Projects

Fundamental Studies of Ice Nucleation Using Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM)

Lead Institution

Purdue University

Principal Investigator

Alexander Laskin

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed research is to demonstrate applicability of a novel experimental platform for systematic studies of ice nucleation efficiency of atmospheric particles with determination of…

Probing Particle Mediated Growth: Towards a Predictive Understanding of Self-Assembly for Energy Applications

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Kevin Rosso

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This Science Theme proposal aims at developing a fundamental understanding of forces between nanoparticles in aqueous solution that underpin self-assembly of materials by oriented aggregation. This…

Molecular composition and phase characteristics of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) relevant to the FIX2014 and SOAS2013 campaigns

Lead Institution

California Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

John Seinfeld

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) can be a large component of the troposphere, potentially altering visibility, human health, atmospheric chemistry, and climate patterns on a regional scale. The…

Bioinspired Homogeneous and Surface-confined Catalysts for Energy Storage and Production Reactions

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Molly O'Hagan

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Three related research programs at PNNL focus on developing bioinspired electrocatalysts for energy storage, energy production, or carbon fixation reactions such as the production and oxidation of…

Investigations of Metal-organic Frameworks Using High-field Solid State NMR

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Jeffrey Reimer

Project type

Exploratory Research

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as materials for the capture of CO2 from post-combustion flue gases. The knowledge of gas binding mechanisms and the in-depth understanding of MOF…

Functional Components of Plant Resistance to Fungi

Lead Institution

Rice University

Principal Investigator

Janet Braam

Project type

Exploratory Research

Recent research has led to new insights into the importance of spatial aspects of jasmonate-mediated plant defense and fungal resistance, including organ-specific resistance as a gate-keeper for…

Impact of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid upon biofilm development, Fe speciation, and the fate of microbial biomass in the rhizosphere of dryland and irrigated wheat

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Matthew Marshall

Project type

Exploratory Research

Rhizobacterial biofilms are a major sink for plant-derived carbon, and a major source for microbially-derived soil organic matter (SOM). Bacteria residing within biofilm matrices, which restrict…

Coking- and sintering-resistant surface-mounted sub-nano cluster catalysts of endothermic cooling

Lead Institution

University of California, Los Angeles

Principal Investigator

Anastassia Alexandrova

Project type

Exploratory Research

The ultimate objective of the proposed research is understanding and design of novel catalytic surfaces based on sub-nano surface-deposited clusters, with a particular application to dehydrogenation…

Impact of natural organic matter on U speciation and mobility in groundwater

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

John Bargar

Project type

Exploratory Research

Uranium (U) contamination of aquifers is a persistent problem at DOE legacy ore processing sites and, contrary to initial predictions, many plumes are not attenuating with natural groundwater…

X-ray tomography to incorporate redox conditions into soil carbon turnover models

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Markus Kleber

Project type

Exploratory Research

We suggest that X-ray tomography can be successfully employed to generate numerical values of a) total pore space, b) pore geometry, c) pore size distribution and d) pore connectivity at relevant…

Characterization of chemisorption products from CO2 and amine bearing polymers via solid-state NMR

Lead Institution

Washington University in St. Louis

Principal Investigator

Sophia Hayes

Project type

Exploratory Research

The objective of this proposed work is to characterize the chemisorption products of CO2 interacting with solid-supported amine materials. The aim is to use these materials to capture CO2 from flue…

First-Principles Calculations of Excited-State Processes in Scintillator Materials

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Sebastien Kerisit

Project type

Exploratory Research

The objective of the proposed research is to enhance our understanding of and ability to simulate excited states in wide-bandgap materials with the specific goal of predicting the luminescence…

Identifying the source of ice nucleating particles in biomass burning aerosol, and the effect of chemical aging and freeze-drying on their freezing properties

Lead Institution

Carnegie Mellon University

Principal Investigator

Ryan Sullivan

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The nanoscale surface features that create efficient ice active sites on atmospheric particles that control heterogeneous ice nucleation remain largely unknown. Cloud glaciation induced by these ice…

Heterogeneous catalysts design for biorefining and energy conversion processes

Lead Institution

University of South Carolina

Principal Investigator

Andreas Heyden

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The overall goal of this project is to develop, implement, and apply a set of computational, multiscale techniques for heterogeneous catalysts design with special emphasis on the EMSL theme, &quot…

What, exactly, inhibits decomposition at low temperature?

Lead Institution

University of Toledo

Principal Investigator

Michael Weintraub

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Arctic soils contain large carbon (C) stores, and the balance of C fluxes is likely to shift because Arctic temperatures are rising at twice the global rate. However, predicting soil responses is…

Shales across scales: Identifying conserved biogeochemistry and microbial metabolism across geographically distinct deep subsurface ecosystems

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The hydraulic fracturing of hydrocarbon bearing shales to yield oil and gas is now a critical part of the US energy portfolio. Microorganisms present in injected fluids colonize these environments,…

Integrated Mutli-omics Analyses for the Prediction of Metabolic Flux in Lignin Conversion

Lead Institution

Washington University in St. Louis

Principal Investigator

Marcus Foston

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The last decade has witnessed the tremendous power of systems biology and multi-omics tools to characterize and understand complex biological systems, computational tools to integrate and leverage…

Nano- to microscale characterization of metabolic cooperation facilitated by physical associations between phototrophic microalgae and heterotrophic bacterial symbionts

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Ty Samo

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Attachment between phototrophic microalgae and heterotrophic bacteria is an integral yet understudied facet of microbial ecology. Such inter-kingdom cooperative partnerships have important…

Chemical Imaging of Airborne Soil Organic Particles from Land-atmosphere Interactions

Lead Institution

Purdue University

Principal Investigator

Alexander Laskin

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Recent discovery of solid (glassy) atmospheric soil organic particles (ASOP), emitted through atmosphere-land-surface interactions in the area of Southern Great Plains (SGP) suggests that ASOP may…

Methanogenesis in wetland soils: It may not always be as deep as we all thought

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Kelly Wrighton

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal focuses on understanding the constraints on methane metabolism in freshwater temperate wetland soils, as these systems currently represent the largest source of natural methane…