Projects

Rhizosphere processes influencing decomposition of soil organic matter and its contribution to phosphorus cycling

Lead Institution

University of Kentucky

Principal Investigator

David McNear

Project type

Exploratory Research

Using multi-technique approach, including a combination of NMR and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry at EMSL, the overall objective of this study is to determine how P availability and…

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 form a collaborative access team (CAT) to optimize…

Microbial Adaptation in Response to Environmental Stress in Polluted Groundwater Aquifers

Lead Institution

University of Texas at Austin

Principal Investigator

Charles Werth

Project type

Exploratory Research

Steep gradients in chemical concentration, redox potential, pH, and temperature are common in the environment. They are often "hotspots" of microbial activity and diversity. For example,…

Optimization of Bio-Nano Interfaces for Bioenergy Harvesting and Biosensing Applications using Computational Studies

Lead Institution

University of New Mexico

Principal Investigator

Ivana Gonzales

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this proposal is to determine details of the electrochemical processes at the enzyme-support interface when pyrroloquinoline quinone dependent enzymes are used as biocatalysts in bio…

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 …

Design of Cathode Materials for Li-ion Batteries with High Capacity

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Donald Truhlar

Project type

Exploratory Research

This project involves the understanding and design of new cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries by carrying out and analyzing electronic structure calculations employing density functional…

Photochemical Dynamics of Methylamine and Bromoacetyl Chloride: Model Systems for Method Testing and Development

Lead Institution

University of Minnesota

Principal Investigator

Donald Truhlar

Project type

Exploratory Research

In this study, we will analyze computationally the photodissociation of methylamine (CH3NH2) and bromoacetyl chloride (C2H2BrClO) by using a set of methods for modeling photodynamics that are under…

Microbial role in disintegration and formation of clay mineral-organic matter associations

Lead Institution

Miami University

Principal Investigator

Hailiang Dong

Project type

Exploratory Research

Recent study estimates that soil is one of the three largest reservoirs of organic matter (OM) on Earth. Soil carbon is a highly dynamic carbon repository, and its turnover time has a major impact on…

Colony plasticity of filamentous fungi

Lead Institution

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

Principal Investigator

Ronald de Vries

Project type

Exploratory Research

We will use the ascomycete industrial workhorse A. niger, which is one of the best studied fungal species with respect to plant biomass conversion. In nature, fungal colonies can cover substantial…

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

Exploratory 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…