Science & Technology at the Ames Laboratory

2014

Issue 2

Boosting NMR sensitivity with microwaves

Ionic liquids for rare-earth recovery

Shielding sensitive instruments

NEW MATERIALS VIA 3D PRINTING 

LASER-FOCUSED
Contents

Copyright 2014 by the Ames Laboratory. All rights 

reserved. For additional information about the Ames 

Laboratory or topics covered in this publication, 

please contact: 

ENERGY

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF Office of

Science

Inquiry is published biannually by the Ames 

Laboratory Office of Public Affairs. Iowa 

State University operates the Laboratory 

for the U.S. Department of Energy under 

contract DE AC02 07CH11358. 

Editor, Inquiry

Ames Laboratory

111 TASF

Ames, Iowa 50011-3020

515-294-9557

www.ameslab.gov

The Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory seeking solutions to energy-related 

problems through the exploration of chemical, engineering, materials and mathematical sciences, and physics. 

Established in the 1940s with the successful development of the most efficient process to produce high-purity 

uranium metal for atomic energy, Ames Lab now pursues much broader priorities than the materials research that 

has given the Lab international credibility. Responding to issues of national concern, Ames Laboratory scientists 

are actively involved in innovative research, science education programs, the development of applied technologies 

and the quick transfer of such technologies to industry. Uniquely integrated within a university environment, the 

Lab stimulates creative thought and encourages scientific discovery, providing solutions to complex problems and 

educating and training tomorrow’s scientific talent.

Steve Karsjen: Public Affairs Director

Kerry Gibson: Editor

Breehan Gerleman Lucchesi: Contributing Editor

Laura Millsaps: Contributing Editor

Grant Luhmann: Art Director

Listening to Industry

SIF NEARING COMPLETION 6

P A8G E

4 Awards

12Learning the 

Language of Cell Life

CMI, Year One

Schwartz 10 Reflects

14Anja Mudring 

Ionic Liquids, High Hopes 16

3D Printing Technology

Ames Laboratory’s

19Education
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 3

From the Director

t seems like everywhere you turn at the 

Ames Laboratory, there’s something new. We’re in the 

process of constructing our first new research facility 

in more than 50 years to house electron microscopes 

and other sensitive instruments. The $10 million Sensitive 

Instrument Facility, scheduled to open by the summer of 

2015, will provide a real boost in our ability to probe materials 

at the atomic level, free from outside influences such as 

vibration and electro-magnetic interference. You 

can take a peek at the building as it takes shape 

on pages 6 and 7.

This past summer, we installed state-of-the art 

solid-state dynamic nuclear polarization nuclear 

magnetic resonance equipment, or DNP-NMR. 

The technology uses microwaves to polarize 

electrons, then transfers that polarization to the 

nuclei of the sample being studied. The result 

is a huge leap in the sensitivity of the spectral 

signal acquired. 

We’ve also begun using 3D printing in a 

number of ways—to prototype materials rapidly 

or “print” organic and inorganic materials, such as ceramics 

and metals. The Ames Laboratory-led Critical Materials 

Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub, is 

using its LENS (laser engineered netshaping) MR-7 system 

to combine up to four different metal powders in a nearly 

infinite variety of alloy compositions and gradients. The 

system, shown on the cover and on page 16, uses a laser to 

melt the powders as they are deposited onto a substrate. For 

catalysis, Ames Laboratory scientists Igor Slowing and Aaron 

Sadow are using different types of 3D printers to develop 

processes for creating unique materials and structures (see 

the story on pages 16-18).

Yet another CMI-funded research group, led by Anja 

Mudring, is working to develop ionic liquids for use in 

improving the rare-earth separation process, either for use 

extracting rare earths from ore or recycling rare earths from 

discarded magnets. You can read more about this work on 

page 14.

Even the CMI itself is still relatively new, having just 

celebrated its first official birthday this fall. Despite its 

“youth,” CMI has been exceedingly busy, and successful, 

during its inaugural year with research by its various partners 

resulting in more than a dozen invention disclosures. You 

can find out more about CMI’s progress on page 8.

Another research group, this one led by Marit NilsenHamilton, is on the brink of creating a technology that would 

allow a clearer look at the complex interchange between 

the microorganisms in soils and the cellular activities of 

plants’ root systems, what scientists 

call the rhizosphere. The researchers 

are using aptamers, short strands of 

genetic material that bind to a specific 

target molecule, a sort of non-destructive imaging, extended 

to biological systems. Read about this work on page 12,

There’s even a new face —mine— in the Director’s Office. 

I took over as Director of the Ames Laboratory effective June 

1, replacing Alex King who stepped down to lead the Critical 

Materials Institute. I was impressed with the Laboratory 

and its people even before I took on my new role, but have 

come to appreciate this organization in a whole new light in 

my brief tenure. The commitment to excellence here is very 

strong, and the examples we’re highlighting in this issue are 

proof positive that we’re moving forward on multiple fronts 

to create materials and energy solutions!

