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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 307 records · Page 17

Continuous Integration and Delivery for HPC

Continuous integration, delivery, and deployment (CICD) is widely used in DevOps communities, as it allows for teams of all sizes to deploy rapidly-changing hardware and software resources quickly and confidently. In this paper, we will describe how University of Colorado Boulder Research Computing has adopted these practices on the RMACC Summit supercomputer to allow system engineers and researchers alike to capitalize on the benefits of CICD-centric development workflows. We will introduce the topic of CICD at a high level and describe how such practices can ease common software management challenges for High-Performance Computing (HPC) resources. We will then document the infrastructure deployed for Summit, and explain how software such as Jenkins and Singularity enabled adaptation for an HPC environment. We will conclude with two case studies discussing the use of our CICD infrastructure: one case study from the perspective of a system engineer maintaining user-facing resources, and the other case study from the perspective of a researcher developing, maintaining, and using the MFiX-Exa codebase.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

An agentic artificially intelligent X-ray scientist

Executing experimental tasks in both normal research laboratories and large-scale scientific facilities often requires extensive human supervision and remains a key challenge on the path to fully autonomous, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven science. Here we demonstrate a large language model-driven agent that autonomously performs X-ray sample alignment on a synchrotron beamline by planning actions, executing instrumental commands, interpreting observations and iterating towards experimental goals. Based on existing large language models with structured tool-use via the model context protocol, our AI X-ray scientist was guided and tested using an in-house-built virtual experimental setup that mirrors a six-circle diffractometer at an operational synchrotron beamline. The agentic workflow developed in the virtual environment was directly deployed on a real beamline, where it correctly identified reference reflections and determined the orientation matrix, an essential first step in any type of single-crystal scattering experiment. Our AI X-ray scientist responded effectively to unexpected experimental conditions, demonstrating adaptive problem-solving and readiness for addressing practical experimental situations. Our study provides a step towards autonomous operation across diverse experimental environments at large-scale scattering facilities.

Chen, Zhantao (ORCID:0000000319543868)↗

First benchmark of the Unstructured Grid Adaptation Working Group

Unstructured grid adaptation is a technology that holds the potential to improve the automation and accuracy of computational fluid dynamics and other computational disciplines. Difficulty producing the highly anisotropic elements necessary for simulation on complex curved geometries that satisfies a resolution request has limited this technology's widespread adoption. The Unstructured Grid Adaptation Working Group is an open gathering of researchers working on adapting simplicial meshes to conform to a metric field. Current members span a wide range of institutions including academia, industry, and national laboratories. The purpose of this group is to create a common basis for understanding and improving mesh adaptation. We present our first major contribution: a common set of benchmark cases, including input meshes and analytic metric specifications, that are publicly available to be used for evaluating any mesh adaptation code. We also present the results of several existing codes on these benchmark cases, to illustrate their utility in identifying key challenges common to all codes and important differences between available codes. Future directions are defined to expand this benchmark to mature the technology necessary to impact practical simulation workflows.

Ibanez, Daniel↗

In‐Silico Device Performance Prediction of Cosensitizer Dye Pairs for Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

Abstract Endeavors in the field of dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have shown great promise when adopting a data‐driven approach to materials discovery, such as successful molecular‐scale predictions of light‐harvesting chromophores. However, predictions of DSC dyes would become much more sophisticated if a molecular‐to‐macroscopic DSC device prediction methodology existed. Thereby, a fully computational pipeline is presented that predicts device‐performance parameters of DSCs which contain varying dye combinations. Optimal pairing of complementary dyes is identified via a data‐driven workflow that affords cosensitized DSCs with maximum power‐conversion efficiencies. Six high‐performing DSC dyes are paired with partner dyes that are screened from a database of 8488 compounds using sequential heuristic filters. Existing models that predict short‐circuit‐current density ( J SC ) and open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) parameters are adapted to predict singly sensitized and cosensitized DSC performance. The predictions for J sc values of singly sensitized devices match experimental literature values with comparable accuracy to more computationally costly methods. Five out of six dye pairings are predicted to have greater J SC values when cosensitized compared to their corresponding singly sensitized devices, including two pairs that show strong J sc boosts of +13% and +12% when cosensitized. Thus, the prospect of an entirely in‐silico prediction pipeline for DSC performance that can be used to realize the fully automated design of optimized cosensitized DSCs is demonstrated.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Automated Bacterial Identification and Morphological Feature Analysis in Low‐Dose Cryo‐EM Using YOLOv11

