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DOE OSTI2024

Methods of Securing Chemical and Pharmaceutical Knowledge and Recommendations for International Institutions to Enhance Research Integrity

Here, this paper examines strategies for securing chemical and pharmaceutical expertise in a globalized research environment, focusing on safeguarding intellectual property and preventing the misuse of sensitive and potentially dual-use information. The product of collective efforts between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, and New Bulgarian University, highlights the challenges and opportunities posed by cross-border research collaborations, particularly in the context of differing regulatory frameworks and research cultures. It explores current mechanisms to prevent data loss and unauthorized access to sensitive information while assessing the effectiveness of existing security measures, frameworks, and international export control regimes. The approach examines the differing methodologies for promoting transparency, trust-building, and mutual accountability in joint research projects to cultivate secure data-sharing practices and intellectual property. It provides recommendations for international institutions to implement security guidelines in framing research priorities, encourages continual training and education programs, and the integration of processes for monitoring research compliance. This partnership aims to advance scientific innovation while maintaining global stability, ensuring compliance with international norms, and safeguarding valuable intellectual property as measures in chemical and pharmaceutical research security practices continue to expand due to international collaboration and knowledge exchange.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Minimizing Energy Use of Mixed-Fleet Public Transit for Fixed-Route Service

Affordable public transit services are crucial for communities since they enable residents to access employment, education, and other services. Unfortunately, transit services that provide wide coverage tend to suffer from relatively low utilization, which results in high fuel usage per passenger per mile, leading to high operating costs and environmental impact. Electric vehicles (EVs) can reduce energy costs and environmental impact, but most public transit agencies have to employ them in combination with conventional, internal-combustion engine vehicles due to the high upfront costs of EVs. To make the best use of such a mixed fleet of vehicles, transit agencies need to optimize route assignments and charging schedules, which presents a challenging problem for large transit networks. We introduce a novel problem formulation to minimize fuel and electricity use by assigning vehicles to transit trips and scheduling them for charging, while serving an existing fixed-route transit schedule. We present an integer program for optimal assignment and scheduling, and we propose polynomial-time heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithms for larger networks. We evaluate our algorithms on the public transit service of Chattanooga, TN using operational data collected from transit vehicles. Our results show that the proposed algorithms are scalable and can reduce energy use and, hence, environmental impact and operational costs. For Chattanooga, the proposed algorithms can save $145,635 in energy costs and 576.7 metric tons of CO 2 emission annually.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2002

Activation Energy

Teaming is so common in today's project management environment that most of us assume it comes naturally. We further assume that when presented with meaningful and challenging work, project teams will naturally engage in productive activity to complete their tasks. This assumption is expressed in the simple (but false) equation: Team + Work = Teamwork. Although this equation appears simple and straightforward, it is far from true for most project organizations whose reality is a complex web of institutional norms based on individual achievement and rewards. This is illustrated by the very first successful team experience from my early Air Force career. As a young lieutenant, I was sent to Squadron Officer School, which was the first in the series of Air Force professional military education courses I was required to complete during my career. We were immediately formed into teams of twelve officers. Much of the course featured competition between these teams. As the most junior member of my team, I quickly observed the tremendous pressure to show individual leadership capability. At one point early in the course, almost everyone in our group was vying to become the team leader. This conflict was so intense that it caused us to fail miserably in our first outdoor team building exercise. We spent so much time fighting over leadership that we were unable to complete any of the events on the outdoor obstacle course. This complete lack of success was so disheartening to me that I gave our team little hope for future success. What followed was a very intense period of bickering, conflict, and even shouting matches as our dysfunctional team tried to cope with our early failures and find some way to succeed. British physician and researcher Wilfred Bion (Experiences in Groups, 1961) discovered that there are powerful psychological forces inherent in all groups that divert from accomplishing their primary tasks. To overcome these restraining forces and use the potential power of the team, greater emphasis must be placed on establishing and maintaining group cohesiveness. This relationship is expressed in the revised (true) mathematical equation: Team + Work (on the Team) = Teamwork.

