Projects

A Joint Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Bonding, Energetics, and Excited States of Uranyl Compounds

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Zheming Wang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

One of the challenges in experimental investigations of actinide complexes is to determine their structures, bonding, and stabilities in solids and solutions. Our recent TRLIF work on U(VI), the…

Understanding NOx SCR Mechanisms and Activity on Cu/Chabazite Structures throughout the Catalyst Life Cycle

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Charles Peden

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposed EMSL use will enable research that has been recently funded at PNNL by the Department of Energy (DOE), and at the remainder of the partner institutions by a joint DOE/National Science…

Mn oxide mineral formation by an expressed bacterial Mn(II,III)-oxidizing multicopper oxidase

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Bradley Tebo

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Microbial Mn(II) oxidation is an important environmental process that links the biogeochemical cycle of Mn with the cycling of C, N, P, and many trace metals and radionuclides. The Mn oxides…

Immobilization of Actinides in Garnets

Lead Institution

University of California, Davis

Principal Investigator

Alexandra Navrotsky

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The garnet structure is a promising nuclear waste form due to its potential of accommodating various actinide elements. Study of tetravalent cation substitution in a simple garnet system may shed…

Comparative proteomic analysis of sweet and grain sorghum stem internodes: mechanisms of sugar accumulation for bioenergy

Lead Institution

University of Arkansas, Monticello

Principal Investigator

Benjamin Babst

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The amount of biomass produced by plants and its composition is largely dependent on fixation of atmospheric CO2 as sugars through photosynthesis by plants. Among the several potential bioenergy…

Understanding Lignin Depolymerization in Ionic Liquid

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Blake Simmons

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The primary goal of the proposed work is to understand the dissolution and depolymerization mechanism of lignin in ionic liquids (ILs) using both experimental and computational approaches. Lignin is…

Improving Climate Records Through a Mechanistic Understanding of Sub-Micron Heterogeneity in Environmental Materials

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Alexander Gagnon

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

From the pace of the ice ages to how the carbon cycle has changed through time, much of what we know about earth history and climate dynamics is based on proxies. Recorded as trace element anomalies…

Molecular Interactions at the Interface of Engineered Nanoparticles and Biological Membranes

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Joel Pedersen

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed project focuses on applying EMSL's outstanding capabilities in super resolution and single-molecule fluorescence microscopy (Galya Orr), high-resolution vibrational spectroscopy (hr…

Untangling the complexity of phototroph-heterotroph interactions in the lab and in the field

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

H Wiley

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Despite the fact that ubiquitous microbial interspecies interactions form the foundation of energy flow as well as the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and other elements within natural environments,…

Microbial controls on climate active trace gas cycling in a model oxygen minimum zone

Lead Institution

University of British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Steven Hallam

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Dissolved oxygen (O2) concentration is a critical organizing principle within marine ecosystems. As oxygen levels decline, energy is increasingly diverted away from higher trophic levels into…

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

Large-Scale EMSL 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…

Model-guided biofuel production enhancement of metabolically engineered E. coli.

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Hector Garcia Martin

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

At the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) we have been able to metabolically engineer E. coli and S. cerevisiae strains that produce biofuel molecules such as bisabolene or fatty acid ethyl esters. In…

Identifying the key organisms, pathways and locations of hydrogen fermentation from lignocellulosic biomass in wood-feeding Passalid beetles.

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eoin Brodie

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Passalid beetles, such as Odontotaenius disjunctus, are subsocial insects that process large amounts of woody biomass by feeding on triturated wood. With the development of symbiotic relationships…

Interactions of Aerosols, Clouds and Precipitation in the Earth System

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Philip Rasch

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Aerosols are important, and their sources and sinks are changing in response to human activity. Aerosols--small solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere--influence the planet in many…

Elucidating the Effects of Gene and Protein Structure on Heterologous Expression and Secretion of Biomass Hydrolyzing Enzymes in Aspergillus niger

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jon Magnuson

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Filamentous fungi are excellent protein production hosts as evidenced by their wide use in industry to produce a variety of native proteins. However, consistent high titer heterologous protein…

Cryogenic Magnetic Resonance and Highly Electron Correlated Theories Applied to Photosynthetic Energy Conversion

Lead Institution

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Principal Investigator

K. V. Lakshmi

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this proposal is to demonstrate a unique capability to be enabled in the EMSL, the integration of leading-edge cryogenic NMR and EPR spectroscopy measurements with highly electron…

Exploring Ultrafast Photoinduced Charge Transfer: Excited-State Simulations of Valence and Core-Level Spectra of Transition Metal Complexes in Solution

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Munira Khalil

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The overall goal of the project is to develop a detailed molecular-level understanding of ultrafast photoinduced charge transfer and recombination in light harvesting materials. Ultrafast…

Interrogating the Formation Mechanisms of Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) from Aqueous-phase Reactions of Phenolic Compounds

Lead Institution

University of California, Davis

Principal Investigator

Qi Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is usually a major component of airborne particulate matter (PM). Since PM has large impacts on climate, human health, and visibility, understanding the formation and…

Experimental and Modeling Studies on Reactive Mass Transfer Kinetics of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Rahul Zaveri

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The objectives of this project are to study the reactive mass transfer kinetics of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation at low, moderate, and high relative humidities. Through this EMSL-user…

Structural Studies of Bioinspired Chromophore Aggregates: Exploring the Design Rules for Light-Harvesting Complexes

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Jeanne McHale

Project type

Exploratory Research

The proposed work will reveal the design principles that determine the light-harvesting and energy transfer efficiency of supramolecular antenna complexes. Such complexes in Nature are optimized to…