Ames National Laboratory


Ames National Laboratory, formerly Ames Laboratory, is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, and affiliated with Iowa State University. It is a top-level national laboratory for research on national security, energy, and the environment. The laboratory conducts research into areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration. It is located on the campus of Iowa State University.
In January 2013 the Department of Energy announced the establishment of the Critical Materials Institute at Ames Laboratory, with a mission to develop solutions to the domestic shortages of rare-earth metals and other materials critical to US energy security.

History

1940s

In 1942, Frank Spedding of Iowa State College, an expert in the chemistry of rare-earth elements, agreed to set up and direct a chemical research and development program, since called the Ames Project, to accompany the Manhattan Project's existing physics program. Its purpose was to produce high purity uranium from uranium ores. Harley Wilhelm developed new methods for both reducing and casting uranium metal, making it possible to cast large ingots of the metal and reduce production costs by as much as twenty-fold. About one-third, or around two tons, of the uranium used in the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago was provided through these procedures, now known as the Ames Process. The Ames Project produced more than of uranium for the Manhattan Project until industry took over the process in 1945.
The Ames Project received the Army-Navy 'E' Award for Excellence in Production on October 12, 1945, signifying two-and-a-half years of excellence in industrial production of metallic uranium as a vital war material. Iowa State University is unique among educational institutions to have received this award for outstanding service, an honor normally given to industry. Other key accomplishments related to the project included:
  • Development of a process to recover uranium from scrap materials and convert it into good ingots.
  • Development of an ion-exchange process to separate rare-earth elements from each other in gram quantities — something not possible with other methods.
  • Development of a large-scale production process for thorium using a bomb-reduction method.
Ames Laboratory was formally established in 1947 by the United States Atomic Energy Commission as a result of the Ames Project's success.

1950s

During the 1950s the Lab's growing reputation for its work with rare-earth metals rapidly increased its workload. As the country explored the uses of nuclear power, lab scientists studied nuclear fuels and structural materials for nuclear reactors. Processes developed at Ames Laboratory resulted in the production of the purest rare-earth metals in the world while at the same time greatly reducing their price. In most cases, Lab facilities served as models for large-scale production of rare-earth metals. Analytical chemistry efforts expanded to keep up with the need to analyze new materials.
Other key accomplishments from the 1950s included:
  • Development of processes for separating hafnium, niobium, barium, strontium, caesium and rubidium.
  • Discovery of a new isotope, phosphorus-33.
  • Separation of high-purity rare-earth oxides in kilogram quantities.
  • Development of a method of separating plutonium and fission products from spent uranium fuel.
  • Production of high-purity yttrium metal in large quantities, shipping more than before industry took over the process.

    1960s

During the 1960s the Lab reached peak employment as its scientists continued exploring new materials. As part of that effort, the Lab built a 5-megawatt heavy water reactor for neutron diffraction studies and additional isotope separation research. The United States Atomic Energy Commission established the Rare-Earth Information Center at Ames Lab to provide the scientific and technical communities with information about rare-earth metals and their compounds.
Other key accomplishments from the 1960s included:
  • Development of a process to produce thorium metal with a purity of 99.985 percent.
  • Development of a process for producing high-purity vanadium metal for nuclear applications.
  • Discovery of a new isotope, copper-69.
  • Conducted the first successful operation of an isotope separator connected to a reactor in order to study short-lived radioactivity produced by fission of uranium-235.
  • Growth of the first large crystal of solid helium

    1970s

During the 1970s, as the United States Atomic Energy Commission evolved into the United States Department of Energy, efforts diversified as some research programs closed and new ones opened. Federal officials consolidated reactor facilities, leading to the closure of the research reactor. Ames Laboratory responded by putting new emphasis on applied mathematics, solar power, fossil fuels and pollution control. Innovative analytical techniques were developed to provide precise information from increasingly small samples. Foremost among them was inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, which could rapidly and simultaneously detect up to 40 different trace metals from a small sample.
Other key accomplishments from the 1970s included:
  • Development of a highly sensitive technique for the direct analysis of mercury in air, water, fish, and soils.
  • Development of a method for isolating minute amounts of organic compounds found in water.
  • Development of a process for removing copper, tin, and chromium from automotive scrap, yielding reclaimed steel pure enough for direct re-use.
  • Development of an image intensifier screen that significantly reduced exposure to medical X-rays.
  • Development of a solar heating module that could both store and transmit solar power.

    1980s

In the 1980s research at Ames Laboratory evolved to meet local and national energy needs. Fossil energy research focused on ways to burn coal cleaner. New technologies were developed to clean up nuclear waste sites. High-performance computing research augmented the applied mathematics and solid-state physics programs. Ames Laboratory became a national leader in the fields of superconductivity and nondestructive evaluation. In addition, DOE established the Materials Preparation Center to provide public access to the development of new materials.
Other key accomplishments from the 1980s included:
  • Development of a liquid-junction solar cell that was efficient, durable and non-toxic.
  • Received Defense Department funding to develop nondestructive evaluation techniques for aircraft.
  • Became DOE's lead laboratory for managing the environmental assessment of energy recovery processes.
  • Development of a new method for alloying pure neodymium with iron, producing the feedstock for a widely used neodymium magnet.
  • Assisted in development of Terfenol, which changes form in a magnetic field, making it ideal for sonar and transducer applications.

    1990s

Encouraged by the United States Department of Energy, in the 1990s Ames Laboratory continued its efforts to transfer basic research findings to industry for the development of new materials, products, and processes. The Scalable Computing Laboratory was established to find ways of making parallel computing accessible and cost-effective for the scientific community. Researchers discovered the first non-carbon example of buckyballs, a new material important in the field of microelectronics. Scientists developed a DNA sequencer that was 24 times faster than other devices, and a technique that assessed the nature of DNA damage by chemical pollutants.
Other key accomplishments of the 1990s included:
  • Development of the HINT benchmarking technique that objectively compared computers of all sizes, now supported by Brigham Young University's HINT site.
  • Improvement of a method of high pressure gas atomization for turning molten metal into fine-grained metal powders.
  • Prediction of the geometry for a ceramic structure with a photonic band gap. These structures may improve the efficiency of lasers, sensing devices and antennas.
  • Discovery of a new class of materials that could make magnetic refrigeration a viable cooling technology for the future.
  • Development of a high-strength lead-free solder that is stronger, easier to use, stands up better in high-heat conditions, and is environmentally safe.
  • Development of novel, platinum-modified nickel-aluminide coatings that delivered unprecedented oxidation and phase stability as bond coat layers in thermal barrier coatings, which could improve the durability of gas turbine engines, allowing them to operate at higher temperatures and extending their lifetimes.
  • Discovery of intermetallic compounds that are ductile at room temperature, and which could be used to produce practical materials from coatings that are highly resistant to corrosion and strong at high temperatures to flexible superconducting wires and powerful magnets.
  • Research on the photophysics of luminescent organic thin films and organic light-emitting diodes resulted in a novel integrated oxygen sensor and a new sensor company.
  • Development of a biosensor technology that helps to determine an individual's risk of getting cancer from chemical pollutants.
  • Development of a capillary electrophoresis unit that can analyze multiple chemical samples simultaneously. This unit has applications in the pharmaceutical, genetics, medical, and forensics fields.
  • The design and demonstration of photonic band gap crystals, a geometrical arrangement of dielectric materials that allow light to pass except when the frequency falls within a forbidden range. These materials would make it easier to develop numerous practical devices, including optical lasers, optical computers, and solar cells.