Argonne Update 1

Hardest, strongest materials combined

 UPDATE The community newsletter of

Argonne National Laboratory

Fall 2005

By Kevin Trim

With the price of gas

escalating at record levels,

Argonne scientist and Downers Grove resident Gary

Henriksen recently felt a

sense of pride when he

considered the potential

significance of the battery

research program he directs.

Henriksen, 60, leads a

group of researchers in the

Battery Technology Department, part of Argonne’s

Chemical Engineering

Division, which focuses on

both nuclear fuel cycle and

electrochemical (battery and

fuel cell) programs.

“We are involved in a large

research and development

(R&D) program with five other

government laboratories,

spending between $5.5 and

$6 million per year, to develop

more optimal batteries for

use in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs),” said

Henriksen, an Argonne

employee since 1990.

According to Henriksen,

the U.S. automotive industry

Meet an

Argonne

scientist

(See “Henriksen,” page 4)

By Catherine Foster

 Argonne researchers have

combined the world’s hardest

known material, diamond,

with the world’s strongest

structural form, carbon nanotubes. This new process for

“growing” diamond and carbon

nanotubes together opens the

way for its use in a number of

energy-related applications.

The technique is the first

successful synthesis of a

diamond-nanotube nanocomposite, which means for

the first time this specialized

material has been produced

at the nanometer size —

thousands of times smaller

than the period at the end of

this sentence.

The result established for the

first time a process for making

these materials a reality, setting

the stage for several fundamental

advances in the field of nanostructured carbon materials.

The resulting material has

potential for use in low-friction,

wear-resistant coatings, catalyst

supports for fuel cells, highvoltage electronics, low-power,

high-bandwidth radio frequency

microelectromechanical/

nanoelectromechanical systems, thermionic energy generation, flat-panel displays and

hydrogen storage.

“Diamond is hard because

of its dense atomic structure

and the strength of the bonds

between atoms,” said

Argonne’s John Carlisle, one

of the developers of the new

material. However, diamond

is brittle and normally not

electrically conducting.

Nanotubes, on the other

hand, are incredibly strong

and great electrical conductors, but harnessing these

attributes into useful materials has proved elusive.

The new material combines the properties of both

diamond and nanotubes.

The next step is to develop patterning techniques

to control the relative position

and orientation of the

ultranano-crystalline diamond

and carbon nanotubes within

the material.

Helping develop the material

were Argonne scientists Orlando Auciello, Jeffrey Elam and

Xingcheng Xiao.

Argonne scientists have achieved the first

successful synthesis of a diamond-nanotube

nanocomposite, setting the stage for several

fundamental advances in the field of

nanostructured carbon materials.

By Steve Koppes

The National Science Foundation has awarded $48 million to

the University of Chicago over the

next five years to operate and

expand TeraGrid, a national-scale

system of interconnected computers that scientists and engineers

are using to solve some of their

most challenging problems.

The NSF has concurrently

granted another $100 million to

the University of Chicago, Argonne and seven other institutions to provide computational,

storage, instrument and visualization resources that make up

the TeraGrid, along with user

support and related services.

TeraGrid is the world’s largest

open computer, storage and

networking system.

The TeraGrid team expects

the system to affect virtually

every scientific discipline that

requires intensive computing

capabilities, from disease diagnosis and weather forecasting to

the study of drug interactions

with cancer cells and aircraft

design simulation.

Overseeing the TeraGrid will

be Charlie Catlett, a senior

fellow in the Computation

Institute, a joint effort between

the University of Chicago and

Argonne.

One way that TeraGrid is

measured is in teraflops: the

total number of mathematical

TeraGrid to enhance access for research

operations that can be done in

one second, Catlett said. Currently, the TeraGrid’s power is

just over 60 teraflops. If each of

the 300 million people in the

United States were to do one

calculation per second, it would

take them 55 hours to compute

as much as the TeraGrid can

compute in one second.

