Projects

In situ observation of lithiation process in lithium ion nanobatteries

Lead Institution

University of Pittsburgh

Principal Investigator

Scott Mao

Project type

Exploratory Research

Recently, massive effort has been made to promote the rapid development and commercialization of new energy storage technologies and lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is one of the most promising…

The Role of Microenvironments and Physicochemical Subsurface Components on Field Scale Biogeochemistry and Contaminant Mobility

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James McKinley

Project type

Exploratory Research

This is a renewal proposal for a previous collaborative effort between the PNNL Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and EMSL. The research proposed will resolve critical Hanford and basic subsurface science…

The Mechanism of the Hammerhead Ribozyme RNA Cleavage Reaction: Determining Optimized Free Energy Reaction Paths from QM/MM Simulations

Lead Institution

University of California, San Diego

Principal Investigator

John Weare

Project type

Exploratory Research

Ribonucleic acids (RNA) play a central role in the transmission of genetic information. However, the identification of additional non-coding roles of RNA polymers continues to grow. An important…

Interfacial and Multiphase Characterization of Next Generation Inorganic Resists Synthesized Through Sustainable Materials Chemistries

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Liney Arnadottir

Project type

Exploratory Research

Transformation of small molecular precursors into inorganic solid-state compounds via solution methods has mainly focused on sol-gel techniques involving hydrolysis and condensation reactions of…

First-principles modeling of charge transfer in fullerene organic photovoltaics

Lead Institution

University of California, Los Angeles

Principal Investigator

Daniel Neuhauser

Project type

Exploratory Research

Organic photovoltaics have emerged as an inexpensive alternative to more traditional solar energy. Organic solar cells have long utilized fullerene derivatives as electron acceptors in devices,…

Computational Simulations of Antimicrobial Polymeric Surfaces and Biological Membranes

Lead Institution

Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Principal Investigator

Thereza Soares Da Silva

Project type

Exploratory Research

Medical devices can give rise to treatment-resistant infections upon colonization by pathogenous bacteria. A detailed understanding of the interactions between biological cells and the device surface…

Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Diseases - Year VI

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Garry Buchko

Project type

Exploratory Research

The Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID) is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to apply genome-scale approaches in solving…

Understanding DNA surface interactions for systems design and engineering

Lead Institution

University of Texas Medical Branch

Principal Investigator

Bernard Pettitt

Project type

Exploratory Research

DNA replication, DNA modification, and single organism engineering are being used in many fields of relevance to the DOE mission. Extensive knowledge of the fundamental reactions involved in these…

Integrating genome-scale metabolic modeling of a microbial community into simulations of subsurface flow and biogeochemical reactive transport.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Steven Yabusaki

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this project is to develop a mechanistic, quantitative, and predictive simulation capability for coupled flow and biogeochemical reactive transport that accounts for • genome-specific…

Investigation of role of lanthanum oxide in cobalt/cobalt carbide active cobalt-based catalyst for higher alcohol synthesis from biomass derived syngas

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Vanessa Dagle

Project type

Exploratory Research

With the depletion of petroleum reserves and increasing concern about the global climate change, catalytic conversion of coal and biomass derived syngas into mixed alcohols may play an important role…

Formation, Stability, and Reactivity of atomically dispersed transition metals stabilized on oxide supports

Lead Institution

University of New Mexico

Principal Investigator

Abhaya Datye

Project type

Exploratory Research

In the course of our previous studies, we learned that the support may be modified during reaction especially after elevated temperature treatments due to the incorporation of atomically dispersed…

Development of Novel Non Pt Group Metal Electrocatalysts for PEM Fuel Cell Applications

Lead Institution

University of New Mexico

Principal Investigator

Barr Halevi

Project type

Exploratory Research

Some of the most promising non-PGM electrocatalysts are Metallo-nitrogen-carbon compounds made using pyrolysis of metal salts and carbon-nitrogen precursors.[1-4] The goal of this work is to…

Studies of the effect of an interfacial layer on interfacial reaction and diffusion kinetics in Cu-In based liquid phase sintered composites for high performance thermal management materials

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Indranath Dutta

Project type

Exploratory Research

This proposal aims to (1) systematically study the elemental diffusion profiles across the interface in Cu-In composites above and below the melting point of In, (2) measure the interfacial…

Novel flow based biomolecule immobilization on nanoporous scaffolds
for enhanced biosensor performance and drug delivery applications

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Amy Shen

Project type

Exploratory Research

Biosensors play indispensible roles in disease diagnosis, drug screening, and forensic applications. One important area of biosensor research is the immobilization of biomolecules (i.e. enzyme, DNA)…

Elucidation of Catalyst Fouling Mechanisms in Bio-Oil Hydroprocessing

Lead Institution

Seoul National University

Principal Investigator

Do Heui Kim

Project type

Exploratory Research

As a part of the scope of work for the project, "Catalytic Deoxygenation of Pyrolysis Oils," which was funded through the DOE-EERE Office of the Biomass Program solicitation DE-FOA-0000342,…

Characterization of a new precipitate phase in the high temperature shape memory alloys NiTiHf and NiTiHfPd

Lead Institution

The Ohio State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Mills

Project type

Exploratory Research

The development of high temperature shape memory alloys (HTSMAs) could open up many applications for these materials as energy efficient actuators. Recent work indicates that ternary alloys based on…

EPA Consulting: MNA of Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater (Amonette EPA-MNA, PNNL Scope # 43657)

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Amonette

Project type

Exploratory Research

Generate a 200-300 page guidance document for monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of inorganic contaminants (metals and radionuclides) in ground water. The document will propose ways of assessing…

A Bioengineering Approach to the Production of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles

Lead Institution

Temple University

Principal Investigator

Daniel Strongin

Project type

Exploratory Research

Research will be performed that will use the biological protein ferritin as a precursor for the production of nano iron oxyhydroxide and iron particles supported on SiO2. The protein, which is an…

Ultrapure, Monodisperse, Spherical, Unagglomerated Nano Powders for Infrared Window Materials

Lead Institution

Ceramatec, Inc.

Principal Investigator

Akash Akash

Project type

Exploratory Research

A novel technique is proposed to synthesize nanocrystalline ceramic oxide powders using a low temperature crystallization process. Low level of agglomeration is expected due to several agglomerate…

Cryogenic Deuteron Solid-state NMR Spectroscopy of Ultra-low Barrier Rotors for "Inertial" Crystalline Molecular Machines Assembled via Metal-organic Frameworks

Lead Institution

University of California, Los Angeles

Principal Investigator

Miguel Garcia-Garibay

Project type

Exploratory Research

Condensed-phase artificial molecular machines are an extremely promising platform for the development of stimuli-responsive bulk materials. By choosing well-characterized molecular "parts"…