Projects

Experimental Capabilities and Fundamental Science for Geologic Carbon Sequestration: The PNNL In Situ Supercritical Suite (IS3)

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Kevin Rosso

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This Science Theme proposal requests EMSL access for investigators in the In Situ Supercritical Suite (IS3) component of PNNL's Carbon Sequestration Initiative (CSI). The CSI is a multi-million…

Laboratory and Field Studies of Cloud Formation

Lead Institution

Purdue University

Principal Investigator

Daniel Cziczo

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The relationship between aerosol particles and the formation of clouds is among the most uncertain aspects in our current understanding of climate change. Warm clouds have been the most extensively…

New Materials for Solar Cells Revealed via Quantum Mechanics

Lead Institution

Princeton University

Principal Investigator

Emily Carter

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This project is motivated by the low conversion efficiency of inexpensive solar cells intended as an alternative to fossil fuels, the primary energy resource. The research objectives are to explore…

Role of Protein Dynamics in G Protein Signaling

Lead Institution

University of Montana

Principal Investigator

Stephen Sprang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This is a multi-investigator project aimed at understanding the role of protein dynamics in controlling the catalytic properties of an important family of biological regulators: the G-alpha subunits…

The Role of Interfacial Processes on Mineral Transformations in Wet Supercritical CO2

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Andrew Felmy

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose a comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigation of the role of interfacial water and CO2 on the energies, mechanisms, and rates of reactivity of a series of orthosilicate and…

Atomically Resolved Studies of Catalytic Oxidation of Organics on TiO2(110)

Lead Institution

Baylor University

Principal Investigator

Zhenrong Zhang

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

A fundamental understanding of the structure-related mechanisms and dynamics of catalytic reactions on oxide catalysts is essential for the development of better catalytic systems. Catalytic…

Pore-Scale Evaluation of the Effect of Bioavailable Iron on U(Vi) Reduction Kinetics and U(Iv) Re-Oxidation of Relevance to Bioremediation Efforts at the Hanford Site

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Charles Werth

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Scores of hazardous waste sites are contaminated with uranium, primarily due to uranium mining and processing by the Department of Energy over a 40-year period between 1940 and 1980 (Wolbarst et al.,…

Probing the Fundamental Interactions in Carbon Capture and Sequestration: A Combined Computational and Experimental Investigation

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Vassiliki-Alexandra Glezakou

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The proposed work will investigate the fundamental interactions between sc-CO2 and metal/metal oxide or carbonate surfaces in the presence of other contaminants and metal impurities, in order to…

Microstructural and Irradiation Effects on Ag and Cs Diffusion in CVD-SiC

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

Todd Allen

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The DOE has selected the Very High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (VHTR) as its next generation nuclear plant. The VHTR is designed to operate at higher temperatures than conventional light water…

Interplay Between Electronic and Ionic Processes at Grain Boundaries of Polycrystalline Oxides

Lead Institution

University College London

Principal Investigator

Alexander Shlyuger

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The main objective of this project is to investigate the interplay between electronic and ionic processes at grain boundaries of polycrystalline oxides, such as MgO, stabilized cubic ZrO2 and…

Molecular Controls of Hematite-CO2 Interactions on Particles with Well-Defined Crystal Planes

Lead Institution

Umea University

Principal Investigator

Jean-Francois Boily

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This work was devised to contribute to a new basis of understanding of mineral surface reactivity through the used of well-defined surfaces. As it is primordially focused on the reactivity of…

The Influence of Reaction Pathways on the Reduction of U(VI) to U(IV): The Role of the Intermediate U(V) Species

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Eugene Ilton

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This proposal is focused on the interfacial oxidation/reduction mechanisms of polyvalent metal ions important in subsurface systems. The current research is targeted at unraveling the reaction…

Molecular Chemistry of Secondary Organic Aerosol Formed in Photochemical Aging of Primary Anthropogenic Emissions

Lead Institution

University of California, Irvine

Principal Investigator

Sergey Nizkorodov

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose to examine molecular level processes taking place in anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols (SOA) using recently developed tools of high resolution mass spectrometry. The proposed…

Microbial Systems Ecology of a Seasonally Anoxic Fjord: Saanich Inlet

Lead Institution

University of British Columbia

Principal Investigator

Steven Hallam

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are widespread oceanographic features currently expanding due to global warming. Although inhospitable to aerobic respiring organisms, OMZs support a thriving…

Quantum Mechanical and Molecular Mechanical Methods for Iron-Sulfur Proteins

Lead Institution

Texas A&M University

Principal Investigator

Shuqiang Niu

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Iron-sulfur proteins are an important class of electron carriers and redox sites in a wide variety of electron transport and enzymatic processes, including photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen…

Structure determination of leucine-rich amelogenin protein adsorbed to hydroxyapatite using computational structure prediction

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Wendy Shaw

Project type

Exploratory Research

The formation of biogenic materials requires the interaction of organic molecules with the mineral phase. In forming dental enamel, the mineralization of hydroxyapatite (HAp) is largely attributed to…

Examinations of Cell Surface Layer Proteins in the Thermophilic Thermotogales Bacteria to Determine Their Roles in Polysaccharide Hydrolysis

Lead Institution

University of Connecticut

Principal Investigator

Kenneth Noll

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

We propose to characterize the protein constituents of the outer surface layer of cells of the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima and its relatives and examine their roles in the…

Microscopic Fluoresence Imaging of Cellulose Degradation in Microfluidic Devices

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jay Grate

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goals of this project are to (1) test combinations of fluorescent tag, cellulose form, dye-cellulose conjugation method, and microscopy modalities to demonstrate, for the first time, the ability…

Determination of the peptide-binding sites on the bacterial chaperone protein SecB

Lead Institution

University of Missouri - Columbia

Principal Investigator

Linda Randall

Project type

Exploratory Research

The chaperone protein SecB is required for the efficient export of certain proteins across the periplasmic membrane of E.coli. SecB promotes export by binding to the proteins and delivering them to…

The Role of Lipid Phosphatase Sac1 in the Organization of the Cortical/Tubular Endoplasmic Reticulum in Yeast

Lead Institution

Oregon Health & Science University

Principal Investigator

Peter Mayinger

Project type

Exploratory Research

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a continuous membrane system but consists of various domains that perform different functions. Distinct ER regions are composed of sheets and tubules, which differ…