For more information about

TeraGrid, see www.teragrid.org/.

Argonne scientist Gary

Henriksen, a Downers Grove

resident, works on advanced

automotive battery technology

that may help reduce the

nation’s dependence on foreign

sources of oil. Photo by George

Joch.

Argonne National Laboratory is

operated by the University of Chicago

for the U.S. Department of Energy.
2 Argonne Update

Argonne Update is published by Argonne National Laboratory’s

Communications and Public Affairs Division. Argonne is operated

for the U.S. Department of Energy by the University of Chicago.

See the Argonne Web site at www.anl.gov for more information

on the laboratory’s activities, people and projects. Vol. 2, No. 2.

Fresh science

news weekly

www.anl.gov

The online version of

Explorer, Argonne’s new

semi-annual magazine,

includes video and other

interactive features in

addition to the full text of the

magazine’s articles about

Argonne research and other

activities.

The online version

contains additional material

on the articles featured in

the magazine, including

video of Associate Laboratory

Director Murray Gibson

demonstrating the relationship between physics and

music; Robert Janssens and

a “team” from the Physics

Division explaining the

Gammasphere with a baseball analogy; and footage

from the Argonne-sponsored

Rube Goldberg Contest. Also

included is a photo slide

show showing how actor Bill

Landry, who performed the

one-person play “Einstein

the Man” at Argonne, transforms himself into the great

scientist.

To see the online version

of Explorer, visit the Argonne

home page at www.anl.gov,

click on “Media Center,” and

“Publications.”

‘Explorer’

online has

text, videos

By Catherine Foster

All Hazards Management, LLC,

of Denver, Colorado has obtained

worldwide exclusive rights to the

Sync Matrix technology portfolio,

a unique toolset of emergency

preparedness software and

systematic, structured services

developed at Argonne.

This toolset enables the

development of completely integrated, coordinated and synchronized emergency plans. Sync

Matrix visually displays information to enable first responders to

deliver an impeccably executed,

multi-jurisdictional response to a

terrorist attack or natural emergency of any source. 

It is the first and only systems-based application developed

to address the complexities of

planning and testing emergency

responses by multiple agencies,

disciplines and jurisdictions.

The program supports the

development of emergency plans,

Software speeds emergency planning, response

from hurricanes, tornados, forest

fires, chemical spills, etc., to any

type of homeland defense emergency scenario. Sync Matrix is

the first systems-based application to address the complex

problem of planning and integrating responses to emergencies,

particularly those involving

different teams or agencies.

The program supports the development of any

number of emergency plans to any type of

homeland defense emergency scenario.

“We at Argonne are deeply

saddened by the suffering from

Hurricane Katrina,” said Argonne

Director Robert Rosner. “Our

thoughts are with those who

have lost their loved ones, their

communities, and those that

have been hurt and injured. We

are supporting organizational and

individual efforts from the lab to

help in whatever way we can.”

Argonne’s Infrastructure

Assurance Center is supporting

the Department of Homeland

Security’s Protective Security

Division in identifying vulnerabilities, recommending potential protective measures, and

evaluating damages at critical

infrastructure and key resources

directly affected by the storm.

Two Argonne employees, Becca

Haffenden and Greg Handke,

were deployed to the Gulf Coast to

support these efforts.

Argonne’s Infrastructure

Assurance Center, a member of

the Department of Energy (DOE)

virtual team, which provides

data, analysis, and visualization

tools to the Office of Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration in response to energy

emergencies and exercises, has

been working long hours.

The virtual team was activated more than 48 hours prior to

Hurricane Katrina’s landfall to

identify critical infrastructure

assets that may be affected by

the storm, as well as to estimate

potential impacts and response

challenges. During and after

Argonne assists those affected by hurricane

landfall, the team has focused on

collecting and analyzing facility

and system impact and restoration information.

Argonne’s role centers on

analyzing oil and natural gas

infrastructures, along with

interdependencies among the

infrastructures. The team also

includes experts from Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and Sandia

national laboratories and the

National Energy Technology

Laboratory.

