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DOE OSTI2026

Electrifying New York’s Affordable Housing

Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) joined forces with the Association for Energy Affordability (AEA), with support from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). Through this 3-year pilot project, the project partners collaborated to develop tools and processes that efficiently utilize New York State Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) funding to both improve energy efficiency through weatherization and to convert to clean heating systems through electrification. We developed and piloted this approach on five multifamily dwelling buildings, totaling 154 units in New York City, using the energy audit protocol that was developed as part of this project. Our goal was to develop a basis of knowledge for pursuing similar retrofits nationwide.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2014

Accounting for baryonic effects in cosmic shear tomography: Determining a minimal set of nuisance parameters using PCA

Systematic uncertainties that have been subdominant in past large-scale structure (LSS) surveys are likely to exceed statistical uncertainties of current and future LSS data sets, potentially limiting the extraction of cosmological information. Here we present a general framework (PCA marginalization) to consistently incorporate systematic effects into a likelihood analysis. This technique naturally accounts for degeneracies between nuisance parameters and can substantially reduce the dimension of the parameter space that needs to be sampled. As a practical application, we apply PCA marginalization to account for baryonic physics as an uncertainty in cosmic shear tomography. Specifically, we use CosmoLike to run simulated likelihood analyses on three independent sets of numerical simulations, each covering a wide range of baryonic scenarios differing in cooling, star formation, and feedback mechanisms. We simulate a Stage III (Dark Energy Survey) and Stage IV (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope/Euclid) survey and find a substantial bias in cosmological constraints if baryonic physics is not accounted for. We then show that PCA marginalization (employing at most 3 to 4 nuisance parameters) removes this bias. Our study demonstrates that it is possible to obtain robust, precise constraints on the dark energy equation of state even in the presence of large levels of systematic uncertainty in astrophysical processes. We conclude that the PCA marginalization technique is a powerful, general tool for addressing many of the challenges facing the precision cosmology program.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2018

A Toolbox Necessity: Finding Best Practices in High-Performance Homes with the Building America Solution Center

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Solution Center is a free, easy-to-access web tool containing the latest building science research from the Building America program. This paper describes how the Solution Center is bringing best practices for high-performance homes to members of the building industry to help their businesses to gain an edge to help expand their markets. It includes a tour of the Solution Center’s newest features and updates. The Building America Solution Center provides full and simple access to a wealth of best practices based on building science and energy efficiency research generated by the Building America program, along with other resources to help builders specify features, train crews, complete quality installations, and sell houses. This paper supports the visual presentation with the same title. The paper will be submitted for inclusion in the ACEEE Summer Study 2018 proceedings. The poster will be presented at the ACEEE 2018 Summer Study conference.

.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Pro↗

DOE OSTI2019

National Nuclear Security Administration Strategic Vision Strengthening our Nation through Nuclear Security

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s enduring mission is to protect our nation by maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear weapons stockpile, reducing global nuclear threats, and providing our submarines and aircraft carriers with militarily effective nuclear propulsion. Although we have numerous strategic partners that enable, contribute to, and benefit from our efforts, no other organization, government or civilian, can accomplish our unique mission on behalf of the American people. In this area, we stand alone. This strategic vision pursues urgent change at a significant scale to develop creative approaches, make sustained investments, and be disciplined in our approach to develop a nuclear capability for our time and for the foreseeable future. It is incumbent on us to anticipate our future security challenges and ensure our country is ready to meet them. Not doing so would have far-reaching consequences. Failure to meet our vital mission objectives will erode confidence in the security that the United States strategic deterrent umbrella provides. In assessing the current mission environment in NNSA, we can count on one thing—change: The geopolitical environment for our deterrent is ever-changing Threats from rogue states and terrorists are evolving Our nuclear weapons and the infrastructure that supports them are aging Science and technology continue to move forward at an ever-increasing pace In this dynamic environment, it is not sufficient to remedy today’s situation and meet our current mission requirements. We must lean forward in the development, planning, and execution of programs that address our current challenges while developing the workforce, infrastructure, tools, and governance systems that will enable us to meet our deterrence, non-proliferation, and naval propulsion mission requirements for the next 50 years. We must embrace a next-generation enterprise that is flexible enough to respond to future challenges. With decades of stagnation following the end of the Cold War, we find ourselves in the unenviable position of implementing near-term fixes while using those lessons learned to better prepare for the future. Without sustained and predictable investments to restore and modernize our infrastructure, we will rapidly lose our ability to deliver on our promise of a safe and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile, which will degrade our deterrent capability and render legacy weapon systems irrelevant to the defense of our nation. We must not and will not allow the next generation of our nuclear security enterprise to simply maintain the status quo. We have a storied past that guides us. For 75 years our enterprise has overcome every challenge, led the country in incredible scientific and engineering endeavors and discoveries, and successfully ensured constant vigilance in maintaining an effective deterrent, reducing global nuclear threats, and powering our nuclear navy. Now is the time for us to take decisive action in forging the enterprise of the future. As I have traveled to all of our labs, plants, and sites and met with people across our complex, I have been left with one overwhelming impression: the incredible workforce that makes up our nuclear security enterprise is up to all of the challenges we have before us. Together we can and will ensure that those in the future workforce have the resources and the responsive, agile infrastructure they need to maintain the systems of today and to design and field the systems of tomorrow.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2021

