Technical Staff
Our work involves a diverse technical staff including scientists, engineers, technologists and others. We are dedicated to working in teams to move science to the market place.
Staff Members & Interest Areas
Chris Aardahl
christopher.aardahl@pnl.gov—Carbon nanotube arrays and CVD processes.
Eric Ackerman
eric.ackerman@pnl.gov—Integration of biological components (proteins, enzymes) with inorganic materials to create new devices and materials. Creation of nano-clusters of biocatalysts. See
Scientific Research Highlights, including a
5-minute video, "Nanobiotechnology putting Molecular Machines to Work."
Kyle J. Alvine
kyle.alvine@pnl.gov—Kyle J. Alvine is a staff scientist in the Energy & Environment Directorate at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). He received his B.S. in physics from Caltech in 1999 and his Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University in 2006 for his dissertation on "Nanoparticle Assembly and Liquids on Nanostructured Surfaces" with Professor Peter Pershan. In 2006 Dr. Alvine was awarded a two year National Research Council (NRC) postdoctoral research associateship in the Polymers Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD to work on "Capillary Instabilities in Nanoimprinted Polymer Systems". His research interests include the physics at surfaces & interfaces, self-assembly, nanoscale wetting and capillary effects, as well as novel x-ray scattering techniques used to investigate these types of systems.
Don Baer
don.baer@pnl.gov—Co-Director of UW/PNNL Joint Institute for Nanoscience, interests in oxide nanostructures, oxide quantum dots, nanoscale characterization, and interface chemistry.
Scott Chambers
sa.chambers@pnl.gov—is interested in the growth and properties of doped transition metal oxide films as well as oxide nanostructures created by epitaxial film growth methods. Such materials are of interest for fundamental investigations of semiconductor spintronics as well as photophysics and photochemistry in oxides.
Zdenek Dohnálek
Zdenek.Dohnalek@pnl.gov—Synthesis of nanoporous thin films under the conditions of limited surface mobility (ballistic deposition). Adsorption, reaction, and desorption processes on nanoporous thin films.
Tim Droubay
tim.droubay@pnl.gov—Synthesis of thin films and heterostructures of metal-oxide films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Interested in the compositional and interface effects on the electronic and magnetic properties of nanostructured complex materials.
Greg Exarhos
greg.exarhos@pnl.gov—Solution and vacuum deposition of transparent and conducting dielectric films, studies of laser/solid interactions, and development of solution templating approaches to achieve ordered nanoporosity across length scales in ceramic composites.
Leo Fifield
leonard.fifield@pnl.gov—interested in surface engineering of nanostructured materials and the relationship between nanoscale structure and macroscale performance. Of particular interest are carbon nanotubes and modified carbon nanotubes for electroactive composites, catalyst supports, sorbent materials and sensors.
Glen E. Fryxell
glen.fryxell@pnl.gov—research interests include molecular self-assembly and the development of novel synthetic methodology (e.g. SCF's) to prepare functionalized interfaces, particularly within nanoporous materials. We are looking to apply these hybrid functionalized nanomaterials in such diverse arenas as environmental remediation, photovoltaic devices, sensing/detection and catalysis. More information on SAMMS™.
Environmental Applications for Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Sorbents and Sensors published by Imperial College Press is now available online.
Dan Gaspar
daniel.gaspar@pnl.gov—Nanoscale characterization, environmental and health effects related to use and processing of nanoscale materials, ion-nanoparticle interactions.
Jay W. Grate
jwgrate@pnl.gov and his collaborators are developing functional nanomaterials relevant to a variety of application areas. Functional nanomaterials represent an emerging field of increasing importance in chemical selective separations, sensing, and detection. We synthesize and characterize functional nanomaterials and evaluate their performance in detection applications. These include monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles as sorptive interfaces on chemical vapor sensors, carbon nanotubes and nanotube paper as vapor collection and preconcentration adsorbents, ligand-functionalized superparamagnetic nanoparticles for capturing metal ions from dilute solutions, antibody-functionalized superparamagnetic nanoparticles for selective capture and separation of biomolecules, semiconductor quantum dots as reporters in biological assays, and functionalized mesoporous thin films as vapor adsorbents on sensors. We are also creating multifunctional nanoparticle assemblies for use in biodetection and enzyme-containing nanocomposites for biocatalytic applications.
