It's an exciting time for EMSL and for our users. As a national user facility, we're charged with providing technologies, expertise and instrumentation not available anywhere else in the U.S. – and in some cases, the world. We're on track to provide new and unique capabilities over the next year as we bring online $100 million in new instruments, capabilities and state-of-the-art research laboratories – an unprecedented investment since EMSL opened its doors in 1997.

These new investments will mean we can drive scientific discovery and advances to a new level. EMSL and its users are helping solve problems that make the headlines every day – cleaning up the environment, sequestering emissions, designing new materials for energy needs and combating climate change. Now we'll be able to deliver even greater insights and impact.

I've been with EMSL for nearly 10 years now, and I've never been more excited about our future. You are an important part of our future. That's why we're launching two new communications efforts – a series of news features on Recovery Act-funded instruments and this online newsletter that we're calling The Molecular Bond. I want you to have a complete picture of the new capabilities and opportunities available to partner with us.

In our Recovery Act feature series, we start with a story about our new atom probe tomography instrument. It will allow unprecedented 3-D chemical imaging of low electrical conductivity materials for materials, ceramics, and geochemistry studies. Read this story – and sign up for RSS feeds of future stories. You can also see one-pagers on each of the new instruments that are becoming available to users and to new users.

In our first issue of The Molecular Bond, you'll read about two capabilities developed by staff at EMSL and available to our users and hear what makes one user 'drool.' Then watch a video on CISA – our new Cell Isolation and Systems Analysis capability. In the next issue, I'll share insights from the upcoming meetings of our Science Advisory Committee and User Advisory Committee and provide highlights of our growing microscopy capability. Stay tuned.

Wiley Visiting Scientist deadlines in July, October. EMSL is accepting applications for the Wiley Visiting Scientist fellowship program with the next deadlines July 31 and October 31.

EMSL news via RSS. We've launched an RSS feed that will allow you to keep track of EMSL news as it happens. Sign up to receive EMSL-related news, highlights and announcements.

Photo contest. EMSL's competition welcomes photos and graphics that showcase the beauty of science done at or with EMSL. Images are being accepted in three categories: Sciences, Laboratory, and Scenic. Enter today!

EMSL is represented at conferences year round. See our new conference web page. Hit the road to meet our scientific experts and learn what EMSL has to offer your research.

Microscopy & Microanalysis 2010 August 1-5, Portland, OR

ISME 13
August 22-26, Seattle, WA

Upcoming events include the American Chemical Society in Boston, MA (August 22-26) and AVS in Albuquerque, NM (October 17-22). See you there!

To date in FY10, 654 users have benefitted from EMSL capabilities and expertise. This total includes 459 onsite and 195 remote users.

To learn about the achievements of EMSL in the third quarter of FY10, visit our News Center.

An Underground Plot

Oostrom, Dane partner to protect groundwater

Watch the Underground Plot video (on EMSL's YouTube channel)

On a typical Friday at EMSL, two men sit at a table hatching a massive underground plot. Well, underground in the sense that they want to dry the area of soil that lies between subsurface contaminants and the water table – with the goal of immobilizing the contaminants to keep them from the water.

The plot is known as "remediation by desiccation," and the men are Mart Oostrom (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) and Jacob Dane (Auburn University). Twenty years ago, Dane was Oostrom's professor at Auburn; now, their scientific interests and EMSL's user access opportunities allow the two to collaborate as peers. Read more of the story.

Think Global, Act Nano

EMSL follows user's instruments into atmosphere

First, move across the world and help invent a machine that, in turn, reinvents what people know about the smallest-scale particles. Then, augment a research area that cuts across scientific disciplines and societal applications (nanoparticle studies) to find new ways to collect multiple types of data. At the same time. In one machine.

And when you're finished with that, redesign your machine to fit perfectly into an airplane and fly it through ice clouds at the North Slope of Alaska – and many other places around the world – to collect real-time data on atmospheric aerosol particles and their effects on climate change.

Sound doable? Not for most. But for EMSL user Alla Zelenyuk – in collaboration with colleagues and through the use of key resources at EMSL – it's all in a few years' work. Read more of the story.

If you have feedback – ideas, suggestions, questions – about EMSL's new Molecular Bond, please address those to EMSL Communications, Staci West, 509-372-6313, staci.west@pnl.gov.

Teasers

Watch for our new microscopy video on EMSL's YouTube page in August at http://www.youtube.com/user/EMSLatPNNL and in The Molecular Bond in October.

We'll be featuring several new Recovery Act-funded instruments in the next few months, including Barracuda (a computing cluster that will be used for additional NWChem development). Watch for new stories at http://www.emsl.pnl.gov/news/arra/.

In October, we'll share the images submitted for the Science As Art contest and the winners.