Gadeken, Owen↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy Technology Commercialization and Entrepreneurship: Insights From the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions 2024 Energy Technology University Prize Faculty Track

The Energy Technology University Prize (EnergyTech UP) was established in 2022 with the goal of challenging student teams to develop impactful business plans for energy technologies of their choosing. EnergyTech UP is part of the The American Made Challenges program portfolio, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. EnergyTech UP is specifically funded by the Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) and is administrated by staff at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Since its inception, the annual prize has attracted applications from approximately 1,948 students across nearly every U.S. state and territory, awarding over $1 million in funds to student teams. In 2024, the prize expanded to include a Faculty Track, which invited faculty members from degree-granting institutions across the U.S. to design entrepreneurship-based curricula or educational activities. This new track aims to foster innovation in energy entrepreneurship education by leveraging the expertise of faculty to create robust, practical, and inclusive learning experiences. This report summarizes the themes, strategies and impacts identified in proposals from EnergyTech UP's inaugural Faculty Track. Our primary data for organizing insights are the Faculty Track applications themselves. This evaluation of 2024 EnergyTech UP Faculty Track applications aims to support future EnergyTech UP Faculty Track applicants as well as others who are interested in promoting, developing, and/or implementing educational activities that focus on energy commercialization and entrepreneurship at their institutions. By presenting insights from 2024 entries to the Faculty Track, we hope to contribute to a growing inventory of open-source curriculum development resources and provide materials to facilitate the growth of similar programs at a variety of collegiate institutions.

adoption readiness level↗
NASA NTRS2004

Global Change Data Center: Mission, Organization, Major Activities, and 2003 Highlights

Rapid, efficient access to Earth sciences data from satellites and ground validation stations is fundamental to the nation's efforts to understand the effects of global environmental changes and their implications for public policy. It becomes a bigger challenge in the future when data volumes increase from current levels to terabytes per day. Demands on data storage, data access, network throughput, processing power, and database and information management are increased by orders of magnitude, while budgets remain constant and even shrink.The Global Change Data Center's (GCDC) mission is to develop and operate data systems, generate science products, and provide archival and distribution services for Earth science data in support of the U.S. Global Change Program and NASA's Earth Sciences Enterprise. The ultimate product of the GCDC activities is access to data to support research, education, and public policy.

FROM↗
DOE OSTI2025

CRCNS US-France Research Proposal: Collaborative Research: Encoding reward expectation in Drosophilia

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has been a valuable model for investigating the genetic and neural bases that underlie learning and memory. Early and most current studies use basic behavior conditioning protocols to study learning in controlled laboratory settings. More recently, the ability to transgenically manipulate many of the brain neurons in the fruit fly with exquisite specificity, and the recent knowledge of the synaptic ‘connectome’ of the fruit fly brain, makes these animals almost unique as a comprehensive model for studies of learning, memory and motivated behavior. In fact, the connectome has revealed many types of new connections that had until now been overlooked. Within this context, the thesis of this proposal is that studies of learning and memory will be greatly enhanced by using more sophisticated means for evaluating memory representations, such as have been developed in vertebrates, and combining those studies with information from the connectome guided by computational modelling. We propose to push beyond the boundaries of existing conditioning protocols for fruit flies to investigate more complex memory representations. In particular, we will investigate the function of reinforcement pathways in relation to the absence of expected reinforcement. More specifically, we propose a series of experiments designed to investigate the memory representations in fruit flies when an expected consequence of a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) fails to occur. Although studies have evaluated how this failure can establish extinction memory for the CS, our studies will go beyond studying extinction. Specifically, we predict that in Drosophila when a CS is associated with a failed expectation of an appetitive food reinforcement it will acquire aversive value, and vice versa for a failed expectation of an aversive reinforcer. We combine these studies with manipulations of reinforcement pathways in the CNS inspired from the connectome, iteratively knitted in with established computational models. Intellectual Merit: The concept of reinforcement expectation and incentive contrast have been influential in the development of studies of associative learning in mammals. These questions are particularly challenging to answer in vertebrates because they require exquisite cellular, temporal, and genetic specificity of experimental manipulations. The recent development of work with identified neurons and their connectomes makes the larval and adult fly brains ripe as models for pushing our understanding of neural bases for these higher- order conditioning phenomena. Broader Impacts: Public health: These analyses and the conceptual framework of prediction error processing underlying them have a profound impact on our understanding of reinforcement-related behavior in humans, including monetary rewards and the mnemonic consequences of traumatic experiences, and for pathologies of the dopamine reinforcement system. Educational: This project will provide interdisciplinary training for postdoctoral researchers, Ph.D. and undergraduate students. The PIs will act as co-supervisors or mentors of students working in the different labs via face-to-face and internet-based technologies. We will also work with ASU’s award-winning Ask- A-Biologist program. This is an online science program designed to enrich the learning experiences of students of all ages and to provide classroom material for use by K-12 teachers. We will develop an extension of a game developed under a prior NSF award, and the new game will include modules to teach K-12 students about how insects learn. We will also integrate into the AAB site a program developed by a collaborator (B Gerber) at the Leibniz Institut für Neurobiologie, Magdeburg, and now in use in schools in Germany, to teach K-12 students how to train animals using the fruit fly larval learning paradigm. Underrepresented groups: All PIs will work with their university offices of Academic Diversity and Equal Opportunity for reaching underrepresented students.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Calculating Potential Radiological Emissions for Waste Management Activities at INL - 20068