Brett Hansard, an emergency

risk communication specialist in

Argonne’s Decision and Information Sciences Division, has been

deployed to Baton Rouge to work

with the Federal Emergency

Management Agency. Other

Argonne emergency communications specialists working in

Louisiana are Jerry DeFelice and

Jim Chesnutt. Argonne firefighter/paramedic Jimmy L. Ross

was dispatched to the New Orleans area with a group from the

Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, an

Illinois state-wide mutual aid

system.

Also in Louisiana is Moses

Lee, M.D., an emergency medicine specialist at Stroger Hospital

in Chicago, currently on special

appointment at Argonne. Lee also

serves as director of the Illinois

Emergency Medical Response

Team and was deployed for the

relief efforts as part of that

organization.

On the educational front,

Argonne has offered extended

appointments to its summer

students from New Orleans who

are unable to continue their

work at Southern University.

This past summer three Southern University researchers have

been working at Argonne in the

Environmental Assessment

Division, and they will be able to

remain in those positions.

Argonne is also hosting two

students to continue their research on a project called “Development of Toxicological Matrices

for Contaminants Released in

Water and Air.” Argonne, through

the Division of Educational

Programs, has also found resources to support their faculty

mentor, Shirley Scott Williams.

At Argonne’s request, DOE will

make resources available in

order to provide opportunities to

other students and faculty members to host them at Argonne in

research projects. Potentially,

Argonne’s program to host students displaced by Katrina could

reach the size of its summer

program.

Argonne's computer expertise

is also assisting in connecting

those separated from family

members because of the destruction. Argonne information technology specialist Jay Johnson is

providing computer networking

capabilities at a shelter for

Katrina refugees in Tinley Park.

Using the computer network

allows individuals to communicate with family members and

others.

Associate Laboratory Director

Murray Gibson, an accomplished pianist, explains “The

Physics of the Blues” in a series

of videos available on the

Argonne Web site.
Argonne Update 3

Argonne Materials Science Division

Director George Crabtree testified

before the House Subcommittees on

Energy and Research, sharing

thoughts on the role of basic research

in ushering in the “hydrogen economy”

to reduce the nation’s dependence on

foreign energy sources. “Revolutionary breakthroughs are needed, of the

kind that come only from high-risk,

high-payoff basic research,” Crabtree

said. Here, Crabtree meets with 13th

District U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, who

chairs the Science Subcommittee on

Energy.

Argonne won the Diversity and Multiculturalism

Best Practices award — one

of the top 10 “Elite” awards of

Chicago’s Best and Brightest

Companies to Work For —

presented by the National

Association for Business

Resources. The awards

recognize companies that

use innovative practices and

tools in human resources

activities.

The Diversity and Multiculturalism Best Practices

award focuses on the “extent

to which the organization is

open and inclusive to people

of differing human qualities,

promotes a tolerant work

environment, and considers

diversity and multiculturalism to be a competitive advantage.” 

“This is good news for

Argonne and recognition of

the laboratory’s efforts to

leverage the talents of all

our employees by supporting

diversity,” said Carol Quinn,

Argonne’s director of Human

Resources. “It is one more

acknowledgement that

Argonne is truly an ‘Employer of Choice.’”

Argonne

honored

for diversity

Argonne’s Human Resources

Director Carol Quinn (left)

accepts the Diversity and

Multiculturalism Award from

Robin Robinson of FOX News,

Chicago. The award recognizes

leadership as an organization

that is “open and inclusive

to people of differing human

qualities, promotes a tolerant

work environment, and considers diversity and

multiculturalism to be a competitive advantage.”

Research to enable the hydrogen economy

George Crabtree is senior

scientist and director of the Materials Science Division at Argonne

National Laboratory. This article is

based on testimony he gave before

the subcommittee on energy and

research of the House Science

Committee.

