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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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DOE OSTI2024

US Department of Energy, Office of Science, High-Performance Computing Facility: 2023 Operational Assessment Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) was established to accelerate scientific discovery by providing world-leading computational performance and advanced data infrastructure. As a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility, the OLCF has managed the successful deployment and operation of a succession of leadership-class resources dedicated to open science. In addition to these resources, the OLCF staff continually strive to develop innovative processes and technologies, improve security, and empower users through effective allocation management and comprehensive user support and training. These efforts support the advancement of science by the OLCF users and benefit high-performance computing (HPC) facilities around the world. In calendar year (CY) 2023, the OLCF supported 1,676 users and 598 projects and exceeded all targets for user satisfaction. The facility received an average satisfaction score of 4.52 out of 5 on the annual user survey, and 94% of respondents reported a high satisfaction rate with the OLCF overall. Of the 3,619 user tickets submitted in CY 2023, OLCF staff resolved 97% within 3 business days. The facility opened Frontier to full scientific operations this year. Two projects conducted on Frontier received the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Gordon Bell Prize and the Gordon Bell Special Prize for Climate Modeling, and a third earned a nomination as a Gordon Bell Prize finalist. The facility’s previous flagship machine, Summit, gained new life and was extended through 2024 in part to help provide resources to the Integrated Research Infrastructure (IRI) projects and the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot program. The facility instantiated an Advanced Computing Ecosystem testbed in part to support IRI workflows. OLCF made interactivity easier and more accessible to users than ever through tools like Jupyter notebooks and workflows.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

GEMINI SPECTROSCOPY OF THE SHORT-HARD GAMMA-RAY BURST GRB 130603B AFTERGLOW AND HOST GALAXY

We present early optical photometry and spectroscopy of the afterglow and host galaxy of the bright short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 130603B discovered by the Swift satellite. Using our Target of Opportunity program on the Gemini South telescope, our prompt optical spectra reveal a strong trace from the afterglow superimposed on continuum and emission lines from the z = 0.3568 ± 0.0005 host galaxy. The combination of a relatively bright optical afterglow (r' = 21.52 at Δt = 8.4 hr), together with an observed offset of 0.''9 from the host nucleus (4.8 kpc projected distance at z = 0.3568), allow us to extract a relatively clean spectrum dominated by afterglow light. Furthermore, the spatially resolved spectrum allows us to constrain the properties of the explosion site directly, and compare these with the host galaxy nucleus, as well as other short-duration GRB host galaxies. We find that while the host is a relatively luminous (L∼0.8 L{sup *}{sub B}), star-forming (SFR = 1.84 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1}) galaxy with almost solar metallicity, the spectrum of the afterglow exhibits weak Ca II absorption features but negligible emission features. The explosion site therefore lacks evidence of recent star formation, consistent with the relatively long delay time distribution expected in a compact binary merger scenario. The star formation rate (SFR; both in an absolute sense and normalized to the luminosity) and metallicity of the host are both consistent with the known sample of short-duration GRB hosts and with recent results which suggest GRB 130603B emission to be the product of the decay of radioactive species produced during the merging process of a neutron-star-neutron-star binary ({sup k}ilonova{sup )}. Ultimately, the discovery of more events similar to GRB 130603B and their rapid follow-up from 8 m class telescopes will open new opportunities for our understanding of the final stages of compact-objects binary systems and provide crucial information (redshift, metallicity, and chemical content of their explosion site) to characterize the environment of one of the most promising gravitational wave sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

An Integrated Approach to Improving Plant Biomass Production

Developing a sustainable biofuel program that minimizes negative impacts on the environment and captures the maximum usable energy per acre is a major challenge in the 21 st century. This study used rice as a model grass to identify novel biomass genes and to determine natural variation in cell-wall composition given the wide array of rice genomic tools and the ease of genetic manipulation relative to emerging grass bioenergy crops. In rice, we established an efficient pipeline to identify loci for biomass production and composition. From that work, we identified biomass QTL and candidate genes for improving biomass quality and quantity in plants. Then, we developed resources to enhance the translation of information of biomass production from rice to switchgrass, and used these resources to test candidate genes for function in improving biomass production in switchgrass. We created a web based genomics platform to display and facilitate analysis of rice and switchgrass comparative functional and genomic data. Finally, we describe a novel field-level high throughput phenotyping system that allows for efficient, rapid capture of phenotype data, enabling the mapping of biomass QTL in large plant populations during growth and development. Overall, our project contributed (1) valuable genetic and genomic resources and tools in rice and switchgrass to the biomass community, (2) identified key biomass traits that are amenable for improvement by breeding or biotechnology, (3) provided validation that information from model systems could be applied to improvement of bioenergy crops, (4) developed a novel high throughput phenotyping system for field-level discovery of biomass QTL, and (5) contributed to the interdisciplinary training of four post doctoral fellows and five graduate students.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Microchannel-based Membrane-less Extraction of Li from Unconventional Lithium Sources & the Separation of REE

