Welcome to the Fundamental & Computational Sciences website. I hope you take the opportunity to explore it and learn about the outstanding people, capabilities and scientific research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The research we perform is critically important to the mission of the Department of Energy. We also perform research essential to other government agencies and private entities.
We strive to make progress on some of the most important scientific challenges facing the world—challenges such as efficiently interconverting electrical energy and chemical energy. » Read More. Additionally we focus on understanding the role of aerosols and clouds on climate system dynamics, developing principles and models of material synthesis, and understanding how the environment influences the behavior of microbial communities. Together with our partners we are also making great strides in chemical imaging, the science of computing, weak interaction physics and the predictive understanding of biological systems. Research at PNNL is commonly performed by interdisciplinary teams developing and using cutting-edge instrumentation.
We strive to make progress on some of the most important scientific challenges facing the world.
~ Doug Ray
Recent Highlights
A-Tiskit, A-Tasket, The Greenhouse Gas Basket
Ranking methane's impact on future climate change
Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working at the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI), found that changing methane's relative importance value, compared to CO2 as a greenhouse gas, did very little to change the overall outcome of climate change projections. Policy makers need to assess the relative importance of all greenhouse gas emissions to forge effective climate change policies. Contact: Steven J. Smith, Ph.D.
Caught in the Act: Atmospheric Organic Particles' MO Revealed
Elusive atmospheric compound revealed in the laboratory
Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of California-San Diego have exposed the antics of an organic or carbon-containing compound and how it reacts with water in the atmosphere to complete its escape act. Documenting the particle's MO gives scientists a way to track this atmospheric player and has implications for understanding its warming and cooling effects on the climate. Contact: John Shilling, Ph.D.
Moving Mountains: Electrons Hop through Iron Oxide Minerals in a Type of Semiconduction
Research helps clarify how minerals grow and disintegrate
Iron oxide is a poor conductor of electricity, but electrons do move through iron oxide—on seemingly geologic timescales. Now, scientists explain how electrons do this and provide the strongest evidence yet for the leading theory of such movement, a type of semiconduction. Published in Science, the work forms a new foundation for understanding how iron oxide cycles through the earth. Contact: Kevin Rosso, Ph.D.
Mass Spec Makes the Clinical Grade
Protein assays matching sensitivity and accuracy of antibody-based clinical tests might speed drug discovery, basic biology research
Combining two well-established analytic techniques and adding a twist identifies proteins from blood with as much accuracy and sensitivity as the antibody-based tests used clinically, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers report this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online. The technique should be able to speed up development of diagnostic tests and treatments based on proteins specific to certain diseases. Contact: Wei-Jun Qian
Listening to Life
New chemical imaging method probes the communications of live microbial colonies
Once impossible, scientists can now eavesdrop on microbes, thanks to a new technique from scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and three universities. The information gained from this technique will help those working on biofuels, bioremediation, health and defense interpret and potentially manipulate microbial communities. Contact: Julia Laskin, Ph.D.
Bacteria to the Rescue
High-performance computing adds speed, clarity to uranium bioremediation research
Researchers at PNNL are part of a multi-institution team investigating bioremediation as a method for treating subsurface uranium plumes and removing contaminants. Their research has shown that indigenous bacteria can be stimulated to immobilize the uranium, reducing groundwater concentrations below EPA requirements. Contact: TP Stratsma, Ph.D.
» Learn more: eXtreme Scale Computing Initiative— Subsurface Simulation.