Adam Schwartz, Director

I

Building our Future

I was impressed with the Laboratory and its people even 

before I took on my new role, but have come to appreciate this 

organization in a whole new light in my 

brief tenure. The commitment to excellence 

here is very strong and the examples we’re 

highlighting in this issue are proof positive 

that we’re moving forward on multiple fronts 

to create materials and energy solutions!
4 Inquiry Issue Inquiry Issue 2 2 | 2014 | 2013 Awards Ames Lab scientists named Most Influential 

Scientific Minds

Three Ames Laboratory physicists, Paul Canfield, 

Sergey Bud’ko, and Costas Soukoulis, were recently 

named to Thomson Reuters’ World’s Most Influential 

Scientific Minds 2014.

Researchers earned inclusion on the list by writing 

the greatest number of highly cited papers, ranking 

among the top one percent for their subject field and 

year of publication between 2002 and 2012. According 

to Thomson Reuters, the work of the scientists ranked 

has “consistently been judged by peers to be of particular 

significance and utility.” The three were named highly 

cited researchers in a list compiled by Thomson Reuters 

of more than 3,000 scientists in 21 fields of research.

All three conduct research in the Ames Laboratory’s 

Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering. 

Canfield and Bud’ko study the design, discovery, growth 

Thiel wins 2014 Welch Award

Pat Thiel has been named the 2014 winner of the 

AVS Medard W. Welch Award, which recognizes 

outstanding research in the fields of materials, interfaces 

and processing. Thiel, who is a faculty scientist at the 

U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and 

a Distinguished Professor of chemistry at Iowa State 

University, is recognized for her “seminal contributions 

to the understanding of quasicrystalline surfaces and 

thin-film nucleation and growth.” 

“We congratulate Pat on the Welch Award and for 

her outstanding contributions to the field of surface 

chemistry. Pat’s work in understanding the surface 

structures of complex materials has advanced the 

understanding of quasicrystals and nanoparticles on 

metal and semiconductor surfaces,” said Adam Schwartz, 

director of the Ames Laboratory.

The Welch Award was established in 1969 and 

Thiel is the first woman to win the Welch Award in its 

44-year history.

“This award is defined by the people who won it 

before me. They have been the giants in the field of 

and characterization of novel electronic and magnetic 

compounds and their interesting physical properties. 

Soukoulis researches the properties of disordered systems 

with an emphasis on electron and photon localization, 

photonic crystals, random lasers, metamaterials, lefthanded materials, random magnetic systems, nonlinear 

systems, and amorphous semiconductors. Canfield 

and Soukoulis are both distinguished professors in the 

Department of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State 

University. Bud’ko is an adjunct associate physics 

professor, also at Iowa State.

“This honor is gratifying, but not surprising,” said 

Ames Laboratory Director Adam Schwartz. “Our 

scientists have earned the respect of their peers 

internationally, and that is based not on reputation alone 

but on solid and measurable contributions to their fields. 

We at the Lab congratulate Paul, Sergey, and Costas on 

their recognition.”

surface science. I am humbled and honored to be joining 

their ranks. The award really recognizes much more 

than me. It recognizes my many talented coworkers 

and the agencies that have enabled our work, especially 

the Department of Energy and the National Science 

Foundation,” said Thiel.

Pat Thiel

Paul Canfield Sergey Bud’ko Costas Soukoulis
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 5

Vela receives award for advancing diversity

Javier Vela, Ames Laboratory scientist and an assistant 

professor in chemistry at Iowa State University, has been 

selected as a 2014 recipient of the Stanley C. Israel 

Regional Award for Advancing 

Diversity in Chemical Sciences. 

The award is given by the American 

Chemical Society (ACS) and is 

sponsored by the ACS Committee 

on Minority Affairs. The award 

honors nominees who have created 

and fostered ongoing programs or 

activities that result in increased 

numbers of persons from diverse and 

underrepresented minority groups, 

persons with disabilities, or women who participate in 

the chemical enterprise. Vela received the award at the 

ACS Midwest Regional Meeting in Columbia, Missouri, 

November 12-15, 2014. 

Award winners receive a medal and $1,000 grant to 

support and further the activities for which the award 

was made. 

Former interns win scholarships 

Two participants in the U.S. Department of Energy 

Office of Science’s Science Undergraduate Laboratory 

Internship (SULI) research program at the Ames 

Laboratory have been awarded prestigious scholarships, 

one from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and 

Excellence in Education Program and the other from 

the National Science Foundation Graduate Research 

Fellowship program.

 William Robin Lindemann a participant in the Ames 

Laboratory’s 2014 spring semester SULI program has 

been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s 

premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, 

natural sciences and engineering. Out of over 1,100 

students who applied for 

the scholarship, which is 

based on academic merit, 

283 were selected and 

awarded a scholarship that 

will cover the cost of tuition 

fees, books, and room and 

board up to a maximum of 

$7,500 per year. Lindemann applied the award to his 

senior year at Iowa State, where he was an undergraduate 

in materials science and engineering. He plans to pursue 

a Ph.D. in materials science and conduct research in and 

teach advanced ceramics.