This final report provides an overview of the Project's entire duration, covering July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023. It primarily focuses on the achievements, technological developments, and unique challenges the team faced while working on separating and extracting Lithium from produced waters. The project's primary aim was to create an integrated, high-throughput, membrane-less, and modular microfluidic platform that could extract Lithium from unconventional sources. We have successfully met all goals and milestones envisioned in the SOPO document. The most critical primary milestones, including the Go-No-Go milestone (refer to the Gantt chart in the Appendices), were successfully accomplished. We demonstrated phase separation (>90%) and extraction (>85%) performance in the MPSE using synthetic, and representative produced water composition feed at 50 ml/min total flow through MPSE 36. We have also performed a parametric study of the MPSE operations, beyond the scope of SOPO, exploring operating conditions of current and broader interest. The extended investigation of operational parameters is concurrent with our efforts to seek further development of the MPSE technology beyond the scope of the Project. Along these lines of development, we have made efforts to be responsive to DOE calls for technological developments of other types of resources (beyond PW) for the recovery of Critical Materials and higher TRL development (beyond TRL 4). During the work on this Project, we developed and implemented three innovative technical approaches that emerged from our efforts to successfully meet the Project milestones. The innovative & original technical approaches developed and implemented in this Project are now the contributions to process engineering that could be clearly credited to the Project. First, Convergent Design Approach is a comprehensive feedforward & feedback loop of four design phases: i) design for functionality, ii) design for manufacturing, iii) design for sustainability, and iv) design for market. Next was Process Intensification. A major aim of this Project was to create an innovative phase separation & extraction microscale-based technology for Li separation – thus the words microchannel-based in the Project title. A microscale-based technology is intrinsically in the center of the Process Intensification domain as defined by its unique principles. Therefore, Process Intensification was implicitly envisioned in the Project’s SOPO. Lastly, Time Scale Analysis is a novel tool for discovering the needs and directions of Process Intensification implementations in any process technology. This Project is fully credited for developing and implementing the three novel technical approaches mentioned above. These are general contributions to process engineering that emerged from this Project. Beyond the original SOPO scope, the OSU-U.Pitt research group utilized a Convergent Design methodology, integrating first-principles mathematical modeling with experimental validation on the Minimum Development Vehicle. By creating these Digital Twins, the team rapidly assessed manufacturing iterations to support TEA analysis. This framework further enabled the development of advanced Surface Modification Techniques, where hydrophobic and oleophobic coating strategies were optimized via Digital Twin tools and validated through rigorous 100-hour longevity testing. TEA Analysis: The closing efforts of this Project were focused on the TEA analysis. TEA analysis had two primary functions: i) enabling critical assessments of design variations withing 10 the Concurrent Design Approach, thus enabling evolution of the MPSE design to reach faster- better-cheaper alternatives; and ii) to create a bridge between the accomplishments of this Project and future projects of higher TRL, beyond TRL 6 level. It is important to note that the TEA model created in the Project stirred the technological solutions for the recovery of critical materials toward a vision of a very profitable modular plant that has unique zero-waste water discharge signature. More importantly, thanks to our experimental performance data and conservative assumptions, the TEA model predicts minimal technological and investment risks. Low cost of a modular unit of a nominal capacity of [1000 tons of Li 2 CO 3 /year] positions the MPSE based technology within the reach of community investors, thus offering a paradigm shift in the development of critical technologies. The project successfully navigated two primary challenges: solvent selection and manufacturing adaptation. Restricted by the SOPO to existing literature for lithium recovery, the team identified a critical need for a "material excellence program" to develop next-generation solvents, eventually concluding with a preliminary investigation into promising Ionic Liquids (ILs). Simultaneously, COVID-19 supply chain disruptions forced a pivot from traditional manufacturing to advanced additive methods at ATAMI-OSU. By transitioning from stainless steel to 3D-printed polymer substrates, the team achieved a transformative three-order-of- magnitude reduction in manufacturing costs and compressed prototyping timelines from several months to just two days. The MPSE technology offers significant energy, environmental, and economic advantages by overcoming the traditional bottlenecks of phase-separation hardware and contactor size. Unlike conventional mixer-settlers or membrane-based systems, MPSE operates without moving parts or fouling-prone membranes, achieving robust performance even with challenging, viscous, or particulate-heavy feeds. Key performance metrics include an energy intensity reduction of 5–50x (3–40 kJ/m 3 ) compared to incumbent technologies and a dramatic reduction of processing time to under 60 seconds, which drastically reduces the physical plant footprint. These technical efficiencies translate into superior economic outcomes; for a 100 t/year Li 2 CO 3 facility, implementing MPSE is projected to nearly halve contactor CAPEX (from $\$$6.08M to $\$$3.01M) and significantly increase the project's Net Present Value (NPV), derisking new investment and enabling distributed critical-mineral processing configurations. The commercialization of MPSE technology is being spearheaded by Vigsur Dynamics Inc., which has adopted a structured, parallel approach to technical and business development since its formation in January 2026. Following extensive customer discovery and engagement with the Oregon State University accelerator, Vigsur Dynamics is working to establish a business model that transitions from pilot demonstrations to modular hardware sales, ultimately aiming for a "build-own-operate" service strategy. Current technical milestones—including 100 hours of continuous operation, superior energy efficiency, and successful 6-unit modular scale-up— provide a foundation for this transition. Backed by ongoing IP licensing and a growing network of industrial and venture advisors, the company is actively de-risking the platform to replace conventional mixer-settler systems in the critical minerals market.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

