Lynda Soderholm

Lynda Soderholm
Education	McMaster University (PhD), Centre de Recherche Nucléaire
Occupation	Physical Chemist
Organization	Argonne National Laboratory
Known for	separating and uncovering properties of f-block elements, developing method for cleaning up plutonium, uncovering the structure of YBa2Cu3O7
Awards	University of Chicago’s Board of Governors' Distinguished Performance Award
Website	https://www.anl.gov/cse/heavy-element-chemistry-and-separation-science-groups

Lynda Soderholm is a physical chemist with a specialty in f-block elements. She is a senior scientist and the lead of the Actinide, Geochemistry & Separation Sciences Theme in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. Her specific role is the Separation Science group leader within Heavy Element Chemistry and Separation Science (HESS), wherein she directs a broad range of basic research focused on low-energy methods for isolating lanthanide and actinide elements from complex mixtures.

Soderholm is an Argonne Distinguished Fellow who has made fundamental contributions to understanding f-block chemistry and characterizing f-block elements. In recognition of her work, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) named Soderholm a fellow in 2013. Soderholm also received the University of Chicago’s Board of Governors' Distinguished Performance Award in 2009 and an award from the DOE for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments in Solid State Physics in 1987.

Early Life and Education

Soderholm was awarded her PhD in 1982 by McMaster University. Her dissertation focused on characterizing the structural and magnetic properties of a series of ternary f-ion oxides. Upon graduating, she became a NATO postdoctoral fellow. Soderholm completed her postdoctoral studies at the Centre de Recherche Nucléaire in France from 1982 until 1985. She went on to begin her career at Argonne by joining the laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in 1985 and was promoted to staff scientist the same year. Over several years, Soderholm moved up the ranks at the laboratory until she became a senior chemist in 2001. While moving up at Argonne, Soderholm also became an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame, a position she held from 2003 until 2007.

Career and Research

Uncovering structure of Yttrium-123 Superconductor

Early in her career, Soderholm focused on the characterizing the magnetic and electronic behavior of compounds containing f-ions (lanthanides and actinides) with a focus on high-T_c materials, compounds that are superconducting under usually high temperatures. She was part of the research group that first discovered the structure of YBa₂Cu₃O₇, also known as Yttirium-123. Their discovery formed the foundation for the further developments in the broad field of superconductivity.

Understanding f-ion speciation in solution

Continuing her interest in the f-elements, Soderholm shifted her focus from solid-state materials to nanoparticles and solutions, taking advantage of new advances in X-ray structural probes made available by synchrotron facilities. Building on her earlier work using neutron scattering, her research team became the first to discover that plutonium exists as tiny, well-defined nanoparticles in solution. This work solved a longstanding problem in understanding the transport of plutonium in the environment and resulted in the development of a new, patented approach to separating plutonium during nuclear reprocessing.

Using machine learning to evaluate molecular structures

Soderholm’s more recent interests are centered on incorporating new concepts in machine learning to understand the influence of complex molecular structuring in solutions relevant to the low-energy processes for the separation of f-elements from complex chemical mixtures.

Personal Life

Soderholm grew up on an island off the west coast of Canada. She is married with two children.

Awards and Honors

• Named an Argonne Distinguished Fellow, 2016
• Received the University of Chicago Board of Governors' Distinguished Performance Award, 2009.
• Appointed a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2013.
• Co-chaired the “Basic Research Needs for Synthesis Science” workshop organized by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), 2017.
• Recognized at a DOE materials sciences research competition for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments in Solid State Physics, 1987.

Select Publications

• Beno, M. A.; Soderholm, L.;  Capone, D. W., II;  Hinks, D. G.;  Jorgensen, J. D.;  Grace, J. D.; Schuller, I. K.;  Segre, C. U.; Zhang, K., Structure of the single-phase high-temperature superconductor yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ). Appl. Phys. Lett. 1987, 51 (1), 57-9.
• Soderholm, L.; Zhang, K.;  Hinks, D. G.;  Beno, M. A.; Jorgensen, J. D.;  Segre, C. U.; Schuller, I. K., Incorporation of praseodymium in YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ: electronic effects on superconductivity. Nature (London) 1987, 328 (6131), 604-5.
• Antonio, M. R.;  Williams, C. W.; Soderholm, L., Berkelium redox speciation. Radiochim. Acta 2002, 90 (12), 851-856.
• Soderholm, L.; Skanthakumar, S.; Neuefeind, J., Determination of actinide speciation in solution using high-energy X-ray scattering. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2005, 383 (1), 48-55.
• Forbes, T. Z.; Burns, P. C.;  Skanthakumar, S.; Soderholm, L., Synthesis, structure, and magnetism of Np₂O₅. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129 (10), 2760-2761.
• Soderholm, L.; Almond, P. M.;  Skanthakumar, S.;  Wilson, R. E.; Burns, P. C., The structure of the plutonium oxide nanocluster [Pu₃₈O₅₆Cl₅₄(H₂O)₈]^14-. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2008, 47 (2), 298-302.
• Jensen, M. P.; Gorman-Lewis, D.;  Aryal, B.;  Paunesku, T.; Vogt, S.;  Rickert, P. G.;  Seifert, S.; Lai, B.;  Woloschak, G. E.; Soderholm, L., An iron-dependent and transferrin-mediated cellular uptake pathway for plutonium. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2011, 7 (8), 560-565.
• Wilson, R. E.; Skanthakumar, S.; Soderholm, L., Separation of Plutonium Oxide Nanoparticles and Colloids. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2011, 50 (47), 11234-11237.
• Knope, K. E.; Soderholm, L., Solution and solid-state structural chemistry of actinide hydrates and their hydrolysis and condensation products. Chem. Rev. 2013, 113 (2), 944-994.
• Luo, G.; Bu, W.;  Mihaylov, M.;  Kuzmenko, I.; Schlossman, M. L.; Soderholm, L., X-ray reflectivity reveals a nonmonotonic ion-density profile perpendicular to the surface of ErCl₃ aqueous solutions. J. Phys. Chem. C 2013, 117 (37), 19082-19090.
• Jin, G. B.; Lin, J.;  Estes, S. L.;  Skanthakumar, S.; Soderholm, L., Influence of countercation hydration enthalpies on the formation of molecular complexes: A thorium-nitrate example. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2017, 139 (49), 18003-18008.

Patents

• US Patent 8741237B1, “Solvent Extraction System for Plutonium Colloids and other Oxide Nano-Particles,” issued June 2014