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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Report format preferences of technical managers and nonmanagers

A survey of engineers and scientists concerning the format of NASA technical reports indicates that a summary as well as an abstract should be included, that the definitions of symbols and glossary of terms should be located in the front of the report, and that the illustrative material should be integrated with the text rather than grouped at the end of the report. Citation of references by number, one-column, ragged-right-margin layout, and third-person writing style are also preferred by a majority of the respondents. The preferences of managers and nonmanagers are very similar for all aspects of technical report format covered by the survey.

Pinelli, T. E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cybersecurity Lessons Learned from Vehicle to Grid Engagement

As the transportation industry continues to become electrified, introduction of additional digital devices within associated actions such as recharging bring additional potential for cybersecurity attacks. Devices that are designed, implemented, and operated with cybersecurity as a crucial consideration exacerbate these concerns by failing to provide strict boundaries on access to and use of the equipment. Emerging use cases such as Vehicle to Grid (V2G) charging may expand the potential physical effects of a cybersecurity attack by providing indirect access to electrical components of a building microgrid or portions of the larger power grid. This paper serves as an overview of findings and recommendations based on cybersecurity testing performed at a V2G implementation site operated by a member of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Establish the Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Collaboration [1]. The Department of Energy Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is a signatory of the MOU, and has funded this research paper and associated body of work regarding V2X cybersecurity. Sandia has a large background of previous research focused on Electric Vehicle (EV) cybersecurity, such as reference [2], which includes an overall survey of EV infrastructure cybersecurity and recommendations based on those findings. This report seeks to expand knowledge of EV cybersecurity status and needs by focusing on a specific implementation of V2G charging, and providing recommendations based on the relevant findings. This report serves as a publicly available, sanitized description of applied vulnerability testing on an operational V2G implementation. A more in-depth technical version of the report is provided to the MOU partner, but not available at the time of writing due to inclusion of proprietary information. V2G charging comes with many research problems that must be solved before the technology can securely implemented in sites with unrestricted public access or where cybersecurity attacks could have increased consequences, such as government offices. V2G charging requires many stakeholders such as end users, host sites, equipment vendors, and integrators, which all rely on operational safety and security as well as security and trustworthiness of any associated financial transactions.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS1995

The Capabilities of Space Stations

Over the past two years the U.S. space station program has evolved to a three-phased international program, with the first phase consisting of the use of the U.S. Space Shuttle and the upgrading and use of the Russian Mir Space Station, and the second and third phases consisting of the assembly and use of the new International Space Station. Projected capabilities for research, and plans for utilization, have also evolved and it has been difficult for those not directly involved in the design and engineering of these space stations to learn and understand their technical details. The Committee on the Space Station of the National Research Council, with the concurrence of NASA, undertook to write this short report in order to provide concise and objective information on space stations and platforms -- with emphasis on the Mir Space Station and International Space Station -- and to supply a summary of the capabilities of previous, existing, and planned space stations. In keeping with the committee charter and with the task statement for this report, the committee has summarized the research capabilities of five major space platforms: the International Space Station, the Mir Space Station, the Space Shuttle (with a Spacelab or Spacehab module in its cargo bay), the Space Station Freedom (which was redesigned to become the International Space Station in 1993 and 1994), and Skylab. By providing the summary, together with brief descriptions of the platforms, the committee hopes to assist interested readers, including scientists and engineers, government officials, and the general public, in evaluating the utility of each system to meet perceived user needs.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2014

pFUnit 3.0 Tutorial Advanced

This tutorial will introduce Fortran developers to unit-testing and test-driven development (TDD) using pFUnit. As with other unit-testing frameworks, pFUnit, simplifies the process of writing, collecting, and executing tests while providing clear diagnostic messages for failing tests. pFUnit specifically targets the development of scientific-technical software written in Fortran and includes customized features such as: assertions for multi-dimensional arrays, distributed (MPI) and thread-based (OpenMP) parallellism, and flexible parameterized tests.These sessions will include numerous examples and hands-on exercises that gradually build in complexity. Attendees are expected to have working knowledge of F90, but familiarity with object-oriented syntax in F2003 and MPI will be of benefit for the more advanced examples. By the end of the tutorial the audience should feel comfortable in applying pFUnit within their own development environment.

