Projects

Investigate the structures, energetics, thermodynamics, spectra and electronic properties of benzoic acid, sulfuric acid and water clusters

Lead Institution

Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Principal Investigator

Wei Huang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Recently, much work has been done to explore the process of new particle formation (NPF). However, the mechanisms by which clusters form in the atmosphere are still poorly understood, which is quite…

Monte Carlo Transition State Search (MCTSS) Program Applied in Theoretical Studies of Criegee intermediates reactions

Lead Institution

Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Principal Investigator

Wei Huang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Criegee intermediates (CI) are key intermediates in the reaction of ozone with alkenes. The stabilized Criegee intermediates (sCI) can react with atmospheric species such as water vapor, NO2, SO2,…

The fate of newly exposed carbon in the Arctic - controls on release to the atmosphere and transport to the ocean

Lead Institution

University of Michigan

Principal Investigator

Rose Cory

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The carbon (C) in thawing permafrost soils may have global impacts on climate change, yet the controls on processing and fate of this newly released C are poorly understood. Inland waters are…

Systems-level insights into carbon transformations in thawing permafrost by parallel high-resolution organic matter and microbial community characterization.

Lead Institution

Florida State University

Principal Investigator

Jeffrey Chanton

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

A fundamental challenge of modern biology is to understand how information encoded in the genes of organisms translates into physiological and biogeochemical processes manifested at ecosystem to…

Using an engineered protein proxy to constrain protein- mineral interactions

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Markus Kleber

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Objectives: This research intends to contribute to a better mechanistic understanding of protein-mineral attachment by answering questions such as: How do variations in the amino acid sequence of…

Effect of Chemical Processing of Aluminosilicate Mineral Dust Aerosol on Surface Speciation and Reactivity and Consequences for Ice Nucleation and Cloud Formation

Lead Institution

Pennsylvania State University

Principal Investigator

Miriam Freedman

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Aerosol-cloud interactions are the largest uncertainty in our understanding of the climate system. Of particular interest are cirrus (ice) clouds, which are ubiquitous in the upper troposphere,…

Model Early Transition Metal Oxide Catalysts for Biomass Conversion

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Zdenek Dohnalek

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The detailed understanding of biomass conversion on well-defined model oxide catalysts provides valuable feedback for subsequent catalyst design and synthesis of desired products such as biofuels…

Visualizing the three-dimensional organization of biopolymers within the plant root-matrix to understand the physiology and decomposability of roots

Lead Institution

Clemson University

Principal Investigator

Nishanth Tharayil Santhakumar

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Plant roots contribute to a majority of carbon stored in soils. However, we still lack the parameters that can accurately forecast root decomposability, which hinders our ability to predict future…

Identification and Quantification of Active Bacterial Monooxygenases in Environmental Samples Using Activity-Based Protein Profiling (ABPP)

Lead Institution

North Carolina State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Hyman

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Bacterial monooxygenases are enzymes the initiate the aerobic biodegradation of a wide variety of environmentally important chemicals. These include key intermediates in the biogeochemical cycles of…

Probing the Mesoscale Structure of Complex Electrode-Electrolyte Interfaces

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Vijayakumar Murugesan

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Molecular interactions at electrode-electrolyte interface are pivotal to the modern energy storage/conversion and microelectronic devices. However, our predictive level understanding about the…

Sea spray aerosol: Composition, formation, evolution and properties

Lead Institution

University of Iowa

Principal Investigator

Vicki Grassian

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Here we propose to use the Department of Energy's EMSL facility to study the chemical composition and heterogeneous chemistry of sea spray aerosol which is a complex mixture of salt, biological…

Structural and functional analyses of multi-protein complexes regulating genotype to phenotype translations in plants

Lead Institution

Indiana University - Bloomington

Principal Investigator

Craig Pikaard

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

DNA-dependent RNA polymerases decode genetic information stored in DNA by converting the information into RNA. This enzymatic activity, known as transcription, is a critical step in the process by…

Investigation on Electrode/Electrolyte Interphase Reactions in Rechargeable Metal-Oxygen Batteries

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Wu Xu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The objective of this proposal is to understand the reactions occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interphases in two metal-oxygen batteries, more specifically the interphases of lithium…

Shape, Structure, and Chemical Analysis of Mineral Dust Aerosol and Its Impact on IN activity

Lead Institution

University of Iowa

Principal Investigator

Vicki Grassian

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

A significant amount of atmospheric aerosol particles are aspherical, with complex shapes and morphological distributions of chemical components. This can greatly affect their climate relevant…

Carbon Dynamics across an Urban to Wildland interface in Subtropical, Central Florida

Lead Institution

University of Central Florida

Principal Investigator

Charles Hinkle

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Urban centers are a major global source of fossil-fuel emissions, and consequently a large source of carbon (C) to the atmosphere. Understanding the impact of urbanization on C cycling, is therefore…

Understanding Microbial Catabolism of Arctic Soil Organic Matter and Its Degradation Pathways: Identifying Precursors to Small Organic Acids

Lead Institution

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Baohua Gu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This user proposal aims to identify the specific components of Arctic soil organic matter (SOM) that are consumed during warming experiments in the laboratory and during the thaw season at the Barrow…

Plant Biotic Defense Dynamics

Lead Institution

Rice University

Principal Investigator

Janet Braam

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Plant survival strategies include balancing resource allocation to growth versus defense against biotic stress. Despite the importance of this balance for plant productivity, measured as biomass and…

Pre-equilibrium in-situ solvated ion/molecular adsorption processes and events on solid substrates in aqueous environments: Adsorption discretization, surface adsorption waves and repulsive forces

Lead Institution

Guangzhou University

Principal Investigator

Mario Gomez

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The purpose of the proposed work is to image and analyze chemically at the micro-nano scale pre-equilibrium adsorption processes and events hypothesized to occur (adsorption discretization, surface…

Computational Studies of Catalyzed Chemical Transformations of Biomass-Derived Intermediates

Lead Institution

University of Alabama

Principal Investigator

David Dixon

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

There is a critical need to develop new, renewable sources of energy as well as feedstocks for the chemical industry. Biomass is a carbon neutral source of energy and can also address issues related…

In Situ and Ex Situ NMR Investigation of the Electrochemistry in Lithium Batteries

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jian-zhi Hu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Li-metal is an ideal anode material for rechargeable batteries. However, dendritic Li growth and limited Coulombic efficiency (CE) during repeated Li deposition/stripping processes have prevented the…