Crucial energy challenges

motivate the need for a hydrogen

economy. First, our dependence

on fossil fuel requires that much

of our energy come from foreign

sources; securing our energy

supply for the future demands

that we develop domestic energy

sources. Continued use of fossil

fuels produces local and regional

pollution that threatens the

quality of our environment and

the health of our citizens. Finally, fossil fuels produce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide

that threaten our climate with

global warming.

Hydrogen

as a fuel

addresses

all of these

issues: it is

found

abundantly

in compounds like

water that

are widely

accessible

without geopolitical constraints,

it produces no pollutants or

greenhouse gases as byproducts

of its use, and it converts readily

to heat through combustion and

to electricity through fuel cells

that couple seamlessly to our

existing energy networks.

Critical Challenges: Production

The enormous appeal of

hydrogen as a fuel is matched by

an equally enormous set of

critical scientific and engineering challenges. Unlike fossil

fuels, hydrogen does not occur

naturally in the environment.

Instead, hydrogen must be

produced from natural resources

like fossil fuels, biomass or

water. Currently nearly all the

hydrogen we use is produced by

reforming natural gas. To power

cars and light trucks in the

coming decades we will need 10

to 15 times the amount of hydrogen we now produce. This hydrogen cannot continue to come

from natural gas, as that production route simply exchanges a

dependence on foreign oil for a

dependence on foreign gas, and it

does not reduce the production of

environmental pollutants or

greenhouse gases. We must find

carbon-neutral production routes

for hydrogen.

Critical Challenges: Storage

The on-board storage of hydrogen for transportation is a second

critical basic science challenge.

To allow a 300-mile driving range

without compromising cargo and

passenger space, we must store

hydrogen at densities higher

than that of liquid hydrogen. This

may seem a daunting task, but

in fact there are a host of materials where hydrogen combines

with other elements at densities

50 percent to 100 percent higher

than that of liquid hydrogen.

Since the 1970s over 2,000

hydrogen compounds have been

examined for their storage

capability; none has been found

that meet the storage demands.

The challenge is to satisfy two

conflicting requirements: high

storage capacity and fast release

times. High

hydrogen

capacity

requires close

packing and

strong chemical bonding of

hydrogen,

while fast

release requires loose

packing and

weak bonding for high hydrogen

mobility. This critical storage

challenge cannot be met without

significant basic research: we

must better understand the

interaction of hydrogen with

materials and exploit this knowledge to design effective storage

media.

Critical Challenges: Fuel Cells

The use of hydrogen in fuel

cells presents a third critical

scientific challenge. Fuel cells

are by far the most appealing

energy conversion devices we

know of. They convert the chemical energy of hydrogen or other

fuels directly to electricity without intermediate steps of combustion or mechanical rotation of

a turbine. Their high efficiency,

up to 60 percent or more, is a

major advantage compared to

traditional conversion routes like

gasoline engines with about 25

percent efficiency. The combination of hydrogen, fuel cells and

electric motors has the potential

to replace many of our much less

efficient energy conversion

systems that are based on combustion of fossil fuels driving heat

engines for producing electricity

or mechanical motion.

Conclusion

The vision of the hydrogen

economy as a solution to foreign

energy dependence, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas

emission is compelling. The

enormous challenges on the road

to achieving this vision can be

addressed with innovative highrisk/high-payoff basic research.

The great contribution of basic

research to society is the discovery of entirely new approaches to

solving our most pressing needs.

The phenomenal advances in

personal computing enabled by

semiconductor materials science

and their impact in every sphere

of human activity illustrates the

power of basic science to drive

technology and enhance our daily

lives. The challenges for the

hydrogen economy in production,

storage and use are known.

Recent developments in nanoscience, in high-intensity

sources for scattering of electrons, neutrons and x-rays from

materials at DOE’s user facilities, and in numerical simulation using density functional

theory open promising new

directions for basic research to

address the hydrogen challenges.