Test Driven using pFUnit↗
NASA NTRS1994

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 26: The technical communication practices of aerospace engineering students: Results of the phase 3 AIAA National Student Survey

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate engineering students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an engineer, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication practices, habits, and training of aerospace engineering students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The survey was undertaken as a phase 3 activity of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance; use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign language technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 28: The technical communication practices of aerospace engineering and science students: Results of the phase 4 cross-national surveys

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate aerospace engineering and science students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an aerospace engineer or a scientist, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication skills, practices, habits, and training of aerospace engineering and science students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of students enrolled in aerospace engineering and science programs at universities in India, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The surveys were undertaken as part of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance, use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign language technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 27: The technical communication practices of engineering and science students: Results of the phase 3 academic surveys

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate engineering science students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an engineer or a scientist, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication practices, habits, and training of engineers and science (Physics) students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of students enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bowling Green State University, and Texas A&M University. The survey was undertaken as part of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance, use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS2005

ASK Magazine; No. 21

THIS ISSUE FEATURES A VISUAL DEPICTION OF THE ACADEMY of Program and Project Leadership (APPL). I imagine a variety of initial reactions to the drawing. One might be, "What is a cartoon doing in a magazine about project management?" Or perhaps, "Wow, nice colors-and fun." Another may be to closely search the image for signs, symbols and meaning. Still another, to read a new level of innovation and creativity into the picture. Undoubtedly, some readers will raise questions about the cost. Of course, any reaction is a sign of engagement. The stronger, the more energized the emotional and cognitive processing, the better. It is a sign of attention and interaction. For I've heard it said, "You only need to worry if they don t care one way or the other." So what is the point of the picture? To stimulate interest, raise questions, promote discussion, and maybe raise a smile.. .That, at least, was my initial reaction when I was introduced to the work of Nancy Hegedus, who helps to create these drawings for Root Learning Inc. At the NASA PM Conference, I was first shown the work Nancy had been doing with the help of Goddard s Knowledge Management Architect, Dr. Ed Rogers. I was immediately drawn into the power of visualization as a tool for more effective learning, communicating, and conveying complex knowledge concepts. We need new tools in today s world, where information and data overwhelms by sheer volume. There are articles, pamphlets, communications, and white papers-all aiming to convince and influence. Reactions to these tend to be either avoidance or mind-numbing, heavy-eyed consent; the message never registers or enters the soul. That s one of the reasons that APPL s Knowledge Sharing Initiative (KSI) has turned to storytelling as a memorable way of transfer- ring knowledge, inspiring imitation of best practices, and spurring reflection. ASK Magazine s recent fourth birthday marks an important milestone in APPL s continuing quest to provide ongoing support to project managers and to promote mission success. And similar to storytelling, the power of visualization is receiving increasing attention in recent years as a way to stimulate engagement. Pictures and visual graphs are viewed as one of the most effective ways for displaying, describing, and generating discussion about quantitative and technically complex information. Prototypes, models, and simulations are considered essential for stimulating innovation through open and engaging discussions. There has also been extensive writing on the use of visual graphics, pictures, and cartoons to facilitate memory, creativity, openness, attention-and even well-being. For many of these reasons, I am excited to have a colorful visual depiction of the APPL world included in ASK. Without the addition of text or slides, the intent is to invite people into the world of the APPL mission-as well as its products, services, customers, and partners- in a fun and engaging manner. As project leaders strive to find ways to encourage engagement, learning, and transmission of knowledge, traditional technologies are proving to be as valuable as modern technologies. (But for those who want more information in the form of texts and slide presentations, we certainly have an abundance of those as well.)

Laufer, Alexander↗
NASA NTRS1994

Optical storage media data integrity studies

Optical disk-based information systems are being used in private industry and many Federal Government agencies for on-line and long-term storage of large quantities of data. The storage devices that are part of these systems are designed with powerful, but not unlimited, media error correction capacities. The integrity of data stored on optical disks does not only depend on the life expectancy specifications for the medium. Different factors, including handling and storage conditions, may result in an increase of medium errors in size and frequency. Monitoring the potential data degradation is crucial, especially for long term applications. Efforts are being made by the Association for Information and Image Management Technical Committee C21, Storage Devices and Applications, to specify methods for monitoring and reporting to the user medium errors detected by the storage device while writing, reading or verifying the data stored in that medium. The Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL) of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) has a leadership role in the development of these standard techniques. In addition, CSL is researching other data integrity issues, including the investigation of error-resilient compression algorithms. NIST has conducted care and handling experiments on optical disk media with the objective of identifying possible causes of degradation. NIST work in data integrity and related standards activities is described.

