Thanksgiving is a time for us to reflect on our many blessings, and being a part of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is one for which I am especially grateful.

There is a science website for kids that defines materials science as "the study of stuff" and, in the simplest of terms, that's right.

In fast-neutron reactors, fuel is sealed in ~7 millimeter diameter steel tubes called cladding. When a high-energy "fast" neutron strikes an atom in the steel, it can knock the atom out of place, like a cue ball striking another billiard ball. This leaves two types of damage in the metal: an empty spot where the atom was, and the displaced atom wedged between other atoms. Over time, these defects typically drive undesirable rearrangement of the microstructure, potentially reducing the life of the cladding.

As a Department of Energy national laboratory, you would expect Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to perform research in chemistry, physics and engineering in support of our energy, environmental and security missions.

Scientists have made a "vitamin mimic" - a molecule that looks and acts just like a natural vitamin to bacteria - that offers a new window into the inner workings of living microbes.

As Tri-Citians, we're fortunate that we don't have the frustrating traffic and long commutes that our friends in Seattle and Portland endure. And with lower prices at the pump, we don't think much about fuel efficiency.

Making air travel cleaner and safer and giving thanks at PNNL.

PNNL researchers have demonstrated a process for the expanded use of lightweight aluminum in cars and trucks at the speed, scale, quality and consistency required by the auto industry.