Projects

Density Functional Theory Calculations on Nucleation and Nanoparticles in the Fe-O-H system

Lead Institution

University of Texas at El Paso

Principal Investigator

James Kubicki

Project type

Exploratory Research

Molecular simulation of nanoscale and larger processes has generally required the use of classical force fields because quantum calculations are too computationally demanding and often do not scale…

Computational Mechanistic Studies of Water Oxidation by Ru Based Catalysts

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Aurora Clark

Project type

Exploratory Research

The development of catalysts which can produce H2 or other fuels and are made from earth-abundant materials is dependent upon the fundamental nature of the catalytic reactions and is closely linked…

Structure determination of leucine-rich amelogenin protein adsorbed to hydroxyapatite using computational structure prediction

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Wendy Shaw

Project type

Exploratory Research

The formation of biogenic materials requires the interaction of organic molecules with the mineral phase. In forming dental enamel, the mineralization of hydroxyapatite (HAp) is largely attributed to…

Determination of the peptide-binding sites on the bacterial chaperone protein SecB

Lead Institution

University of Missouri - Columbia

Principal Investigator

Linda Randall

Project type

Exploratory Research

The chaperone protein SecB is required for the efficient export of certain proteins across the periplasmic membrane of E.coli. SecB promotes export by binding to the proteins and delivering them to…

The Role of Lipid Phosphatase Sac1 in the Organization of the Cortical/Tubular Endoplasmic Reticulum in Yeast

Lead Institution

Oregon Health & Science University

Principal Investigator

Peter Mayinger

Project type

Exploratory Research

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a continuous membrane system but consists of various domains that perform different functions. Distinct ER regions are composed of sheets and tubules, which differ…

Bioinspired electrocatalysts for small molecule activation.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Wendy Shaw

Project type

Exploratory Research

The proposed EMSL research is in support of three DOE Basic Energy Sciences research programs that focus on the development of new classes of electrocatalysts for important energy storage and energy…

Nanoparticle / PDMS-based Microfluidic Device for Environmental Monitoring

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jun Wang

Project type

Exploratory Research

This proposal is to develop nanoparticle-based microfluidic chips for multiplexed detection of environmental biomarkers. We will choose the poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to fabricate the microfluidic…

Characterize the Thermodynamic Forces of Decomposing a Cellulose Microfibril

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Jhih-Wei Chu

Project type

Exploratory Research

To develop viable technologies for the enzymatic decomposition and conversion of cellulosic materials into fuels, mechanistic understanding of the molecular processes that are involved is in urgent…

Thermochemical Kinetics of Pyrolysis and Oxidation of Biodiesel for Predictive Combustion Modeling

Lead Institution

Princeton University

Principal Investigator

Emily Carter

Project type

Exploratory Research

The increasing sensitivity in the U.S. over the dependence on foreign sources of crude oil for energy production, as well as the need to limit the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, is…

Use of High-Performance Parallel Computing for Large-scale, Fine-resolution analysis of 3D Transient Hydraulic Tomography

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Michael Cardiff

Project type

Exploratory Research

A new type of aquifer-based experiment called Hydraulic Tomography (HT) records the 3-dimensional pressure response within an aquifer (recorded at isolated intervals within wellbores using e.g.,…

Correlative High-Resolution Imaging and Spectroscopy to Characterize the Structure and Biogeochemical Function of Microbial Biofilms

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Matthew Marshall

Project type

Exploratory Research

This proposal leverages knowledge and experience gained from DOE-funded research to elucidate the mechanisms involved in dissimilatory metal reduction, as well as, microscale imaging and analytical…

Diffusion of ions and electron shuttles into grain-scale mineral coatings

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Davis

Project type

Exploratory Research

Important reactive phenomena that affect the transport and fate of many elements and contaminants in the subsurface occur at the mineral-water interface, including sorption and electron transfer…

Analysis of strontium-doped lanthanum manganite particles and porous yttria-stabilized zirconia in SOFC cathodes by FIB/EDXS and related microscopic analysis

Lead Institution

National Energy Technology Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Maria Salazar-villalpando

Project type

Exploratory Research

The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring the development of high temperature fuel cell power systems based on solid oxide technology through its Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA)…

Develop fundamental surface science characterization data for use in improving mixed alcohol synthesis catalysts via Computational Investigation of Ethanol Synthesis from Biomass-derived Syngas Using Rh-based Catalysts

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Shawn Kathmann

Project type

Exploratory Research

Novel catalyst design is essential and combined experimental and theoretical/computational catalysis can provide the essential mechanisms, influence of promoters, energetics, selectivity, and…

Bioinspired Electrocatalysts for Energy Storage and Production Reactions.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Wendy Shaw

Project type

Exploratory Research

Electrocatalysts can convert electrical energy into chemical bonds in fuels, such as H2. In the reverse reaction, electrocatalysts can use the fuel to generate electrical energy on demand. This…

Electrochemical and AFM/STM Study of TiO2 (Anatase) Film on SrTiO3 Substrate

Lead Institution

J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry

Principal Investigator

Ladislav Kavan

Project type

Exploratory Research

We propose to carry out electrochemical and AFM/STM microscopic investigation of highly organized TiO2 (anatase) layer deposited on conductive SrTiO3 substrate. With reference to our informal…

In-Situ/Liquid Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) for Environmental Interfaces

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Cowin

Project type

Exploratory Research

Chemistry of liquid interfaces is extremely important in environmental and industrial processes but is poorly understood. Liquid layers coat nearly all real-world systems from the oceans to…

Oxydation of Fe/Cu and Fe/Ag multilayer
films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Lead Institution

McGill University

Principal Investigator

Alexandre Kouprine

Project type

Exploratory Research

Thin Fe films exhibit a variety of properties important for practical applications such as strong perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, spin reorientation transition, and magnetic moment …

Molecular dysfunction in alcoholic liver disease.

Lead Institution

Wayne State University

Principal Investigator

Amit Banerjee

Project type

Exploratory Research

Mice transgenic for the human Cytochrome P450 2E1 (primary metabolizer of alcohols in the liver) were fed alcohol intra-gastrically for a month. Upon examination of the liver microscopically,…

Engineering Device Surfaces That Instruct Cell Behavior

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Allison Golden

Project type

Exploratory Research

The development of material interfaces that control cell behavior is a central challenge for the fields of diagnostics, drug screening, biomaterials, biosensors, and tissue engineering. The…