The breakthroughs that basic

research produces in hydrogen

materials science will enable the

realization of a mature, sustainable, and competitive hydrogen

economy.
4 Argonne Update

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has been somewhat cautious about entering

the HEV market, even though most U.S.

automakers have now introduced HEVs or

have announced a schedule for doing so.

A major reason for this hesitancy, as well

as the slow growth of the HEV market, has

been because of the lack of an optimal energy

storage device. Today’s commercial HEVs use

nickel/metal hydride batteries, which are

expensive and last about eight years.

Argonne’s goal is to produce a battery capable

of operating for 15 years.

“Better energy storage systems are

needed and high-power lithium-ion (Li-Ion)

batteries offer the most promise for replacing traditional batteries,” noted Henriksen.

“Argonne’s programs are addressing these

needs. With continued R&D, they could

become less expensive and have a longer

calendar life, and also provide the same

amount of power and energy, and be smaller

and lighter weight. This could dramatically

expand the market for conventional HEVs

and help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign

oil.”

Married with several grown children, this

hobbyist who in his spare time enjoys photography and performing home improvements,

believes significant progress is being made to

Henriksen

(Continued from page 1)

understand the factors that limit battery

calendar life and inherent safety, as well as

in developing new cell materials and chemistries that provide greater stability.

He pointed out that in a related program,

Argonne is also developing new electrode

materials and electrolyte systems that could

facilitate the commercialization of a new

generation of HEVs, denoted “plug-in” HEVs.

These vehicles can be “plugged” into home

electrical outlets at night to charge batteries.

“These batteries could allow ‘all-electric’

round-trip work commutes of up to 50 miles

per day by these types of HEVs, which could

help dramatically reduce U.S. dependence on

foreign oil,” he said.

Visit Argonne’s Web site at www.anl.gov for

more information on these and many other

stories.

n Faster, easier-to-use X-ray beamlines

at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source are

allowing researchers to increase the pace of

determining atomic structures of

biomolecules important to life. This structural information will help reveal the roles

that proteins play in health and disease and

lead to structure-based medicines and therapies to treat genetic and infectious diseases.

n Argonne will soon be home to a new

Sub-Angstrom Microscopy and Microanalysis (SAMM) facility, which will house four

cutting-edge electron microscopes. Construction is expected to be complete next summer.

SAMM will be a user facility, open to

researchers at Argonne and from industry

and academia. Its powerful electron microscopes will give researchers atom-scale

views of the structure of materials, with a

focus on nanoscience.

n Each year as many as 200 students in

Ph.D. programs compete to attend Argonne’s

National School on Neutron and X-ray

Scattering. Sixty are selected to attend the

school here each August, now in its seventh

year. Argonne is the only national laboratory

with both types of facilities: the Intense

Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS) for neutron

scattering and the Advanced Photon Source

(APS) for X-ray scattering.

The National School on Neutron and X-Ray

Scattering brings the field’s top senior scientists from academia, industry and national

laboratories together with the brightest

young scientists attending U.S. universities.

n Argonne researcher Michael Wang, a

world-leading expert in energy and environmental benefits of ethanol as a substitute

for gasoline in transportation fuels, presented

the results of his research at the Ethanol

Energy Open Forum, sponsored by the National Corn Growers Association at the

National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

Compared to gasoline, any type of fuel

ethanol substantially helps reduce fossil

energy and petroleum use, Wang said.

LAB NOTES

A fallow deer atArgonne NationalLaboratory enjoysthe summersunshine. Commonly referred toas “white deer,” thespecies is native toparts of Asia. Theyare remnants of aherd kept by aprevious owner ofthe Argonne site.

The livin’

is easy

9700 South Cass AvenueArgonne, Illinois 60439

n World’s hardest, strongestmaterials combinedn Argonne assists students andfaculty affected by hurricanen Supercomputer grid to tackletoughest challenges in scienceand technologyn Meet an Argonne scientist

ARGONNE

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National Laboratory

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