CHANDRA VIEW OF THE WARM-HOT INTERGALACTIC MEDIUM TOWARD 1ES 1553+113: ABSORPTION-LINE DETECTIONS AND IDENTIFICATIONS. I

We present the first results from our pilot 500 ks Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Large Program observation of the soft X-ray brightest source in the z {approx}> 0.4 sky, the blazar 1ES 1553+113, aimed to secure the first uncontroversial detections of the missing baryons in the X-rays. We identify a total of 11 possible absorption lines, with single-line statistical significances between 2.2{sigma} and 4.1{sigma}. Six of these lines are detected at high single-line statistical significance (3.6 {<=} {sigma} {<=} 4.1), while the remaining five are regarded as marginal detections in association with either other X-ray lines detected at higher significance and/or far-ultraviolet (FUV) signposts. Three of these lines are consistent with metal absorption at z {approx_equal} 0, and we identify them with Galactic O I and C II. The remaining eight lines may be imprinted by intervening absorbers and are all consistent with being high-ionization counterparts of FUV H I and/or O VI intergalactic medium signposts. In particular, five of these eight possible intervening absorption lines (single-line statistical significances of 4.1{sigma}, 4.1{sigma}, 3.9{sigma}, 3.8{sigma}, and 2.7{sigma}), are identified as C V and C VI K{alpha} absorbers belonging to three WHIM systems at z{sub X} = 0.312, z{sub X} = 0.237, and (z{sub X} ) = 0.133, which also produce broad H I (and O VI for the z{sub X} = 0.312 system) absorption in the FUV. For two of these systems (z{sub X} = 0.312 and 0.237), the Chandra X-ray data led the a posteriori discovery of physically consistent broad H I associations in the FUV (for the third system the opposite applies), so confirming the power of the X-ray-FUV synergy for WHIM studies. The true statistical significances of these three X-ray absorption systems, after properly accounting for the number of redshift trials, are 5.8{sigma} (z{sub X} = 0.312; 6.3{sigma} if the low-significance O V and C V K{beta} associations are considered), 3.9{sigma} (z{sub X} = 0.237), and 3.8{sigma} ((z{sub X} ) = 0.133), respectively.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Repurposed dihydroorotate dehydrogenase inhibitors with efficacy against drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

New antimicrobials are needed for the treatment of extensively drug-resistantAcinetobacter baumannii. The de novo pyrimidine biosynthetic enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a validated drug target for malaria and human autoimmune diseases. Here, we provide genetic evidence thatA. baumanniiDHODH (AbDHODH) is essential for bacterial survival in rodent infection models. We chemically validate the target by repurposing a unique library of ~450 triazolopyrimidine/imidazopyrimidine analogs developed for our malaria DHODH program to identify 21 compounds with submicromolar activity onAbDHODH. The most potent (DSM186, DHODH IC 50 28 nM) had a minimal inhibitory concentration of ≤1 µg/ml against geographically diverseA. baumanniistrains, including meropenem-resistant isolates. A structurally related analog (DSM161) with a long in vivo half-life conferred significant protection in the neutropenic mouse thigh infection model. Encouragingly, the development of resistance to these compounds was not identified in vitro or in vivo. Lastly, the X-ray structure ofAbDHODH bound to DSM186 was solved to 1.4 Å resolution. These data support the potential ofAbDHODH as a drug target for the development of antimicrobials for the treatment ofA. baumanniiand potentially other high-risk bacterial infections.

Acinetobacter baumannii↗
DOE OSTI2019

Organic and Organometallic Chemistry at the Single-Molecule, -Particle, and -Molecular-Catalyst-Turnover Level by Fluorescence Microscopy

