For more than 50 years, the Office of Science and predecessor agencies have supported the discovery and study of the actinide elements, in particular the transuranium elements-atoms that are heavier than uranium. Glenn Seaborg and Ed McMillan of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1951 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry for the discovery of plutonium and other actinide elements, began this quest. Today, the Heavy Element Chemistry program continues the pursuit for a fundamental understanding of actinide and fission product chemistry. The discovery and the exploration of the properties of the transactinides, elements heavier than the actinides, is also being undertaken and presents significant challenges since these elements decay to the lighter elements in minutes, seconds, or milliseconds. One of the leading researchers in this area is Darleane Hoffman of Lawrence Berkeley, whose work earned her the National Medal of Science in 1997 (the nation's highest scientific honor) and the Priestly Medal of the American Chemical Society in 2000. Hoffman contributed to the development of "atom at a time" chemistry which makes possible the study of heavy elements with half-lives of a minute or less. She was among the researchers to confirm the existence of the element seaborgium, named after Seaborg. Hoffman now is involved in an international collaboration to study the chemistry of the transactinides, work inspired by predictions of unexpected chemical properties caused by relativistic effects.

Scientific Impact: Research on the heavy elements yields the basic knowledge that can be used to develop new technologies and processes for the safe handling and disposition of these radioactive materials. For the transactinides, new "atom at a time" chemical techniques are being used to determine and compare their chemical properties to other known elements. The Office of Science heavy element chemistry program is the nation's sole effort addressing the fundamental science of the transuranium elements.

Social Impact: This research helps DOE carry out what is perhaps its most important and difficult responsibility—stewardship of the nation's nuclear science and technology. Studies of these elements and their fission products are needed to address the environmental consequences of the weapons programs and possible accidental release of nuclear materials.

Reference: http://teidnt3.lbl.gov/seaborg/heavyIon.htm

URL: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/bes/chm/Programs/programs.html
http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1951/seaborg-bio.html
http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/cenear/032700/7813pries.html

Technical Contact: Don Freeburn, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, 301-903-3156

Press Contact: Jeff Sherwood, DOE Office of Public Affairs, 202-586-5806

SC-Funding Office: Office of Basic Energy Sciences