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Basic Energy Sciences Directorate
CFN, Chemistry, Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science
Jim Misewich
Associate Laboratory Director for Basic Energy Sciences
BNL is
at the center of a large, vibrant research community in the Northeast,
offering access to world-class user facilities and scientists in a highly
collaborative and interdisciplinary environment. We have recognized
strengths in strongly correlated and complex systems, photon and neutron
science, chemical dynamics, and interface phenomena and catalysis. New
investments are being made in nanoscience, materials synthesis, solar
energy, soft matter and biomaterials with the underlying goal of having
impact on the nation’s energy security. We envision a BES Complex that
integrates our science and facilities, and is coupled to university and
industrial partners, and to other major research facilities at BNL.
The
major scientific themes of the BES Directorate are aligned with DOE’s “grand
challenge” initiatives and respond to the President’s recent initiatives in
energy research. Furthermore, BES work supports the Laboratory initiatives
in: Nanoscience, with the objective to become a world leader in the design,
fabrication, and characterization of materials and systems at the nanoscale,
especially focused on energy security; and the Laboratory initiative in
Energy–related R&D, with the objective to be a world-recognized laboratory
in energy R&D that is leading in the development of advanced materials and
processes for energy applications. The major research directions of BES
are: catalysis, involving substances that make chemical reactions work more
quickly; strongly correlated and complex systems, for example, trying to
understand high-temperature superconductivity; developing new programs at
the interface between life and physical sciences, for instance, using
biological ideas to design novel nanomaterials with new properties;
nanoscale phenomena, for example, developing new nanomaterials to contribute
toward energy security; photo/radiation chemistry and chemical dynamics,
including both combustion and radiation chemistry efforts. New programs are
being planned in solar energy, instrumentation, hydrogen fuels, and advanced
nuclear energy. BES scientists use many of the Lab’s premier facilities to
conduct their research, including the CFN and NSLS, and are planning to
develop programs in nanoscience, emergent phenomena and self-assembly that
benefit from NSLS II.
Nanoscience offers a new approach to address the energy security challenges
facing the U.S. through the development of materials exhibiting novel and
unprecedented functionality for energy manipulation and utilization. BNL
will focus on nanoscience for energy security in the areas of nanostructured
catalysts, electronic nanomaterials, and bio/soft nanomaterials and
interfaces in order to develop the scientific foundation and tools for the
design and creation of functional nanomaterials. The specific objectives are
to understand reactivity in nanocatalysts at the atomic level using the CFN,
NSLS, and NSLS-II; synthesize and characterize bio-inspired hybrid systems
for energy manipulation; tailor nanomaterials for solar energy conversion,
and devise non-noble fuel cell catalysts.
Through the nanoscience jumpstart program (initiated in FY 2003), users have
begun research at the coordinated CFN facilities. Building construction
started in late FY 2005 and will end with equipment installation in FY 2008
for a total cost of $81M.
The
potential benefit of BNL’s nanoscience program to DOE and the taxpayer is
transformational breakthrough science leading to revolutionary technologies
in energy conversion, storage, and utilization that will impact the
H-economy, solar energy, and environmental protection. It will enable open
access to world-leading integrated science programs and facilities, and with
the other Nanoscience Research Centers, maintain U.S. competitiveness in
nanoscience. The benefit to BNL is a source of new funding that will enhance
financial security, renew and expand core competencies in this area, and
outstanding science.
Recent Science Highlights
- Brookhaven Scientists Explore Brain's Reaction to Potent Hallucinogen
Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at Brookhaven National Laboratory provide researchers with clues about why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused. More...
- Battelle Honors Weiqiang Han as Brookhaven Lab's 'Inventor of the Year'
Brookhaven scientist Weiqiang Han will be honored as the Laboratory's "Inventor of the Year" on April 25, in Columbus, Ohio, by Battelle, a global science and technology company that develops and commercializes technology. Battelle and Stony Brook University comprise Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that manages Brookhaven Lab. More...
- Efficient Catalysts for Making Oxygen for 'Artificial Photosynthesis'
Scientists at Brookhaven Lab and the Institute for Molecular Science in Japan are trying to mimic part of the complex natural process of photosynthesis with the goal of making non-polluting fuels such as hydrogen, for example, for use in fuel cells. More...
- Nanotechnology Research Roundtable in Boston Friday, Feb. 15
Reporters will meet with four of America's foremost nanotechnology experts for a wide-ranging discussion about using the technology to more effectively treat patients and to better produce and secure energy. More...
- DNA Technique Yields 3-D Crystalline Organization of Nanoparticles
In an achievement some see as the "holy grail" of nanoscience, researchers at Brookhaven have used DNA to guide the creation of three-dimensional, ordered, crystalline structures of nanoparticles. The ability to engineer such 3-D structures is essential to producing functional materials that take advantage of the unique properties that may exist at the nanoscale. More...
- Experiments Reveal Unexpected Activity of Fuel Cell Catalysts
Brookhaven researchers have unveiled details about a class of catalysts that could help improve the performance of fuel cells. With the goal of producing "clean" hydrogen for fuel cell reactions in mind, the researchers determined why two next-generation catalysts exhibit very high activity. More...
- Workshop on Nanoscience Opportunities for the High Tech Industry Hosted
On November 13, 2007, the Center for Functional Nanomaterials hosted the Workshop on Nanoscience Opportunities for the High Tech Industry. The purpose of the workshop was to showcase the resources available at the CFN to representatives from high-tech companies. More...
- Study Offers Insight into Plant Cell-Wall Construction
By studying how plants change their production of amino acids in response to a simulated "attack," scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered clues that may help engineer more pest-resistant crops and feedstocks that are easily convertible to ethanol, a burnable biofuel. More...
- New DNA-Based Technique For Assembly of Nano- and Micro-sized Particles
Scientists at Brookhaven National Lab have developed a new method for controlling the self-assembly of nanometer and micrometer-sized particles. The method, based on designed DNA shells that coat a particle's surface, can be used to manipulate the structure - and therefore the properties and potential uses - of numerous materials that may be of interest to industry. More...
- Tiny Tubes and Rods Show Promise as Catalysts, Sunscreen
Brookhaven scientists have developed new ways to make or modify nanorods and nanotubes of titanium oxide, a material used in a variety of industrial and medical applications. The methods and new titanium oxide materials may lead to improved catalysts for hydrogen production, more efficient solar cells, and more protective sunscreens. More...
Last Modified: March 4, 2008
Please forward all questions about this site to the
Mary Campbell
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