Bacteria rapidly adapt to environmental cues through morphological and ultrastructural changes that correlate with physiology and behavior. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo‐TEM) can capture these phenotypic changes in near‐native, vitrified states, but manual analysis of low‐dose micrographs is labor intensive and limits throughput. Here, we present an end‐to‐end workflow that combines low‐dose cryo‐TEM imaging with a YOLOv11‐based instance‐segmentation model to automatically identify bacteria and quantify key structural features directly from the micrographs. This workflow enables (i) robust bacterial localization and counting from low‐magnification atlas/montage images, (ii) automated measurements of cell‐envelope (outer–inner membrane) thickness and anisotropy from higher‐magnification views, and (iii) detection and quantification of bacteria–flagella interactions, including overlap length and curvature metrics for interacting versus noninteracting flagella. Using Pantoea sp. YR343 grown under distinct media conditions, we show that the automated measurements agree with manual annotations while substantially reducing analysis time. Together, these tools provide a practical framework for scalable bacterial identification and quantitative phenotyping in low‐dose cryo‐TEM datasets and establish a foundation for extending cryo‐TEM image analysis toward higher‐throughput studies of microbial heterogeneity and biointerfaces.

YOLOv11↗

The Artificial Scientist: in-Transit Machine Learning of Plasma Simulations

Large-scale simulations or scientific experiments produce petabytes of data per run. This poses massive challenges for I/O and storage when scientific analysis workflows are run manually offline. Unsupervised deep learning-based techniques to extract patterns and non-linear relations from these large amounts of data provide a way to build scientific understanding from raw data, reducing the need for manual pre-selection of analysis steps, but require exascale compute and memory to process the full dataset available. In this paper, we demonstrate a heterogeneous streaming workflow in which plasma simulation data is streamed directly to a Machine Learning (ML) application training a model on the simulation data in-transit, completely circumventing the capacity-constrained filesystem bottleneck. This workflow employs openPMD to provide a high level interface to describe scientific data and also uses ADIOS2, to transfer volumes of data that exceed the capabilities of the filesystem. We employ experience replay to avoid catastrophic forgetting in learning from this non-steady state process in a continual manner and adapt it to improve model convergence while learning in-transit. As a proof-of-concept, we approach the ill-posed inverse problem of predicting particle dynamics from radiation in a particle-incell (PIConGPU) simulation of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI). We detail hardware-software co-design challenges as we scale PIConGPU to full Frontier, the Top-1 system as of June 2024 Top500 list.

Kelling, Jeffrey [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden Rossen↗

Workflow Agents vs. Expert Systems: Problem Solving Methods in Work Systems Design

During the 1980s, a community of artificial intelligence researchers became interested in formalizing problem solving methods as part of an effort called "second generation expert systems" (2nd GES). How do the motivations and results of this research relate to building tools for the workplace today? We provide an historical review of how the theory of expertise has developed, a progress report on a tool for designing and implementing model-based automation (Brahms), and a concrete example how we apply 2nd GES concepts today in an agent-based system for space flight operations (OCAMS). Brahms incorporates an ontology for modeling work practices, what people are doing in the course of a day, characterized as "activities." OCAMS was developed using a simulation-to-implementation methodology, in which a prototype tool was embedded in a simulation of future work practices. OCAMS uses model-based methods to interactively plan its actions and keep track of the work to be done. The problem solving methods of practice are interactive, employing reasoning for and through action in the real world. Analogously, it is as if a medical expert system were charged not just with interpreting culture results, but actually interacting with a patient. Our perspective shifts from building a "problem solving" (expert) system to building an actor in the world. The reusable components in work system designs include entire "problem solvers" (e.g., a planning subsystem), interoperability frameworks, and workflow agents that use and revise models dynamically in a network of people and tools. Consequently, the research focus shifts so "problem solving methods" include ways of knowing that models do not fit the world, and ways of interacting with other agents and people to gain or verify information and (ultimately) adapt rules and procedures to resolve problematic situations.

