Projects

Single Cell Lipid Turnover Analysis in Advanced Biofuel Synthesis (SCLTA)

Lead Institution

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator

Gregory Stephanopoulos

Project type

Exploratory Research

Sustainable supersonic jets and race cars have become a reality due to the microbial production of advanced biofuels and their ‘drop in’ compatibility with the existing transportation infrastructure…

Probing bacterial extracellular electron transfer proteins using infrared nanospectroscopy

Lead Institution

Yale University

Principal Investigator

Nikhil Malvankar

Project type

Exploratory Research

Microbial metabolism plays an important role in the global cycling of carbon, nutrients, and metals. Recent discovery of microorganisms sharing energy using direct electrical connections might…

Collaborative Access Team: the Pooled Resources for Electron Microscopy Informatics, Education and Research (PREMIER) Network

Lead Institution

University of Liverpool

Principal Investigator

Nigel Browning

Project type

Exploratory Research

The executive committee of the Pooled Resources for Electron Microscopy Informatics, Education and Research (PREMIER) network is proposing to continue the collaborative access team (CAT) to optimize…

3-D Active Site Distribution and Porosity in Microporous Materials

Lead Institution

Stanford Linear Accelerator Center

Principal Investigator

Simon Bare

Project type

Exploratory Research

The aim of this proposal is to build upon our initial success in the exploration of the 3-D location and distribution of the Al and Si atoms in highly relevant and active microporous catalysts, with…

Understanding Doping and Coating for Improvement of Electrochemical Performance in High Voltage Lithium Ion Cathode Materials

Lead Institution

University of California, San Diego

Principal Investigator

Ying Meng

Project type

Exploratory Research

Lithium ion batteries are the top candidates for on-board energy storage in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as well as fully electric vehicles due to their high energy and power density. One group…

Numerical Studies of the Lifecycle of Aerosols and Their Interactions with Clouds

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Jerome Fast

Project type

Exploratory Research

A major PNNL research effort, funded through DOE's Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Program, focuses on knowledge gaps in aerosol effects on climate, including: • Aerosol aging and its impact…

Investigation into MOF formation, post-synthetic modification (PSM) and post-synthetic exchange (PSE) via in situ liquid phase TEM analysis and high resolution TEM and STEM

Lead Institution

University of California, San Diego

Principal Investigator

Nathan Gianneschi

Project type

Exploratory Research

The kinetics and dynamics of metal–organic framework (MOF) formation and subsequent reactivity of the structural elements of MOFs have not been examined with nanoscale resolution. In situ TEM…

NMR studies of mass transport in Li-ion battery electrolyte solutions

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Venkat Srinivasan

Project type

Exploratory Research

Electrification of vehicles is a critical component of DOE's efforts to reduce the dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements and cost reductions in lithium-ion battery…

Dissolved Organic Matter in Serpentinization-Influenced Groundwater: Fingerprints of Deep and Shallow Sources

Lead Institution

Michigan State University

Principal Investigator

Matthew Schrenk

Project type

Exploratory Research

The aim of this study is to provide a detailed description of the composition and the quantity of dissolved organic matter in serpentinite-hosted groundwaters, capitalizing upon a well-studied…

Investigating Electrochemical Processes in Next Generation Multivalent Battery Technologies

Lead Institution

University of Liverpool

Principal Investigator

Nigel Browning

Project type

Exploratory Research

The specific aim of this project is to probe the structure-property relationships of energy storage materials based on multivalent ions (Mg2+, Ca2+ and Al3+) under dynamic electrochemical cycling…

Characterizing motion and adhesion dynamics of motile microbes for improved prediction of metal bioremediation

Lead Institution

Desert Research Institute

Principal Investigator

Rishi Parashar

Project type

Exploratory Research

Remediation of metal and radionuclide contaminants in soil and groundwater systems is challenging because of their strong chemical interactions with mineral surfaces and low concentration limits for…

Operando spectroscopic studies of solvo-catalytic lignin disassembly

Lead Institution

University of California, Santa Barbara

Principal Investigator

Susannah Scott

Project type

Exploratory Research

Lignocellulosic biomass represents an abundant and renewable resource that could displace a significant amount of the nation’s petroleum, but its widespread utilization will require the development…

Molecular analysis of grass stem cell wall development for biofuel production enhancement

Lead Institution

Washington State University

Principal Investigator

Laura Bartley

Project type

Exploratory Research

This proposal is for pilot experiments toward developing a comprehensive proteome, phosphoproteome, and cell wall composition analysis of grass internode cell wall development. Grass cell walls are…

Development of a Computationally Inexpensive Method for Incorporating Shear-Dispersion into Pore Network Models Using Micromodel Experimental Data

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Matthew Balhoff

Project type

Exploratory Research

The mixed-cell method (MCM) is the most commonly used Eulerian pore-scale model for reactive flow and transport. Two major disadvantages of MCM are its assumptions of (1) pore-level perfect mixing,…

Laboratory Testing of a Novel Unbalanced Recirculation Method for Field Matrix (Back) Diffusion Quantification

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Mart Oostrom

Project type

Exploratory Research

There is a distinct need to develop and validate field-scale methods for estimating matrix (back) diffusion because degradation and diffusion of contaminants at interfaces of low- and high…

Mineral Reactivity and Transformations in Adsorbed Water Films

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

John Loring

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Transformations of minerals covered in thin films of adsorbed H2O are ubiquitous in nature and occur under unique chemical and physical constraints. But in contrast to bulk aqueous systems,…

Investigation of Structure and Reactivity Relationship in M-N-C Type Catalysts using Density Functional Theory

Lead Institution

University of New Mexico

Principal Investigator

Ivana Gonzales

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

This project is designed to rationalize atomic level chemical processes occurring at the interface of novel non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts, which are composed of transition metals,…

Radionuclide Immobilization in Reducing Cementitious Materials

Lead Institution

Savannah River National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Daniel Kaplan

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Reducing cementitious materials are used as waste forms and engineered barriers for low-level radioactive waste disposal in the vadose zone. These materials are specifically formulated to contain…

Study of Depolymerization and Valorization of Lignin

Lead Institution

Joint BioEnergy Institute

Principal Investigator

Seema Singh

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The primary goal of the proposed work is to study and understand using both experimental and computational approaches, the depolymerization of lignin generated during the ionic liquid (IL)…

Uranium Biomineralization by Caulobacter crescentus

Lead Institution

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Yongqin Jiao

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The research goal of this proposal is to understand and evaluate the potential of using the aerobic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus for the application of uranium bioremediation. Previous work by…