At Idaho National Laboratory (INL), work involving radionuclides is evaluated for potential emissions from a project in order to comply with the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations, 40 CFR 61 Subpart H. Emission calculations are documented in an Air Permitting Applicability Determination (APAD) to analyze unmitigated and mitigated emissions and determine if an Application to Construct (ATC) or continuous monitoring is required. To calculate the unmitigated and mitigated emissions, a spreadsheet was developed to provide ease in determining potential emissions by providing the maximum operating temperature and the material being used. The spreadsheet aids in determining the potential emissions for research projects and waste management activities at Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) and other locations across the INL site. Furthermore, it can also be used for periodic confirmatory measurements (PCM) to justify low emissions. Elements that factor into the unmitigated and mitigated calculations include the amount of each radionuclide used (in curies or grams), specific activity (if amount is given in grams), the temperature the material is heated to in Celsius, the dose conversion factor which is derived from Clean Air Act Assessment Package - 1988 (CAP-88) modeling, and the number of HEPA filters used for mitigated measures. The main drivers for calculating the unmitigated emissions for a project are the amount used per radionuclide, the maximum operating temperature, and the location of the work. The maximum operating temperature determines the airborne release factor which is dependent on the physical state of the radionuclide. Prior to October 2017, if the radionuclide was heated to greater than 100 deg. C, the radionuclide was assumed to be a gas, which has the highest airborne release factor. This assumption would be overly conservative for radionuclides with high melting and boiling points, which provided a challenge to demonstrate low emissions. In October 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved an alternative method for INL. This method allows the airborne release factor to be determined by using the melting point and 90% of the boiling point of the radionuclide. This methodology was included in the spreadsheet to allow unmitigated emission calculations for APADs to be completed more efficiently and effectively. Results show a reduction in time completing air emission calculations as well as lower total emissions across all facilities at INL. MFC annual emissions were reduced by 62% from the previous year and Research and Education Campus (REC) facilities were reduced by 38% due to implementation of the approved alternative method. Time spent on APADs, PCMs, and documentation for the annual NESHAP report was also reduced significantly. The spreadsheet provided in Table I provides the potential emission calculations for the 'Advanced Retrieval and Disposition Techniques for Remote Handled Mixed Low Level Waste (RH MLLW) at the Radioactive Scrap and Waste Facility (RSWF)' project. Calculations show the Potential Effective Dose Equivalent (PEDE) at RSWF to be 7.27 E-04 mrem/yr (7.27 E-09 Sv/yr) which is well below the 0.1 mrem/yr threshold. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2002