Clancey, William J.↗

Adapting DESGW Single Epoch Image Differencing to the LSST Software Stack

Optical follow-up for gravitational wave events remains an important factor in potentially unlocking the secrets of dark matter in the universe. The Dark Energy Survey Gravitational Wave (DESGW) Group currently processes optical data from Dark Energy Camera (DECam) using a custom software pipeline derived from existing DES Supernovae Processing pipelines. While effective, is difficult to maintain and develop a custom workflow as new processing strategies are discovered, and researchers are diverted to newer projects in dark energy investigations. By building a modified image ingestion script and implementing the open-source Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Processing Pipeline for DESGW data, the lifetime and efficiency of the DESGW difference imaging program can be extended.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Noise-aware optimization in nominally identical manufacturing and measuring systems for high-throughput parallel workflows

Device-to-device variability in experimental noise critically impacts reproducibility, especially in automated, high-throughput systems like additive manufacturing farms. While manageable in small labs, such variability can escalate into serious risks at larger scales, such as architectural 3D printing, where noise may cause structural or economic failures. This contribution presents a noise-aware decision-making algorithm that quantifies and models device-specific noise profiles to manage variability adaptively. It uses distributional analysis and pairwise divergence metrics with clustering to choose between single-device and robust multi-device Bayesian optimization strategies. Unlike conventional methods that assume homogeneous devices or enforce generic robustness, the proposed framework explicitly determines whether shared optimization across devices is appropriate based on the degree of inter-device noise heterogeneity. This enables improved performance, reproducibility, and efficiency. An experimental case study involving three nominally identical 3D printers (same brand, model, and close serial numbers) demonstrates reduced redundancy, lower resource usage, and improved reliability, along with improved convergence stability and solution quality through the selection of the appropriate optimization strategy based on the degree of inter-device noise heterogeneity. Overall, this framework establishes a general approach for precision- and resource-aware optimization in scalable, automated experimental platforms, demonstrated here on a representative multi-device 3D printing case study.

Schenk, Christina↗

Initial conceptual demonstration of control co-design for WEC optimization

Abstract While some engineering fields have benefited from systematic design optimization studies, wave energy converters have yet to successfully incorporate such analyses into practical engineering workflows. The current iterative approach to wave energy converter design leads to sub-optimal solutions. This short paper presents an open-source MATLAB toolbox for performing design optimization studies on wave energy converters where power take-off behavior and realistic constraints can be easily included. This tool incorporates an adaptable control co-design approach, in that a constrained optimal controller is used to simulate device dynamics and populate an arbitrary objective function of the user’s choosing. A brief explanation of the tool’s structure and underlying theory is presented. To demonstrate the capabilities of the tool, verify its functionality, and begin to explore some basic wave energy converter design relationships, three conceptual case studies are presented. In particular, the importance of considering (and constraining) the magnitudes of device motion and forces in design optimization is shown.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

White Paper: Scalable Digital Twin Capabilities for Aging and Surveillance of Engineered Systems

This white paper presents a multi-year initiative to develop practical, secure, and scalable digital twin capabilities for engineered systems in aging and surveillance contexts—an approach pioneered at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that maps directly onto the needs and ambitions of the Navy for ship- and fleet-level digital twins. LLNL’s work in building part- and process-level digital twins for advanced manufacturing, with a vision to scale up to entire factory floors and, ultimately, enterprise-wide digital twins, offers an adaptable pathway for the Navy as it seeks to modernize lifecycle management, readiness, and predictive maintenance across ships and fleets. For our application, we integrate physics-based modeling with automated data ingestion, processing, and AI-driven calibration, creating hybrid models that are both interpretable and data responsive. We modernized legacy workflows, established centralized data infrastructure, automated experimental pipelines, and demonstrated end-to-end coupling of accelerated aging data with finite element simulations via optimization and surrogate modeling. The result is a generalizable framework that supports part-level digital twins today and lays the groundwork for future system-level twins suitable for Navy applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Profiling Changes in Histone Post-translational Modifications by Top-Down Mass Spectrometry