Lindemann worked with mentor David Vaknin, Ames 

Laboratory physicist and Iowa State University adjunct 

physics professor. Lindemann has participated in handson x-ray reflectivity and fluorescence research. Lindemann 

is a two-time participant in the SULI program, having also 

participated in the summer 2013 SULI program, also with 

Vaknin as his mentor. 

Javier Grajeda has been awarded a highly competitive 

fellowship through the National Science Foundation 

Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). Grajeda 

received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the 

University of Texas at El Paso and will use his three-year 

fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 

Hill, where he recently enrolled as a 

graduate student. 

The GRFP recognizes and supports 

outstanding graduate students in 

science, technology, engineering and 

mathematics disciplines who are 

pursuing research-based master’s 

and doctoral degrees. Fellows benefit 

from a three-year annual stipend of 

$32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of 

education allowance for tuition and fees, and opportunities 

for international research and professional development. 

Grajeda participated in the SULI program at the Ames 

Laboratory in summer 2011 under the mentorship of Javier 

Vela, Ames Laboratory faculty scientist and Iowa State 

University assistant professor of chemistry.

William Robin Lindemann Javier Grajeda

Javier Vela Outstanding APS Referee

 Ames Laboratory scientist and Iowa State 

University Distinguished Professor of Physics, 

David Johnston was named a 2014 American 

Physical Society Outstanding Referee. The 

award recognizes scientists for their exceptional 

quality, number and timeliness of their work 

assessing manuscripts for publication in APS 

scientific journals.

David Johnston
6 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 

Nearing 

Completion

BY KERRY GIBSON

A

B

C

A. Groundbreaking for the new building was 

held June 6, 2014, making it the first new 

research facility at Ames Laboratory in more than 

50 years. B. This photo, taken Aug. 27, shows 

the footings for the building ready to be poured. 

Wet weather slowed construction in the summer 

and fall. C. Precast wall panels are set in place 

in this photo taken Sept. 25. The panels were 

built elsewhere and trucked to the site. 
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 7

fter years in the works, Ames Laboratory’s new 

Sensitive Instrument Facility has taken shape and 

is on track to open in 2015. The state-of-the-art 

facility will be the new home of Ames Laboratory’s 

existing scanning transmission electron microscope 

and some new highly sensitive equipment, providing an 

environment isolated from vibration, electro-magnetic and 

other types of interference that can obscure atomic-scale 

details from clear view.

The photos on these pages show the building from inception 

on the architect’s drawing board through groundbreaking in 

June and construction through summer until mid-November. 

As this issue was being finalized, construction crews were 

A installing the aluminum lining on the instrument bays that 

will shield the equipment from electro-magnetic interference 

(as shown in photo F below).

As the building nears completion, work is also progressing 

on obtaining several additional pieces of equipment, including 

a focused ion-beam instrument, an aberration-corrected 

scanning transmission electron microscope and a fieldemission electron scanning microscope. Ames Laboratory 

administration has been working closely with Iowa State 

University and the DOE to secure funding to purchase the 

equipment, hopefully within a year’s time.

D

E

F

D. A crane lifts precast roof panels into place 

on Oct. 20. Much of the concrete used in 

the building contains non-steel reinforcing 

material to limit electro-magnetic interference. 

E. The exterior is enclosed, including windows, 

and the sidewalk poured in this photo from Nov. 

10. The sidewalk connects the building with the 

existing Applied Sciences II building. F. Work 

on the building’s interior was also progressing in 

November, as shown in this photo of aluminum 

plate being installed in one of the six instrument 

bays. The aluminum lining creates an electromagnetic barrier. 
8 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 

n e m i g h t t h i n k C r i t i c a l M a t e r i a l s 

Institute Director Alex King would lead off the 

first-anniversary meeting of the Critical Materials 

Institute, held in September, with some big 

numbers, or some big papers. Scientists can be like that. 

Instead, he led with those far-harder-to-quantify human 

values, ones like respect, collaboration, and agility. And 

he’d been consciously keeping track of them in meetings 

throughout the year.

THE KEY VALUE? LISTENING. 

“Listening is the most important thing we do,” said King 

to the assembly of 150 scientists, most of them visiting from 

CMI’s partner labs and institutions. “Our best successes 

in our first year come from the fact that we listened to our 

industrial partners and acted on the advice we heard.” 

It will be that value, King said, that will carry CMI through 

its upcoming second year, and beyond. 

Launched in 2013 as the newest of the U.S. Department of 

Energy’s four Innovation Hubs, the Critical Materials Institute 

was tasked with the goal of finding and commercializing 

ways to reduce reliance on the critical materials essential for 

American competitiveness in 

clean energy technologies.

To date, the Critical Materials 

Institute has generated 20 

invention disclosures, a number 

that has garnered favorable 

attention from the DOE and 

legislators in Washington. 

“It’s quite an achievement,” 

said King in the plenary session. 

“We have companies interested 

in the inventions already and 

they are moving forward toward 

commercialization.” King noted 

that the list of inventions garnered positive attention from 

Congress, “so, we deliver.” 

The Critical Materials Institute has delivered some 

promising discoveries in substitute materials, especially in 

the area of efficient lighting. 

