William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)

	William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
	The William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), a new national collaborative user facility at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory adjacent to the Hanford Site, has been constructed to provide collocated facilities for multi-disciplinary research in molecular-level environmental sciences focused on the need for significant improvements--both in efficacy and in cost--in the Department's ability to meet its responsibilities in environmental restoration and waste management, including the need for science-driven decision processes. The EMSL is a world-class scientific center that provides a strong interdisciplinary research environment, with links to government, industry, and academic users, and access to EMSL equipment and data through the "laboratory without walls" concept. Capabilities in the EMSL mirror the research directions identified in the Environmental Management Science Program, initiated in FY 1996 as a collaborative activity between the DOE Office of Energy Research and the DOE Office of Environmental Management. Research with the leading edge computational and scientific instrument systems in the EMSL is focused on developing a molecular-level understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes that underlie: 1) remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater, 2) processing and disposal of stored wastes, and 3) human health and ecological effects of exposure to pollutants. Individual as well as interdisciplinary teams of investigators are addressing complex phenomena such as fluid flow and solution chemistry, interfacial and surface science, chemical conversions and separations, computational modeling of molecular processes, structural biology, multiphase systems, radiation chemistry, advanced analytical methods, and other chemical, physical, computational, and biological issues relevant to DOE and the nation's environmental challenges. The operations budget for the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) enables operation and maintenance of the facility and the more than 100 leading-edge computational and scientific research equipment systems contained within the facility. More specifically, the operations budget is used to provide staff expertise in support of the equipment systems, maintenance contracts for these systems, and other staff and building infrastructure to support the use of the EMSL as the Department's newest National Scientific User Facility. Additional programmatic information is available on the EMSL homepage Program Manager Mr. Paul Bayer Environmental Sciences Division, SC-74 Department of Energy 19901 Germantown, Rd. Germantown, MD 20874-1290 (301) 903-5324 Fax: (301) 903-8519 Internet:paul.bayer@science.doe.gov February 26, 1999

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science Office of Biological and Environmental Research