Top-down mass spectrometry is a valuable tool for charactering post-translational modifications on histones for understanding of gene control and expression. In this protocol, we describe a top-down workflow using liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for fast global profiling of changes in histone proteoforms between a wild-type and a mutant of a fungal species. The proteoforms exhibiting different abundances can be subjected to further targeted studies by other mass spectrometric or biochemical assays. This method can be generally adapted for preliminary screening for changes in histone modifications between samples such as wild-type vs. mutant, and control vs. disease.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗

Tools for Understanding Identity

Identity attribution and enrichment is critical to many aspects of law-enforcement and intelligence gathering; this identity typically spans a number of domains in the natural-world such as biographic information (factual information – e.g. names, addresses), biometric information (e.g. fingerprints) and psychological information. In addition to these natural-world projections of identity, identity elements are projected in the cyber-world. Conversely, undesirable elements may use similar techniques to target individuals for spear-phishing attacks (or worse), and potential targets or their organizations may want to determine how to minimize the attack surface exposed. Our research has been exploring the construction of a mathematical model for identity that supports such holistic identities. The model captures the ways in which an identity is constructed through a combination of data elements (e.g. a username on a forum, an address, a telephone number). Some of these elements may allow new characteristics to be inferred, hence enriching the holistic view of the identity. An example use-case would be the inference of real names from usernames, the ‘path’ created by inferring new elements of identity is highlighted in the ‘critical information’ panel. Individual attribution exercises can be understood as paths through a number of elements. Intuitively the entire realizable ‘capability’ can be modeled as a directed graph, where the elements are nodes and the inferences are represented by links connecting one or more antecedents with a conclusion. The model can be operationalized with two levels of tool support described in this paper, the first is a working prototype, the second is expected to reach prototype by July 2013: Understanding the Model The tool allows a user to easily determine, given a particular set of inferences and attributes, which elements or inferences are of most value to an investigator (or an attacker). The tool is also able to take into account the difficulty of the inferences, allowing the user to consider different scenarios depending on the perceived resources of the attacker, or to prioritize lines of investigation. It also has a number of interesting visualizations that are designed to aid the user in understanding the model. The tool works by considering the inferences as a graph and runs various graph-theoretic algorithms, with some novel adaptations, in order to deduce various properties. Using the Model To help investigators exploit the model to perform identity attribution, we have developed the Identity Map visualization. For a user-provided set of known starting elements and a set of desired target elements for a given identity, the Identity Map generates investigative workflows as paths through the model. Each path consists of a series of elements and inferences between them that connect the input and output elements. Each path also has an associated confidence level that estimates the reliability of the resulting attribution. Identity Map can help investigators understand the possible ways to make an identification decision and guide them toward the data-collection or analysis steps required to reach that decision.

Creese, Sadie↗

P SI4 1.4: Open-source software for high-throughput quantum chemistry

PSI4 is a free and open-source ab initio electronic structure program providing implementations of Hartree–Fock, density functional theory, many-body perturbation theory, configuration interaction, density cumulant theory, symmetry-adapted perturbation theory, and coupled-cluster theory. Most of the methods are quite efficient, thanks to density fitting and multi-core parallelism. The program is a hybrid of C++ and Python, and calculations may be run with very simple text files or using the Python API, facilitating post-processing and complex workflows; method developers also have access to most of PSI4 's core functionalities via Python. Job specification may be passed using The Molecular Sciences Software Institute (MolSSI) QCSCHEMA data format, facilitating interoperability. We announce a rewrite of our top-level computation driver, and concomitant adoption of the MolSSI QCARCHIVE INFRASTRUCTURE project, makes the latest version of PSI4 well suited to distributed computation of large numbers of independent tasks. The project has fostered the development of independent software components that may be reused in other quantum chemistry programs.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA Tech Briefs, February 2014

