Projects

As a scientific user facility, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) provides expertise, instrumentation, and resources to 250 projects each year.

EMSL projects displayed on the EMSL web site project page reflect project abstracts and information migrated to this page before April 30, 2024. To review current and past EMSL user projects, visit EMSL Science Central.™

Surface Chemistry & Rheology in High Ionic Strength Solutions

Lead Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Principal Investigator

Leslie Struble

Project type

Exploratory Research

Single Molecule Studies of Protein Motions

Lead Institution

University of Kansas

Principal Investigator

Carey Johnson

Project type

Exploratory Research

Image Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Lead Institution

Harvard University

Principal Investigator

Gary Holtom

Project type

Exploratory Research

Small particles (50-300 nm) particles of various iron oxides have been synthesized. These tend to aggregate and we would like to learn the size distribution of the particles and, if possible, if…

Measurement of CA at YAG Interfaces

Lead Institution

University of Pennsylvania

Principal Investigator

Kelly Brown

Project type

Exploratory Research

Single-Molecule Spectroscopy of Light Harvesting Complexes and Real Time Spectroscopic

Lead Institution

University of Sheffield

Principal Investigator

Neil Hunter

Project type

Exploratory Research

Stabilization of Polar Oxide Interfaces: Integrated Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Atomic Structure and Electronic Properties

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Principal Investigator

Marija Gajdardziska-josifovska

Project type

Exploratory Research

Stabilization of polar oxide interfaces is addressed by an integrated experimental and theoretical research program through creation of polar oxide interfaces (at PNNL) and investigation of their…

Ion Beam Characterization of Nanocomposite Tribological Coatings

Lead Institution

Montana State University

Principal Investigator

Richard Smith

Project type

Exploratory Research

The demand for low-friction and wear resistant components capable of operation in severe environments has directed attention to advanced surface engineering technologies. The Large Area Filtered Arc…

Establishing Benchmarks for Stability Testing of Future Intermediate Range Compute Server

Lead Institution

University of Arizona

Principal Investigator

L. Corrales

Project type

Exploratory Research

The role of theoretical and computational groups within CSD includes the development and application of theoretical models of molecular processes in homogeneous and heterogeneous phases. Research…

Fluorescent labeling of proteins based on known crystal structures.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Luis Rodriguez

Project type

Exploratory Research

Protein interactions within living cells are poorly understood, particularly the spatial and temporal associations of ubiqutious proteins like calmodulin (CaM). Here, we propose to utilize computer…

First-Principles Catalyst Design for Environmentally Benign Energy Production

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Emmanouil Mavrikakis

Project type

Exploratory Research

We are developing a first-principles approach to the design of novel catalytic materials. A fully parallelized planewave total energy Density Functional Theory (DFT)-based code is used for modeling…

Establish a Penn State Center for Environmental Kinetics - as part of the Environmental Molecular Science Institute (EMSI) program (NSF/DOE-OBER) [PNNL Scope #47287, Zachara EMSI)

Lead Institution

Pennsylvania State University

Principal Investigator

William Burgos

Project type

Exploratory Research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a team of Penn State researchers $6.7 million to establish a new center for the study of environmental kinetics. Susan L. Brantley, director of the…

Surface Texture of Zircon Grains from the Sierra Madera Impact Structure, West Texas

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Sarah Huson

Project type

Exploratory Research

The Sierra Madera structure in west Texas is a ~12 km well-exposed eroded remnant of a complex impact crater. The structure was last studied in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and is an excellent…

Surface Modification and Cutting of Polymer Surfaces

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Aaron Baker

Project type

Exploratory Research

Rock Microtopography: Implications for Environmental Records in Glaciers

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Kurt Cuffey

Project type

Exploratory Research

Rheology of Subfreezing Glacial Ice

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Kurt Cuffey

Project type

Exploratory Research

Microcalorimetric Sensors

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Michael Free

Project type

Exploratory Research

Theoretical Studies of Kinetic Processes in Nanoscale Ice Films

Lead Institution

University of Iceland

Principal Investigator

Hannes Jonsson

Project type

Exploratory Research

Theoretical Studies of Kinetic Processes in Nanoscale Ice Films

Lead Institution

University of Iceland

Principal Investigator

Hannes Jonsson

Project type

Exploratory Research

We will study the sticking probability of a water molecule on the basal plane of hexagonal ice using experiments and theory. The molecular sticking will be studied over a wide range in energy (0.5…