Projects

Variable temperature XRD studies of Ge/SiO2/Si system

Lead Institution

Motorola

Principal Investigator

Yong Liang

Project type

Exploratory Research

This user proposal focuses on using the variable temperature X-ray diffraction capability in EMSL to investigate temperature dependent lattice parameters of a semiconductor system. Specifically, we…

Investigating the carbon cycling implications of changing microbial leaf litter decomposition across a permafrost thaw gradient.

Lead Institution

University of Arizona

Principal Investigator

Scott Saleska

Project type

FICUS Research

Thawing arctic permafrost (which contains 30-50% of global soil carbon) is expected to drive substantial alterations to carbon (C) cycling that will accelerate climate change. As permafrost thaws,…

Detecting Seismically-Sustained Deep Subsurface CH4-cycling Chemolithoautotrophic Microbial Communities Using Multi-Omic Analyses and NanoSIMS

Lead Institution

Princeton University

Principal Investigator

Tullis Onstott

Project type

FICUS Research

The specific objective of the proposed JGI/EMSL project is to document the microbial ecosystem of an active fault zone at 3.5 to 3.6 kilometers depth in South Africa. More specifically, the goal is…

Characterizing the ecophysiologies of uncultured syntrophic associations driving anaerobic methane oxidation: applications of targeted meta'omics and multi-modal analytical imaging of diverse archaeal-bacterial consortia

Lead Institution

California Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Victoria Orphan

Project type

FICUS Research

The main objective of this work is to combine the molecular, elemental and cryo-electron imaging and metaproteomics available at EMSL with the single cell genomics pipeline at the JGI in a highly…

Observations of Scytonema-colonized and
non-colonized fiber cement roofing shingles.

Lead Institution

Lab/Cor, Inc.

Principal Investigator

Barbara Reine

Project type

Exploratory Research

Fiber cement roofing shingles colonized with Scytonema sp. and other cyanobacteria are failing. One mechanism proposed to explain the observed deterioration is the breakdown of the cementicious…

Systems Analysis of Trophic Transitions in Chromochloris zofingiensis, an Emerging Model Green Alga with Promising Biofuel Potential

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Krishna Niyogi

Project type

FICUS Research

As a core component of a sustainable bio-economy, microalgae have the potential to become a major source of biofuels and bioproducts without exacerbating environmental problems. These photosynthetic…

Biodiversity and ice-nucleating activity of soil and marine airborne microorganisms and relationship to source material

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Susannah Burrows

Project type

FICUS Research

Understanding the nature, sources, and geographic and seasonal distribution of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs), i.e., particles that promote freezing of cloud droplets, is critical to…

Towards a molecular-level understanding of terrestrial organic matter transformations by microbes in a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean

Lead Institution

Concordia University

Principal Investigator

David Walsh

Project type

FICUS Research

The fate of terrestrial organic matter in coastal seas and open oceans is not well understood. This is especially true in the Arctic Ocean, which is one of the largest depositories of terrestrial…

Revealing the Molecular Interactions in Phototroph-Heterotroph Co-Cultures for Bioenergy Through Development of an In Silico Platform for Design and Discovery

Lead Institution

Johns Hopkins University

Principal Investigator

Michael Betenbaugh

Project type

FICUS Research

Lichens are nature's solar cells, harnessing energy from sunlight and converting it along with CO2 into biochemicals. They achieve this goal through a complex web of interactions between a…

Single particle analysis of smoke aerosols during the Summer 2002 Yosemite Aerosol Characterization Study

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Jenny Hand

Project type

Exploratory Research

The role of smoke aerosols from biomass burning in visibility degradation is poorly understood because few studies exist that have fully characterized their physical, optical, chemical and…

Fate of Cosmetic Microbeads and Silver Nanoparticles in Soils

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Markus Flury

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Plastic microbeads and silver nanoparticles contained in cosmetic and health care products usually end up in our household waste water, which will then be treated in a waste water treatment plant…

Computational Studies of Catalyzed Chemical Transformations of Biomass and 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…

First principles investigations on the coupling of polaron and excited carrier dynamics at TiO2/molecule interface

Lead Institution

University of Pittsburgh

Principal Investigator

Hrvoje Petek

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose to perform computational studies of the structure and dynamics of polarons in TiO2 and related materials. The nature of charge carriers in photocatalytic semiconductors is crucial to their…

Comprehensive Characterization of the Cellulosomes from Anaerobic Gut Fungi

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Michelle O'Malley

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal seeks use of EMSL resources to characterize the secreted, multi-enzyme cellulosomes that originate from anaerobic gut fungi. Cellulosomes enable anaerobic fungi to tether different…

Improving the accuracy and reliability of Earth system reconstructions by quantifying mechanisms that modulate sub-micron heterogeneity in marine calcifiers

Lead Institution

Oregon State University

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Fehrenbacher

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Reconstructions of Earth's biogeochemical history, the interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, and global environmental conditions, are commonly based on reconstructions generated using…

Developing a Modular Scaffold to Drive the Symmetric Assembly of Cellular Proteins for Single Particle Cryo-EM Imaging

Lead Institution

University of California, Los Angeles

Principal Investigator

Todd Yeates

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

High resolution structural studies can provide exceptionally valuable information on the workings of cellular components and molecular machines, many of which play critical roles in biological energy…

The Transformation of Tetrahedral to Octahedral Coordination in Anions of Interest in High-Level Tank Waste

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jian-zhi Hu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose to use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Raman and Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in combination with computational modeling to study the conversion of soluble tetrahedral…

System Approaches to Study Soybean Root Biology at Single-Cell Resolution

Lead Institution

University of Missouri - Columbia

Principal Investigator

Gary Stacey

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The long-term goal of this project is to further basic understanding of the agronomically important Bradyrhizobium japonicum-soybean nitrogen fixing symbiosis. Soybeans are the major source of…

Implications of U(IV)-silicate core-shell colloids for radionuclide transport

Lead Institution

University of Manchester

Principal Investigator

Samuel Shaw

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Here we will use a range of techniques to advance fundamental and predictive understanding of uranium colloids in the subsurface environment. Recent work has highlighted that U(IV)-silicate colloids…

Characterizing the functional transition of endophytic fungi during plant senescence

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Ryoko Oono

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Decomposition of leaf litter by a diverse microbial community is a major biogeochemical process in the global carbon cycle. Fungi are considered the primary decomposers of plant litter, especially of…