Mechanistic studies have historically played a key role in the discovery and optimization of reactions in organic and organometallic chemistry. However, even apparently simple organic and organometallic transformations may have surprisingly complicated multistep mechanisms, increasing the difficulty of extracting this mechanistic information. The resulting reaction intermediates often constitute a small fraction of the total reaction mixture, for example, creating a long-term analytical challenge of detection. This challenge is particularly pronounced in cases where the positions of intermediates on the reaction energy surface mean that they do not “build up” to the quantities needed for observation by traditional ensemble analytical tools. Thus, their existence and single-step elementary reactivity cannot be studied directly. New approaches for obtaining this otherwise-missing mechanistic information are therefore needed. Single-turnover, single-molecule, single-particle, and other subensemble fluorescence microscopy techniques are ideally suited for this role because of their sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution. Inspired by the robust development of single-molecule fluorescence microscopy tools for studying enzyme catalysis, our laboratory has developed analogous fluorescence microscopy techniques to overcome mechanistic challenges in synthetic chemistry, with sensitivity as high as the single-complex, single-turnover, and single-molecule level. These techniques free the experimenter from the previous restriction that intermediates must “build up” to quantities needed for detection by ensemble analytical tools and are suited to systems where synchronization through flash photolysis or stopped flow would be inconvenient or inaccessible. In this process, the techniques transform certain previously “unobservable” intermediates and their elementary single-step reactivities into “observable” ones through sensitive and selective spectral handles. Our program has focused on imaging reactions in small-molecule, organic, and polymer synthetic chemistry with an accent on the reactivity of molecular transition metal complexes and catalysts. Our laboratory initiated studies in this area in 2008 with the imaging of individual palladium complexes that were tagged with spectator fluorophores. To enable imaging, we started with fluorophore selection and development, overcame challenges with imaging in organic solvents, and developed strategies compatible with air-sensitive chemistry and concentrations of reagents generally used in small-molecule synthesis. These studies grew to include characterization of previously unknown organometallic intermediates in the synthesis of organozinc reagents and the direct study of their elementary-step reactivity. The ability to directly observe this behavior generated predictive power for selecting salts that accelerated organozinc reagent formation in synthesis, including salts that had not yet been reported synthetically. In 2017 we also developed the first single-turnover imaging of molecular (chemo)catalysts, which through the technique’s spatiotemporal resolution revealed abruptly time-variable polymerization kinetics wherein molecular ruthenium ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) catalysts changed rates independently from other catalysts less than 1 μm away. Individual catalytic turnovers, each corresponding to one single-chain-elongation reaction arising from insertion of single ROMP or enyne monomers at individual Grubbs II molecular ruthenium catalysts, were spatiotemporally resolved as green flashes in growing polymers. In this work, we discuss the development of this technique from idea to application, including challenges overcome and strategies created to image synthetic organic and organometallic molecular chemistry at the highest levels of detection sensitivity. We also describe challenges not yet solved and provide an outlook for this growing field at the intersection of microscopy and synthetic/molecular chemistry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Elementary Particle Interactions with CMS at LHC

The High Energy Particle Physics group of the University of Tennessee participates in the search for new particles and forces in proton-proton collisions at the LHC with the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment. Since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, the search has intensified to find new generations of particles beyond the standard model using the higher collision energies and ever increasing luminosity, either directly or via deviations from standard model predictions such as the Higgs boson decays. As part of this effort, the UTK group has expanded the search for new particles in four-muon final states, and in final states with jets, has successfully helped and continues to help to implement and operate an instrument for improved measurements of the luminosity needed for all data analyses, and has continued to conduct research of new technologies for charged particle tracking at a high-luminosity LHC.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

A semi-agnostic ansatz with variable structure for variational quantum algorithms

Quantum machine learning—and specifically Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs)—offers a powerful, flexible paradigm for programming near-term quantum computers, with applications in chemistry, metrology, materials science, data science, and mathematics. Here, one trains an ansatz, in the form of a parameterized quantum circuit, to accomplish a task of interest. However, challenges have recently emerged suggesting that deep ansatzes are difficult to train, due to flat training landscapes caused by randomness or by hardware noise. This motivates our work, where we present a variable structure approach to build ansatzes for VQAs. Our approach, called VAns (Variable Ansatz), applies a set of rules to both grow and (crucially) remove quantum gates in an informed manner during the optimization. Consequently, VAns is ideally suited to mitigate trainability and noise-related issues by keeping the ansatz shallow. We employ VAns in the variational quantum eigensolver for condensed matter and quantum chemistry applications, in the quantum autoencoder for data compression and in unitary compilation problems showing successful results in all cases.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2017

How Many Kilonovae Can Be Found in Past, Present, and Future Survey Data Sets?

