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by Dave Jacqué
Argonne’s advanced electron microscopy facilities and expertise were vital to a recent collaborative project with NASA and the SETI Institute to create bioengineered nanoscale arrays that may lead to the next generation of electronic and photonic devices.
“Nanofabrication is all about making very small things better, faster and more simply,” said Nestor Zaluzec (MSD). “Biological systems can self-organize and do much of the work by themselves.”
Researchers used genetically engineered proteins as templates to create honeycomb-like arrays of gold and a semiconducting material. Each cell in the array is just 20 nanometers (billionths of a meter) across -- 5,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Current lithographic techniques that produce similar arrays are limited to about 100 nm.
The research team included principal investigators Jonathan Trent and Andrew McMillan of NASA’s Ames Research Center, and microscopy expert and Telepresence Project Leader Zaluzec. Trent studied archaebacteria at Argonne during the early 1990s.
The NASA-Ames researchers began by isolating a protein from Sulfolobus shibatae, a bacterium that lives in geothermal hot-springs and can tolerate near-boiling temperatures and high acidities. Trent and McMillan genetically modified an S. shibatae protein to create a chemically active site on its edge. The protein was cloned into a harmless form of Escherichia coli bacteria, which can be grown easily in vats. Heating the resulting brew destroyed the E.Coli proteins, allowing the team to isolate large amounts of the heat-tolerant Sulfolobus protein.
The purified protein naturally forms ring-shaped structures just 10 to 20 nanometers across, called chaperonins. The chaperonins were then applied to substrates such as silicon wafers, where they self-assembled into large, hexagonal, periodic patterns (see illustration). The scientists added a slurry of nanoparticles of gold or a semiconducting material called cadmium selenide-zinc sulphide. The materials would adhere only to active sites around the hole in each protein ring.
The resulting precise, regular arrays of nanoparticles closely resemble similar patterns used in the microelectronics industry -- only much smaller. Such arrays of nanoparticles could have future applications in computer memories, sensors or logic devices.
Zaluzec, a longtime associate of Trent, led the nanoscale characterization effort of the research by coordinating state-of-the-art analytical electron microscopy of the biologists’ samples. Trent and McMillan could literally and figuratively watch over Zaluzec’s shoulder as he magnified their samples up to 10 million times using the electron microscope. The Telepresence Microscopy Laboratory is wired with video cameras accessible via the Internet to facilitate collaboration and analysis with researchers just about anywhere in the world.
“Jonathan and Andrew never set foot in the microscope room,” Zaluzec said. “But we could could collaborate in real time, which was important to our success."
The finding were published in the Dec. 2 issue of the journal Nature-Materials. The team is now working to expand the range of chemical activity of the proteins, which may allow them to create self-organizing templates of different types of materials, and controlling the size and spacing of the underlying protein template.
"This process reaches a dimensionality not readily accessible in materials science," Zaluzec said. "At these sizes, there are sometimes novel effects in materials and their electronic, magnetic and optical properties. These templates give us a chance to explore these effects."
by Dave Jacqué
Gammasphere, the world’s most sensitive gamma-ray detector for nuclear physics research, has returned to Argonne after a two-year stay at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Gammasphere is a high-resolution gamma-ray “microscope” designed to help answer fundamental questions about the structure and behavior of atomic nuclei, and study rare and exotic nuclear processes. It has unparalleled detection sensitivity to nuclear electromagnetic radiation due to its high resolution, granularity and efficiency. This powerful combination of features makes it the ideal device for studying rare and exotic nuclear processes. Gammasphere is a national facility funded by the Department of Energy.
The 10-foot-tall device is a silvery machined aluminum sphere about seven feet in diameter pierced by 110 holes. Yard-long gamma-ray detectors fit through the holes, with their blunted tips converging near the center of the sphere. The detectors are cooled to -320 F. (-196 C) with liquid nitrogen — 200 gallons a day — to increase their sensitivity. Beams of ions from the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) will strike a target in the center of Gammasphere. Some of the nuclei from the beam fuse with nuclei in the target. The gamma rays produced by these interactions provide information about nuclear structure and dynamics.
Going mobile
Researchers at Argonne’s Physics Division are devising a method to increase Gammasphere’s flexibility by making it mobile — by summer 2003 it should be able to move from one beamline to another, a first for the 14-ton, $25 million instrument. Until then, as during its previous visit, it will be used in conjunction with another instrument called the Fragment Mass Analyzer, or FMA.
Since its last visit to Argonne, Gammasphere’s trigger electronics have been modified to work better with the FMA. For some experiments, this should increase by a factor of 10 the amount of data the detector can record during a typical experiment. This is particularly critical when measuring nuclear systems produced with very low cross-sections.
“The FMA is the Cadillac of fragment detection systems,” said Mike Carpenter (PHY) who leads the Gammasphere project at Argonne. “But many experiments don’t require that kind of exquisite sensitivity. Moving Gammasphere to its own beamline frees up the FMA for other work.”
