Argonne opened its gates to about 12,000 members of the community on Saturday, September 15, 2012. The Center for Nanoscale Materials was enthusiastically represented by nearly 25 staff volunteers during the Energy Showcase. The CNM exhibits covered solar energy, computational nanoscience, nanostructured carbons for nanoelectronics, visualization at the nanoscale, nanobio materials for energy applications, and general outreach in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
The demonstrations of how solar energy can be used to power devices at the “Solar Energy: Today and Tomorrow” booth inspired people to consider how to incorporate solar power in their own lives now and in the future. On the cooler side, ice cubes were sliced and diced in the “Nanostructured Carbon Materials for Energy Efficient Nanoelectronics” booth with small diamond-coated discs that demonstrated how diamond coatings are better conductors than copper. The CNM/APS Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe beam line was represented by the “Visualization at the Nanoscale” booth where visitors learned how Argonne X-ray microscopes help science to view images at the nanoscale. The uses for hybrid materials comprised of nanoparticles and biological molecules were presented in a booth titled “NanoBio Materials for Energy Applications.” Visitors also were interested in learning how computer modeling can predict new and novel materials for use in energy storage and by the “Powers of 10” display at the “Computational Nanoscience: Batteries and Catalysis” booth.
The CNM staff who participated were Diana Berman, Maria Chan, Carrie Clark, Andre Clayborne, Seth Darling, Katie Carrado Gregar, Nathan Guisinger, Martin Holt, Shengye Jin, Bin Liu, Maxim Nikiforov, Kenneth Perez-Quintero, Rees Rankin, Andreas Roelofs, Elena Rozhkova, Michael Sternberg, Ani Sumant, Yugang Sun, Gary Wiederrecht, Robert Winarski, Esmeralda Yitamben, and Handan Yildirim. Alex Martinson, Shannon Riha, and Elina Vitol of Argonne’s Materials Science Division also assisted.