The discovery of a kilonova (KN) associated with the Advanced LIGO (aLIGO)/Virgo event GW170817 opens up new avenues of multi-messenger astrophysics. Here, using realistic simulations, we provide estimates of the number of KNe that could be found in data from past, present, and future surveys without a gravitational-wave trigger. For the simulation, we construct a spectral time-series model based on the DES-GW multi-band light curve from the single known KN event, and we use an average of BNS rates from past studies of ${10}^{3}\,{\mathrm{Gpc}}^{-3}\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$, consistent with the one event found so far. Examining past and current data sets from transient surveys, the number of KNe we expect to find for ASAS-SN, SDSS, PS1, SNLS, DES, and SMT is between 0 and 0.3. We predict the number of detections per future survey to be 8.3 from ATLAS, 10.6 from ZTF, 5.5/69 from LSST (the Deep Drilling/Wide Fast Deep), and 16.0 from WFIRST. The maximum redshift of KNe discovered for each survey is $z=0.8$ for WFIRST, $z=0.25$ for LSST, and $z=0.04$ for ZTF and ATLAS. This maximum redshift for WFIRST is well beyond the sensitivity of aLIGO and some future GW missions. For the LSST survey, we also provide contamination estimates from Type Ia and core-collapse supernovae: after light curve and template-matching requirements, we estimate a background of just two events. Finally, more broadly, we stress that future transient surveys should consider how to optimize their search strategies to improve their detection efficiency and to consider similar analyses for GW follow-up programs.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Accelerated Discovery of Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen Production Materials via High-Throughput Computational and Experimental Methods

In this project, combinatorial synthesis and testing methods were combined with high-throughput materials theory calculations to greatly accelerate the discovery of thermodynamically suitable candidates for green hydrogen production via a two-stage solar thermochemical water splitting (STCH) process. Over the course of the project, more than 8000 quinary and higher oxide compositions were computationally screened for STCH viability, and detailed stability calculations were performed for more than 30 of the most promising identified compositional archetypes. As a result, three new STCH capable compositional families were discovered and experimentally verified. The first, Ce x Sr 2-x MnO 4 (CSM), represents the first known Ruddlesden-Popper compound to show STCH activity, and thus demonstrates that perovskite-related structures may hold promise for this application. The second family, Sr 1-x Ce x MnO 3 (SCM), is the simple perovskite sister-analog to CSM. Sr 0.7 Ce 0.3 MnO 3 (SCM30), a member of this compositional family, was found to produce the highest hydrogen yields of any compound tested in this project, exceeding the end of project milestone target of > 150 μmol H 2 /gram oxide at a reduction temperature of 1350 °C, although only at steam-to-hydrogen ratios greater than 1000:1. Finally, we proved that a third novel Sr-and Mn-containing family, Sr 1-x Ca x Ti 1-y Mn y O 3 (SCTM), which was identified by Materials Project tools, also splits water. The behavior of the SCTM system was found to be similar to the previously discovered Sr 1-x La x Al 1-y Mn y O 3 (SLMA) family, albeit with lower H 2 yields. Across the three thrusts of the project (computational, combinatorial, and bulk testing), five journal articles were published. As part of Program End Analysis and Data Dissemination, relevant data used for the publications was uploaded to the HydroGEN Data Hub for public access, and in certain cases, results were added to public materials databases.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

IX Cell Wall Research Conference 2022 (IXCWRC): Cell wall research for new fundamental discoveries and applications in plant biology

This application is for securing funds to offset the registration fees and lodging costs for US-based early career investigators (ERCs) to participate to the IX Cell Wall Research Conference 2022 (IXCWRC 2022): Cell wall research for new fundamental discoveries and applications in plant biology. The conference will be held in East Lansing, Michigan on June 13-17, 2022. The conference will focus on the plant cell wall. Plant cells are encapsulated by the cell wall, a dynamic structure that protects them, enables them to interface with the external environment and supports the growth of the entire organism. There is a growing interest in understanding the complex processes necessary to build and deconstruct the plant cell wall. A better understanding of how the cell wall is synthesized during plant growth and in response to the environment, and how it is deconstructed for a broad variety of applications can inform and improve biotechnological processes for increasing biomass yield and improving industrial processes for the recovery of valuable, sustainable polymers. Acquiring such knowledge requires the exchange of new ideas and results as well as the development and application of new technologies. The IXCWRC 2022 aims to reach this goal by providing an opportunity for an open forum to discuss new ideas and theories and develop collaborations for scientists across the globe in a diverse and supportive environment. A distinction of the IXCWRC 2022 from all the preceding plant cell wall conferences will be its focus on the training and inclusion of the next generation of scientists, the ERCs. The overall goal of this application is to broaden the participation of ERCs with a focus on underrepresented communities. The specific goal of this application is to secure support for registration and lodging for US-based ERCs to attend the conference. Priority will be given to ERCs from underrepresented communities in science. We expect that support from DOE will allow the development of an exciting and innovative program to discuss the latest scientific advances in cell wall biology research, advance the next generation of plant cell wall researchers and foster the foundations of an inclusive community in science.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Radium Dial Workers: Back to the Future

