Written by AZoMJan 15 2021 At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, computational materials science experts optimize an algorithm that is based on the nesting habits of cuckoo birds, thereby decreasing the search time for new high-tech alloys from weeks to just seconds. Computational materials scientists at Ames Laboratory developed an evolutionary algorithm, using a hybrid version of a computer program called Cuckoo Search (CS), which mimics the brood parasite behavior of cuckoo birds. Image Credit: U.S. Department of Energy, Ames Laboratory. The researchers have been analyzing a type of alloy known as a high-entropy alloy, an innovative class of materials that are highly desired for several exceptional and possibly useful properties.