Podio, Fernando L.↗
DOE OSTI2022

LANL ASC FY23 L2 Milestone Description and Completion Criteria [Slides]

In early 2021, the ASC Program decided that Ristra should provide a production code (Moya) for LANL’s mission in the Low Energy-Density Physics application space. At the same time, Ristra should design an environment for rapid development of new codes that can answer new questions on new hardware. We started FY22 by expanding upon our R&D efforts of high-order DG methods for hydrodynamics; Technical & staffing challenges caused us to abandon this for a traditional FV SGH approach, but leveraging modern techniques. Significant changes in FleCSI (v1.4→2.x) have us writing code anew, in a co-design effort with the FleCSI and FleCSI specialization projects.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Synchronic Web Digital Identity: Speculations on the Art of the Possible

As search, social media, and artificial intelligence continue to reshape collective knowledge, the preservation of trust on the public infosphere has become a defining challenge of our time. Given the breadth and versatility of adversarial threats, the best—and perhaps only—defense is an equally broad and versatile infrastructure for digital identity. This document discusses the opportunities and implications of building such an infrastructure from the perspective of a national laboratory. The technical foundation for this discussion is the emergence of the Synchronic Web, a Sandia-developed infrastructure for asserting cryptographic provenance at Internet scale. As of the writing of this document, there is ongoing work to develop the underlying technology and apply it to multiple mission-specific domains within Sandia. The primary objective of this document to extend the body of existing work toward the more public-facing domain of digital identity. Our approach depends on a non-standard, but philosophically defensible notion of identity: digital identity is an unbroken sequence of states in a well-defined digital space. From this foundation, we abstractly describe the infrastructural foundations and applied configurations that we expect to underpin future notions of digital identity.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Technical Basis for Proposed Changes to DOE-STD-1194-2019, Nuclear Material Attractiveness Determination and Categorization

The Department of Energy (DOE)’s Technical Standard DOE-STD-1194-2019 (dated September 2019), Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability, provides key guidance for the determination of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) attractiveness levels. Attractiveness levels are a key component in the security categorization of SNM processed, used, and stored at DOE facilities. Upon review, the writing team identified specific components relating to the determination of attractiveness levels that could be modified to improve clarity, reduce burden on sites, and/or better align with the graded safeguards principle that is central to the DOE’s nuclear security program. The report outlines the original verbiage, issues with implementation of that verbiage, proposed new verbiage, and the expected benefits thus serving as the technical basis for the proposed changes.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2021

Numerical Codes for the DESC-LSST Analysis Pipeline: Core Cosmology Library Standard Modules and Beyond wCDM Modules (Final Technical Report)

The overall objective of the project is to investigate and develop specific software modules and analysis components for the software pipeline of LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration (DESC). Following the key projects of DESC Science Roadmap (SRM), we will write and test computer codes for the Core Cosmology Library (CCL) in order to complete its modules, functionalities, and interface to work with the analysis pipelines from the five science probes of DESC (parts of SRM deliverables CX4.2TJP, CX6.2CS). We will also code modules for CCL to test models beyond w-Cold-Dark-Matter (wCDM) and modification to gravity (MG). Interfaces for MG models will also be developed for the TJPCOSMO software which is the main pipeline of the Theory and Joint Probe (TJP) working group (deliverable TJP2.3). In order to use the full power of LSST data to constrain MG models, we will also work on constraints from nonlinear regime by running and analyzing MG N-Body simulations using a Parameterized-Post-Friedmann framework into the Gadget-2 simulation package (deliverable TJP2.2). Preliminary results for the simulations were obtained in the past. In collaboration with other DESC groups, we plan to make these simulations feedable to cosmic emulators that are practical for likelihood analyzes (deliverable TJP2.2, parts of CX6.2CS). We will also modify and integrate our current codes for consistency tests between data sets and probes into the pipeline (parts of deliverables CX8.2TJP, TJP2.3). We understand that other groups will contribute to some of these objectives but our team will focus and collaborate with others on the particular part of testing MG and models beyond wCDM and refine the DESC pipeline for this purpose. PI has been coordinating his work with the TJP and CS working groups and the DESC management team. PI is a full member of DESC since June 2013. He and his students have been contributing to LSST-DESC activities and work including TJP telecons, collaboration meetings, hack-weeks, and workshops. PI chaired or co-chaired sessions at collaboration meetings and hack-weeks about testing gravity and models beyond wCDM using LSST. He is coordinating the TJP2 projects for testing models beyond wCDM including the writing of DESC-research-note, development of code for pipeline, and N-Body simulations for MG and beyond wCDM models testable with LSST analyses. As stressed in the DESC white paper, SRM, and P5 report, one of the important questions in understanding cosmic acceleration and dark energy is to be able to distinguish whether the acceleration is due to a dark energy component in the universe or a modification to gravity. Answering these questions will have a significant impact on the question of cosmic acceleration and dark energy. The methods that we will use include analytical work, numerical code, and N-Body simulations. A first approach that that we will use consists of using growth rate parameters that enter the perturbed dynamics equations. These parameters take distinctive values for distinct gravity theories and have potential to distinguish between Dark Energy and Modified Gravity. The second method is to look for inconsistencies in Dark Energy parameter spaces using specific combinations of cosmological data sets. Our investigation addresses the Dark Energy problem that is relevant to the mission of the HEP program to understand how our universe works at its most fundamental level. It will allow us to make progress on the HEP mission to explore the nature of Dark Energy and the basic nature of space and time using future surveys such as LSST. The investigation supports the DOE HEP program Cosmic Frontier as it will contribute to the study and understanding of dark energy and fundamental properties of the universe. The investigation contributes directly to LSST-DESC key projects and their deliverables as described in the Science Road-map document to build analysis pipeline and to test dark energy and beyond wCDM models using LSST.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
NASA NTRS1998