This report reviews the history of the radium dial workers in the United States, summarizes the scientific progress made since the last evaluation in the early 1990s, and discusses current progress in updating the epidemiologic cohort and applying new dosimetric models for radiation risk assessment. The discoveries of radiation and radioactivity led quickly to medical and commercial applications at the turn of the 20th century, including the development of radioluminescent paint, made by combining radium with phosphorescent material and adhesive. Workers involved with the painting of dials and instruments included painters, handlers, ancillary workers, and chemists who fabricated the paint. Dial painters were primarily women and, prior to the mid to late 1920s, would use their lips to give the brush a fine point, resulting in high intakes of radium. The tragic experience of the dial painters had a significant impact on industrial safety standards, including protection measures taken during the Manhattan Project. The dial workers study has formed the basis for radiation protection standards for intakes of radionuclides by workers and the public. The mortality experience of 3,276 radium dial painters and handlers employed between 1913-1949 is being determined through 2019. The last epidemiologic follow-up was 30 years ago when most of these workers were still alive. Nearly 65% were born before 1920, 37.5% were teenagers when first hired, and nearly 50% were hired before 1930 when the habit of placing brushes in mouths essentially stopped. Comprehensive dose reconstruction techniques are being applied to estimate organ doses for each worker related to the intake of 226Ra, 228Ra, and associated photon exposures. Time dependent dose-response analyses will estimate lifetime risks for specific causes of death. The study of radium dial workers is part of the Million Person Study of low-dose health effects that is designed to evaluate radiation risks among healthy American workers and veterans. Despite being one of the most important and influential radiation effects studies ever conducted, shifting programmatic responsibilities and declining funding led to the termination of the radium program of studies in the early 1990s. Renewed interest and opportunity have arisen. With scientific progress made in dosimetric methodology and models, the ability to perform a study over the entire life span, and the potential applicability to other scenarios such as medicine, environmental contamination and space exploration, the radium dial workers have once again come to the forefront.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Advancing Fusion with Machine Learning Research Needs Workshop Report

Abstract Machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) methods have been used successfully in recent years to solve problems in many areas, including image recognition, unsupervised and supervised classification, game-playing, system identification and prediction, and autonomous vehicle control. Data-driven machine learning methods have also been applied to fusion energy research for over 2 decades, including significant advances in the areas of disruption prediction, surrogate model generation, and experimental planning. The advent of powerful and dedicated computers specialized for large-scale parallel computation, as well as advances in statistical inference algorithms, have greatly enhanced the capabilities of these computational approaches to extract scientific knowledge and bridge gaps between theoretical models and practical implementations. Large-scale commercial success of various ML/AI applications in recent years, including robotics, industrial processes, online image recognition, financial system prediction, and autonomous vehicles, have further demonstrated the potential for data-driven methods to produce dramatic transformations in many fields. These advances, along with the urgency of need to bridge key gaps in knowledge for design and operation of reactors such as ITER, have driven planned expansion of efforts in ML/AI within the US government and around the world. The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science programs in Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) have organized several activities to identify best strategies and approaches for applying ML/AI methods to fusion energy research. This paper describes the results of a joint FES/ASCR DOE-sponsored Research Needs Workshop on Advancing Fusion with Machine Learning, held April 30–May 2, 2019, in Gaithersburg, MD (full report available at https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/pdf/workshop-reports/FES_ASCR_Machine_Learning_Report.pdf ). The workshop drew on broad representation from both FES and ASCR scientific communities, and identified seven Priority Research Opportunities (PRO’s) with high potential for advancing fusion energy. In addition to the PRO topics themselves, the workshop identified research guidelines to maximize the effectiveness of ML/AI methods in fusion energy science, which include focusing on uncertainty quantification, methods for quantifying regions of validity of models and algorithms, and applying highly integrated teams of ML/AI mathematicians, computer scientists, and fusion energy scientists with domain expertise in the relevant areas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

GALAXY CLUSTERS DISCOVERED VIA THE SUNYAEV-ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT IN THE FIRST 720 SQUARE DEGREES OF THE SOUTH POLE TELESCOPE SURVEY

We present a catalog of galaxy cluster candidates, selected through their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect signature in the first 720 deg{sup 2} of the South Pole Telescope (SPT) survey. This area was mapped with the SPT in the 2008 and 2009 austral winters to a depth of {approx}18 {mu}K{sub CMB}-arcmin at 150 GHz; 550 deg{sup 2} of it was also mapped to {approx}44 {mu}K{sub CMB}-arcmin at 95 GHz. Based on optical imaging of all 224 candidates and near-infrared imaging of the majority of candidates, we have found optical and/or infrared counterparts for 158, which we then classify as confirmed galaxy clusters. Of these 158 clusters, 135 were first identified as clusters in SPT data, including 117 new discoveries reported in this work. This catalog triples the number of confirmed galaxy clusters discovered through the SZ effect. We report photometrically derived (and in some cases spectroscopic) redshifts for confirmed clusters and redshift lower limits for the remaining candidates. The catalog extends to high redshift with a median redshift of z = 0.55 and maximum confirmed redshift of z = 1.37. Forty-five of the clusters have counterparts in the ROSAT bright or faint source catalogs from which we estimate X-ray fluxes. Based on simulations, we expect the catalog to be nearly 100% complete above M {sub 500} Almost-Equal-To 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} M {sub Sun} h {sup -1} {sub 70} at z {approx}> 0.6. There are 121 candidates detected at signal-to-noise ratio greater than five, at which the catalog purity is measured to be 95%. From this high-purity subsample, we exclude the z < 0.3 clusters and use the remaining 100 candidates to improve cosmological constraints following the method presented by Benson et al. Adding the cluster data to CMB + BAO + H {sub 0} data leads to a preference for non-zero neutrino masses while only slightly reducing the upper limit on the sum of neutrino masses to {Sigma}m {sub {nu}} < 0.38 eV (95% CL). For a spatially flat wCDM cosmological model, the addition of this catalog to the CMB + BAO + H {sub 0} + SNe results yields {sigma}{sub 8} = 0.807 {+-} 0.027 and w = -1.010 {+-} 0.058, improving the constraints on these parameters by a factor of 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. The larger cluster catalog presented in this work leads to slight improvements in cosmological constraints from those presented by Benson et al. These cosmological constraints are currently limited by uncertainty in the cluster mass calibration, not the size or quality of the cluster catalog. A multi-wavelength observation program to improve the cluster mass calibration will make it possible to realize the full potential of the final 2500 deg{sup 2} SPT cluster catalog to constrain cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

