The schools participating in the Exemplary Student Research Program utilize facilities and staff from many different divisions at Argonne and the Advanced Photon Source (APS). Below is a list of all beamline sectors that have been involved in ESRP projects:

Center for Nanoscale Materials

• Glenbard East High School (2023) - Effects of Hydrogen Termination on Resistivity in Nanodiamond Electronics
• Lakes Community High School (2023) - Heterogeneous Mixture of Amino Acids and Self-assembly on Metal Surfaces
• Waubonsie Valley High School (2023) - Testing a New Material for New Hope for Clean Energy for the Future
• West Aurora High School (2023) - Bioremediation of Polyurethane in Soil using P. Microspora
• Lakes Community High School (2022) - Exploring Fundamental Chiral Molecular Self-assembly: Proline on Cu(111) Surfaces
• Naperville Central High School (2022) - Studying Next Generation Solar Cells - Solving the World’s Energy Crisis Part 2
• Oak Lawn Community High School (2022) - Effects of KCl Additive on Chlorophyll Concentration and Plant Structure
• Tinley Park High School / Oak Forest High School (2022) - Imaging Perovskite Materials At The Atomic Scale Using Synchrotron X-ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2021) - Analyzing the Nanoscale Properties of Gold Nanoparticles Using UV-VIS Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy
• Maine South High School (2021) - Structure Property Relationships and Antimicrobial Properties of Silver Nanoparticles
• Naperville Central High School (2021) - Studying Next Generation Solar Cells: Solving the World’s Energy Crisis
• Oak Forest High School / Tinley Park High School (2021) - Imaging Perovskite Materials at the Atomic Scale Using Synchrotron X-ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Downers Grove South High School (2020) - Mechanism of the Removal of Lead (II) Ion from Water Using a Renewable Organic Resource
• Lakes Community High School (2020) - Wear/Friction Studies of Steel vs. Steel Using Graphene as a Lubricant: Study of Lubricity Using Nanoscale Materials
• Tinley Park High School (2020) - Imaging Magnetic Nanoclusters at the Atomic Scale Using Synchrotron X-ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
• Naperville Central High School (2020) - Using Synchrotron X-Ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy to Analyze the Elemental Composition of a Sample at the Nanoscale: A Nanoscale Approach to a Common Practice
• Glenbrook South High School (2018) - Fingerprinting Chemistry and Magnetism at the Nanoscale using SX-STM
• Hoffman Estates High School (2018) - Characterizing the Structure of Self-Assembled Lead (II) Sulfide Nanoparticle Superlattices Based on Variable Ligand Surface Coverage
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2018) - Uncovering Flaws and Failures in Catalytic Converters Using XANES
• Naperville Central High School (2018) - Analysis of Nanomagnetism on Cobalt Through SX-STM - ​“High School Goes Nano”
• Romeoville High School (2018) - Atomic-Scale Imaging of Phenylalanine Self-Assembly on a Copper Surface
• Carl Schurz High School (2017) - Soil mineral composition and its effect on biological mineral composition
• Glenbard East High School (2017) - The Self-Assembly and Chirality of Histidine on a Copper (111) Substrate
• Naperville Central High School (2017) - Secrets of the Pyramids: Analyzing Paint Samples of a Mummy Cartonnage to reveal Socio-Economic Status
• Romeoville High School (2017) - Threonine: An Amino Acid Autonomous Molecular Assembly
• Tinley Park High School (2017) - Observing the Effects of Diets High in Sugar on the Concentration of Trace Elements in Teeth
• Naperville Central High School (2016) - An ​“Inkling” About Historical Documents
• Oak Forest High School / Tinley Park High School (2016) - Estimating the Effect of Saliva on Silver Nanoparticle Concentration on Cloth Samples
• Naperville Central High School (2015) - Nanoscale Fingerprinting of Historic Ink
• Oak Forest High School / Tinley Park High School (2015) - Determining the suitability of fly ash for use in geopolymer concrete

Chemical Sciences and Engineering

• Neuqua Valley High School (2015) - Study of Amorphous Manganese in Li-Ion Batteries
• Downers Grove North High School (2013) - In-Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Ti-Cr Based Cathodes for Li-ion Batteries