Reese Sorenson's Individual Professional Page

The subject document is a World Wide Web (WWW) page entitled, "Reese Sorenson's Individual Professional Page." Its can be accessed at "http://george.arc.nasa.gov/~sorenson/personal/index.html". The purpose of this page is to make the reader aware of me, who I am, and what I do. It lists my work assignments, my computer experience, my place in the NASA hierarchy, publications by me, awards received by me, my education, and how to contact me. Writing this page was a learning experience, pursuant to an element in my Job Description which calls for me to be able to use the latest computers. This web page contains very little technical information, none of which is classified or sensitive.

Sorenson, Reese↗
DOE OSTI2023

Writing Competitive Proposals [Slides]

A proposal is a written response to an opportunity offered by a funding organization. Proposals must meet a SOLICITOR’S needs, not YOUR needs. A solicited proposal is a written response to a specific solicitation issued by a sponsor. These solicitations are typically called RFPs, or Requests for Proposals. RFPs are specific in their requirements regarding format and technical content. Scientists at Los Alamos often deal with this type of proposal — Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) proposals are one example. An unsolicited proposal is one submitted to a sponsor who has not issued a specific solicitation. It usually comes about during interactions at meetings or conferences. In some instances, a sponsor may be visiting for another reason when the possibility for an unsolicited proposal becomes available. A pre-proposal is one in which a sponsor wishes to gage competition before having participants prepare a formal, full-length proposal. These types of scenarios imply that the actual proposal could be highly competitive and will usually be by invitation only.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
NASA NTRS1975

Tape tracking and handling for magnetic tape recorders

One of the critical performance and life limiting elements of a spacecraft tape recorder instrumentation system which has received little attention in technical literature is magnetic tape tracking and handling technology. This technology is required to understand how to gently transfer tape from one reel to another with proper alignment and a desirable uniform velocity at the read and write transducer heads. The increased demand for high data rate (i.e., multi-track spacecraft recording instrumentation systems), coupled with performance under extreme environmental conditions, requires a thorough knowledge of the various parameters which establish an optimum designed tape tracking and handling system. Stress analysis techniques are required to evaluate these parameters substantiated with test tape tracking data, to show the effect of each parameter on a tape recorder instrumentation tracking system. The technology is applicable to ground type tape recorders where the detrimental effects of edge guidance can be eliminated.

Paroby, W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Software For Computing Selected Functions

Technical memorandum presents collection of software packages in Ada implementing mathematical functions used in science and engineering. Provides programmer with function support in Pascal and FORTRAN, plus support for extended-precision arithmetic and complex arithmetic. Valuable for testing new computers, writing computer code, or developing new computer integrated circuits.

Grant, David C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NESC GN&C TDT Workshop on 2D Image Motion Optical Transfer Functions, Pointing Performance Analysis, and Requirements

This course was prepared by the author in support of the NASA GN&C Technical Discipline Team (TDT). The purpose of this two-day course is to inform practicing GN&C engineers, and other system and subsystem engineers, including payload engineers and mission analysts, of methodologies to analyze the pointing performance of spacecraft and to write unambiguous pointing requirements that are relevant to optical payload performance. It is hoped that the seminar will contribute to a best-practices manual and contribute to accepted and uniform means of requirements definition, validation, and verification. The course material is designed to address the needs of not only practicing GN&C engineers, but also system and subsystem engineers of other disciplines, payload engineers, mission analysts, and even astronomers who need to understand how they interface to a GN&C subsystem. Much revision is the direct result of active student participation during the presentations and from feedback obtained through course evaluation forms.

2D Image↗