MSU-Northern Bio-Energy Center of Excellence

The goal of this project was to establish the Bio-Energy Center (the Center) of Montana State University Northern (MSUN) as a Regional Research Center of Excellence in research, product development, and commercialization of non-food biomass for the bio-energy industry. A three-step approach, namely, (1) enhance the Center’s research and testing capabilities, (2) develop advanced biofuels from locally grown agricultural crops, and (3) educate the community through outreach programs for public understanding and acceptance of new technologies was identified to achieve this goal. The research activities aimed to address the obstacles concerning the production of biofuels and other bio-based fuel additives considering feedstock quality, conversion process, economic viability, and public awareness. First and foremost in enhancing the capabilities of the Center is the improvement of its laboratories and other physical facilities for investigating new biomass conversion technologies and the development of its manpower complement with expertise in chemistry, engineering, biology, and energy. MSUN renovated its Auto Diagnostics building and updated its mechanical and electrical systems necessary to house the state-of-the-art 525kW (704 hp) A/C Dynamometer. The newly renovated building was designated as the Advanced Fuels Building. Two laboratories, namely Biomass Conversion lab and Wet Chemistry lab were also added to the Center’s facilities. The Biomass Conversion lab was for research on the production of advanced biofuels including bio-jet fuel and bio-based fuel additives while the Wet Chemistry lab was used to conduct catalyst research. Necessary equipment and machines, such as gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry, were purchased and installed to help in research and testing. With the enhanced capabilities of the Center, research and testing activities were very much facilitated and more precise. New biofuels derived from Camelina sativa (camelina), a locally-grown oilseed crop was developed through a chemical process for converting the oil extracted into jet fuel. Promising methods of synthesizing heterogeneous metal complex catalyst that support the chemical conversion process were likewise developed. Breaking-down lignin to valuable chemicals using a metal complex catalyst was also investigated. Lignin is an organic polymer that binds around cellulose and hemicellulose fibers which strengthen cell walls in woody biomass. Test results showed promise and could lead to further exploration of using lignin for fuels and fuel additives. These findings could create another value-added product from lignin that can be sourced from beetle kill trees and product residues from cellulose ethanol plants. Coupled with these research discoveries was the provision of technical support to businesses in terms of product development and commercialization of bio-based products. This in turn opened new avenues for advancing the bio-energy industry in the region and helped support the regional agricultural-based economy through developing biofuels derived from feedstock that are grown locally. It assisted in developing biofuels that reduce exhaust emissions and improve engine performance.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2015

TMS 2014 143rd Annual Meeting & Exhibition, Annual Meeting Supplemental Proceedings (ISBN: 978-1-118-88972-5)