Research Progress and Accomplishments on ISS

The first research payloads reached the International Space Station (ISS) more than two years ago, with research operating continuously since March 2001. Seven research racks are currently on-orbit, with three more arriving soon to expand science capabilities. Through the first five expeditions, 60 unique NASA-managed investigations from 11 nations have been supported, many continuing into later missions. More than 90,000 experiment hours have been completed, and more than 1,000 hours of crew time have been dedicated to research, numbers that grow daily. The multidisciplinary program includes research in life sciences, physical sciences, biotechnology, Earth sciences, technology demonstrations as well as commercial endeavors and educational activities. The Payload Operations and Integration Center monitors the onboard activities around the clock, working with numerous Principal Investigators and Payload Developers at their remote sites. Future years will see expansion of the station with research modules provided by the European Space Agency and Japan, which will be outfitted with additional research racks. The first research payloads arrived at ISS more than two years ago, and continuous science has been ongoing for more than one and a half years. During this time, the research capabilities have been tremendously increased, even as assembly of the overall platform continues. Despite significant challenges along the way, ISS continues to successfully support a large number of investigations in a variety of research disciplines. The results of some of the early investigations are reaching the publication stage. The near future looms with new challenges, but experience to date and dedicated efforts give reason to be optimistic that the challenges will be overcome and that new and greater successes will be added to past ones.

Roe, Lesa B.↗
DOE OSTI2023

A National Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence on the Grid (NI4AI) (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

Electric utilities have traditionally taken a very pragmatic yet myopic approach with grid sensors and the resulting collected data. Sensors are purchased and deployed to solve a specific, known problem that has risen to sufficient awareness as to justify the effort of deploying sensors and the needed capital investment. This sensor data flows into proprietary software packages with limited functionality intended only to address the initial problem. This approach aligns with the financial incentives of the utility to deploy capital into fixed hardware assets for which the corporations earn a rate of return. This mentality stands in stark contrast to the big data revolution that started nearly 25 years ago with the rise of Google. In this worldview, data is a fundamental business asset; successful organizations collect, store, explore, merge, and exploit as much data as possible to not only solve problems well understood today but also to tackle new problems that will inevitably rise tomorrow. The ARPA-E Open Innovation 2018 project entitled A National Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence on the Grid or NI4AI for short was designed to demonstrate this alternative paradigm for using data. To do this, the project was composed of three key thrust areas. The first major component deployed a variety of high-frequency grid sensors and captured terabytes of both wide-scale and localized grid measurements, generating high-value datasets for grid research and algorithm development. The second aspect made available PingThings’ PredictiveGridTM, a horizontally scalable, cloud-based data management and AI platform built for time series data to explore and exploit the collected data. Finally, the project fostered a diverse and open research community composed of experts from numerous fields through focused educational content, code sharing, and data science competitions. Shifting away from “single use” sensors and closed data silos within electric utilities is a major benefit to the public at large. This legacy approach to data is incredibly (1) capital intensive (new sensors must be deployed for each new problem and problems tend to arise continuously) and (2) painfully slow (new problems must be identified first and then new sensors must be deployed to collect data to begin to address the issue). The transition to a carbon neutral grid requires a massive transformation of the existing grid infrastructure and will continue to challenge the legacy grid in unforeseen ways. The only way to make the energy transition cost effective is for utilities to abandon this dated data paradigm and adopt more contemporary approaches. NI4AI has shown that it is technically possible and economically feasible to ingest, explore, and exploit grid data collected from even very high frequency sensing, such as continuous point on wave sensors collecting measurements 10,000 times a second. In fact, the PredictiveGrid platform used is commercially available and deployed at several utilities in the United States. Project accomplishments were numerous and included (1) making available a state of the art time series platform to the community, (2) collecting over 520 streams of time series data from grid sensors totaling over 1 trillion grid measurements, and (3) developing and nurturing a community within the industry focused on the use of data to create value for utilities and, ultimately, end consumers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1990

Data policy and availability supporting global change research, development, and decision-making: An information perspective