In addition, it has developed processes for reducing the 

cost of mining and separating rare-earth materials. 

“If you consider that you’re looking at technology that’s 

been around 50 or 100 years or more—to be able to go in and 

say, here’s a significant improvement—that’s a big deal,” said 

King in a post-event interview.

FINE-TUNING RESEARCH GOALS

King said the institute would be carrying that listening 

value into the second year, since it has served CMI so well 

in the first; one of the hub’s second-year goals is doubling the 

number of industrial partners.

Initial research efforts, while targeted at practical solutions 

from the beginning, were fine-tuned or even changed 

direction as industry partners weighed in on what were likely 

to be the most promising outcomes for manufacturing. King 

said there would continue to be a shifting of resources and 

focusing of individual projects as CMI evolved.

“Learning where all those go/no-go decisions are from 

an industry perspective, and then focusing all our efforts on 

reaching them, that’s been really important. And the more 

people we listen to, the better,” said King.

O

Listening to Industry

CMI, YEAR ONE:

CMI Director Alex King (back left) talks with advisory board 

members John Poate, Colorado School of Mines, (right) and 

Tom Graedel of Yale.

Alex King

BY LAURA MILLSAPS
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 9

REACHING OUT TO INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS

CMI’s hosting of the fourth annual EU-US-Japan 

Trilateral working group meeting on Critical Materials added 

an international dimension to the first year gathering, one 

that will continue to grow according to King. 

The hub hosted delegates from the European Union, 

Japan and other countries in collaborative sessions covering 

topics in the rare-earth industry, source discovery, new 

materials research and deployment, and processing and

recycling technologies.

King said this trilateral meeting started out four years 

ago as a venue to talk about policy and general approaches, 

and has moved on to planning scientific collaborations. As 

international concern grows over the demand for rare-earth 

and other critical materials, King expects CMI to play a vital 

role as a source of scientific expertise. 

“We are by far the largest investment the U.S. government 

has made in this area,” said King. “Other players in the group 

recognize that and while they look to Washington for matters 

of policy, more and more we’re becoming the technical point 

of contact.”

King believes CMI is well-positioned for that role in the 

coming year and beyond, and the first-anniversary meeting, a 

planning and working event rather than a celebration, helped 

frame that future. 

“The meeting itself was a success, and the Ames Laboratory 

made a tremendous impression on our visitors. Looking over 

CMI’s first year broadly, we’ve achieved a fantastic amount in 

a pretty short time.”

Above: Ames Lab researcher Matt Besser, right, explains the 

CMI’s 3D metal printer to Japanese visitors. Below: CMI

Director Alex King addresses scientists at the plenary session of 

the Critical Material Institute’s annual meeting in September.
10 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 

and some biology, tremendous collaborative opportunities exist 

to continue building upon our strengths. 

2. Is there anything about the Lab, the DOE or 

the job that’s been a total surprise or something 

you didn’t expect?

Absolutely! There have been surprises everywhere. Most 

at the Laboratory have been pleasant surprises and some of 

them have been more, “Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way” 

revelations. I’ve worked in the National Nuclear Security 

Administration (NNSA) system for 20 some years and this is 

different. More than anything, Ames Laboratory has its way 

of doing business and doing science, and in some cases, it’s 

just new. And many times that difference is better and other 

times, it’s just as good as what I’m used to, merely different. 

Coupling that NNSA experience with the Lab’s very 

successful 67-year history invites opportunities for continued 

progress. The Ames Laboratory does so many things right, 

and we definitely don’t need to change just for the sake of 

change in leadership.

On the DOE side, coming from NNSA, I’m aware 

of their method of doing business and general budget 

challenges. The Office of Science has similar operational 

and budget challenges. Overall, the Ames Laboratory is in 

solid shape. We’ve done extremely well with both equipment 

procurement and the CMI. I do worry some about our core 

research budgets and am putting much attention into that.

3. Are there any particular areas that are a 

priority, either near-term or long-range?

That’s something that the Executive Council and I have 

been spending a good deal of time on. Our top priority is safety 

as it always has been and as it always will be. The Laboratory 

has a wonderful safety record, but we’ve had a few chinks in 

that armor recently – seven incidents over a period of months 

– some of them very serious. I’ve instituted safety awareness 

discussions and I think it’s a timely reminder to everyone 

working here that safety is our highest priority. It’s always a 

good time to ‘Stop, Think and Check Your Equipment’ and to 

rethink what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

Our next priority is setting our priorities. There are so 

many options out there in science. Ames Laboratory is 

positioned to contribute in so many different areas of basic 

science and applied science or technology development and 

choosing which areas to focus on is really hard. Funding, of 

course, is limited. We received important feedback from 

the Lab Plan review in June and need to include that in 

our preparation for the triennial review of all Division of 

Materials Sciences and Engineering FWPs and a number 

of Chemical and Biological Sciences FWPs next summer. 

It’s a critical juncture for the DMSE and CBS programs. 

