuclear power worldwide -- and fostering its increased use in the future by incorporating science and engineering breakthroughs in the design of advanced nuclear energy systems. We capitalize on Argonne's role as a national center of scientific research and high-performance computing to achieve transformational advances in the performance, safety and economics of nuclear energy systems. Our researchers are developing advanced reactors and fuel-cycle technologies that promise to improve the affordability of nuclear power, enhance the assurance of safety and security, and minimize the discharge of radioactive waste.

Batteries and Energy Storage

Argonne's all-encompassing battery research program spans the continuum from basic materials research and diagnostics to scale-up processes and ultimate deployment by industry.

At Argonne, our multidisciplinary team of world-renowned researchers are working in overdrive to develop advanced energy storage technologies to aid the growth of the U.S. battery manufacturing industry, transition the U.S. automotive fleet to plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, and enable greater use of renewable energy. We are building upon our historical leadership in battery research to create a broad research, development and demonstration program centered on advanced energy storage materials and systems for both mobile and stationary applications.

We develop more robust, safer and higher-energy density lithium-ion batteries, while using our fundamental science capabilities to develop storage materials that dramatically increase storage capacity and power densities. Argonne's all-encompassing battery research program spans the continuum from basic materials research and diagnostics to scale-up processes and ultimate deployment by industry.

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