Topics include: JWST Integrated Simulation and Test (JIST) Core; Software for Non-Contact Measurement of an Individual's Heart Rate Using a Common Camera; Rapid Infrared Pixel Grating Response Testbed; Temperature Measurement and Stabilization in a Birefringent Whispering Gallery Resonator; JWST IV and V Simulation and Test (JIST) Solid State Recorder (SSR) Simulator; Development of a Precision Thermal Doubler for Deep Space; Improving Friction Stir Welds Using Laser Peening; Methodology of Evaluating Margins of Safety in Critical Brazed Joints; Interactive Inventory Monitoring; Sensor for Spatial Detection of Single-Event Effects in Semiconductor-Based Electronics; Reworked CCGA-624 Interconnect Package Reliability for Extreme Thermal Environments; Current-Controlled Output Driver for Directly Coupled Loads; Bulk Metallic Glasses and Matrix Composites as Spacecraft Shielding; Touch Temperature Coating for Electrical Equipment on Spacecraft; Li-Ion Electrolytes Containing Flame-Retardant Additives; Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM); CARVE Log; Platform Perspective Toolkit; Convex Hull-Based Plume and Anomaly Detection; Pre-Filtration of GOSAT Data Using Only Level 1 Data and an Intelligent Filter to Remove Low Clouds; Affordability Comparison Tool - ACT; "Ascent - Commemorating Shuttle" for iPad; Cassini Mission App; Light-Weight Workflow Engine: A Server for Executing Generic Workflows; Model for System Engineering of the CheMin Instrument; Timeline Central Concepts; Parallel Particle Filter Toolkit; Particle Filter Simulation and Analysis Enabling Non-Traditional Navigation; Quasi-Terminator Orbits for Mapping Small Primitive Bodies; The Subgrid-Scale Scalar Variance Under Supercritical Pressure Conditions; Sliding Gait for ATHLETE Mobility; and Automated Generation of Adaptive Filter Using a Genetic Algorithm and Cyclic Rule Reduction.

Source record↗

Improving the efficiency of Rubisco by resurrecting its ancestors in the family Solanaceae

Plants and photosynthetic organisms have a remarkably inefficient enzyme named Rubisco that fixes atmospheric CO 2 into organic compounds. Understanding how Rubisco has evolved in response to past climate change is important for attempts to adjust plants to future conditions. In this study, we developed a computational workflow to assemble de novo both large and small subunits of Rubisco enzymes from transcriptomics data. Next, we predicted sequences for ancestral Rubiscos of the (nightshade) family Solanaceae and characterized their kinetics after coexpressing them inEscherichia coli. Predicted ancestors of C 3 Rubiscos were identified that have superior kinetics and excellent potential to help plants adapt to anthropogenic climate change. Our findings also advance understanding of the evolution of Rubisco’s catalytic traits.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Sampling lattices in semi-grand canonical ensemble with autoregressive machine learning

Calculating thermodynamic potentials and observables efficiently and accurately is key for the application of statistical mechanics simulations to materials science. However, naive Monte Carlo approaches, on which such calculations are often dependent, struggle to scale to complex materials in many state-of-the-art disciplines such as the design of high entropy alloys or multi-component catalysts. To address this issue, we adapt sampling tools built upon machine learning-based generative modeling to the materials space by transforming them into the semi-grand canonical ensemble. Furthermore, we show that the resulting models are transferable across wide ranges of thermodynamic conditions and can be implemented with any internal energy model U, allowing integration into many existing materials workflows. We demonstrate the applicability of this approach to the simulation of benchmark systems (AgPd, CuAu) that exhibit diverse thermodynamic behavior in their phase diagrams. Finally, we discuss remaining challenges in model development and promising research directions for future improvements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Bayesian Optimization for Reactor Design Optimization

This study present a test case in which the Bayesian Optimization method is applied to a simulation-based reactor core design optimization problem. The test case aims to showcase the potential of an automated design optimization algorithm for reactor designs by streamlining the reactor core design workflow, given the high computational cost of simulations. The contributions of this work are threefold. First, the existing HTGR model is converted into a simulation-based design optimization test case by developing a pipeline that enables modification of key design parameters and evaluates design performance based on simulation outputs. Second, Bayesian Optimization is implemented and adapted to demonstrate the feasibility of automatic design optimization for nuclear reactor core. Proposed approach leverages Gaussian Process models to characterize the relationship between design variables and performance metrics, while incorporating novel acquisition functions that balance exploration of the design space with exploitation of promising configurations. This implementation lays the foundation for the future developments of reactor design optimization algorithms.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