Sector 2 - Imaging / Microscopy

• Lemont High School (2023) - Root Uptake of Chromium in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Metea Valley High School (2023) - Root Uptake of Cobalt in Common Vegetables
• Naperville Central High School (2023) - Using Chelators to Enhance the Phytoremediation Utility of Broccoli, Mustard, and Thale Cress Plants
• Lemont High School (2022) - Root Uptake of Cobalt in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Romeoville High School (2022) - Study of the Adsorption of Co₂ by Carbon Filters
• Lemont High School (2020) - Root Uptake of Arsenic in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Lemont High School (2019) - Root Uptake of Chromium and Nickel in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Glenbard South High School (2018) - X-Ray Study of the Elemental Compositions of the Digestive Tracts of Wastewater Microbes
• Lemont High School (2018) - Continued Observations from X-ray Elemental Analysis of Ash Tree species related to the Growth of Emerald Ash Borer Populations
• Carl Schurz High School (2017) - Soil mineral composition and its effect on biological mineral composition
• Lemont High School (2017) - Continued Observations from X-ray Elemental Analysis of Ash Tree species related to the Growth of Emerald Ash Borer populations
• Oak Lawn Community High School (2017) - Comparing Surface Area in Differing Samples of Surgical Mesh For Surgical Implementation
• Lemont High School (2016) - Observations from X-ray Elemental Analysis of Ash Tree species related to the Growth of Emerald Ash Borer Populations
• Oak Lawn Community High School (2016) - Comparing Bone Growth in Rat Spines with Scaffolds Surgically Added Using X-Ray Tomography
• Glenbard East High School (2015) - Phosphorus and metal detection in freshwater mussels and water willow and biologic mitigation efforts in an urban stream restoration
• Oak Lawn Community High School (2015) - Comparing Fossil Spiders To Modern Samples Using X-Ray Tomography
• Downers Grove South High School (2014) - Presence of Metals and Metalloids in Wild Salmon Compared to Farmed Salmon Studied with Hard X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy
• Lindblom Math & Science Academy (2013) - Is Zinc Retained in the Activated Zona Pellucida After Fertilization?

Sector 4-ID-E: Synchrotron X-ray Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (SX-STM)

• Romeoville High School - Study of Perovskites as a Possible Solar Cell Material, Focusing on Advantages and Disadvantages
• Waubonsie Valley High School (2023) - Testing a New Material for New Hope for Clean Energy for the Future

Sector 5 - DND-CAT

• Neuqua Valley High School (2022) - Absorption Analysis of Cadmium, Zinc and Chromium in Lichen Samples
• Neuqua Valley High School (2021) - Using Spectroscopy to Measure Heavy Metal Absorption in Lichens
• Lakes Community High School (2021) - X-Ray Diffraction & Recyclable Materials: Relationship Between Polymer Crystallinity and Supported Weight
• Neuqua Valley High School (2020) - Heavy Metals in Lichen Samples
• Neuqua Valley High School (2019) - Study of Industrial Metals in Soils Collected from Chicago Residential Areas
• Neuqua Valley High School (2018) - Study of Manganese in Soils Collected From Chicago Residential Areas
• Neuqua Valley High School (2017) - Using Spectroscopy to Determine the Effect of Monoculture on Soil Composition

Sector 8 - Microscopy / Time-Resolved Research

• Downers Grove South High School (2015) - The Effect of Phosphorus on Nickel and Zinc Uptake in Red Lettuce Leaves
• Downers Grove North High School (2014) - Lead Concentration and Placement in Terminal Root Sections of Brassica juncea

Sector 9 - Spectroscopy

• Lemont High School (2021) - Root Uptake of Cobalt in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Glenbard South High School (2020) - Study of Iron Oxidation State Change of Spinach in the Human Body Using X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
• Lemont High School (2020) - Root Uptake of Arsenic in Common Plants and Vegetables
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2020) - Analyzing the Detoxification of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and Mn(II) to Mn(III) Through Phytoremediation Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2019) - Study of Ferrous Sulfate Oxidation under Extreme Conditions Using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy
• Naperville Central High School (2019) - Copper Oxidation States Found in Wood Preservatives and their Relationship to Corrosion Factors
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2018) - Uncovering Flaws and Failures in Catalytic Converters Using XANES
• Tinley Park High School (2018) - An Examination Of The Heavy Metal Concentration In Primary And Permanent Molars From Pre-Industrial Societies

