Research
Highlights...
PNNL's Seiders has worked at the highest levels.
See below.
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This basalt core sample from between 200 and 400 feet below the surface contains . . .
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October 18, 1999 |
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Back to basics
DOE's Ames Laboratory is helping answer the fundamental question, "How much energy does it take to ionize or dissociate specific molecules?" If chemists can obtain accurate energy data for various molecular species, they can use the data to better predict reaction rates for the chemicals they want to combine-an essential step in modeling problems in atmospheric, plasma and combustion chemistry. Senior chemist Cheuk Ng is searching out this basic energy data, doing much of his research at the Vacuum Ultraviolet Facility he designed for the Advanced Light Source's Chemical Dynamics Beam Line, located at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The VUV facility is considered the best in the world for doing ion chemistry.
Compare
from your chair . . .
Car and truck buyers concerned about the environment can turn to
a new Web site (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/)
to find information about the environmental and energy consequences
of vehicle choices. Shoppers can check out Environmental Protection
Agency gas mileage numbers, compare estimates of greenhouse gas
emissions and follow links to other car buyer information sites.
DOE is distributing the EPA's estimates of gas mileage for every
2000 model car and light truck. The new Web site, maintained by
DOE's Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, connects that information
to climate change, environmental pollution and oil imports. Using
the comprehensive links section, shoppers can easily jump to manufacturers'
Web sites, explore safety ratings or learn about advanced technologies.
Machine reaches
new level
Recently the PEP II collider at DOE's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center achieved the highest luminosity ever reached by any electron-positron collider, 1033 events per square centimeter per second. Luminosity is a measure of the rate at which interesting events occur-in this case, production of particles known as B mesons. Physicists hope that the study of these particles will lead to a better understanding of CP violation and the Standard Model. Three Bay Area labs collaborated in building PEP II: Berkeley Lab, Livermore Lab, and SLAC.
New process promises more reliable micromachines
A new five-level polysilicon surface micromachining process pioneered at DOE's Sandia National Laboratories promises that future microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) will be more reliable and capable of doing increasingly complex tasks. The technology could become the industry standard, replacing more commonly used two- or three-level approaches. MEMS, complex machines with micron-size features, can be found in a variety of products, including optical devices, computer game joy sticks, car airbag sensors, inkjet printers, projection displays and more. They are so small that they are almost imperceptible to the human eye and have moving parts no bigger than a red blood cell.
Watershed
responses to forest practices studied
A newly enhanced computer model may help forest managers design
or modify forest roads, tree harvesting and other land-use activities
based on effects to watersheds, streams and fish habitat. Researchers
at DOE's Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory have expanded the capabilities
of a watershed model to make it possible to explore economic and
environmental trade-offs of various land-use activities. The model
simulates hydrologic conditions at thousands of locations within
a single watershed to provide a detailed representation of water
movement. Forest roads have received attention recently for their
potential effects on watersheds and wildlife habitat and the Clinton
Administration ordered a moratorium in February 1999 on road construction
in some national forests.
X-rays
confirmed at Jefferson Lab
The Free Electron Laser (FEL) at DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab) has successfully demonstrated the production of sub-picosecond pulses of soft X-rays by Compton scattering of the IR laser pulse off of the electron pulse. There are very few ps or sub-ps sources of X-rays in the world and the addition of this capability to the suite of tools offered by the Jefferson Lab FEL is of value to scientists and researchers in atomic physics, materials science and accelerator physics.
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From making policy to making
policy work
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Barbara Seiders
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Until five years ago, Barbara Seiders worked at the highest levels of international security policy. She served as science advisor to an ambassador and a special assistant in the office of the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) and worked directly with former Soviet President Gorbachev.
Seiders left the world of high-level policy-making for more "hands-on" experience when she joined DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 1994. She now manages Pacific Northwest's Chemical and Biological Defense program, which she suggests is "the nation's best kept secret."
"Many people don't know that Pacific Northwest has outstanding scientists conducting leading-edge work in chemical and biological defense including detection, threat analysis and development of forensic tools," Seiders said. For example, Pacific Northwest is developing a rapid mass spectrometric characterization tool for real-time identification of biological organisms in the field.
Before leaving ACDA, Seiders was the science advisor to Ambassador James Goodby, who negotiated international agreements on the Safe, Secure Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons. Pacific Northwest and other DOE laboratories support the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was established to implement these agreements.
Having participated in the evolution of national and international policies, Seiders now enjoys the chance to be involved with the research needed to make these policies work. She particularly enjoys the opportunity to guide talented scientists making crucial contributions in chemical and biological defense.
Seiders offers simple advice when it comes to protecting against unconventional risks, such as biological weapons. "One of the strongest tools we have to protect ourselves against a planned terrorist or military attack by biological weapons is information," she said.
She shares her message about protecting against biological threats with first responders, civic organizations and recently with more than 600 lab scientists from the Center for Disease Control and the Public Health Service. "Education is a different kind of defense," she said.
Submitted by DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
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