Vadose zone researchers from DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory set up a network of subsurface water monitoring probes at depths never plumbed before. To identify where and how fast water and possibly piggybacking contaminants are moving before they mix with groundwater at the water table, hydrologists Buck Sisson and Joel Hubbell planted equipment below several of DOE's Savannah River Site's low-level radioactive waste trenches. Their stationary equipment will track water and allow them to sample for contamination through 60 feet of South Carolina's vadose zone-the region between the earth's surface and the aquifer-ultimately helping them understand subterranean movement of water.
 

Drivers contending with cellular phones, electronic mail, pagers and congested highways may benefit from work being done at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Using a driving simulator and a specially equipped 1999 Dodge Intrepid, researchers will be studying the effect of information overload on drivers ages 18 to 75. They'll be driving an Intrepid with collision warning and navigation systems, a virtual instrument panel projected as a "head-up" display at the top of the windshield, adaptive cruise control, a lane tracker and an Intelligent Transportation Systems data bus that allows access to cellular phones, pagers and e-mail. Results are expected by fall.
 

Self-assembling nanospheres that fit inside each other like Russian dolls are one form of a broad range of submicroscopic spheres created at DOE's Sandia National Laboratories. With medical, industrial, and military potential, the spheres demonstrate an unprecedented control over organic and inorganic nanoscale self-assemblies, and represent a major step forward in control of these techniques. The spheres, ranging in size from two to 50 nanometers, form in a few seconds, are small enough to be introduced into the body, and have uniform pores that could enable controlled release of drugs. They can absorb organic and inorganic substances, including small particles of iron, which means they can be controlled by magnets and the contents released as needed.
 

An obstacle to recycling water, energy and desirable chemicals in the pulp and paper industry is the presence of potassium and chloride ions in the process stream. A technology originally developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to remove cesium from radioactive waste is being adapted to separate the potassium and recover valuable sodium in pulp and paper mills. Electrically Switched Ion Exchange uses membranes coated with a suitable electroactive ion exchange material. The membranes absorb the ions and then, when the polarity of the electrodes is reversed, the ions are unloaded into an appropriate waste stream.
 

Scientists at DOE's Ames Laboratory are working on a prototype rotary magnetic-refrigeration unit that, if successful, would be the first magnetic refrigerator capable of sustained operation. The technology is based on the magnetocaloric effect-the ability of some materials to heat when magnetized and cool when removed from the magnetic field. These materials provide an environmentally friendly alternative to the chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons used in traditional vapor-cycle cooling systems. During the three-year prototype project, Ames Lab will concentrate on optimizing the performance of the alloys, and developing a magnetic source that is more cost-effective and convenient than superconducting magnets. The lab's industrial partner, Astronautics Corp. of America, will design, build and test the rotary prototype.