I like to say that it's the scientists and staff who make EMSL truly unique. While we offer nearly 150 instruments and advanced facilities, the staff makes them come to life – and delivers the impact. This month, I'm happy to share stories of two EMSL staff members who have shown great creativity and tenacity in tackling challenges in their respective areas. They're at the heart of building or bringing online two new instruments that will be available to users in 2013 – an oxygen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy system and a laser ablation capillary absorption instrument. These capabilities will help us and our users advance discoveries critical to our country's energy challenges, such as solar energy and carbon cycling.
Don't just take my word for it that our staff makes the difference. As Barbara Finlayson-Pitts of UC-Irvine says in a video interview this month, EMSL's staff are "first and foremost (our) biggest asset."
So as we approach our next call for proposals, I encourage you to pursue working with our expert scientists and with our state-of-the-art instruments in the coming year.
- Allison
2013 call for proposals. EMSL's annual call for proposals will open Dec. 21 to better meet the needs of its users. Read more.
Watch EMSL on YouTube. Some of our new videos include: "Air particle research at EMSL," featuring Barbara Finlayson-Pitts and her team discussing their work; and a look at "The helium ion microscope in EMSL's Quiet Wing."
DOE's energy storage hub. EMSL will provide research instruments and imaging expertise to a $120 million DOE effort to help achieve revolutionary advances in battery performance. Read more.
Campbell and Wang honored with Fellowships. AAAS recently recognized EMSL Director Allison Campbell by naming her a Fellow in its chemistry section. Read more. Also, APS recently named EMSL Chief Scientist Hongfei Wang a Fellow for his contributions to the physics enterprise. Read more.
Wiley Visiting Scientist Program deadlines are quarterly. EMSL is accepting applications for the Wiley Visiting Scientist Program with the next deadline of Jan. 31. In addition to conducting their own research, Wiley visiting scientists are expected to actively contribute to the success of EMSL beyond their own specific research projects.
To learn about EMSL's achievements, visit our News Center.
Laser technique expands capabilities
Senior Research Scientist Lizabeth Alexander leads a research team at EMSL developing a unique laser ablation and absorption-based system. The new capability system will be able to analyze minute quantities of biological samples for advanced microbial studies. Read the full story. Watch a video of Alexander discussing her research.
Fluorescence SIM available at EMSL
Users can utilize EMSL's new super resolution fluorescence structured illumination system, or fluorescence SIM, to enhance their study of molecular cell biology, including microbiology and synthetic biology. Read more.
All roads led to EMSL
Yingge Du initially came to EMSL to complete research for his doctorate. Today, he's an EMSL scientist conducting groundbreaking research to improve sustainable energy systems, and he's also helping support the next-generation molecular beam epitaxy system. Read more.
Science highlights
Check out EMSL's Science Highlights. Here are some recent write-ups:
- Orchestrating change – Scientists understand what happens to a soybean root hair system infected by symbiotic bacteria. Participants: University of Missouri-Columbia, EMSL, Vietnam Education Foundation, PNNL and University of Oklahoma.
- Brand new genes – This research published in Science centered on the discovery of new bacteria and their metabolic roles. Participants: University of California-Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and PNNL.
If you have feedback – ideas, suggestions, questions – about EMSL's The Molecular Bond, please address those to EMSL Communications team at emslcom@pnnl.gov.
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