The Magnetic Materials for Energy Applications IV, held at the 2014, 143rd Annual Meeting of The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS), brought together experts, young investigators, and students from this sub-discipline of materials science in order for them to share their latest discoveries and develop collaborations. This symposium, which is organized by The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society, is an important event for this community of scientists. This year, over 50 high-level technical talks were planned over the course of the event. In addition, the students and young investigators in attendance ensured the maximum benefit to the next generation’s work force in this area of study. Meeting global energy needs in a clean, efficient, secure and sustainable manner is arguably the greatest challenge facing mankind today. Magnetic materials play a critical role in myriad devices for the collection, conversion, transmission and storage of energy. For example, high performance permanent magnets are currently in great demand for the generators in wind turbines and electric motors in hybrid vehicles. Other classes of advanced magnetic materials are essential for efficient inductors/transformers and motors. Energy efficient cooling based on the magnetocaloric effect is another exciting possibility which is rapidly becoming industrially viable. The potential energy savings related to refrigeration and air conditioning based on magnetocaloric materials are highly attractive. This symposium allowed experts in areas relating to the advanced characterization, simulation, and optimization of magnetic materials to convene and present their latest research. The types of interactions afforded by this event are beneficial to society at large primarily because they provide opportunities for the leaders within this field to learn from one another and thus improve the quality and productivity of their investigations. Additionally, the presence of young investigators and students with technical interests in this field provides promise that the United States will continue to be a leader in this area. The support provided by the Department of Energy for this event directly enhanced its impact on the field by helping a number of students, young investigators, and technical experts attend and participate in this event. This symposium brought together research experts and students in the field to present the latest developments on the science surrounding advanced characterization, simulation, and optimization of magnetic materials and their use in energy applications such as generation and magnetic cooling. A strong technical program, containing more than 50 presentations was developed and organized around the following technical sessions. A strong list of invited speakers contributed to the high quality of technical content. Rare Earth Permanent Magnets: Processing, Characterization and Modeling Rare Earth Free Permanent Magnets Fundamentals of the Magnetocaloric Effect and Current Status of Magnetic Cooling Technology Magnetocaloric Materials High Performance Soft Magnets I High Performance Soft Magnets II

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Collaborative Proposal: Improving Decadal Prediction of Arctic Climate Variability and Change Using a Regional Arctic System Model (RASM)

RASM is a multi-disciplinary project, which brings together researchers from six state universities, one military postgraduate school, and one DoE laboratory to address the core modeling objectives of the arctic research community articulated in the Arctic System Modeling report by Roberts et al. (2010b). This report advocates the construction of a regional downscaling tool to generate probabilistic decadal projections of Greenland ice sheet retreat, evolution of arctic sea ice cover, changes in land surface vegetation, and regional processes leading to arctic amplification. Unified coupled models such as RASM are ideal for this purpose because they simulate fine-scale physics, essential for the realistic representation of intra-annual variability, in addition to processes fundamental to long term climatic shifts (Hurrell et al. 2009). By using RASM with boundary conditions from a global model, we can generate many-member ensembles essential for understanding uncertainty in regional climate projections (Hawkins and Sutton 2009). This probabilistic approach is computationally prohibitive for high-resolution global models in the foreseeable future, and also for regional models interactively nested within global simulations. Yet it is fundamental for quantifying uncertainty in decadal forecasts to make them useful for decision makers (Doherty et al. 2009). For this reason, we have targeted development of ensemble generation techniques as a core project task (Task 4.5). Environmental impact assessment specialists need high-fidelity regional ensemble projections to improve the accuracy of their work (Challinor et al. 2009; Moss et al. 2010). This is especially true of the Arctic, where economic, social and national interests are rapidly reshaping the high north in step with regional climate change. During the next decade, considerable oil and gas discoveries are expected across many parts of the marine and terrestrial Arctic (Gautier et al. 2009), the economics of the Northern Sea Route will steadily improve (Arctic Council 2009), and sovereign claims over the Arctic Ocean will increasingly be subject to international negotiations (Proelss 2009). Issues such as these have led to an expanding demand for Arctic climate projections to aid national and commercial decisions. However, detailed information from existing models is lacking. RASM will enhance the existing Arctic system modeling capabilities and align them with the scientific and societal needs outlined above. The science involved in the development of RASM will be integrated with teaching and training at a few different levels. RASM PIs will supervise at least six postdoctoral and doctoral students with additional involvement of undergraduate research assistants. RASM postdoctoral fellows and graduate trainees will benefit from being a part of a large, collaborative, and multi-disciplinary research projects employing state-of-the-art modeling and computational tools. They will also have the opportunity to contribute to the UTEP-led education and outreach effort developed specifically for RASM. The UTEP team will use RASM as a platform for education and outreach. First, we will develop products for public dissemination, such as curriculum units, lesson plans and other materials (simulations, movies, and images) for use by students and teachers in high school and university classrooms. Second, we will facilitate bringing RASM PIs, postdocs, and graduate students into the classroom, through electronic mentorship and by contributing content via online lectures and presentations. Third, by the use of problem-based learning (PBL) approaches, we will provide real-world scenarios and problems enabling students to do research and develop position papers or presentations on topics related to RASM. (Problem-based learning is a student-centered, inquiry-based approach in which students work in teams to solve challenging, open-ended problems.) Fourth, we will develop teacher-training materials that will be developed into workshops (face-to-face or online) to help teachers understand how to use the materials we supply. Overall, we will provide a broad, and long-term RASM program for education and outreach. RASM education and outreach activities will target underrepresented populations - in particular, Hispanic students and teachers. For example, the UTEP student body is more than 70 percent Hispanic and 55 percent female, and the majority of students are the first in their families to attend college. Students from underrepresented groups will be given the chance to expand their understanding of the different scientific knowledge and processes associated with RASM. We will develop an eye-catching RASM website to include information about the project, model results and educational materials, and lists of RASM publications and presentations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