Tests of the roving-detector idea were conducted in December 2002. Two 5,000-lb. concrete shielding blocks were placed on a steel frame in the ATLAS detector area to simulate the weight of the detectors. When roller bearings were placed under the frame, the assembly could be pushed across the floor by a team of six.
by Katie Williams
Craig Roberts, chief of the Physics Division’s Theory Group, has received the Friedrich Wilhem Bessel Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The research award is given annually to approximately 10 scientists from all disciplines around the world. The prize money can be used by the recipient for collaboration with German researchers.
“I’m very pleased that my contributions to research have been acknowledged, not only by my peers but also by a wider academic community,” said Roberts. “I feel this award validates the support I have received from the Physics Division and Argonne, who invested in me at an early stage of my career.”
Roberts received the award for his research on hadron physics, most notably for analyzing and clarifying key aspects of the strong force that confines quarks within a proton.
Roberts will work with German researchers on identifying signals for quark-gluon plasma formation and quark matter in compact astrophysical objects.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001, and he is a member-at-large of the Hadron Physics Topical Group in that society.
The award was named in honor of the German-born astronomer and mathematician whose measurements of positions for about 50,000 stars allowed the first accurate determination of interstellar distances. He was the first to measure the distance of a star other than the sun.
by Amy M. Kile
In a seminar focused on the world’s energy problems, Eric Loewen stressed the role cheap energy and nuclear power will play in sustainable development.
Loewen, a consulting engineer in nuclear engineering design and research at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, spoke about his experience as an American Nuclear Society (ANS) delegate at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa, last September.
Loewen’s lecture concentrated on the many different and often conflicting ideas presented by organizations attending the summit and what his responsibility was as a delegate for the ANS.
“There are serious problems facing the globe we live on,” Loewen said. “Call it the difference between the haves and have-nots, call it climate change, call it global warming, call it poverty, but there are serious problems.”
Despite protests at the summit and the difficulty getting into some of the venues, a few positive ideas did come out of the conference, Loewen said. “For the first time, I really felt the world community realized that for sustainable development, they had to have cheap energy.”
It was Loewen’s responsibility to counter some of the objections made by organizations opposed to nuclear energy as a way to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is believed by many to be the clean-energy choice of the future. Unlike the carbon-rich fossil fuels that dominate today’s energy markets, hydrogen burns cleanly, releasing water as a byproduct rather than carbon dioxide.
“We need to come together and come up with realistic solutions,” Loewen said. “And wouldn’t it be a strange, beautiful
twist of human history if the technology that so terrorized previous generations — atomic power — could be the same technology that truly provides sustainable development and protects the biosphere from damage.”
One of the materials Loewen distributed at the summit was a booklet prepared by Argonne’s Environmental Assessment Division for the U.S. Energy and State departments, and the U.S. Agency for Internation Development. The booklet highlights sustainable energy and water technology applications, including those developed by Argonne, to demonstrate that the United States is doing its part in researching sustainable energy. The booklet is available online.
by Amy M. Kile
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), a not-for-profit organization, is seeking Argonne-East employees to volunteer to record science and technical textbooks.
RFB&D is a national organization that produces materials for people with little or no sight and for people who have other problems with reading, such as dyslexia.
Begun 55 years ago for blind World War II veterans who wanted to attend college under the GI Bill of Rights, the program has since expanded to include materials ranging from kindergarten to graduate school levels.
Currently, the organization needs readers proficient in mathematics, science, finance, accounting, computer science and other technical areas.
“We get the tough stuff,” said Billie Mateer, volunteer programs manager at RFB&D. “In Illinois, the materials we receive to record are mostly high school and college textbooks.”
Because of the amount of scientific and technical materials RFB&D receives, the organization is seeking help from Argonne employees.
“It’s better to have someone who understands science read a science-based textbook, because they are less likely to stumble over the terminology. Argonne employees have the technical knowledge needed to read these texts.” Mateer said.
There are three recording studios in the Chicago area. The Orland Park studio is closest to Argonne. The Orland Park site contains eight recording booths and is being converted to digital media, using compact discs rather than four-track tapes, to improve the quality of the recordings.
Volunteers go through an orientation to learn the recording process. Because most recording sessions are self-directed, volunteers need to learn how to work the equipment and the conventions set by RFB&D. These conventions include specific ways of stating page numbers and of describing graphics, such as charts, to make it easier to follow for the borrower, the person who will listen to the recorded text.
“While some of our borrowers have low vision, many of them cannot see, and they need diagrams and charts explained to them in a way they can understand,” said Mateer.
For more information, contact Mateer at (630) 420-0722 or bmateer@rfbd.org.
Argonne Chief Operations Officer Mike Derbidge will host meetings for all Argonne-East Operations divisions employees Monday, Feb. 10.
