Biosciences Division

Aerosol Research Laboratories

Scientists in Aerosol Research Laboratories conduct a wide range of aerosol research funded by federal agencies using advanced instrumentations. The comprehensive array of measurement tools acquired commercially and developed in house have been employed to investigate transport and transformation of airborne particles in the atmosphere, real-time detection of toxic airborne particles in industrial workplaces, control of engineered nanoparticles, laser ablation for surface decontamination, and lately the impacts of nanoparticles on biological tissues. Supporting infrastructure to the laboratories includes methodologies for high precision particle generation and delivery developed for instrument calibration and aerosol metrology for biological research.


A field-portable aerosol plasma spectrometer constructed at ORNL/ESD for real-time in-situ measurement of airborne particles from 30 nm to several µm in size using electrically enhanced laser induced plasma technique developed by ESD scientists.  Projects funded by SERDP, ESTCP, DOE/FE, DOE/NN, and NNSA/Y12
A bench-top setup for experiments to improve fundamental understandings of nanoparticle formation by laser ablation using an array of advanced aerosol measurement instruments and computational modeling methods.  Project funded by DOE/OBER/EMSP A prototype multi-well array exposure chamber developed by ESD scientists for investigating toxicity of nanoparticles generated by internal combustion engines and precision fabricated nanostructures. Projects funded by DOE/OTT, AFRL, and ORNL/LDRD A contour display of 24-hr dynamics of atmospheric particles observed at an air quality monitoring site close to the Great Smoky Mountain National Parks.  A nucleation burst event was clearly observed in the display. Projects funded by TVA, and DOE/OTT
(Click on images to enlarge)

For more information, contact:
Meng-Dawn Cheng (chengmd@ornl.gov, 865-241-5918)