Successful reviews position the Laboratory to continue on 

Schwartz Reflects on Time at Ames Laboratory Helm

dam Schwartz officially took over as Director 

of Ames Laboratory on June 2, 2014. Prior to 

coming to Ames, he served as division leader of 

the Condensed Matter and Materials Division 

at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and also 

coordinated LLNL’s projects for the Critical Materials 

Institute, a $120 million DOE Energy Innovation Hub led by 

the Ames Laboratory. 

Schwartz sat down in late October with Inquiry editor 

Kerry Gibson to reflect on his first few months on the job, to 

share his insights on a variety of topics, and offer his vision 

for the coming months and years.

1. You’ve been on the job for roughly five 

months (six by the time this comes out). What’s 

your impression of the Ames Laboratory now 

and has it changed in that time?

I’m more impressed than ever with Ames Laboratory as 

well as the Iowa State University. When I came out here to 

work with Ames Laboratory on the proposal preparation for 

the Critical Materials Institute and then as part of the CMI 

leadership team, I got to know a relatively small subset of the 

Lab staff well. Since coming here, I’ve been getting out and 

about meeting with people, particularly the FWP (field work 

proposal) leads, in order to get a much better understanding 

of the science they’re doing and direction they’re headed. 

I’ve also met with many operations and scientific teams, 

seen equipment, done safety walk-throughs, and represented 

the Lab in Washington, D.C. The Ames Laboratory leaves a 

positive impression in the science we do, how we conduct 

operations, and in the direction we are headed.

The interface and extent of focused interaction with ISU 

also gives a good impression. With a focus on physics, chemistry, 

materials science and engineering, some chemical engineering, 

A
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 11

its successful path. If some FWPs do not review well, that’s 

certainly an issue for us. 

So we’re having discussions on what our core capabilities 

are and what areas we would like to strengthen if there is the 

budget. Money is tight, and we can’t do everything we want 

to do or think we need to do. None of the national Labs can 

do everything they want to do. So we have to be selective, 

focus on our strengths and clearly articulate where the Lab is 

now and where we need to go to address scientific challenges 

that are part of DOE’s mission. That’s our short, intermediate 

and long-term priority.

Another near-term priority is that the Sensitive Instrument 

Facility be built on time and on budget. After a rainy spring 

and summer, things are going great. The walls are up, the 

roof is on, work is progressing well and it’s all very exciting. 

An intermediate priority associated with this is populating 

the SIF with state-of–the-art equipment. We’re making 

progress on that, and I’m optimistic. We’ve had discussions 

with Iowa State administration and a number of the 

department chairs and we are building a coalition with the 

intent of purchasing a focused-ion-beam (FIB) instrument 

and an aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron 

microscope (STEM). 

We recently had discussions in Washington, D.C. with 

both Linda Horton (Materials Sciences and Engineering 

Division Director) and Harriet Kung (Associate Director of 

Science for Basic Energy Sciences) where we laid out our 

plan to build this coalition, and those meetings were both 

positive. We will be requesting mid-year funds to help fund 

those instruments, and while I don’t have a definitive “yes” 

in my pocket, I’m optimistic we’ll be able to order that 

equipment within the year.

Another intermediate term priority is working on our 

computational-science capabilities. We are basically maxed 

out on power and HVAC to house computer clusters in our 

existing research buildings. The Laboratory has presented a 

proposal for a new computational science facility to DOE for 

the last two years, and we’ve been encouraged to come up 

with alternatives. 

After the Lab Plan review this summer, we came back to 

Ames and evaluated some of our other buildings, and we’re 

looking closely at the paint and air conditioning shop. We’ve 

had a pair of architectural firms evaluate whether we can 

convert that well-built building into a good, intermediate 

solution for our computational facility. DOE is receptive 

to the idea of repurposing existing space. We might be a 

little out of sync with the budget cycle, but we have a good 

plan and a good building. It would serve our needs on an 

intermediate basis, and we’ll work with DOE on acquiring 

funding to accomplish that.

4. How much have you traveled so far? How 

many trips have you made to D.C.? Is it what 

you expected?

I’m not sure I want to know. I have a feeling it’s been eight 

or so trips to D.C. There was the Lab Plan in week number 

two, a couple of trips for the National Laboratory Directors 

Council, and National Lab Day, which was an outstanding 

opportunity to highlight the work we do at Ames Laboratory. 

In addition, I’ve been to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a 

meeting with the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board. The 

travel schedule has been seemingly every other week, pretty 

much what I expected. 

The meetings with the national laboratory directors are 

very important, interesting, and productive because we’re 

trying to tackle some longstanding problems within the 

national laboratory complex. The Secretary of Energy, Ernest 

Moniz, is very interested in our input and in working together 

to improve DOE and the national lab complex. We’ve been 

picking important problems and making some progress. 

The Ames Laboratory is well-known within DOE, but 

not necessarily within other parts of Washington so I believe 

it’s important to get out and meet with Iowa’s Congressional 

delegation. I’ve had the chance to visit all but one of the 

offices so far. I’ll be back out to D.C. in December to receive 

our laboratory grades, and hope to take some extra time to 

once again meet with our representatives. It’s important to 

let them know what great science we’re doing, to show them 

the importance of the national laboratories and how we are 

contributing to the nation, as well as Iowa and the local 

economy.

