Projects

Actinide Interactions with Envrionmental Bacteria

Lead Institution

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Mary Neu

Project type

Exploratory Research

Bacteria can influence the speciation and resultant mobility of contaminant actinides via a range of direct and indirect mechanisms. We propose to use the electron microscopy resourses and expertise…

CFD Code Performance Testing

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Thomas Michener

Project type

Exploratory Research

The purpose of the Pilot Project request is to perform code conversion and performance testing of the COBRA-SFS and TEMPEST CFD computer codes.

Ultrastructural Properties of SIS

Lead Institution

Cook Biotech Incorporated

Principal Investigator

Abram Janis

Project type

Exploratory Research

Porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) is a naturally derived, collagen-based extracellular matrix that has been used extensively in humans as a biomaterial without complication. Scanning electron…

Hygrogen adsorption/release study of selected chemical hydrides

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Liyu Li

Project type

Exploratory Research

To explore new, high capacity hydrogen storage materials, hydrogen adsorption and desorption behavior of selected chemical hydrides will be studied. Temperature effect on the absorption/desorption…

Investigation of Genetic and Phenotypic Heterogeneity in the Bacterial Endosymbionts of Aphids

Lead Institution

United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service

Principal Investigator

Michelle Cilia

Project type

Exploratory Research

Aphids are sap-sucking insects that induce a necrotic reaction in host plants and transmit hundreds of destructive plant viruses. Luteoviruses are plant viruses vectored exclusively by aphids in a…

Characterization of ion movement in organic electronic devices via ToF-SIMS

Lead Institution

Western Washington University

Principal Investigator

Janelle Leger

Project type

Exploratory Research

An emerging advantage of organic semiconductors is their ability to conduct ions in applications such as light-emitting electrochemical cells, photovoltaic devices, actuators, and electrochromic…

Microbial membrane features and metabolic pathways in deep fractured shale systems

Lead Institution

University of New Hampshire

Principal Investigator

Paula Mouser

Project type

Exploratory Research

Humans are currently engineering the deep subsurface at unprecedented scales for the purposes of energy-capture technologies, energy-storage capabilities, and environmental mitigation strategies. To…

Intercellular Vesicular Communication in Plants

Lead Institution

Rice University

Principal Investigator

Janet Braam

Project type

Exploratory Research

Exosomes are powerful vehicles for local, distal and even transpecies cell-to-cell communication in diverse eukaryotes, but whether plant extracellular vesicles can act similarly to exosomes…

Soil organic phosphorus: speciation, abundance, and ecosystem implications in a changing climate

Lead Institution

University of California, Merced

Principal Investigator

Asmeret Berhe

Project type

Exploratory Research

Soil organic phosphorus (P) has been identified as a pivotal component of bioavailable P, especially in late stages of ecosystem development. Organic P turnover rate is affected by the stabilization…

Experimental validation of a central carbon metabolic model in Aspergillus niger to enable metabolic engineering of this fungal cell factory

Lead Institution

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

Principal Investigator

Ronald de Vries

Project type

Exploratory Research

Sugar conversion through central carbon catabolism in filamentous fungi is a complex progress that involves many pathways. During growth on plant biomass, multiple 5- and 6-carbon monomeric sugars…

Understanding ice nucleating particles associated with agricultural soils

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Susannah Burrows

Project type

Exploratory Research

The atmospheric concentration of ice-nucleating particles (INPs) impacts the formation and development of cloud ice crystals, affecting cloud radiative properties and precipitation. However,…

Tracking substrate uptake and mRNA expression of aerobic methane-producing bacteria in pelagic waters of Yellowstone Lake

Lead Institution

Montana State University

Principal Investigator

Tim McDermott

Project type

Exploratory Research

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and understanding its sources and sinks is a core goal of the EMSL and DOE mission. Biological methane production is traditionally viewed as a process that can only…

Computational Studies of Nanoparticle Formation Leading to Mineralization and ab initio Thermodynamics Studies of Minerals

Lead Institution

University of Alabama

Principal Investigator

David Dixon

Project type

Exploratory Research

There is a critical need to develop an understanding of nanoparticle and mineral formation in systems that contain H2O, metal ions and CO2 as carbonation and hydrolysis reactions are important for…

Reactivity of Soil Organic Carbon with Minerals under Low Water Conditions

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

John Loring

Project type

Exploratory Research

The manner in which soil organic carbon (SOC) binds to and reacts with mineral surfaces affects SOC (bio)degradation, SOC mobility, soil wettability, mineral dissolution, and the bioavailability of…

Investigation of chemical form effects on Zr isotopic ratios measured by atom probe tomography

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Peter Hosemann

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this work is to determine the effects of hydrides and oxides on isotopic measurements obtained using atom probe tomography (APT). Zirconium enriched to 72-97% 92Zr is proposed as the…

Oxidation of lead sulfide surfaces in the presence of phosphate: nanoparticle formation.

Lead Institution

Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Andrew Stack

Project type

Exploratory Research

The understanding of galena (PbS) oxidation in the presence of phosphate containing solutions is important because lead contaminated soils and mine wastes are often treated with phosphate as a…

TEM and SEM investigation of non-pathogenic bacterial cultures.

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Alice Dohnalkova

Project type

Exploratory Research

Trasmission and scanning electron microscopy is a key element in investigations of the morphology and reduction products that occur during exposure of bacteria to various experimental environments…

Variable temperature XRD studies of Ge/SiO2/Si system

Lead Institution

Motorola

Principal Investigator

Yong Liang

Project type

Exploratory Research

This user proposal focuses on using the variable temperature X-ray diffraction capability in EMSL to investigate temperature dependent lattice parameters of a semiconductor system. Specifically, we…

Observations of Scytonema-colonized and
non-colonized fiber cement roofing shingles.

Lead Institution

Lab/Cor, Inc.

Principal Investigator

Barbara Reine

Project type

Exploratory Research

Fiber cement roofing shingles colonized with Scytonema sp. and other cyanobacteria are failing. One mechanism proposed to explain the observed deterioration is the breakdown of the cementicious…

Single particle analysis of smoke aerosols during the Summer 2002 Yosemite Aerosol Characterization Study

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Jenny Hand

Project type

Exploratory Research

The role of smoke aerosols from biomass burning in visibility degradation is poorly understood because few studies exist that have fully characterized their physical, optical, chemical and…