Inqui r y I s sue
2
| 2014
3
FromtheDirector
t seems like everywhere you turn at the
Ames
Laboratory, there’s something new. We’re in the
process of constructing our first new research facility
in more than 50 years to house electron microscopes
and other sensitive instruments. The $10 million Sensitive
Instrument Facility, scheduled to open by the summer of
2015, will provide a real boost in our ability to probe materials
at the atomic level, free from outside influences such as
vibration and electro-magnetic interference. You
can take a peek at the building as it takes shape
on
pages 6
and
7
.
This past summer, we installed state-of-the art
solid-state dynamic nuclear polarization nuclear
magnetic resonance equipment, or DNP-NMR.
The technology uses microwaves to polarize
electrons, then transfers that polarization to the
nuclei of the sample being studied. The result
is a huge leap in the sensitivity of the spectral
signal acquired.
We’ve also begun using 3D printing in a
number of ways—to prototype materials rapidly
or “print” organic and inorganic materials, such as ceramics
and metals. The Ames Laboratory-led Critical Materials
Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub, is
using its LENS (laser engineered netshaping) MR-7 system
to combine up to four different metal powders in a nearly
infinite variety of alloy compositions and gradients. The
system, shown on the cover and on
page 16
, uses a laser to
melt the powders as they are deposited onto a substrate. For
catalysis, Ames Laboratory scientists Igor Slowing and Aaron
Sadow are using different types of 3D printers to develop
processes for creating unique materials and structures (see
the story on
pages 16-18
).
Yet another CMI-funded research group, led by Anja
Mudring, is working to develop ionic liquids for use in
improving the rare-earth separation process, either for use
extracting rare earths from ore or recycling rare earths from
discarded magnets. You can read more about this work on
page 14
.
Even the CMI itself is still relatively new, having just
celebrated its first official birthday this fall. Despite its
“youth,” CMI has been exceedingly busy, and successful,
during its inaugural year with research by its various partners
resulting in more than a dozen invention disclosures. You
can find out more about CMI’s progress on
page 8
.
Another research group, this one led by Marit Nilsen-
Hamilton, is on the brink of creating a technology that would
allow a clearer look at the complex interchange between
the microorganisms in soils and the cellular activities of
plants’ root systems, what scientists
call the rhizosphere. The researchers
are using aptamers, short strands of
genetic material that bind to a specific
target molecule, a sort of non-destructive imaging, extended
to biological systems. Read about this work on
page 12
,
There’s even a new face—mine— in the Director’s Office.
I took over as Director of the Ames Laboratory effective June
1, replacing Alex King who stepped down to lead the Critical
Materials Institute. I was impressed with the Laboratory
and its people even before I took on my new role, but have
come to appreciate this organization in a whole new light in
my brief tenure. The commitment to excellence here is very
strong, and the examples we’re highlighting in this issue are
proof positive that we’re moving forward on multiple fronts
to create materials and energy solutions!
Adam Schwartz, Director
I
Building our Future
I was impressed with the Laboratory and its people even
before I took on my new role, but have come to appreciate this
organization in a whole new light in my
brief tenure. The commitment to excellence
here is very strong and the examples we’re
highlighting in this issue are proof positive
that we’re moving forward on multiple fronts
to create materials and energy solutions!