5. Any other opportunities for improvement/

changes that you’ve identified so far?

The Laboratory has been very successful in securing the 

funding for state-of-the-art equipment. The CMI has two 

signature pieces of instrumentation – the laser engineered 

net shaping (LENS) for additive manufacturing—as well 

as the robotic system for synthesizing catalysts. Those two 

systems are the envy of many laboratories and position us 

very well. Additionally, both the Chemical and Biological 

Sciences and Materials Sciences and Engineering divisions 

have done well in recent years. We are in the process of 

procuring a field-emission electron scanning microscope 

that will go into the SIF and, as I mentioned earlier, we are 

optimistic about getting the other two pieces—the STEM 

and FIB—as well.

On the operations side, one area where we experienced 

an early success was the roll out of the new website. We 

still have work to do on that, but things are moving in the 

right direction. As far as operational efficiency, I’m amazed 

at what we get done for the budget we have. Things run 

very smoothly, and I’m impressed across the board, from 

accounting to finance to budget to procurement. I’m always 

looking for ways to improve efficiency, but I’m not sure there 

are any big ones to be had. We’re bringing in a new manager 

for Facilities and Engineering Services so we will see new 

leadership in that area.
12 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 

t’s a science lesson so fundamental that we teach 

it to small children, planting bean seeds in Styrofoam 

cups: plants take nutrients from the soil to grow. 

It is surprising then, that the complex interchange 

between the microorganisms in soils and the cellular 

activities of plants’ root systems, what scientists call the 

rhizosphere, remains one of science’s great mysteries. 

“We want to know how plants and microbes in the soil 

talk to each other,” said Marit Nilsen-Hamilton, an Ames 

Laboratory scientist and professor in the Roy J. Carver 

Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular 

Biology at Iowa State University. “We know they’re 

communicating with each other, but how? Multicellular 

communities are vastly more complex than we currently 

understand. How do we go about finding out?” 

Nilsen-Hamilton said that traditional scientific 

methodology, taking samples from the environment back 

to the lab for genetic analysis, gives only part of the total 

picture of this vital ecological system. 

“It can tell us the population of microbes, the various 

components of the rhizosphere, and then what the end 

products are. It’s basically telling us who’s there and how 

many, but who is doing what? How are they doing it? Do we 

even know where they’re doing it? We may think we know, 

but we really don’t, not for sure.” 

The impact of environmental changes on these systems 

is another question. Variations in temperature, atmosphere, 

and chemical composition of the soil force plant systems 

to adapt. Current science, Nilsen-Hamilton says, can only 

observe changes in the plant-soil system through analysis of 

the end-products. 

“Right now the science is like a person who isn’t a 

mechanic looking at an operating machine. We can bash it 

with our fist and observe that it runs faster or slower; but 

unlike a mechanic, we really don’t understand what we did 

or why it changed.”

Learning the Language of Cell Life: 

Ames Laboratory Scientists Use Genetic Markers to Discover the Rhizosphere

BY LAURA MILLSAPS

I

Ames Laboratory scientists George Kraus and Marit Nilsen-Hamilton.
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 13

Nilsen-Hamilton, working in partnership with Ames 

Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 

Ames Laboratory researcher George Kraus and Iowa 

State University associate professor of plant pathology 

and microbiology, Larry Halverson, is on the brink of 

creating a technology that would allow a clearer look 

at the entire rhizosphere system through the use of 

aptamers, short strands of genetic material that bind to 

a specific target molecule. 

“It’s really a type of non-destructive imaging, extended 

to biological systems,” said Nilsen-Hamilton. “There is a 

little extra portion of genetic material that we place on the 

gene, and if we do it properly, it doesn’t affect how the gene 

functions. On the right gene, it will report on a response 

to a change in the cell’s environment such as a signal from 

another cell or more nutrients. We’ll know when that gene 

is turned on.”

These “reporters,” called IMAGEtags (Intracellular 

MultiAptamer GEnetic Tags), are established into a 

particular species of microbe, or in a particular type of plant 

cell such as in a root hair, and will allow scientists to track 

cellular activity when they are in their normal environment. 

The reporters allow live-cell imaging with fluorescence 

microscopy methods and are now being expanded to use 

with radioactive imaging to “see” through soil. 

Nilsen-Hamilton said the IMAGEtags have been 

developed and proven to work in the lab. The next step is 

establishing them in soil microbes and plant material and 

in a controlled soil environment that replicates conditions 

found in nature. 

“These are more defined conditions that are closer to 

what you would observe in the field than a cell in a dish,” 

said Nilsen-Hamilton, “and practical application could allow 

us to understand much more specifically, in real time, how 

these microbes and plant cells interact.” 

The technology could be applied to a number of uses, 

including agricultural research, environmental monitoring, 

medical diagnosis and treatment, or anything involving a 

biological system. 

Graduate assistant Judhajeet Ray works as part of Marit Nilsen-Hamilton’s research 

project to develop methods of non-destructive imaging of biological systems.
14 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 

afer. Sustainable. Customizable. Multi-functional. 