An explosion of information has created a crisis for today's information age. It has to be determined how to use the best available information sources, tools, and technology. To do this it is necessary to have leadership at the interagency level to promote a coherent information policy. It is also important to find ways to educate the users of information regarding the tools available to them. Advances in technology resulted in efforts to shift from Disciplinary and Mission-oriented Systems to Decision Support Systems and Personalized Information Systems. One such effort is being made by the Interagency Working Group on Data Management for Global Change (IAWGDMGC). Five federal agencies - the Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Library of Medicine (NLM), and Department of Defense (DOD) - have an on-going cooperative information management group, CENDI (Commerce, Energy, NASA, NLM, and Defense Information), that is meeting the challenge of coordinating and integrating their information management systems. Although it is beginning to be technically feasible to have a system with text, bibliographic, and numeric data online for the user to manipulate at the user's own workstation, it will require national recognition that the resource investment in such a system is worthwhile, in order to promote its full development. It also requires close cooperation between the producers and users of the information - that is, the research and policy community, and the information community. National resources need to be mobilized in a coordinated manner to move people into the next generation of information support systems.

Carroll, Bonnie C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the 2003-2004 NASA CONNECT(trademark)Program

NASA CONNECT is an Emmy-award-winning series of instructional (distance learning) programs for grades 6-8. Produced by the NASA Center for Distance Learning, the nine programs in the 2003-2004 NASA CONNECT series are research-, inquiry-, standards-, teacher-, and technology-based and include a 30-minute program, an educator guide containing a hands-on activity, and a web-based component. The 1,500 randomly selected NASA CONNECT registered users were invited to complete an electronic (self-reported) survey that employed a 5-point Likert-type scale. Regarding NASA CONNECT, respondents reported that the programs (1) enhance the teaching of mathematics, science, and technology (4.53); (2) are aligned with the national mathematics, science, and technology standards (4.52); (3) raise student awareness of careers requiring mathematics, science, and technology (4.48); (4) demonstrate the application of mathematics, science, and technology (4.47); and (5) present women and minorities performing challenging engineering and science tasks (4.50).

Caton, Randall H.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Final Reports of the 2019 Los Alamos National Laboratory Computational Physics Student Summer Workshop

The Los Alamos National Laboratory Computational Physics Workshop is intended to educate select students in problems of computational physics, while exciting them about problems of particular interest to LANL. The long term goal is to train a cadre of future researchers with strong connections to LANL and both interest and expertise in the problems LANL faces. This year’s workshop ran from June 10 – August 16, 2019 and once again attracted a phenomenal group of students, whose work is presented in the following pages. The students worked with LANL staff mentors in teams of two, doing original research. In addition, they attended a lecture series focusing on both the basics and the cutting edge challenges of computational physics (Table 1). A new item this year was a modification to our Meet LANL series of brown-bag lunch session, moving from focusing on individual researchers to panel presentations from the different groups within XCP. As always, the mentors were drawn from across disciplines and divisions. Projects looked physics ranging from quantum interactions, up to solar system development.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

State of the Art of Molecular Visualization in Immersive Virtual Environments

Abstract Visualization plays a crucial role in molecular and structural biology. It has been successfully applied to a variety of tasks, including structural analysis and interactive drug design. While some of the challenges in this area can be overcome with more advanced visualization and interaction techniques, others are challenging primarily due to the limitations of the hardware devices used to interact with the visualized content. Consequently, visualization researchers are increasingly trying to take advantage of new technologies to facilitate the work of domain scientists. Some typical problems associated with classic 2D interfaces, such as regular desktop computers, are a lack of natural spatial understanding and interaction, and a limited field of view. These problems could be solved by immersive virtual environments and corresponding hardware, such as virtual reality head‐mounted displays. Thus, researchers are investigating the potential of immersive virtual environments in the field of molecular visualization. There is already a body of work ranging from educational approaches to protein visualization to applications for collaborative drug design. This review focuses on molecular visualization in immersive virtual environments as a whole, aiming to cover this area comprehensively. We divide the existing papers into different groups based on their application areas, and types of tasks performed. Furthermore, we also include a list of available software tools. We conclude the report with a discussion of potential future research on molecular visualization in immersive environments.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wafer-Free Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells (CRADA Final Report)

