2026 EMSL Summer School: Advanced Methods for Understanding Critical Minerals and Materials Biogeochemistry
July 27 - 31, 2026
The U.S. is focused on increasing and strengthening a domestic supply of critical minerals and materials (CMMs) to provide the nation with energy independence and sustainable energy technologies.
EMSL 2026 Summer School attendees will benefit from our national user facility's deep expertise in biogeochemistry and better understand methods for uncovering the molecular properties and behavior of CMMs.
What Topics Will Be Discussed at EMSL 2026 Summer School?
- Imaging methods for understanding metals behavior and extractability in mineral-dominated and soil-plant systems
- Organics and mineral analysis to understand metal behavior
- Pore-scale micromodels and workflows
- Multiomics workflows
Where Will EMSL 2026 Summer School Take Place?
- In-person at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, WA
- Virtually via Zoom (morning sessions)
What is EMSL Summer School?
EMSL Summer School is an exclusive week-long learning opportunity held annually for graduate students, and postdoctoral and early career researchers. Twenty-five attendees are competitively selected through a formal application process to attend in-person. EMSL will pay for airfare, lodging, and transportation to and from the hotel and campus. Meals and other incidentals are not included.
During the morning sessions, attendees hear from national laboratory, academic, and industry experts. The afternoon sessions are reserved for practical and application-based learning provided by our world-class researchers. Attendees are also provided opportunities to network with one another and with PNNL and EMSL experts.
Attendees unable to attend in person are welcome to join the event virtually. Morning presentations are available for free via Zoom.
Note: All times listed below are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
July 27: Advanced Methods for Deep Understanding of CMM Biogeochemistry
8:30 a.m. – Welcome and Introduction
- Tamas Varga, Materials Scientist, EMSL
- Kevin Zemaitis, Chemist, EMSL
8:45 a.m. – Keynote: Critical Minerals and Materials Biogeochemistry Key Gaps, Challenges, and Future Opportunities
- Clara Chan, Professor, University of Delaware
9:30 a.m. – Spatial and Phase Distribution of Critical Elements in Tailings Waste
- Xiaoxu Li, Chemist, PNNL
10:00 a.m. – Applying X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy to Critical Mineral Speciation: Links to Organic Matter, Reactive Redox Phases, and Redox-Oscillation–Driven Mobilization
- Shuttha Shutthanandan, Materials Scientist, EMSL
10:30 a.m. – Break
10:50 a.m. – Advancing Critical Mineral Research Using NanoSIMS and Time-of-Flight SIMS
- Zihua Zhu, Chemist, EMSL
11:30 a.m. – Using MALDI MSI for CMM Research
- Dušan Veličković, Chemist, EMSL
In-person Sessions, Only (Virtual Broadcast ends)
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Analytical workshop
2:25 p.m. – Break
2:40 p.m. – Experimental design workshop
Day 2: Resolving Molecular Processes at Pore Scale – Micromodels and Reactive Transport Modeling
8:30 a.m. – Welcome and Introduction
- Pubudu Handakumbura, Biologist, EMSL
- Jayde Aufrecht, Biologist, EMSL
8:45 a.m. – Keynote: Transport Processes at the Pore Scale
- Christof Meile, Professor, University of Georgia
9:30 a.m. – Micromodels-based-designs: Terraforms for Visualizing Biogeochemical Processes
- Jayde Aufrecht, Biologist, EMSL
10:10 a.m. – SubTap Platforms: Visualizing Microbial and Plant–Microbe Interactions Rhizosphere
Speaker: TBD
10:50 a.m. – Break
11:10 a.m. – Pore2Chip Capability
- Aramy Truong, Computational Scientist
11:30 a.m. – Integrating Pore2Chip Data with PFLOTRAN and AI/ML Models for Complex Microfluidic Geometries
- Maruti Mudunuru, Earth Scientist, PNNL
in-person Sessions, ONly (Virtual Broadcast ends)
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Analytical workshop
2:25 p.m. – Break
2:40 p.m. – Experimental design workshop
Day 3: Biomolecular and Natural Organic Matter Controls on Metal Behavior in Complex Mineral-Aqueous Systems
8:30 a.m. – Welcome and Introduction
- Gregory Vandergrift, Chemist, EMSL
- Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Earth Scientist, PNNL
8:45 a.m. – Biomolecules, Natural Organic Matter, and Metal Behavior
- Gregory Vandergrift, Chemist, EMSL
- Vanessa Garayburu-Caruso, Earth Scientist, PNNL
9:00 a.m. – Natural Organic Matter and Metal Capacity in Complex Systems
- Will Kew, Chemist, EMSL
9:40 a.m. – Metabolites and Small Molecules
- Eric Walter, Chemist, EMSL
- Nathalie Munoz, Chemist, EMSL
10:20 a.m. – Proteins and macromolecules: Directionality and Rate Control
- Ashley Ives, Postdoctoral Researcher, EMSL
11:00 a.m. – Break
11:15 a.m. – Keynote
- Alli Werner, Senior Scientist, National Laboratory of the Rockies
in-person Sessions, ONly (Virtual Broadcast ends)
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Analytical workshop
2:25 p.m. – Break
2:40 p.m. – Experimental design workshop
Day 4: The Role of Genomics and Transcriptomics in Understanding Critical Mineral Biology
8:30 a.m. – Keynote
- TBA
9:15 a.m. – Environmental Genomics and Metagenomics
- Young Song, Postdoctoral Researcher, EMSL
9:45 a.m. – Basic Functional Annotation and Genome-Scale Metabolic Modeling
- Amy Zimmerman, Computational Biologist, PNNL
10:15 a.m. – Break
10:30 a.m. – Modern protein annotation techniques
- Bob Danczak, Data Scientist, PNNL
11:00 a.m. – Transcriptomics and Meta Transcriptomics
- Christian Ayala-Ortiz, Postdoctoral Researcher, PNNL
11:30 a.m. – High Throughput Fitness Screening
- Jeff Czajka, Chemical Engineer, PNNL
in-person Sessions, ONly (Virtual Broadcast ends)
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Analytical workshop
2:25 p.m. – Break
2:40 p.m. – Experimental design workshop
Day 5: Multiomic Analyses–An Integrative Framework for Understanding and Manipulating Bio-Mineral Systems
8:30 a.m. – Keynote
- Kristin Burnum-Johnson, Senior Researcher, EMSL
9:30 a.m. – Integration of Data Types and Advanced Modeling
- Connah Johnson, Computational Scientist, PNNL
10:15 a.m. – Break
10:30 a.m. – Project presentations
- In-person EMSL Summer School students
in-person Sessions, ONly (Virtual Broadcast ends)
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Tour of EMSL
Virtual Registration
Join us for informative morning presentations streamed via Zoom.
There is no registration deadline to attend virtually.
Application for in-person attendance
The application process for in-person attendance ended on April 1. Subscribe to EMSL's email distribution list to receive notification about the 2027 Summer School in-person application requirements and deadline.