Ames Laboratory and Critical Materials Institute 

materials chemist Anja Mudring is harnessing these 

promising qualities of ionic liquids, salts in a liquid 

state, to optimize processes for critical materials. 

“Ionic liquids have a lot of useful qualities, but most 

useful for materials processing is that ionic liquids are made 

up of two parts: the cation and the anion. We can play around 

with the chemical identities of each of those components 

and that opens the doors to huge amount of options,” says 

Mudring. “That means we can really engineer ionic liquids 

with specific functions in mind.”

One such function is improving the rare-earth separation 

process, either for use extracting rare earths from ore or 

recycling rare earths from discarded magnets. 

“We are tuning the ionic liquids in such a way that 

they dissolve rare-earth oxides, and then we’re using 

electrodeposition, where electricity is run through a liquid 

to create a chemical change to get the rare earth in metal 

form,” says Mudring, who is also a professor of materials 

science and engineering at Iowa State University.

Traditionally, electrodeposition processes are extremely 

high temperature and often require corrosive chemicals. But 

Mudring’s process requires much lower temperatures and 

ionic liquids are less hazardous, so less energy is needed and 

the process is safer and greener.

Mudring’s group is also using ionic liquids to create 

phosphors for compact fluorescent light bulbs.

“We’re using ionic liquids, putting them in a microwave, 

energizing them, and creating a phosphors material. The 

phosphors particles are less than 10 nanometers, which 

means they do not scatter light, key for optical applications 

like for compact fluorescent light bulbs,” says Mudring.

Better yet, Mudring’s process also reduces the amount 

of rare-earth materials required in the process, and may 

someday make it possible to replace mercury vapor with lesshazardous noble gases in CFLs. And looking farther down 

the road, the new phosphors could also be used in LEDs as 

they continue to replace CFLs.

“Ionic liquids are the key to the improvements in this 

material synthesis,” says Mudring. “They function as the 

solvent, a safer one than an alcohol or other combustible 

solvent. And they are also the reaction partner. Here, the 

ionic liquid is the fluoride source, so we can omit hazardous 

hydrofluoric acid from the process. Again, that makes the 

process safer and cleaner. And they even function to stabilize 

the nanoparticles created in the process, eliminating the 

need for an additional stabilizer. Three functions in one! 

Add to that how efficiently ionic liquids take up microwave 

energy and there’s just huge potential there for improving 

materials synthesis.”

Ionic Liquids, High Hopes

S

BY BREEHAN GERLEMAN LUCCHESI
Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 15

Anja Mudring is new to the Ames Laboratory as a 

full-time scientist, but her ties to the Lab date back to 

1997 when she first came for a two-week fellowship trip 

as a graduate student.

“I read in my chemistry text book about molten salts 

and ionic liquids, and I thought it was so interesting. 

And a name kept popping up: John Corbett, here at 

Ames Laboratory. So, I wrote to John and he invited me 

to come here to Ames for my fellowship trip.”

Mudring returned as a postdoctoral research 

associate from 2001-2003, and even after she returned 

to Germany to start her own research group, she 

continued to visit Ames Laboratory for about a month 

each year.

“Always in the winter. I’ve always liked the quietness 

in Ames in the winter. The summer feels too hot to me, 

so I vowed to always only come in winter.”

But then the opportunity came to join Ames 

Laboratory—all four seasons of the year.

“When the Critical Materials Institute started at 

Ames Laboratory, I learned of the openings and I 

applied. I already knew I loved Ames and the people 

here. And the research opportunities provided by the 

CMI were excellent,” says Mudring. “So here I am. 

Happy to be here all year long!”

Reactions in ionic liquids can be done by microwave synthesis 

in just a few minutes. 

Anja Mudring’s research group is working to optimize critical 

materials processing using ionic liquids. To fully understand 

the processes, Mudring and her colleagues must grow crystal 

samples, as seen here, and characterize the materials.
Ames Laboratory 3D Printing Technology

BY LAURA MILLSAPS

Part of Ames Laboratory’s 3D capabilities, the Critical Materials

Institute’s 3D metals printer builds metals on a substrate using a laser.

16 Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 
he market for 3D printing products grew 

to just over $3 billion in 2013 according to Forbes, 

and technology analysts don’t see any sign of it 

slowing as manufacturers, researchers, businesses 

and the public explore applications for the technology. 

Scientists at Ames Laboratory are enthusiastic too, 

seeing amazing potential in 3D printing and additive 

manufacturing, and they are focusing research toward 

further advances.

Ames Laboratory researchers have at their 

command four experimental 3D printers that cover a 

range of unique capabilities.

“The possibilities in 3D printing are growing,” said Igor 

Slowing, Ames Laboratory scientist and adjunct professor 

of chemistry at Iowa State University. “And here at the Lab 

we have a lot of ideas about how to take this technology 

further. The world of 3D printing technology is full of 

amazing things right now. We want to be a part of that.”

The Laboratory operates two filament extrusion 

printers and a syringe-based injection printer. This 

fall, the Laboratory also acquired a laser printer to use 

T photochemical processes for producing three-dimensional 

objects. Slowing and his research partner, Ames Laboratory 

scientist and Iowa State associate chemistry professor 

Aaron Sadow, are also developing a printer capable of 

extruding metals with low energy input.