This CRADA project, based on the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) Solar Prize Voucher program, helped Leap Photovoltaics to develop methodologies to immobilize Si particles by permanently attaching them to an Al-coated substrate and thereby forming carrier-selective electrical contacts to the Si particles. The bigger goal was to help Leap Photovoltaics develop these immobilized and contacted particle arrays into relatively efficient, inexpensive, and industrially relevant solar cells. By using Si particles instead of wafers in a solar cell absorber layer, one can avoid costs associated with growing monocrystalline Si ingots, then diamond-sawing them into wafers, then processing wafers into cells – a mainstream practice in today's high-efficiency Si cell and module technology. Monocrystalline or polycrystalline Si particles can be obtained in various ways: for example, Si kerf from wafer sawing is monocrystalline; recycled Si cell wafers can be ball-milled into particles; particles can be grown using various gas-phase techniques (mostly from SiH4). These Si particles can be assembled onto a substrate and serve as an absorber layer for the solar cell, absorbing photons to generate photocarriers. The challenge with this technique is to collect photocarriers from individual Si particles, with separation of photogenerated electrons to the negative cell’s electrode and positive photogenerated holes to the positive electrode. Therefore, each particle must have two isolated, carrier-selective contacts: one for electrons and one for holes. Plus, particles need to be immobilized onto a solid substrate. The goal of this work was focused on the immobilization of Si particles and creating hole-selective contact to them at the same time, using industrially relevant Si photovoltaic (PV) cell technology: screen printing of Al back-surface field electrodes. This is used in the mainstream Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) technology for hole-collecting contacts at the back of the cell. The work performed at NREL consisted of screen printing of Al metal paste on substrates, spreading Si particles onto it, and thermally processing the structures to form hole-collecting contacts. The final structures were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after focused ion beam (FIB) cross-sectioning and polishing. The work was done jointly by NREL staff and Leap Photovoltaics (Leap PV) employees stationed at NREL. The samples were then taken to Leap PV for further processing. Training the Leap PV employee on various NREL techniques (laser cutting, screen printing, thermal processing, characterization) was part of the scope.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

National Wind Workforce Assessment: Industry to Students [Slides]

As a part of the National Wind Workforce Assessment, four presentations have been created in conjunction with the technical report to provide more insight into key findings. The four presentations are catered towards specific stakeholder groups that include: educators, wind industry firms, students, and current wind industry employees. This presentation is intended for use by wind industry employers looking to gain insight into key levers that can influence hiring difficulty and actionable steps that can be taken to help narrow the workforce gap. The report includes the current perception of the wind industry by the potential workforce, current hiring difficulties faced by wind energy firms, and current hiring difficulties faced by the potential workforce. The hiring difficulties for wind industry employers are divided by entry level employees and non-entry-level employees and by cross sections such as firm size, location, value chain segment, and wind industry sector. Hiring challenges faced by students trying to enter the wind industry are divided by 2-year degree and certification programs, 4-year degree programs, and current wind employees.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2023

Designing Learning Experiences With A Low-Cost Robotic Arm

Robots have gained immense popularity in Hollywood and growth globally in both industrial manufacturing and non-manufacturing environments and applications such as healthcare, service sector, and space exploration. To date, there are several examples of simple and low-cost educational robotic platforms and commercially available platforms (e.g., Lego Mindstorms, VEX Robotics) for incorporation into existing curriculum. However, most low-cost examples require access to rapid-prototyping tools, such as 3D printers to manufacture the structure of the robot, while commercially available platforms are relatively expensive (> $1,000). Although the low-cost, open-source examples provide increased access, these examples require design and manufacturing tasks that would be considered outside the learning objectives of an upper-level robotics course and are better suited for other introductory courses. Thus, we asked, how can a robotic platform be incorporated into existing robotics curriculum to enhance students' learning experiences? To explore this research question, we introduce a low-cost (<$200), untethered, and transportable robotic platform that is easy to assemble using off-the-shelf components. This kit can be powered from a laptop computer and does not rely on access to rapid-prototyping tools such as 3D printers or laser cutters, making this a more accessible option in undergraduate engineering courses. Specifically, we aimed to investigate the design of experiential learning experiences for the mathematical modeling of the forward and inverse kinematics of a serial robotic arm that complements existing robotics curriculum. The experiential learning experience focuses on traditional written answer, simulation in MATLAB, and finally implementation on a robotic platform. Few studies examined this accessible option when evaluating experiential learning experiences that complement existing robotics curricula. To assess the impact of this robotic arm kit in an undergraduate course, we implemented an educational intervention that allowed us insight into student perceptions, takeaways on the course and activities involving the robotic arm, and the impact of the course on their career outlook when comparing activities that involved use of the robotic arm and those that did not. Details on the design, development and implementation of the learning activities is provided. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The results presented in this paper discuss students finding the learning activities on the robotic arms more helpful than those without, and that students found high value in the hands-on experiences and real-world scenarios offered by the activities using the robotic arm. Challenges to implementation of the robotic arms are discussed, including students’ prior knowledge of using robotic arms.

