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.
AC1+LS+MI: Magnetism, Electron Correlation, and Superconductivity in the Actinides and Rare Earths
- Nicholas Butch, NIST/UMD, “Novel Spin-Triplet Superconductivity in Uranium Ditelluride”
- Vitalij Pecharsky, Iowa State University, “The Quest for the Holy Grail, or How Does One Control the Structure and Magnetism of Complex Rare Earth Materials?”
AC2+AS: Chemistry and Physics of the Actinides and Rare Earths
- Tori Forbes, University of Iowa, “Overcoming Challenges in the Interpretation of Actinyl Vibrational Bands Within Solids and on Polymer Surfaces”
- Roland Schulze, Los Alamos National Lab, “Thermodynamics of Small Molecule Reactions at Uranium Surfaces”
- Jenifer Shafer, Colorado School of Mines, “Sulfur Containing Ligands for Actinide Separations: How Do They Work?”
AC3+AS+LS: Forensics
- Michael Kristo, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, “Nuclear Forensics 2020: A Strategic Inflection Point?”
- Jesse Ward, Pacific Northwest National Lab, “Tracking Uranium Speciation by Synchrotron Spectromicrosopy”
AC4+LS+MI: Actinide and Rare Earth Theory
- Enrique Batista, Los Alamos National Laboratory, “Surface Properties of Actinide Dioxides; Crystal Growth and Catalysis”
- David Dixon, University of Alabama, “Extending Our Understanding of f-Element Oxidation States Using Computational Chemistry”
- Lindsay Roy, SRNL, “The PreCalc Project: Multiscale Framework for Predicting Morphology of Plutonium Oxide Particles”
AC5+LS: New Experimental Approaches
- Lucia Amidani, HCDR, France, “New Experimental Approaches”
- 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”
AC6+LS: Early Career Scientists
- Mukesh Bachhav, Idaho National Laboratory, “Chemical and Microstructural Analysis of Nuclear Fuels at Nano-Length Scale Using Atom Probe Tomography”
- Yusen Qiao, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, “Understanding the 4f Covalency of Lanthanide Tris(cyclopentadienyl) Complexes by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, Magnetism, and Theory”
- Jennifer Shusterman, Hunter College, “Aqueous Isotope Harvesting for Production of Target Material for Cross Section Measurements”
AC7: Actinides and Rare Earths Poster Session