In addition, they expect to leverage the Critical 

Materials Institute’s 3D metals printer, which builds 

alloys on a substrate via metal powders that are melted by 

a laser. Slowing and Sadow also conduct research for the 

Critical Materials Institute, an Ames Laboratory-led U.S. 

Department of Energy Innovation Hub.

The range of equipment gives Ames Laboratory 

scientists the capability to print organic materials as well 

as inorganics, such as ceramics and metals.

Slowing said the goal of the research is to develop 

processes that will create unique materials and structures 

during the printing process, rather than printing preexisting materials.

“For instance, currently you can print with plastics, 

but depending on the type of printer there are only two or 

three options you can use,” said Slowing. “By being able 

... the goal of the research is to develop processes that will create unique materials and 

structures during the printing process, rather than printing pre-existing materials.

“

”

Igor Slowing Aaron Sadow

Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 17
to mix the components during the printing process itself, 

we can create as many different polymers as we want.”

The approach can also be applied to catalysis 

research, by manufacturing entire functional pieces at 

once, said Slowing.

“A catalytic device can be constructed—the support, the 

reactors, the catalysts—all in a single unit. For researchers, 

the advantage is that modifications to the reactor design 

can happen quickly, in-house, without having to wait for 

customization from an outside source.”

These catalytic devices could be used for sensing, 

purifying, refining “almost any application you could think 

of,” said Slowing. 

Another objective for research in 3D printing at Ames 

Laboratory is addressing the need for high resolution in 

additive manufacturing. Slowing believes that expertise 

in chemistry can bridge the gap between the nano- and 

macro-scale.

“If on one hand we are able to produce macroscopic 

solids with a 3D printer with a resolution down to a 

couple of microns, and on the other hand we can use 

the self-assembly methods of chemistry to organize 

groups of molecules into nanoparticles that can be 

organized up to a couple of microns, then we can 

control the manufacturing of matter in the whole range 

from the nano- up to the macro-scale,” said Slowing.

“The transformative potential of this research is very 

large and it is expected to create avenues for partnerships 

with other research facilities and industry.”

Ames Laboratory scientist Igor Slowing demonstrates the use of a syringe-based injection printer.

A demonstration 3D model of Ames Laboratory’s logo.

18 Inquiry Issue Inquiry Issue 12 | 2014 | 2014 
Inquiry Issue 1 | 2014 19

he awards for research excellence just keep 

stacking up for Andrew Fidler, former Science 

Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) 

program intern at Ames Laboratory. 

Fidler’s latest award comes from Los Alamos National 

Laboratory (LANL), the Department of Energy national 

laboratory where he’s currently serving as a postdoctoral 

fellow. Fidler was named one of LANL’s Director’s Fellows 

in 2014. Director’s Fellows collaborate with LANL 

scientists and engineers on staff-initiated research. Award 

selections are made based on academic and research 

accomplishments and the strength and potential impact of 

the proposed research. 

But this is not the first time Fidler has been recognized 

for excellence in his short career. In 2007, he was awarded 

a 10-week SULI internship at the Ames Laboratory. For 10 

weeks, he was mentored in the lab with by Ames Laboratory 

physicist Ruslan Prozorov. During that short internship 

experience, Fidler co-authored the paper, “Suprafroth 

in type-1 superconductors,” which was published in the 

journal Nature Physics. 

Following his internship at Ames Laboratory, Fidler 

returned to Albion College to finish his Bachelor’s degree 

and enrolled in graduate school at the University of 

Chicago, where in 2009, he was awarded a DOE Office of 

Science Graduate Fellowship. The prestigious fellowship 

provided Fidler financial support to apply toward his Ph.D. 

in physical chemistry. 

Graduating with his Ph.D. in 2013, Fidler became a 

postdoctoral researcher at LANL, where he is currently a 

member of the Nanotechnology and Advanced Spectroscopy 

Team. The team’s research focuses on synthesis, electronic 

and optical properties, as well as device applications of 

semiconductor nanocrystals and nanoscale assemblies 

built from these particles. 

Upon hearing of Fidler winning the Director’s Fellowship, 

Prozorov had this to say about his former student: “I am not 

surprised at his accomplishment, and I am very happy.” 

Ultimately, Fidler’s success is a testament to the 

importance of science internship programs like SULI that 

provide opportunities for students to work in real-world 

research labs doing cutting-edge research alongside senior 

scientists. 

“I have nothing but good memories of my summer at 

Ames,” says Fidler. “The research opportunities continue 

to be of a high caliber and offer a great opportunity for 

undergraduates to see what a career in science is like.”

BY STEVE KARSJEN

T

Inquiry Issue 2 | 2014 19

Former SULI Student Chalks up Another Success

Andrew Fidler on a hike in the mountains around Los Alamos. 
Ames Laboratory

111 Technical and Administrative Services Facility

Ames, Iowa 50011-3020

515-294-9557

www.ameslab.gov

2014

Issue 2