Eric J. Markvicka↗
DOE OSTI2026

Strategic Energy Plan: Playa de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico

Un Nuevo Amanecer Inc. (UNA), a community-based NGO (501C(3)), sought technical assistance through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP) to develop a strategic energy plan (SEP) for the community of Playa de Ponce on the south coast of Puerto Rico. A SEP helps communities identify energy goals and priority projects, and outline strategies and actions to build a shared path toward their energy vision. The primary goal of this SEP is to collaboratively explore pathways for the community's energy future. Researchers from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) engaged with the community for a period of seven months and facilitated a series of in-person community engagement workshops along with ETIPP regional partner Puerto Rico Hispanic Federation, UNA, and community leaders. The SEP workshops were held twice, March 18-20 and June 24-26, 2025. Through facilitated discussions, the community worked together to define and articulate a clear vision for its short-, medium-, and long-term energy goals. The workshops played a key role in identifying the specific strategies and priority projects that would best suit the needs of the community. The discussions outlined the community's energy aspirations, establishing a shared vision, setting goals, and outlining the priority actions needed to bring them to fruition. During the workshops, the community shared some of the most pressing energy challenges that they face on a regular basis, such as high energy costs that disproportionately impact an aging population and unreliable electricity during extreme weather events that result in frequent power outages. These issues have also exacerbated risks to public health and safety of the community. In response, UNA requested technical assistance through ETIPP to inform the development of a SEP tailored to Playa de Ponce to support its energy vision. This document explores four community-driven energy strategies aligned with that vision. Figure 1 shows the strategies outlined in this plan, which are categorized into three focus areas as identified by the community: energy reliability; safety and security; and stakeholder participation, education, and capacity building. This document serves as a shared roadmap for developing and implementing energy solutions that meet the needs of Playa de Ponce. It is intended to serve as a public resource for the community, UNA, and local authorities - providing tools, information and a shared foundation to inform future implementation efforts. This plan is intended to complement ongoing planning frameworks at the municipal, regional, and island-wide levels. As a living document, this SEP can evolve alongside Playa de Ponce's changing energy goals, while offering a framework to help them realize their energy vision.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A critical review of existing and emerging technologies and systems to optimize solid waste management for feedstocks and energy conversion

Solid waste generation and its accumulation is increasing at an alarming pace due to population growth and urbanization posing severe risks to health, safety, and natural ecosystems. Herein this review strategically addresses the challenges and solutions to increasing the sustainability footprint of solid waste management (SWM) systems by revealing multipronged approaches that reduce solid waste and handling costs while generating revenue and reducing greenhouse gas and related emissions. For example, the United States sends ~150 million tons of waste to landfills, which is composed of over 75% organic and recyclable materials having a potential to be diverted to alternative scenarios. The emergence of an automated upstream and downstream sorting process for solid waste to increase material diversion from landfills is a promising approach for creating sustainable SWM. The utilization of artificial-intelligence-enabled smart and automated systems at the home and industrial scales, comprehensive public re-education including awareness of the adverse effects of landfilled waste on the ecosystem, and more eco-friendly product development are required to significantly reduce landfills and their negative footprint.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