The meetings are designed to give employees a sense of the vision, purpose and goals of the Operations divisions. Division directors will discuss the unique contributions of their divisions and how they support common operational goals.
There will be two one-hour sessions: one at 9 a.m. and the other at 3 p.m., both in the Building 402 Auditorium. Work schedule permitting, employees whose last names begin with A through M should attend the morning session, and those whose last names begin with N through Z can attend the afternoon meeting.
Sodexho is planning a series of special offers during February in Argonne-East’s Building 213 Cafeteria:
A St. Valentine’s Day candy sale
will be held the week of Monday, Feb. 10, during lunch service hours. The candy will be available
at the cashier stands.
Prime rib and filet of salmon with all
the trimmings will be featured at a St. Valentine’s Day buffet Thursday, Feb 13.
A black history lunch buffet
Wednesday, Feb. 26, will include fried chicken, fried catfish and baked ham with all the sides.
A demonstration and tasting of tapas cooking will be held at the Argonne-East Guest House Monday, Feb. 24, and Thursday, Feb. 27, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tapas is a Spanish cuisine comprising small, appetizer-like morsels.
Argonne Guest House Executive Chef Chris Kaminski’s menu will include spiced meatballs, fava-bean salad and flan. Those who attend can taste the results.
Class size is limited. Cost is $25 per person, cash, check or charge, due at registration. Register in person at the Guest House, or mail checks to Kathy Dangles, Building 460.
Registration for the Feb. 24 class is due by Monday, Feb. 17. Registration for the Feb. 27 class is due Friday, Feb. 21. For more information, call ext. 5-2006.
Argonne’s Division of Educational Programs (DEP) will conduct an eight-week summer program in which local college-bound students participate in laboratory research at Argonne-East under the direction of scientists.
Students must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, graduate from high school in May or June 2003, and be enrolled to attend college in Fall 2003. Participants will receive a stipend of $350 per week.
The program dates are June 9-Aug. 1. The deadline for receiving complete applications in DEP is 5 p.m., March 28.
Application materials have been sent to high school science departments throughout the area. Applications may also be obtained by sending e-mail to Lisa Reed at Lreed@dep.anl.gov.
Applications are being accepted for the 2003 University of Chicago Executive Master of Business Administration program.
This year Argonne management will select one employee to participate in this program, offered through the university’s Graduate School of Business.
This program is designed for middle and upper-level managers who are expected to retain full job responsibilities while attending classes every other Friday and Saturday, beginning in July. The entire program spans 20 months.
For more information or for an application, contact Geralyn Becker (HR) at ext. 2-3410. Applications are also available online. The deadline for returning completed applications is Friday, March 14.
A discussion group sponsored by the Argonne Child Development Center will focus on “The Working Mother’s Guide to Life” by Linda Mason. Mason is one of the founders of Bright Horizons Family Solutions, which operates the child development center.
The discussion group will meet Friday, March 7, Friday, April 4, Friday, May 9 and Friday, June 6, from noon - 1 p.m. on the Argonne-East site.
For more information, call center director Rose Coppola-Conroy at ext. 2-9601. The book will be available for purchase at the center at a 50 percent discount.
Human Resources has scheduled the following classes for February at Argonne-East:
“Leadership and Motivation”
(HR641) — Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 1-5 p.m. in Building 201, Room 190.
“Brown Bag Lunch: Stop
Procrastinating” (HR233) — Wednesday, Feb. 19, from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., in Building
201, Conference Room 238.
“Myers-Briggs: Style and
Strengths in the Workplace” (HR258) — Friday, Feb. 21, from 1-5 p.m. in Building 201,
Room 190.
To enroll, contact a Training Management System Representative. For more information, call Betty Iwan at ext. 2-3410 or visit the HR Web site.
Jon C. Beitel (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 36 years of service.
Louis Bova (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 39 years of service.
Manuel M. Bretscher (TD) retired Jan. 6 with 36 years of service.
Arlen R. Brunsvold (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 30 years of service.
C. Dwayne Bryngelson (NT) retired Jan. 6 with 29 years of service.
Ira Charak (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 42 years of service.
Eric M. Dean (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 39 years of service.
L. Walter Deitrich (ERA) retired Jan. 6 with 33 years of service.
Nelson E. Dodds (NT) retired Jan. 6 with 18 years of service.
Helen J. Echols (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 33 years of service.
Alice M. Essling (CMT) retired Jan. 6 with 45 years of service.
Eddie C. Gay (CMT) retired Jan. 6 with 36 years of service.
Richard N. Hwang (RAE) retired Jan. 6 with 40 years of service.
Ray E. Larsh (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 37 years of service.
Hal K. McUne (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 37 years of service.
Albert D. Miller (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 25 years of service.
Ronald A. Moore (FAC) retired Jan. 6 with 35 years of service.