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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.™ 

 

  • Projects beginning at or after given date.
    Projects ending at or before given date.

Accurate mass determination

Lead Institution
Medical University of South Carolina
Principal Investigator
Eric Lacy
Project type
Exploratory Research
Determine accurate mass for an unknown molecule

Hollow Helices as Folding Nanotubes with Tunable Cavity Size

Lead Institution
University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Principal Investigator
Bing Gong
Project type
Exploratory Research
Two different classes of oligomers and polymers consisting of benzene rings linked by amide and ethynyl groups respectively are designed to fold into large helical structures. The backbones of these…

Resonance Raman Spectroscopy of Dyes Used as Solar Energy Sensitizers

Lead Institution
Washington State University
Principal Investigator
Jeanne McHale
Project type
Exploratory Research
Resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS) will be used to probe the structure and excited state dynamics of dyes employed in dye-sensitized solar energy cells based on titanium dioxide. Two classes of dyes…

Detection of Gas inclusion in Organic and Metal-Organic Solids

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Praveen Kumar Thallapally
Project type
Exploratory Research
Emissions of gases are a significant problem for many chemical processers and electric utility operators. Federal regulations in the U.S.A., such as the Clean Air Act Amendments and various state and…

Infrared Adiabatic Rapid Passage Spectroscopy of Small Gas Phase Molecules

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Thomas Blake
Project type
Exploratory Research
Adiabatic rapid passage and superradiance spectroscopies using quantum cascade lasers are optical techniques that hold the promise of ultratrace detection of molecules in atmospheric grab samples…

Influence of Speciation on the Transport of U(VI) through Hanford Sediments

Lead Institution
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Melanie Mayes
Project type
Exploratory Research
Uranium(VI) in the subsurface at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford site poses a significant risk to the quality of the Columbia River and to future populations. Coupled hydrological and…

Creation and Healing of Surface Defects

Lead Institution
Hanford High School
Principal Investigator
Brian Palmer
Project type
Exploratory Research
With EMSL Staff, we will study the creation and healing of defects on the surface of rutile TiO2 by irradiation with UV light and reaction with light molecules. The surface structure and composition…

Identification of order and disorder in protein XPA

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Lilia Lakoucheva
Project type
Exploratory Research
The DNA repair protein Xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) is a crucial component of the nucleotide excision repair pathway. The structure of full-length XPA has proved intractable by both NMR and X…

Determining Mechanism of Pu(VI) Reduction by Manganese Oxides

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Kirk Cantrell
Project type
Exploratory Research
As part of the EMSP project: Transuranic Interfacial Reaction Studies on Manganese Oxide Hydroxide Mineral Surfaces, it has been demonstrated that Pu(VI) and Pu(V) are reduced and adsorbed by…

Electrochemical Storage of Hydrogen in Modified Carbon Nanotubes

Lead Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Liyu Li
Project type
Exploratory Research
Strategy: Boron has one less electron than carbon. When carbon in the CNTs is substituted by boron, the electron density of the CNTs will decrease (this will strongly modifies the properties of the…

Comparative Display of D. radiodurans after exposure to Ionizing Radiation

Lead Institution
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Principal Investigator
Michael Daly
Project type
Exploratory Research
Deinococcus radiodurans is one of the most radiation resistant organisms known to man, yet after a comprehensive analysis of the sequenced genome, the mechanisms underlying this radiation resistance…

Proteomics of Shewanilla Onediensas

Lead Institution
Argonne National Laboratory
Principal Investigator
Carol Giometti
Project type
Exploratory Research
One of the most interesting properties of the organisms Shewanella onediensis is its ability to reduce heavy metals in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. For this reason, S. onediensis is a…