Projects

Evaluating the role of carbon radicals on Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation on Titania

Lead Institution

Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Marta Hatzell

Project type

Exploratory Research

Photocatalytic fixation of nitrogen by titania catalysts at ambient conditions has been reported for decades, yet the active site capable of adsorbing an inert N2 molecule at ambient pressure and the…

Theoretical study of photoreduction of CO2 on TiO2 surface

Lead Institution

University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Principal Investigator

Jin Zhao

Project type

Exploratory Research

The efficient photoreduction of carbon dioxide to a fuel is a major hurdle in the neutral energy cycle of CO2, and TiO2 is one of the most intensively studied photocatalytic materials for CO2…

Integration of Omics into a New Comprehensive Rate Law for Competitive Terminal Electron-Accepting Processes in Reactive Transport Models: Application to N, Fe, S, and Contaminant Transformations in Stream and Wetland Sediments

Lead Institution

Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Frank Stewart

Project type

Exploratory Research

We recently received notification that our DOE-BER proposal (ID: 0000231737, Program Manager: Paul Bayer) was funded to define a new comprehensive rate law for metabolic processes in freshwater…

Understanding the long-term fate of nitrate in terrestrial ecosystems: Organic N species

Lead Institution

Cornell University

Principal Investigator

Carmen Martinez

Project type

Exploratory Research

We propose a series of experiments aimed at elucidating the mechanisms associated with the incorporation of nitrate (NO3-) into soil organic matter (SOM), with broad implications for the N…

Investigation of mycogenic elemental selenium nanoparticles produced by Se(IV/VI)-reducing fungi under anoxic conditions

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Cara Santelli

Project type

Exploratory Research

Selenium (Se) is both a micronutrient required for most life and an element of environmental concern due to its toxicity at high concentrations. Selenium can exist as volatile, aqueous, or insoluble…

Unraveling Mechanisms of Complex Associations of Organic Carbon with Iron Oxide Minerals during Redox Transformations

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Kevin Rosso

Project type

Exploratory Research

Fe(III)-oxide nanominerals are ubiquitous primary sorbents of organic carbon, organic acid exudates, and toxic metals in terrestrial, aquatic, and subsurface ecosystems. In soil ecosystems,…

Mapping the Organic-Mineral Interactions Responsible for Calcification in a Biogeochemically Significant Microbe

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Alexander Gagnon

Project type

Exploratory Research

The pace of skeletal growth in shells and bones is impacted by interactions between biologically produced organic compounds and the growing mineral. The organic component within biominerals is small,…

Chemical reactivity at complex solid/liquid interfaces for environmental and energy processes

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Malsoon Lee

Project type

Exploratory Research

Modeling of the selective electrochemical hydrogenation for upgraded bio-oil at complex solid/liquid interface is important for a fundamental understanding and prediction of elctrocatalytic…

Computational Models and Methods for Describing Biogeochemical Transformations of Mercury

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jerry Parks

Project type

Exploratory Research

The objectives of this proposal are to develop realistic, environmentally relevant models of Hg-containing systems, investigate key mechanisms of Hg transformations that are important to global Hg…

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…

Molecular characterization of dissolved organic matter components facilitating the transport and transformation of mercury

Lead Institution

Syracuse University

Principal Investigator

Charles Driscoll

Project type

Exploratory Research

Browning of surface water has been observed across the northeastern United States and northern Europe. This trend has generally been attributed to increases in dissolved organic matter following the…

Movement and Dissolution of a Viscous, Multicomponent Light Nonaqueous-Phase Liquid in a Fluctuating Water Table System

Lead Institution

Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO-NITG

Principal Investigator

Cornelis Hofstee

Project type

Exploratory Research

Typical text book examples of Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) sources depict a continuous oil body, submersed in the capillary fringe. In case of past fluctuations of the groundwater table, the…

Quantification and Chemical Analysis of Iron Oxidation in Microbially-Reduced Sediments

Lead Institution

Villanova University

Principal Investigator

John Komlos

Project type

Exploratory Research

The microbial reduction of iron has been shown to be an important process in the transformation and remediation of contaminated sediments. Subsequent reoxidation of microbially-reduced iron has…

Common Architecture Chemistry Components for Terascale Simulations

Lead Institution

Sandia National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Joseph Kenny

Project type

Exploratory Research

We plan to utilize the HP cluster for porting and testing of our Common Component Architecture infrastructure and components on the IA64 architecture. In addition, we will utilize this platform in…

Rosetta ab initio protein folding

Lead Institution

Institute for Systems Biology

Principal Investigator

Richard Bonneau

Project type

Exploratory Research

We propose developing tools and scheduling techniques to make use of the unutilized compute cycles on the HP supercomputer in the Molecular Science Computing Facility to predict the structure of…

Magnetic and transport studies of Co doped TiO2 thin films

Lead Institution

Boise State University

Principal Investigator

Alex Punnoose

Project type

Exploratory Research

Thin films of Co doped TiO2 will be prepared using the MBE and sputter deposition facilities available at PNNL. The magnetic and transport properties of the samples will then be investigated using a…

Systems Biology Study of Lithotrophic Microbial Communities That Cycle Fe, S and C

Lead Institution

Xavier University of Louisiana

Principal Investigator

Robert Blake

Project type

Exploratory Research

This project will continue to develop a new means to study biological energy transduction in situ. By conducting the proposed spectroscopic studies under noninvasive physiological conditions, we…

Integrated multi-omic analysis of high lipid accumulation in the oleaginous green microalgae Ostreococcus tauri to engineer metabolic pathways for improved triacylglycerol feedstocks

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Evans

Project type

Exploratory Research

Our proposed mutli-omic approach will empower a comprehensive understanding of cellular pathways linking carbon, nitrogen and phosphate metabolism in the microalga Ostreococcus tauri. The use of this…

The effect of C decomposition environment on plant detritus in soil organic matter

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Randy Jackson

Project type

Exploratory Research

While it is established that increasing temperature and moisture increases the rate of soil C mineralization, we do not know whether these factors change the chemical quality or physical protection…

Rhizosphere processes influencing decomposition of soil organic matter and its contribution to phosphorus cycling

Lead Institution

University of Kentucky

Principal Investigator

David McNear

Project type

Exploratory Research

Using multi-technique approach, including a combination of NMR and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry at EMSL, the overall objective of this study is to determine how P availability and…