Sector 10 - MR-CAT

• Glenbrook South High School (2023) - Cycling Effects on Lithium Vanadium Oxide Phosphate Rechargeable Battery Cathodes
• University of Chicago Laboratory High School (2023) - Accumulator Analysis: A Comparison of Storage Capacity and Long Term Consistency Between Lithium and Sodium Anodes within Tungsten Vanadium/Niobium Batteries
• Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (2023) - EXAFS Studies of Wadsley-Roth Phase (W_0.2V_0.8)₃O₇ as a Battery Anode
• Glenbrook South High School (2022) - Cycling Effects on Battery Anode Structure for a High Entropy Oxide
• Lincoln-Way East High School (2022) - Exploring the Efficacy of Iron Doping in Gallium (III) Oxide as an Anode in Conversion-Type Rechargeable Batteries
• Maine South High School (2022) - The Study of Performance of a High Entropy Material for Anodes in Lithium Batteries
• Whitney Young Magnet High School (2022) - High-Entropy Oxides with Lithium Batteries
• Glenbrook South High School (2021) - Environmental Impact of Heavy Metal Composition and Iron Speciation in Soils
• Glenbrook South High School (2020) - Local Structure Analysis of Niobium-Based Battery Cathodes
• Riverside Brookfield High School (2020) - EXAFS studies of LiNbO3Li-ion battery cathodes
• Romeoville High School (2020) - Niobium Anode in Lithium Ion Battery
• Bolingbrook High School (2019) - Local Structural Studies of Pd Based Catalytic Nanoparticles
• Glenbrook South High School (2019) - Local Structure Analysis of Chromophore YGa_1-xMn_xO₃
• Romeoville High School (2019) - Testing Graphene as a Protective Coating for LiMnO₂ Batteries

Sector 11 - Structural Science

• Hoffman Estates High School (2021) - Using X-Ray Scattering to Determine the Correlation Between Battery Elemental Ratio and Performance
• Aqsa School (2018) - How Modern Batteries Work: The Effect of Particle Size on Battery Performance
• Maine East High School (2018) - X-Ray Study of the Behavior of a Commercial Ferrofluid

Sector 12 - Chemical and Materials Science

• Maine East High School (2018) - X-Ray Study of the Behavior of a Commercial Ferrofluid

Sector 13 - GSECARS

• Harold L. Richards High School - X-Ray Analysis of Airborne Particulate Matter Collected by Passive Samplers in the Chicago Area
• Mundelein High School (2022) - Using X-ray Fluorescence Imaging to Analyze Metal Concentrations in Airborne Particulate Matter Collected in our Local Environment
• UChicago Lab High School (2022) - Using Particulates on Honeybees as a Measure of Local Air Pollution
• Lockport Township High School (2021) - Comparative Chemical Analysis of Soil Contamination Using Hyperaccumulators
• Glenbard East High School (2020) - The Effect of Cocropping On Metal Sequestration in Brassica Juncea
• Glenbard East High School (2019) - The Characterization of Phytochelatins Mediating Zinc Transport in Arabidopsis thaliana
• Downers Grove South High School (2018) - Connection Between Chlorosis in Illinois Birch Trees and Bioavailability of Iron In Adjacent Soil
• Glenbard East High School (2018) - The Characterization of Metal Concentration and Distribution in Lichens with Varying Tolerance to Air Pollution
• Downers Grove South High School (2016) - Interactions Between Metal Fasteners And Wood Treated With Micronized Copper Under Weathering Conditions
• Glenbard East High School (2016) - Soybean Cellular Homeostasis of Micronutrients as a Function of Soil pH
• Glenbard East High School (2014) - The Effects of Glyphosate on Growth, Metal Concentration and Distribution in Transgenic Soybean
• Oak Lawn Community High School (2014) - Trace Element Mapping of Fish Otoliths Using Synchrotron Microbeam X-ray Fluorescence as an Indicator of Fish Movement in the Illinois River System
• Downers Grove South High School (2013) - Prevalence of Biomarkers in Mazon Creek Fauna
• Glenbard East High School / Wheaton North High School (2013) - The absorption of common metals in leaf of the common dandelion as a measure of metals in soil
• Lindblom Math & Science Academy (2013) - Is Zinc Retained in the Activated Zona Pellucida After Fertilization?
• Neuqua Valley High School Team 1 (2013) - XRF Microanalysis of Copper Through Its Chelation of Melanin In Canine Hair
• Naperville North High School (2012) - Analyzing the Dehydrochlorination of Poly-(vinyl chloride) Piping Under Oxidative Stresses
• Neuqua Valley High School (2012) - Crystallographic Characterization of Carbon Compounds Using X-Ray Diffraction

Sector 15 - ChemMatCARS

• Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart (2023) - Determination of the Effect of Temperature on Potassium Aluminum Sulfate
• Hoffman Estates High School (2022) - Determining the Structure of Silver-Coated Gold Nanoparticles Using Anomalous Small Angle X-ray Scattering (ASAXS)
• Hoffman Estates High School (2020) - Using X-Ray Diffraction to Catalog the Structures of Complex Crystals
• Hoffman Estates High School (2019) - Examining the Crystallization of Gold Nanoparticles Based on Variable Surface Pressure
• Hoffman Estates High School (2018) - Characterizing the Structure of Self-Assembled Lead (II) Sulfide Nanoparticle Superlattices Based on Variable Ligand Surface Coverage
• Hoffman Estates High School (2017) - Using X-Ray Diffraction to Confirm the Structure of Cataloged Crystals and Determine the Structure of Unknown Crystals
• Hoffman Estates High School (2016) - Homogeneous Mixing and Phase Separation During Self-Assembly of Bi-Dispersed Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Films

