Friday, September 10, 2010

Securing the Supply of Rare Earths



In the cover story from the Aug. 30 issue of Chemical and Engineering News, reporter Mitch Jacoby writes about how green-energy and high-tech industries are growing anxious over China's monopoly on these valuable resources. Jacoby talks with Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner, metallurgist Iver Anderson and Ames Lab Director Alex King as well as experts from industry and other research institutions. (go to article)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Figuring Out Water


Innovation picked up an article from the 2010, Issue 1 of Inquiry, Ames Laboratory's semi-annual science magazine. The article details research to be undertaken by Theresa Windus, Mark Gordon, and Monica Lamm to study fundamental questions about the nature and behavior of water. The work is made possible by a Department of Energy’s prestigious award known as the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Four Rare Earth Elements That Will Only Get More Important



Popular Mechanics writer Maggie Koerth-Baker provides a great explanation of the most common rare earth elements and what they're used for. Her story quotes Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner, noted rare earth metal expert. (Go to article)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Spin Doctors: Opening the door to studying new, very fast quantum processes


Nanotechnology Now carried a story on Ames Lab theoretical physicist Viatcheslav Dobrovitski, who recently was part of a team that produced and controlled rotations of a single quantum spin at rates less than one trillionth of a second. (Go to story)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

World's Most Powerful Supercomputer Coming to Iowa



Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory researchers are working to scale up their computational chemistry tools for the Blue Waters supercomputer being developed at the University of Illinois and its National Center for Supercomputing Applications. (Go to story)

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Engineering the Perfect Algae Strain



An article in the May 2010 issue by Nicholas Zeman details research by a group of Iowa State University researchers working to develop hybrid strains of algae with desirable characteristics for use in bio-fuels production. Ames Laboratory associate scientist Basil Nikolau is a member of the research team. (Go to article)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Restarting U.S. rare-earth production


EARTH writer Harvey Liefert writes about recent testimony before a House subcommittee on the need to reinvest in rare-earth research and development, quoting Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner who was one of several rare earth experts to testify (Go to story)

Monday, April 12, 2010

Rare Earths R&D funding critical to stemming brain drain in U.S. materials manufacturing


Mineweb writer Dorothy Kosich's article on the shortage of rare-earth materials research prominently quotes Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner on the cause behind the problem and the need for greater funding of rare-earth research in the U.S. (Go to the article)

Global Scramble Looms for Vital 'Clean Energy' Minerals


The New York Times carried a story by writer Katie Howell on the global scramble for rare-earth materials. Howell notes Ames Lab's historic role as the U.S. center for rare-earth research and quotes Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner (Go to article - see page 2)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

A Cloud in Every Silver Lining: The New Obstacle to a Green-Tech Revolution



The March 31st edition of the Huffington Post carried a blog by Bill Chameides, Dean of Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment; Member of the National Academy of Sciences, that details the problem of China's monopoly on rare-earth metals and the threat to technology and security that poses. Chameides's blog, originally posted on TheGreenGrok.com, quoted Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner's testimony before a House Subcommittee on the rare-earth crisis. (Go to the posting)

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Ames scientist stresses to Congress importance of rare-earth elements


Ames Tribune staff writer James Pusey writes about Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner's testimony before a House subcommittee on the importance of rare-earth materials to the security of the United States. (Go to the article)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Congress Aims for Independence from China on Rare Earth Elements



TechNewsDaily.com writer Jeremy Hsu's coverage of a House Subcommittee Hearing on China's monopoly of rare-earth materials. Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner was one of several expertise witnesses to testify during the hearing. (Go to the article)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Testimony: Mastery of rare earth elements vital to U.S. security



R&D Magazine covered Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Karl Gschneidner's testimony before a House Subcommittee on China's monopoly on rare-earth materials. (Go to the article)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Ames research on cover of Analyst magazine



A research team led by Ames Laboratory chemist Ning Fang has the cover story in the February issue of the Royal Society of Chemistry magazine, Analyst. The article details advances in optical imaging of non-fluorescent nanoparticle probes in live cells. (Go to article)

Hempstead places third in Science Bowl

The Dubuque Telegraph Herald carries a news brief on the Dubuque Hempstead High School team's third-place finish in the 2010 Ames Lab/ISU Regional Science Bowl, held in Ames on Jan. 30. (Go to article)

NHS Team competes in Science Bowl

The Newton Daily News carries a story about the Newton High School team competing in the 2010 Ames Lab/ISU Regional Science Bowl competition. (Go to article)

Monday, February 1, 2010

Iowa State, Ames Lab engineer works to develop better batteries for energy alternatives


Get Steve Martin going on the science and technology of batteries and he'll reach for a sheet of graph paper.

