Award Data

Determination of isotopologue ratios are a critical tool in plant, microbial and ecosystem ecology, hydrology, biogeochemistry studies, and interrogation of environmental remediation. In addition, the most abundant elements utilized and exchanged by plants, microbes and ecosystems are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N), all of which have naturally occurring stable isotope forms ...

The predictive skill of reactive transport models of hydrobiogeochemical processes currently being used to simulate the coupled interactions of complex subsurface systems (soils, rhizosphere, sediments, aquifers, the vadose zone and groundwaters) is limited by the accuracy of the model parameters that represent subsurface system structure and intrinsic properties. Robust field testing to validate ...

CO2 separation and capture is a global topic that is closely related to energy and environment. Separation via membrane techniques is energy-efficient compared to other separation techniques. Among various membranes, porous membranes usually have good performance in gas flux but poor performance in selectivity. The flux of a porous membrane is dependent on the membrane thickness; the selectivity o ...

High quality spin polarization is an expectation for many users of Nuclear physics facilities. Accelerator operators and designers currently do not have real time, non-invasive polarization monitors, and no direct way to automate polarization quality optimization. The Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory (JLAB), Cornell’s Laboratory of Elementary-Particle Physics (LEPP) and, Electrodynamic, have ...

Microorganisms play key roles in environmental functioning and understanding their responses to environmental perturbation is critical in developing accurate climate change models, a need highlighted by the DOE. However, their phylogenetic and functional diversity, abundance in the environment, and lack of cultured status make them challenging to study. While there are several molecular methods av ...

Wide band gap devices are considered a key future electronics technology in a number of applications especially for high-power electronics. These devices are based on high-quality epitaxial films of wide band gap materials such as GaN deposited on single-crystal wafers. The single-crystal substrates are limiting because of the wafer size, expense, mechanical properties and availability. Providing ...

Many emerging technologies in solar energy, electronics, and biophysics require a deep understanding of the behavior of materials on the nanoscale. Recent advances in high resolution chemical imaging show great promise for improving the resolution of widely applicable chemical imaging techniques. We propose to develop a commercial tunable, ultrashort pulse laser source with sub-diffraction illumin ...

There is a need for soil gas analyzers to characterize subsurface biogeochemical processes by measuring simultaneously multiple gases that are signatures for specific processes. Instruments should be significantly more portable and require less power than what is currently available. The analyzers need to be suitable for field work and laboratory studies. Rugged, compact, low power, and reasonably ...

Clouds play leading role in the Earth's global energy and solar radiation balance. Improving cloud models requires information on the cloud microphysical properties, such as particle size distribution and concentration, cloud composition (droplets, ice particles) and also information on ice crystal shapes (habits). New lightweight and low power instruments for characterization of mixed-phase cloud ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop high performance, highly durable supports for low Platinum Group Metal (PGM) fuel cells using low-cost techniques to achieve the 2020 targets for cost ($40/kW at the system level, $14/kW at the MEA level), start- up/shutdown durability (5,000 cycles), and less than 10% loss in power after 5,000 hours. Fuel cells for transportatio ...