RESEARCH OREGON 2006: PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY
Spreading the wealth of research and development
PNNL offers a variety of
computational facilities, including the Graphics and
Visualization Laboratory (shown here), that aid research
and technology developments.
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FROM THE DRIEST REGION in Washington, Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory’s research is resulting in novel
solutions for human health, energy, and the environment, all of
which impact the lives of Oregonians.
As a national laboratory, PNNL has unique research
capabilities that, when applied, bring about tangible and
beneficial technologies and products.
One such product is anticipated to more effectively and
efficiently treat prostate cancer, a leading cause of death
among men. Other technologies, particularly those derived from
PNNL’s computational capabilities, can improve management
of the electrical grid and protect the environment from
dangerous substances.
TREATING PROSTATE
CANCER
This year alone, about 230,000 men in the United States will be
diagnosed with prostate cancer and nearly 30,000 die annually
from the disease. PNNL’s expertise in working with
medical isotopes was used to assist a private company, IsoRay
Medical, in producing radioactive “seeds” that
fight cancerous cells.
CLEANING UP AND MONITORING THE
ENVIRONMENT
SAMMS™ is a
coating process to make sponge-like silica latch onto toxic
metals in water.
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Outside the home, researchers are responding to environmental
concerns with a nano-scale technology called SAMMS™, or,
more simply, a “mercury sponge.”
One possible application of SAMMS is at coal power plants.
Researchers believe it could absorb mercury before it leaves
the smokestacks, preventing most of the contamination from
going to the environment. The technology also can be used to
remove nasty contaminants, such as lead, chromium and arsenic,
from drinking water.
Monitoring natural resources such as air and water is becoming
easier with new computer models. The models show how
contaminants such as dust and pesticides travel through the
air. In fact, the model is currently being used to track dust
from plowed fields near Pendleton.
HELPING THE POWER GRID
Some residents in Gresham have volunteered to be part of a
Pacific Northwest test of new “smart” household
appliances that can help stabilize the power grid when
it’s stressed.
The palm-size controller senses when the grid is overloaded
and turns off the dryer’s heating element for a few
minutes. The brief relief, when provided instantly by multiple
homes at critical times, can help prevent blackouts.
Managing the grid itself is more challenging. PNNL is applying
its data-intensive computing capabilities and visualization
techniques to create a central nervous system for the grid to
improve the flow and management of power.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OREGON
The Laboratory is expanding its partnerships with exceptional
Oregon institutions such as Oregon Health & Science
University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, and
Portland State University — all of which make major
research contributions to the Northwest.
OHSU and OSU, for example, are two of nearly 20 Oregon-based
institutions whose researchers use the Department of
Energy’s Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory,
located at PNNL. And located within EMSL is the Molecular
Sciences Computing Facility, home to a world-class
supercomputer that can help spur and grow scientific and
technological advances in Oregon.
And lastly, future professionals are visiting the Laboratory
throughout the year for hands-on, high-tech internships and
fellowships, which supports PNNL’s belief that it’s
spreading the wealth of research and development outside of
Washington, for the benefit of Oregonians, too.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL
LABORATORY
OPERATED BY BATTELLE FOR THE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
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