PNNL researchers studied microbes from the typical rhizosphere found in the Northwest's Central Cascades pine forests to better understand how microbes help stabilize carbon in soils. These microbes play an important role in soil processes like mineral weathering and the transformation of organic matter. This image was captured with a helium ion microscope at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL. Visit our Flickr site for more Science as Art images and the stories behind them. 

Water has unusual properties. In its solid form, ice, it floats in liquid water. Water's properties get weirder below its freezing point. Supercooled water - below freezing but still liquid - is notoriously difficult to study. It snaps from liquid to solid and instantaneously crystallizes. Now, in research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists have found a way to measure the properties of water at deeply supercooled temperatures. >MORE
 
Research Partners: Stony Brook University; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of California, Berkeley

Scientists witnessed the birth of atmospheric ice crystals, documenting the first steps of cloud formation. Researchers witnessed a process known as ice nucleation in unprecedented detail, taking time-lapse movies of the first few seconds of when a particle attracts water vapor, forming ice crystals that become the core of the high, wispy clouds that act much like a blanket for our planet. This research was published in the journal Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
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Research Partners:  Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; University of Washington; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of California, Berkeley; Santa Fe Institute  
 
Genetics, birthplace and diet have a big effect on the make-up of the microbial community in the gut, according to research published in the journal Nature Microbiology. The findings represent an attempt to untangle the forces that shape the gut microbiome - which plays an important role in keeping us healthy. >MORE
 
In the southeastern Washington state desert, PNNL researchers injected carbon dioxide into ancient basalt lava flows a half mile underground. The goal? Convert the greenhouse gas to solid rock. Conventional wisdom said it would take thousands of years for this to occur, but in just two years, that carbon dioxide has transformed to carbonate minerals, a substance similar to limestone. This work was published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. >MORE

Common sawdust could receive a newfound use. PNNL researchers have chemically modified sawdust to make it exceptionally oil-attracting and buoyant - characteristics that are ideal for cleaning oil spills in the icy, turbulent waters of the Arctic. The nontoxic material absorbs up to five times its weight in oil and stays afloat for at least four months. >MORE
 
To develop solutions to some of the world's most complex problems - clean energy, cybersecurity and climate change - the ability to quickly and accurately connect and evaluate data is vital. PNNL researchers are enabling super-fast calculations to help support grid operators. How fast? One quintillion calculations per second. >MORE

Intense storms have become more frequent and longer lasting in the Great Plains and Midwest of the United States over the past 35 years. What has fueled these storms? According to new research published in Nature Communications, the temperature difference between the Southern Great Plains and the ocean produces winds that carry moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Plains, fueling more intense storms as the climate warms. >MORE
 
Research Partners: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory     

Zeolite catalysts are vital to fuel production, but deposits of coke are a costly problem in petroleum refinement and in petrochemical production. A team of national laboratory scientists zoomed in at the highest resolution yet on these problematic carbon-based deposits. In a paper published in Scientific Reports, the team described how zeolite's porous nature makes it a great chemical catalyst ... but it also traps tiny clusters of carbon-containing molecules that can ultimately disrupt the catalysis process
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Opportunities, News & Resources 

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High Marks: In December, the Department of Energy's Office of Science announced its annual evaluation of Battelle's performance in managing PNNL. Battelle earned high marks for science and technology, programmatic impact, and management and operations. Read more in the Tri-City Herald.
 
Most Influential: Six PNNL researchers are among the most highly cited scientists in the world. They were included on the 2016 Highly Cited Researcher list from Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters), which analyzed publication and citation statistics between 2004 and 2014. Honored PNNL scientists are Richard Easter, Steven Ghan, Janet Jansson, Yuehe Lin, Jun Liu and Philip Rasch.
 
APS Fellow: PNNL chemical physicist Xue-Bin Wang has been elected to the rank of Fellow of the American Physical Society. The honor recognizes Wang's accomplishments in condensed phase chemistry, both scientifically and in technology development.
 
Two AAAS Fellows: PNNL Laboratory Fellow Morris Bullock and Associate Laboratory Director Jud Virden have been elected to the rank of Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
 
A Northwest MOU: Washington state's three largest public research institutions have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, expressing the intent of Washington State University, the University of Washington and PNNL to increase research collaborations on complex challenges and provide additional research and training opportunities for students.
 
AVS Leadership: AVS Science and Technology Society membership has elected EMSL senior scientist Mark Engelhard an executive committee member at large for the Applied Surface Science Division. His three-year term starts in 2017.
 
Rising Star: Erin S. Baker, a PNNL bioanalytical chemist, is one of six winners of the Rising Star award, presented by the Women Chemists Committee of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Soil Microbes and Carbon: Mary Lipton, EMSL mass spectrometry capability lead, is a co-principal investigator on a study led by Cornell University researchers to understand soil microbes and their role in the carbon cycle. The three-year study received a $3.59 million grant from the Department of Energy Office of Science.

Northwest Leadership: PNNL economist Patrick Balducci was elected president of the Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference. PNREC is a non-profit organization with a 51-year history of promoting research and education on the economy of the Northwest states and western Canada.  
 
Download Free Science as Art Calendar: With striking science and technology images, PNNL's 2017 Science as Art Calendar is now available for online download at no cost. Each image includes a story of discovery and science impact

 
At PNNL, interdisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers address America's most pressing challenges in energy, environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,400 staff and has an annual budget of about $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. PNNL science & technology is strategically focused on inspiring and enabling the world to live prosperously, safely and securely.  

 
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory  |  902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, WA 99354  |  www.PNNL.gov
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