Inquiry2015-2

Adam Schwartz, Director

reserved. For additional information about Ames

Laboratory or topics covered in this publication,

please contact:

ENERGY

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

Office of

Science

Inqui r y I s sue

| 201 5

FromtheDirector

There’s Chemistry in Our Chemistry

hemistry, broadly defined,

is the science of change. Chemists study matter

to identify its components and determine the properties and ways in which those

components interact, combine and change. They then use their understanding of

those processes to form new substances.

Chemistry can also mean that special connection between two people or a group of people.

Casting directors strive for that type of chemistry when pairing the leading actors for a motion

picture or stage production. Sports fans look for a similar “spark” between a quarterback and

his favorite receiver or a cagey point guard who can dish out a no-look pass to the big man for

a thundering slam dunk.

As you’d expect, Ames Laboratory research involves a lot of the first type of chemistry and

it’s the cornerstone of our Division of Chemical and Biological Sciences. As you’ll discover

in the articles in this issue of Inquiry, our chemists are designing new catalysts to power

chemical reactions without the need for powerful (and possibly toxic) solvents or large inputs

of energy (see page 6). They’re also looking at the chemical processes in plants and developing non-

destructive techniques to analyze plant material as it grows in hopes of more efficiently harnessing the energy in

biomass (page10).

Others are using state-of-the-art dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance

(NMR) spectroscopy to take a look at molecular structures of materials at unprecedented resolution (page 13).

There’s also a group studying the big idea of how to mine the energy that winds up in landfills, particularly in the

form of plastics (page 16). One of the biggest hurdles is that the plastic is mixed in with other materials, requiring a

strategy to chemically convert that mixed waste stream into something useable.

But there’s plenty of the second type of chemistry at the Ames Laboratory

as well. From the beginning, Ames Laboratory has fostered a collaborative

environment that brings together the synthesis, characterization and theoretical

aspects of research projects. Experimentalists develop the materials, analytical

researchers provide the necessary measurements and theorists model what’s

occurring. The model in turn provides a suggested roadmap for additional

experimentation and characterization.

Ames Laboratory also has great chemistry with its contractor, Iowa State

University. As the only one of DOE’s 17 national laboratories physically

located on a university campus, Ames Laboratory can leverage the resources –

personnel, equipment and facilities – of Iowa State and vice versa. Nowhere is

this chemistry more evident than the new Sensitive Instrument Facility that will

formally open for operation in May 2016 (see page 5).

Through cooperative efforts, the SIF was equipped with cutting-edge electron microscopy equipment that will

benefit both Ames Laboratory and Iowa State researchers. The final piece of equipment, a $3.5 million aberration-

corrected scanning transmission electron microscope, just arrived and will be installed in January. Everyone involved

in the project is anxiously awaiting the boost this facility collectively provides us.

Lastly, there’s a wonderful rapport that’s created through our ongoing DOE-sponsored internship programs.

Through the ScienceUndergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI), Visiting Faculty Program (VFP) andCommunity

College Internships (CCI) programs, students and faculty participate in research projects with Ames Laboratory

scientist mentors. While the benefits to these students are obvious, our researchers also find the experiences

rewarding (see page 18).

Thanks and enjoy learning about the chemistry that makes Ames Laboratory what it is.

Inquiry

is published biannually by theAmes

Laboratory Office of Public Affairs. Iowa

State University operates Ames Laboratory

for the U.S. Department of Energy under

contract DE AC02 07CH11358.

Editor

, Inquiry

Ames Laboratory

111 TASF

Ames, Iowa 50011-3020

515-294-9557

www.ameslab.gov

Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory seeking solutions to energy-related problems

through the exploration of chemical, engineering, materials and mathematical sciences, and physics. Established

in the 1940s with the successful development of the most efficient process to produce high-purity uranium metal

for atomic energy, Ames Laboratory now pursues much broader priorities than the materials research that has

given the Lab international credibility. Responding to issues of national concern, Ames Laboratory scientists are

actively involved in innovative research, science education programs, the development of applied technologies

and the quick transfer of such technologies to industry. Uniquely integrated within a university environment, the

Lab stimulates creative thought and encourages scientific discovery, providing solutions to complex problems and

educating and training tomorrow’s scientific talent.

Steve Karsjen

Public Affairs Director

Kerry Gibson

Editor

Breehan Gerleman Lucchesi

Contributing Editor

Laura Millsaps:

Contributing Editor

Grant Luhmann

Art Director

From the beginning,Ames

Laboratory has fostered a

collaborative environment

that brings together the

synthesis, characterization

and theoretical aspects of

research projects.

Awards

SIF

Nearly Operational

Ames Lab Scientists Strengthen ResearchThroughTeamwork

Solving the

Biomass Puzzle

P A

Collaboration Equation:

DNP in 2015

Waste Stream to

Energy Source:

Chemists Leave

Their Mark on

Future Scientists