EMSL's Mission: EMSL, a national scientific user facility at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, provides integrated experimental and computational resources for discovery and technological innovation in the environmental molecular sciences to support the needs of DOE and the nation.
Director's Message
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy national scientific user facility, opened its doors to research on October 1, 1997. Since then, researchers worldwide have benefited from EMSL's resources, which include unique and state-of-the-art capabilities as well as onsite experts who are available for collaboration. The mix of world-class capabilities and onsite expertise under one roof makes EMSL a true problem-solving environment.
I invite you to look through our website to see what capabilities are available to our users, to read about the science that is conducted in our facility, and to find out how you, too, can become a user.
Allison A. Campbell
Director
EMSL is funded by DOE's Office of Biological Research, which supports world-class research in the biological, chemical, and environmental sciences to provide innovative solutions to the nation’s environmental challenges as well as those related to energy production. EMSL's distinctive focus on integrating computational and experimental capabilities as well as collaborating among disciplines yields a strong, synergistic scientific environment. Bringing together experts and state-of-the-art instruments critical to their research under one roof, EMSL has helped thousands of researchers use a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to solve some of the most important national challenges in energy, environmental sciences, and human health. These challenges cover a wide range of research, including synthesis, characterization, theory and modeling, dynamical properties, and environmental testing.
Since opening its doors in 1997 on the grounds of PNNL in Richland, Washington (learn about the History of EMSL), scientific users from academia, industry, and other national laboratories representing all 50 states and nearly 30 countries have applied EMSL resources to their research. EMSL offers these scientists access to instruments—otherwise unavailable to many scientists at their home institutions—to further their scientific studies. All resources housed within EMSL are available at no cost to researchers if their research results are shared in the open literature.
Access to EMSL resources is awarded on a peer-reviewed proposal basis. Researchers are encouraged to take advantage of the full complement of tools available and employ unique combinations of equipment and capabilities within EMSL. To become an EMSL user, follow the User Access steps to submit a proposal centered around one of EMSL's four Science Themes, which represent growing areas of research:
- Atmospheric Aerosol Chemistry
- Biological Interactions and Dynamics
- Geochemistry/Biogeochemistry and Subsurface Science
- Science of Interfacial Phenomena.
Unparalleled Capabilities
EMSL's unparalleled collection of computational and experimental Capabilities allows researchers to tackle scientific challenges from all angles. EMSL experts create new tools, tailor existing instruments, and upgrade the instrument collection to meet researchers evolving needs. Brief detail about some of EMSL's flagship capabilities follows.
- Supercomputer
- EMSL's current supercomputer, designed specifically to solve large computational chemistry and biochemistry problems that combine computation with experiment and theory, operates at a speed of over 11 teraflops, and is accessible to researchers worldwide. A new supercomputer named Chinook will become operational in Fall 2008 and will offer EMSL users nearly 15 times more computing power.
- Mass spectrometers
- EMSL's suite of mass spectrometers includes a mass spectrometer equipped with a powerful 12-Tesla magnet, which allows researchers to measure changes in the entire complement of proteins expressed in cells. An ongoing effort between EMSL and PNNL will yield mass spectrometry resources for the much higher throughput, next-generation proteomics measurement platform.
- Nuclear magnetic-resonance spectrometers (NMR)
- Ranging from 300 MHz to 900 MHz, EMSL's NMR spectrometers provide capabilities in high-field liquid-state, solid-state, and micro-imaging techniques. NMR customizations allow users to perform specialized measurements, such as for metabolomics studies.
- Surface science tools
- EMSL's collection of surface characterization and deposition instruments allows researchers to study and design materials at the atomic and molecular scales.
- Subsurface flow and transport tools
- A variety of flow cells and high-precision analytical instruments at EMSL allow users to measure, model, and predict the fate and transport of environmental contaminants.
Unrivaled Expertise
EMSL staff and scientific consultants are experts in chemical, physical, biological, and computational sciences. They have received numerous prestigious awards, have been named to society fellowships, have received many patents, and publish in high-impact journals.
- Awards
- Guggenheim Foundation, American Chemical Society, R&D 100 Awards, Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards, Discover Awards, DOE Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and various mentorship awards
- Fellowships
- American Physical Society, American Vacuum Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Materials Research Society
- Patents
- More than 100 patents in 10 years
- Publications
- Papers published in more than 250 peer-reviewed journals annually, with more than 100 of those papers accepted by top-10 journals
