Actinides and rare earths exhibit many unique and diverse physical, chemical and magnetic properties resulting in large part from the complexity of their 5f and 4f electronic structure. The Actinide and Rare Earth Sessions focus on the chemistry, physics and materials science of f–electron materials. Emphasis will be placed upon the 4f/5f electronic and magnetic structure, surface science, thin film properties, and applications to energy–related issues. The role of fundamental f–electron science in resolving technical challenges posed by actinide materials will be stressed, particularly with regard to energy applications, including energy generation, novel nuclear fuels, and structural materials. Both basic and applied experimental approaches, including synchrotron–radiation-based and neutron–based investigations, as well as theoretical modeling computational simulations, will be featured, with the aim of explaining the observed behavior in these complex materials. Of particular importance are the issues important to nuclear energy and security, including fuel synthesis, oxidation, corrosion, intermixing, stability in extreme environments, prediction of properties via bench-marked simulations, separation science, and forensics. Specific sessions will be devoted to a continued, focused emphasis on the advances in the theory and measurements of core-level spectroscopies for the study of actinides and rare earths. This Focus Topic will also address advances in chemistry/materials sciences for environmental management and will promote the participation of early career scientists.
AC+AS-WeM: Chemistry and Physics of the Actinides and Rare Earths
- Tori Forbes, University of Iowa, “Identifying Structural Features That Result in Activation and Coupling of Vibrational Modes in Actinyl Materials”
- Roland Schulze, Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Thermodynamics of Small Molecule Reactions at Uranium Surfaces”
- Jenifer Shafer, Colorado School of Mines, “Sulfur Containing Ligands for Actinide Separations: How Do They Work?”
AC+LS-ThM: Forensics and Novel Spectroscopy
- Lucia Amidani, helmholtz Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany, France, “X-Ray Spectroscopies With Increased Resolution: Principles and Perspectives”
- Michael Kristo, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, “Nuclear Forensics 2020: A Strategic Inflection Point”
- Gerald Seidler, University of Washington, “Lanthanide and Actinide XAS in the Lab: How does it Work, and How Does It Complement Synchrotron Beamlines?”
- Dimosthenis Sokaras, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, “High-Energy-Resolution X-Ray Spectroscopy and Actinides Research ta SLAC”
- Jesse Ward, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, “Tracking Uranium Speciation by Synchrotron Spectromicrosopy”
AC+LS+MI-FrM: Magnetism, Electron Correlation, Superconductivity and Oxidation in the Actinides and Rare Earths
- Enrique Batista, Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Surface Properties of Actinide Dioxides; Crystal Growth and Catalysis”
- Nicholas Butch, National Institute of Standards and Technology & University of Maryland, “Novel Spin-Triplet Superconductivity in Uranium Ditelluride”
- David Dixon, The University of Alabama, “Extending Our Understanding of f-Element Oxidation States Using Computational Chemistry”
- Vitalij K. Pecharsky, Ames Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-2416, “The Quest for the Holy Grail, or How Does One Control the Structure and Magnetism of Complex Rare Earth Materials?”
- Lindsay Roy, Savannah River National Laboratory, “The PreCalc Project: Multiscale Framework for Predicting Morphology of Plutonium Oxide Particles”
AC+LS-ThA: Early Career Scientists
- Mukesh Bachhav, Idaho National Laboratory, “Chemical and Microstructural Analysis of Nuclear Fuels at Nano-Length Scale Using Atom Probe Tomography”
AC-On Demand: Actinides and Rare Earths On Demand Session
AC-ThP: Actinides and Rare Earths Poster Session