Martin, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering in Iowa State University's department of materials science and engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, will fill that sheet with the chemical formulas of various lithium compounds and materials. He'll add a few sketches of carbon atoms forming layers of hexagons. He'll even jot down some lithium-silicon formulas. (Go to article)

Regina, CCA vie for science title


Science students from Regina High and Clear Creek Amana High could be going to Washington, D.C.

To do so, they will have to be the top finishing team at the 20th annual Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Regional High School Science Bowl on Saturday at ISU in Ames. (Go to article)

Engineer developing better batteries for energy alternatives


Get Steve Martin going on the science and technology of batteries and he’ll reach for a sheet of graph paper.

Martin, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering in Iowa State University’s department of materials science and engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, will fill that sheet with the chemical formulas of various lithium compounds and materials. He’ll add a few sketches of carbon atoms forming layers of hexagons. He’ll even jot down some lithium-silicon formulas. (Go to article)

Iowa State, Ames Lab engineer works to develop better batteries for energy alternatives


Steve Martin, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering in Iowa State University's department of materials science and engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, is working on the electrochemical reactions that make batteries work and how new materials could be used to make better, safer batteries. (Go to article)

Developing better batteries for energy alternatives



Get Steve Martin going on the science and technology of batteries and he'll reach for a sheet of graph paper.Martin, an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in Engineering in Iowa State University's department of materials science and engineering and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, will fill that sheet with the chemical formulas of various lithium compounds and materials. He'll add a few sketches of carbon atoms forming layers of hexagons. He'll even jot down some lithium-silicon formulas. (Go to the article)

Friday, January 29, 2010

Ames High to compete in Science Bowl

Ames Tribune education reporter James Pusey talks with the Ames High Science Bowl team as they prepare to compete in the Jan. 31 Ames Laboratory/Iowa State University Regional Science Bowl. This marks the 20th year for the competition and Ames High has particpated every year since the start. (Go to the article)

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Base-Catalyzed Insertion of Dioxygen into Rhodium−Hydrogen Bonds: Kinetics and Mechanism


The Feb. 1 issue of Inorganic Chemistry features a cover article by Ames Laboratory Ames Laboratory chemists Andreja Bakac and Ewa Szajna-Fuller have the cover article in the Feb. 1 issue of Inorganic Chemistry magazine. The article is titled Base-Catalyzed Insertion of Dioxygen into Rhodium−Hydrogen Bonds: Kinetics and Mechanism.

The cover illustrates the mechanism of oxygen insertion into the Rhodium-Hydrogen bond. (read more about the cover)

Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry


This issue of C&EN carries a feature story on Ames Laboratory senior chemist Pat Thiel who will be receiving the ACS Adamson Award for Surface Chemistry at the ACS Meeting in March. (Go to the article)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Inorganic Chemistry features Ames Lab's Corbett



This issue of Inorganic Chemistry magazine (2010, 49 (1)) features an article by Ames Laboratory senior chemist John Corbett based on his address upon receipt of the 2008 American Chemical Society’s F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry. The cover of the issue was dedicated to Corbett's clever "cooking" parody of solid-state synthesis. (go to article)

Ames Lab researchers contribute to two articles in Science



Several Ames Laboratory physicists are contributors on two different articles published in the January 8 issue of Science magazine. Paul Canfield, Sergei Bud'ko and Ni Ni co-authored an article by Brookhaven researchers on yet another breakthrough with iron-arsenide superconductors. And Costas Soukoulis was quoted in an article by Science editor Robert Service on the next wave of metamaterials.

Nematic Electronic Structure in the "Parent" State of the Iron-Based Superconductor Ca(Fe1–xCox)2As2 (Canfield, Bud'ko, Ni Ni)


Next Wave of Metamaterials Hopes to Fuel the Revolution
(Soukoulis)

High Tech Makeover in Store for Nation’s Power Transmission Lines


Writer Tina Casey tells about research at Brookhaven National Laboratory into a potential breakthrough in being able to utilize superconducting materials to dramatically improve the efficiency of the nation's power grid. Ames Laboratory researchers led by Paul Canfield supplied the materials being studied. (Go to the article)

Monday, January 4, 2010

Ames Lab inventor continues to seek breakthroughs


Ames Tribune ISU and Higher Education reporter James Pusey talks with Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist Iver Anderson about his research successes and what keeps him motivated. (Go to story)