Argonne National Laboratory

Blending technical expertise with leadership, Dorothy Chen serves as a project planning and engineering manager at Argonne, helping guide complex projects that support the lab’s mission - https://bit.ly/4kIpjVk Chen leads key initiatives within Nuclear, Waste, and Site Services (NWS), including the cleanout of legacy research facilities and the careful disassembly of linear accelerators. Her work ensures major projects move forward safely, efficiently, and with long-term impact in mind. Beyond managing technical efforts, Chen is passionate about collaboration and leadership, drawing on Argonne’s team-driven culture to empower those around her. By pairing engineering expertise with thoughtful project planning, she continues to strengthen the foundation that supports Argonne’s research enterprise. #WeAreArgonne

When two neutron stars collide, they send out both gravitational waves and long-lasting radio afterglows. To accelerate follow-up of these cosmic messengers, researchers at Argonne and collaborators developed RADAR, an AI-powered framework that securely analyzes gravitational-wave and radio data where it’s stored to speed discovery - https://bit.ly/4qidgiI RADAR (Radio Afterglow Detection and AI-driven Response) was tested end-to-end at major computing centers, including the Polaris supercomputer at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility. The work was carried out in collaboration with teams from The Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, combining expertise in astrophysics, computing, and data science. As future detectors identify hundreds to thousands of new gravitational-wave sources each year, RADAR can enable faster, more efficient follow-up and turn scattered signals into clearer insights about these extreme cosmic events.

Argonne Postdoc Profile: Junxiang Liu From smartphones to grid-scale energy storage to large-scale power systems, modern life depends on batteries. Yet today’s energy storage technologies often fall short, wearing out too quickly, costing too much, or failing under stress. Argonne postdoctoral researcher Junxiang Liu is tackling these challenges by developing next-generation battery materials. Using advanced X-ray techniques to study how batteries behave in real time, he helps uncover why they fail and how to make them safer, longer-lasting, and more efficient. His research supports Argonne’s mission of advancing science and technology that strengthens U.S. competitiveness, supports industry, and delivers reliable power for everyday life. Q: What is your current research focus at Argonne? What types of problems are you aiming to solve? A: My research focuses on developing next-generation energy storage technologies that are efficient, affordable, and scalable. Batteries are used everywhere, but many don’t last as long as they should. I’m working on ways to extend battery life and improve performance so they can meet today’s growing demands. Q: What are the broader impacts of your work? How might the public benefit from the work you are doing? A: Better batteries can improve life in simple ways... phones that hold a charge longer and energy systems that people and businesses can rely on. Q: What are the primary technical or professional skills you bring to your research? A: I use advanced X-ray spectroscopy, scattering, and imaging to study battery materials in action—from the atomic level to the full device, and from split-second reactions to long-term cycling. These help me understand how and why batteries degrade, and how we can design safer, longer-lasting systems. Q: Where do you see yourself in five or ten years? A: I hope to become a leading scientist or professor making meaningful contributions to energy storage and connect fundamental science with real-world applications that impacts how we use technology. Q: What’s one of the best pieces of advice you’ve ever received? A: A senior colleague once told me: “Just start—even if you don’t have the perfect plan.” Early in my career, I often waited for the “right moment” to begin. Now I know progress comes from starting, learning, and refining along the way. Q: How do you like to spend your time outside of work? A: I enjoy watching YouTube videos about nature, history, and culture, playing pickleball, and going to the gym. Staying active and exploring new ideas helps me recharge. Strong, dependable batteries are critical for modern life. Junxiang’s work helps create materials that last longer and perform better, which means phones that stay charged, grid-scale energy storage that stabilizes the power grid, and energy systems that businesses and households can count on. By improving both durability and cost, his research makes reliable power more accessible for everyone.

We are proud to partner with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to help strengthen safety in offshore oil and gas operations - https://bit.ly/4s7l9sp By combining science and data with practical experience, we're working together to identify risks earlier, focus on the safeguards that matter most, and support smarter decision-making in complex environments. Stronger safety systems help protect workers, coastal communities, and critical energy infrastructure - and we are thankful to support that effort with our science.

What can an unstable atom reveal about the early universe? Using a newly developed beamline, researchers at Argonne collected precise data on unstable ruthenium nuclei, marking an important milestone in nuclear physics - https://bit.ly/4al7yYz The team carried out the work with the Argonne Tandem Hall Laser Beamline for Atom and Ion Spectroscopy (ATLANTIS), capturing detailed measurements that test and validate advanced theoretical models of nuclear structure. By confirming how these complex nuclei behave, the research improves scientists’ ability to predict nuclear properties that shape everything from fundamental physics to the processes that formed the early universe. Together, these results help push the boundaries of what we know about matter at its core and strengthen the tools researchers rely on to explore the origins of the cosmos.

As a principal mechanical engineer at Argonne, Roger Kellogg is known for developing first-of-a-kind solutions that transform complex ideas into real-world systems - https://bit.ly/3Oc91Ih Through specialized equipment and hands-on engineering support, Kellogg tackles challenges that have never been solved before, helping scientists advance their research in meaningful ways. “It’s particularly rewarding to create a solution that’s more efficient than the scientist initially envisioned or provides some additional useful value at no additional complexity,” said Kellogg. Driven by curiosity and a practical mindset, he takes pride in building tools that enable breakthrough research across the lab. Through innovation, collaboration, and engineering creativity, he continues to shape the infrastructure that powers Argonne’s science. Read more about his impact. #WeAreArgonne

In-person registration for the next #ArgonneOutLoud closes soon! Get your tickets now: https://bit.ly/49OJ9ch When: March 5, 6:00-7:15 p.m. Central

The future of science is being built today: At Argonne’s Wakefield Accelerator (AWA), researchers have successfully tested a new detector that marks a major step forward for the BeamNetUS initiative and the tools that will drive tomorrow’s discoveries – https://bit.ly/40d0JCn The AWA recently showed that an innovative, on-chip sensor can quickly measure ultrafast electromagnetic bursts. This discovery makes beam diagnostics more straightforward and precise, setting the stage for next-generation accelerator technology. From particle physics to transformative technologies, this milestone represents a leap forward in enabling researchers to push the boundaries of what’s possible.

Congratulations to Argonne Distinguished Fellow, Michael Norman, for receiving the 2026 John Bardeen Prize for advancing understanding of superconducting materials. The prize, sponsored by the Department of Physics University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Friends of Bardeen, will be presented in July during the 2026 conference on Materials and Mechanics of Superconductivity (M2S) in Stuttgart, Germany.

Call it a sweet spot for science. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility and the Advanced Photon Source are teaming up to transform massive datasets into breakthroughs, helping researchers move from raw data to real insight with greater speed and precision. Learn more - https://bit.ly/46EcGEU