Sector 16 - HP-CAT

• Bolingbrook High School (2023) - Study of Crystalline and Non-Crystalline Structures Using Diffraction
• Bolingbrook High School (2022) - Study of the Electronic Properties of Conductor, Insulator, and High-Temperature Superconductor Using Valence Electron Excitation
• Bolingbrook High School (2021) - Study of the Absorption Edge of Carbon Using X-ray Raman Scattering
• Bolingbrook High School (2020) - Studies of Simple Metals by Inelastic X-ray Scattering Under Low Pressure
• Lockport Township High School (2020) - Synthesis of New Chromium Polyhydrides at High Temperatures and Pressures

Sector 17 - IMCA-CAT

• Lyons Township High School (2022) - Attempted Crystallization of Gallus Gallus Domesticus Riboflavin Binding Protein and the Collection of Diffraction Data from Lysozyme Protein
• Metea Valley High School (2020) - Sulfur Single-Wavelength Anomalous Diffraction
• Lockport Township High School (2019) - Optimizing Data Collection at Beamline 17-ID Using Bovine Insulin
• Lockport Township High School (2018) - Calibration of Beamline 17 ID-BM using Bovine Insulin
• Lockport Township High School (2017) - X-ray Crystallography of Hen Egg-White Lysozyme with and without Ligands

Sector 18 - BioCAT

• Oak Lawn Community High School (2023) - The Effects of Piperine on Rodent Sarcomere Muscle Contraction Using Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction
• Metea Valley High School (2022) - Sarcomere Structure and Porcine Myocardium
• Metea Valley High School (2021) - Effect of Titin on Lattice Spacing in Sarcomere Structure

Sector 19 - SBC-CAT

• Lockport Township High School (2017) - X-ray Crystallography of Hen Egg-White Lysozyme with and without Ligands
• Maplewood Richmond Heights High School (2015) - X-ray Crystallography of Concanavalin-A and IF7
• Maplewood Richmond Heights High School (2014) - X-ray Crystallography of Concanavalin-A and IF7

Sector 20 - Spectroscopy / PNC

• Lyons Township High School - What’s in those socks? A synchrotron outreach study to analyze the properties of zinc in textiles under environmental pressure
• Downers Grove South High School (2022) - Determining the Distribution of Titanium Dioxide Particles within a Hydrogel Matrix
• Glenbard South High School (2020) - Study of Iron Oxidation State Change of Spinach in the Human Body Using X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
• Maine South High School (2020) - Silver Nanoparticles: Correlation Between Structural and Antimicrobial Properties
• Neuqua Valley High School (2016) - Studies of Mississippian-aged Paint Samples Using μ−X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure
• Neuqua Valley High School (2015) - Study of Amorphous Manganese in Li-Ion Batteries
• Neuqua Valley High School Team 2 (2014) - The Sustainability of Silver Nanoparticles
• Downers Grove North High School (2013) - In-Situ X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy of Ti-Cr Based Cathodes for Li-ion Batteries

Sector 21 - LS-CAT

• Neuqua Valley High School Team 1 (2014) - The Effect of a Halogen Ion on Insulin Crystallography
• Amundsen High School (2013) - Identifying Protein Crystals Using Known Structures
• Neuqua Valley High School Team 2 (2013) - The Effect of pH on Lysozyme Crystallization

Sector 22 - SER-CAT

• Lockport Township High School (2016) - X-Ray Crystallography of Chicken Egg-White Lysozyme

Sector 24: NE-CAT

• Lincoln-Way East High School - Role of Hydrogen Bonds in Electron Transfer Processes of Type I Copper Proteins
• Lockport Township High School (2022) - Influence of X-ray Energies on Radiation Damage Using Lysozyme as a Tool
• Amundsen High School (2013) - Identifying Protein Crystals Using Known Structures

Sector 26 - Microscopy

• Downers Grove South High School (2018) - Connection Between Chlorosis in Illinois Birch Trees and Bioavailability of Iron In Adjacent Soil
• Glenbard East High School (2018) - The Characterization of Metal Concentration and Distribution in Lichens with Varying Tolerance to Air Pollution
• Glenbrook South High School (2018) - Fingerprinting Chemistry and Magnetism at the Nanoscale using SX-STM
• Tinley Park High School (2017) - Observing the Effects of Diets High in Sugar on the Concentration of Trace Elements in Teeth
• Hinsdale South High School (2016) - The Effect of Glyphosate Concentration on GR Soybean Cotyledon Nutrient Levels

A full list of all APS sectors and contact information can be found here.