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Argonne researchers have won an R&D 100 award for developing a catalyst that may help bring environmentally friendly electric cars to the marketplace. These awards are given annually by R&D magazine to the 100 most significant technical products of the year.
Before fuel cells replace spark plugs and cylinders under the hoods of 21st century cars, scientists must find a practical and economical way to supply the hydrogen gas needed to power them.
Chemical engineers at Argonne have developed and patented a system to do just that -- a compact fuel processor "re-forms" ordinary gasoline into a hydrogen-rich gas to power the fuel cell.
"You can think of fuel cells as batteries that can be operated continuously by supplying fuel," said engineer Shabbir Ahmed (CMT). Fuel cells convert hydrogen gas into electricity and water. They are clean and efficient compared to internal combustion engines.
Argonne researchers Ahmed and Mike Krumpelt (CMT) led a team that developed a reformer and catalyst for use in the fuel processor of an automotive fuel-cell system. This will enable fuel cell cars to operate on gasoline, but achieve more miles per gallon than cars with internal-combustion engines.
They built an inexpensive, easy-to-manufacture fuel-reforming device similar to catalytic converters used in cars today. Vaporized fuel is mixed with steam and air and sent through a catalyst-packed device. The process releases hydrogen to feed the fuel cell.
The researchers turned to Argonne's more than 20 years of research in fuel-cell technology for new catalyst ideas. They developed the award-winning catalyst based on a unique combination of certain metals and an oxygen-conducting ceramic material. When the fuel-air mix contacts the catalyst, hydrogen is released from the fuel at temperatures several hundred degrees lower than in conventional devices.
Researchers are testing an engineering-scale reformer that produces about one-fifth the amount of hydrogen needed for a conventional car -- a major step towards the realization of commercially available, fuel-cell-powered automobiles. Commercial developers will build full-scale units.
The reformer and catalyst efficiently convert a wide variety of hydrocarbon fuels, and has demonstrated excellent resistance to sulfur in the fuel.
Argonne licensed the catalyst technology to Süd-Chemie Inc. (formerly United Catalysts Inc.) Süd-Chemie has been the leading developer and manufacturer of catalysts for the production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons for more than 50 years.
Research funding was provided by the Department of Energy's Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies.
The Oct. 6 Arts at Argonne concert featuring Musica ad Rhenum has been cancelled because the performers have called off their tour.
A substitute Arts at Argonne concert will be scheduled later in the season.
Sept. 29 marked the 100th birthday of Enrico Fermi, one of the preeminent scientists of the 20th century and a founder of Argonne. He is known to the public primarily for his role in producing the first controlled, self-sustaining, nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in December 1942.
In Italy during the early 1930s, Fermi and his colleagues studied neutrons, which along with protons form atomic nuclei. They discovered that it was possible to split uranium nuclei by bombarding them with slow-moving neutrons.
In 1938, Fermi received the Nobel Prize for "his discovery of new radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation, and for the discovery of nuclear reactions brought about by slow neutrons." Fermi and his family used the opportunity offered by his trip to Sweden for the awards ceremonies to flee the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. They came to the United States where Fermi accepted a position as professor of physics at Columbia University.
With the onset of World War II, Fermi moved to the University of Chicago to take charge of research towards the construction of a nuclear weapon. In the squash courts under the west stand of the university's Stagg Field, Fermi supervised the design and assembly of the CP-1 "atomic pile," a code phrase for an instrument that in peacetime would become known as a nuclear reactor.
From its birthplace under the squash court, the CP-1 atomic pile was moved to a new 1,000-acre home in Argonne Woods known as Site A. Fermi was the first director of the Argonne Laboratory before he moved to Los Alamos with the team that built the first atomic bomb.
Argonne became the center of the nation's civilian reactor research and development. Every type of nuclear reactor that has subsequently proven to be successful for the production of electrical energy around the world was either invented or developed at Argonne.
After the war, Fermi joined the faculty at the University of Chicago and continued his investigation of the nucleus of the atom.
He was the prime mover in the design of the synchrocyclotron at the university which was, at the time of its completion, one of the most powerful particle accelerators in the world. Half a century later, that distinction has passed to the Tevatron accelerator at the major research facility named for him, the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory outside Chicago in Batavia.
Fermi served as the Charles H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in Physics at the university's Institute for Nuclear Studies from 1946 until his death in 1954. The institute is now known as the Enrico Fermi Institute.