Bruce Kay
bruce.kay@pnl.gov—Synthesis of nanoporous materials via Molecular Beam Ballistic Deposition. Molecular beam-surface scattering studies of transport dynamics and chemical kinetics in restricted geometries.
Cindy Bruckner-Lea
cindy.bruckner-lea@pnl.gov—Nanoparticles for signal enhancement in microfluidic systems - nanoparticle tags, super-paramagnetic nanoparticles. Immobilizing biomolecules (e.g. antibodies, DNA lectins) to nanoparticle surfaces.
A. Scott Lea
scott. leapnl.gov—Characterization of nano-size systems with a variety of methods including Scanning Probe Microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy.
Igor Lyubinetsky
igor.lyubinetsky@pnl.gov—Surface physics, chemistry and photochemistry on oxide surfaces. Scanning tunneling and non-contact atomic force microscopies under ultra-high vacuum conditions.
Galya Orr
galya.orr@pnl.gov—Nanotoxicology: studying the cellular interactions, internalization pathways and intracellular fate of individual nanoparticles with well-defined physicochemical properties to delineate property-dependent potential toxicity or biocompatibility of nanomaterials. Since nanoparticles are likely to be presented to cells in vivo as individual particles or nanoscale aggregates (rather than larger agglomerates that are often formed under experimental conditions), we have been studying one particle at the time as it interacts with the living cell over time. Our approach has unraveled new property-dependent interactions and pathways, including coupling of the particles across the cell membrane with the intracellular environment.
Loni Peurrung
loni.peurrung@pnl.gov—Director of the PNNL's Materials Division and former Deputy Manager of the PNNL Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative. Relationship manager for the University of Oregon's Materials Science Institute and their Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing program. Interests include application of nanoscience and nanotechnology to DOE mission areas; green nano; health effects of nanomaterials.
Lax Saraf
lax.saraf.pnl.gov—Materials scientist in the area of condense matter physics and micro/nano-fabrication methods by using thin film deposition capabilities such as MOCVD and micro-fabrication facility at EMSL. Interests in nanoscale effects in oxides and their transport properties.
Wendy Shaw
wendy.shaw@pnl.gov—Interests in biomaterials and measuring protein secondary structure and dynamics on biologically relevant surfaces using solid state NMR.
S. K. Sundaram
sk.sundaram@pnl.gov—Interests in Nanotoxicity, FTIR spectroscopy/Imaging, Infrared photonics and nanowires, millimeter wave/Thz material/process diagnostics.
S. Theva Thevuthasan
theva@pnl.gov—Interests in oxide nanosystems grown by MBE and nanoclusters formed by ion implantation, evolution of interface structure for films and nanoparticles.
Chongmin Wang
chongmin.wang@pnl.gov—Electron beam (TEM, HRTEM, EELS) and ion beam characterization of nano-structured materials; electron beam coupled processing of nanotube.
Thomas S. Zemanian
ts.zemanian@pnl.gov—Chemical Engineer in Radiological and Chemical Sciences, interested in industrial scale fabrication of nanostructured materials using self-limiting chemistry in supercritical media. The supercritical fluids allow molecularly precise assembly, improve reaction rates and selectivity, and provide access to pores and cavities with single nanometer internal diameters.
Dr. Zihua Zhu
zihua.zhu@pnl.gov
—My research is using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to characterize nanoscale materials and devices. Current efforts are mainly focused on the following areas: (1) using ToF-SIMS to detect bio-active molecules (peptides, oligo-nucleotides, film molecules, etc.) immobilized on solid substrates; (2) using ToF-SIMS to investigate one-dimensional, two dimensional or three-dimensional distributions of objective molecules in bio- or nano- materials; (3) using ToF-SIMS to study chemical process on surface of solid catalyst; (4) studying interesting phenomena of metal cluster or C60 primary ions on different sample surfaces; (5) modifying instrument to expand capabilities of SIMS analysis.
