EMSL is starting the new year with good news. We broke ground this month on a new Quiet Wing that will house up to eight instruments, including at least five microscopes. The combination of advanced instrumentation and advanced space will greatly enhance our ability to reach optimal resolution and to probe phenomena that we couldn't otherwise. These were just a few of the 50 new instruments we've brought online and are starting to run experiments on, through Recovery Act funding.
In this issue, you'll find more on the Quiet Wing, as well as an update on EMSL's involvement in the fundamental science behind hydrogen storage in vehicles. You'll also read about our three science themes—the mechanism we use for facilitating integration. We talk about integration consistently because we offer our users the ability to integrate among our eight capabilities and between theory and experiment. We are living what Aristotle meant when he said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
To illustrate this, we've experimented with a new way of communicating the role of integration in EMSL: through music. I invite you to check out "EMSL's Opus: An Instrumental Integration" [EMSL's YouTube channel], to hear how the sounds of several different instruments come together into something more beautiful than the sum of the individual parts. You'll also hear the voices of our staff and users talking about innovation and integration in their native languages.
As always, we look forward to working with you this year.
- Allison
ARRA Activated EMSL has met the milestone of being in 100 percent receipt of all Recovery Act instruments, and the majority of these tools are already up and running. Read the full story, or for one in-depth example, watch Allison's iDirector interview about the new Helium Ion Microscope.
Fellows Announced EMSL has named four 2011 Wiley Research Fellows. Read the full story.
Newsworthy Nanowires Research by EMSL User Chongmin Wang and collaborators was published in the journal Science on Dec. 10th. Their research showed how nanowires used in lithium ion batteries contort as they're charged, a finding that was covered in several science media outlets. Read PNNL's press release.
Postdoc Profile This quarter, we sat down with Ken Lopata to discuss his experiences as the first William Wiley Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow. Read the interview on our Facebook page.
2011 Call for Proposals This year's call will open in February rather than March. Watch your inbox for an early announcement!
EMSL 2011 User Meeting May 10-14 The EMSL User Meeting is designed to facilitate scientific discussion, communicate EMSL's future directions, and expose post-graduate and graduate students to advanced instrumentation and innovative science. Be a part of it!
EMSL on the Road EMSL is represented at conferences year round. This quarter, come meet our scientific experts and learn what EMSL has to offer during the AAAS Annual Meeting, Pittcon Conference and Expo 2011, the ACS Spring Meeting, and more. Take a look at our Conferences and Events page for a complete listing.
During the first quarter of FY11, 401 users benefitted from EMSL capabilities and expertise. This total includes 271 onsite users and 130 remote users.
To learn about the achievements of EMSL in the first quarter of FY11, visit our News Center.
Building for Discovery
Quiet Wing to Make Big Noise in Scientific Circles
When EMSL Chief Operating Officer Monty Rosbach looks out his office window, he sees more than an expanse of grassy lawn and rows of stately sycamore trees. He has visions of top researchers from around the world collaborating on scientific discoveries in a new, state-of-the-art building and analyzing samples with cutting-edge microscopy. This vision is of the new EMSL Quiet Wing, the construction of which broke ground in January 2011.
EMSL's newest facility will be built to reduce to a near-minimum the vibrations, acoustics, and electromagnetics that can interfere with the resolution of scientific instrumentation. The Quiet Wing will benefit a broad spectrum of research including geochemistry, microbiology, fuel cell research, and catalysis. Rosbach says he won't miss the view. Read the full story.
Ammonia Borane Advances
Integration drives science behind hydrogen-powered cars
Ever feel low on energy? We might all feel like we're running a little too close to empty every time we turn the keys to our cars. Fortunately, hydrogen-powered vehicles are closer than ever before to becoming a reality. These advances are due, in part, to a team of EMSL users from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) led by catalysis scientists Tom Autrey and Jamie Holladay.
Over the past five years, Autrey, Holladay, and their collaborators have made significant breakthroughs in ammonia borane, or AB, research. AB is a hydrogen-rich molecule (NH3BH3) long known but only recently studied for its possible use as a hydrogen storage material. It can be coupled with a fuel cell to provide clean, alternative energy. Read the full story.
The Story of EMSL's Science Themes
Conversation with Don Baer, EMSL Interim Chief Scientist
Early in the new year, scientists will have an opportunity to breathe new life into their research: EMSL’s 2011 Call for Proposals. Set to open in February, the call will seek proposals that integrate EMSL’s experimental and computational capabilities in novel ways, as well as those that innovatively tie to one or more of EMSL’s Science Themes: (1) Biological Interactions and Dynamics, (2) Geochemistry/Biogeochemistry and Subsurface Science, and (3) Science of Interfacial Phenomena.
With this highly competitive call on the horizon, it seemed appropriate to have an in-depth Q&A conversation about EMSL’s science themes with Dr. Don Baer, our Interim Chief Scientist. Below, Don discusses a bit of history, what you need to know now, and broader priorities as EMSL becomes a “teenager.” Read the full story.
If you have feedback—ideas, suggestions, questions—about EMSL's Molecular Bond, please address those to EMSL Communications, Ross Carper, 509-375-7398, emslcom@pnl.gov.
In the Next Issue
The Quiet Wing isn't the only new EMSL facility that will open in January 2012. In the next issue, we'll take an in-depth look at EMSL's plans for a new 6,000 square foot Radiochemistry Capability, as well as what our international user community is saying about the addition.