-- Chad Boutin
James Cronin, recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize for Physics, delivered the first Enrico Fermi Lecture in Physics on Sept. 20 at Argonne-East. Though his lecture topic was "Cosmic Rays: A Lifelong Interest of Enrico Fermi," Cronin also enlivened his presentation with numerous anecdotes about the famous physicist, under whom Cronin studied at the University of Chicago.
Cronin remembered Fermi as a scientist with broad interests and astounding depth of knowledge. Displaying pages from Fermi's notebooks, Cronin vividly portrayed the ceaseless workings of Fermi's mind.
"If Fermi wanted to solve a problem, nothing would stop him. He would become his own expert--his journals are filled with references not to textbooks, but to other volumes of his own notes."
Cosmic rays -- charged particles from space that strike the earth -- were one of Fermi's early interests, and his involvement with them led to many advances in high-energy physics.
"Remember that until the 1950s, studying cosmic rays was the only way to learn about particle physics," Cronin said.
Fermi's interest in one field frequently carried him into another. His desire to make faster calculations on cosmic rays led him into the then-nascent field of computer science.
"We sometimes forget that Fermi was one of our first computer experts as well," Cronin said.
Cronin has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the Legion of Honor (France's highest civilian award), and honorary degrees from several universities.
-- Chad Boutin
The U.S Postal Service and Argonne will hold an official Second-Day Unveiling Ceremony for a new stamp featuring the late physicist Enrico Fermi in Argonne-East's Building 213 Cafeteria at 11:30 a.m., Monday, Oct. 1.
Immediately after the ceremony, employees will be able to buy the stamps.
Argonne unveiled a new Web home page last week, redesigned to make space for more stories about Argonne research and other activities. Most of the main topics in the menu are the same as the old home page and link to the same URLs.
The month-long Argonne Combined Appeal campaign begins Monday, Oct. 1, giving employees an opportunity to donate to social-service and health-related agencies ranging from the Arthritis Foundation to the United Way.
"Employees were very generous during the Red Cross drive to help the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," said Evelyn Brown (OPA), ACA co-chair. "But there are still children who need day care, adults still need job training and housing assistance, and our families and friends still suffer from serious illness. We're confident that Argonne-East is generous enough to still support the ACA with their usual high level of donations."
Employees can still assist the families and communities affected by the Sept. 11 crisis by writing a check to the September 11 Fund and placing it in their pledge envelope.
For more information, see an ACA coordinator or the ACA Web page.
Applications are now being accepted for the University of Chicago/Argonne Scholarship Plan.
The program gives the sons and daughters of regular, full-time laboratory employees a chance to compete for full-tuition scholarships to the university.
Applicants must be accepted for freshman-level admission to the University of Chicago and must be among the most qualified applicants from Argonne families, as judged by the university.
Information booklets and applications for the scholarship are available from the Division of Educational Programs (DEP) in Argonne-East's Building 223, Room M125 or by calling Carol Reynolds (DEP) at ext. 2-4114.
Scholarship applications must by validated by DEP to be accepted by the university and should be received no later than Dec. 1.
The University of Chicago/Argonne Scholarship plan does not replace the tuition remission program. For information on the tuition-remission program, call Human Resources at ext. 2-3410.
For information on University of Chicago admissions, call (773) 702-8661.
The 5 to 9 Grill is now open on weekends.
The grill will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday, with an expanded menu.
The Guest House is also open for breakfast on weekends from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Booker T. Baggett, a retired carpenter with 12 years of service in the Plant Facilities and Services Division, died July 4. His wife, Myrtle, survives him.
Charles Bally, a retired project field engineer with 35 years of service in the Advanced Photon Source Division, died Aug. 5. His wife, Patricia, survives him.
Leo F. Frank, a retired machine shop foreman with 29 years of service in Central Shops, died July 6. His wife, Josephine, survives him.
Seymour W. Hart, Sr., a retired maintenance mechanic I with 21 years of service in the Plant Facilities and Services Division, died March 13. His children survive him.
Robert E. Moore, a retired clerk senior with 13 years of service in the Accounting Division, died June 24.
Russell J. Robertson, a retired designer with 29 years of service in the Engineering Physics Division, died May 26. His wife, Dina, survives him.
George E. Smollen, a retired firefighter with 28 years of service in the Fire Department, died July 6.
