Projects

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…

Identifying the Underlying Mechanism of G5 Domain Interactions

Lead Institution

University of Colorado at Denver

Principal Investigator

Elan Eisenmesser

Project type

Exploratory Research

Despite the remarkable success in employing biofilms for a wide range of applications such as the industrial treatment of wastewater and the potential for utilizing biofilms for biofules, exactly how…

The Interfacial Electronic Structure and Carrier Dynamics at Molecule-Solid Interface

Lead Institution

University of Pittsburgh

Principal Investigator

Hrvoje Petek

Project type

Exploratory Research

We propose to study the electronic structure and electron dynamics at molecule/solid-surface interfaces in the context of clean energy generation, and green house gas capture. The theoretical…

Quantifying the Reactive Surface Area of Environmental Materials - Continued Research

Lead Institution

University of Texas at El Paso

Principal Investigator

James Kubicki

Project type

Exploratory Research

The accurate prediction of critical environmental chemical processes such as attenuation and transformation of contaminants, mobility of nutrients, and mineral dissolution and precipitation requires…

In situ Solid-State NMR Study of Biomass Conversion in Porous Catalysts

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Susannah Scott

Project type

Exploratory Research

Biomass represents a renewable and potentially carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels for the production of carbon-based chemicals and fuels. Although efficient heterogeneous catalysis is vital…

High Resolution Electron Microscopy Study of Chlorinated gamma-Al2O3

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Susannah Scott

Project type

Exploratory Research

Chlorination profoundly alters the surface chemistry of gamma-alumina, and consequently its catalytic properties. Such materials are of high interest in energy conversion, notably hydrocarbon…

Towards Complete Characterization of Volatile and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds of Relevance for Atmospheric Aerosol Formation

Lead Institution

University of California, Riverside

Principal Investigator

Kelley Barsanti

Project type

Exploratory Research

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has long been linked to deleterious health effects and to radiative climate forcing. A significant mass fraction of PM2.5 is composed of organic compounds…

Emergent Behavior of Micro-structured Surfaces

Lead Institution

San Diego State University

Principal Investigator

Ilenia Battiato

Project type

Exploratory Research

Surfaces with microscale topological features are ubiquitous in nature and they constitute the physical boundaries that regulate and control energy and mass fluxes between adjacent systems. The…

Bacterial-Algal Synergism Improves Algal Biomass Production

Lead Institution

University of Washington

Principal Investigator

Rose Ann Cattolico

Project type

Exploratory Research

Background: In the proposed work we will use a newly developed experimental system comprised of the alga Chrysochromulina tobin (Haptophyceae) and a bacterial microbiome of limited number (~10…

Systems Biology of the Rumen Microbiome: Towards a Multi-Scalar Understanding of Biomass Degradation

Lead Institution

University of California, Davis

Principal Investigator

Matthias Hess

Project type

Exploratory Research

We have shown recently that the composition of the microbial community in the cow rumen is substrate driven, changes its composition during biomass-degradation and that it possesses a large…

Microbial Carbon Transformations in Wet Tropical Soils: The Effects of Warming, Drying, and Redox Fluctuation

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jennifer Pett-Ridge

Project type

Exploratory Research

Tropical forest soils store more carbon (C) --as plant litter and decomposed organic matter-- than any other terrestrial ecosystem and play a critical role in the production of greenhouse gases …

How Dirigent Proteins Guide Assembly of Lignans and Lignin in Vascular Plants

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Norman Lewis

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Vascular plants use a class of proteins termed dirigent proteins (from Latin dirigere, to guide or steer) to direct the regio- and stereospecificity of radical-radical coupling reactions of…

Detailed Characterization of Particulates Emitted by Future High-Efficiency Vehicles

Lead Institution

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Principal Investigator

David Rothamer

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Current engine development aims to reduce consumption of limited fuel resources and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by increasing fuel efficiency. Advanced low temperature combustion technologies…

Towards understanding enzymatic diversity in biological lignin degradation

Lead Institution

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Gregg Beckham

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Lignin is an alkyl-aromatic polymer comprising 15-30% of plant cell walls. It is underutilized in selective conversion processes to produce renewable fuels and chemicals from plant biomass, and is…