Energy Management Information System Powers NREL's Intelligent Campus

NREL's Intelligent Campus program leverages its own laboratory buildings as research instruments to study renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage, integration, and analysis with real, quantitative measurements. At the heart of NREL's Intelligent Campus program is its Energy Management Information System (EMIS), a family of tools and services used to manage building and campus energy use. NREL's EMIS includes capabilities, such as benchmarking and monthly utility tracking, interval meter analytics, equipment fault detection and diagnostics, condition-based monitoring, and supervisory control, enabling unprecedented energy management capabilities. The system serves as a demonstration project for other federal facilities interested in learning about its design, features, and benefits.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2021

Energy Management Information System Powers NREL's Intelligent Campus

EMIS↗

DOE OSTI2015

The Acoustic Emission signal acquired by the microphones placed in the CABRI test device along the fourteen last R.I.A. experiments: an example of reproducible research in nuclear science

The CABRI facility is an experimental nuclear reactor of the French Atomic Energy Commission. It is located at the Cadarache Research Centre in southern France and it is designed to act as a support to the French nuclear infrastructure. The purpose of the new testing programme termed, 'CABRI International Programme' (CIP) is to study the behaviour of PWR-type fuel rods at high burnup, equipped with an 'advanced' cladding, under Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions (such as the scenario of a control rod ejection). Within the framework of this programme, piloted and funded by the French Institute of Nuclear Radioprotection and Safety (IRSN), ten tests are to be conducted with a frequency of two tests per year. The LPRE laboratory of the CEA which is in charge of the Preparation, realisation and breakdown of the test results studies the possibility to set up a new test analysis based on the processing of signals coming from sensors placed within the test equipment. During the experimental phase, the behaviour of the fuel element generates acoustic waves which can be detected by two microphones placed upstream and downstream of the test device. Studies showed the interest to realize temporal and spectral analyses on these signals by showing the existence of signatures which can be correlated with physical phenomena as the rod failure or the test shutdown (i.e. scram). The work presented in this article results from the will to consolidate these studies. Since the main phenomenon to be tracked is the fuel rod failure, the aim would be to highlight specific events which would have been precursors of the rod failure in order to use in the future these signals for further interpretation. Such an antecedent works resumption leads to a better understanding of the experimental needs and constitutes a good initial state to prepare the new very fast digital data acquisition systems. Although all the raw data are accessible in the form of text files, analyses and graphics representations were not straightforward to reproduce from the ancient studies since that, on one hand, people who were in charge of the original work left the laboratory and on the other hand because it is not easy when the time passes, even with our own work, to be able to remember the steps of data manipulations and the exact setup: - During the ancient experiments the use of analog data acquisition systems required to digitize tapes to be able to realize computer treatments. That had had for consequence to lose the initial dating. This one must be correctly edited to do temporal comparisons. - Analyses require functions for calculations whose parameters has to be well-known to reach the same results. We thus wished to manage our workflow in the idea that it can be easily reproducible on all the experiments. The object of the work presented in this article was to put in practice this strong bind between the data, treatments and generation of the document in order not to hesitate to do the iteration principle in action. We do not have to be afraid by the data driven analyses. According to the philosophy of the literate programming, the text of the technical document is woven with the computer code that produces all the printed output as tables, graphs for the study eliminating hence the unrealistic cut and paste. This difficulty is not specific to the nuclear domain. For many years, researchers have been worked out solutions to this mundane issue. And, presently, new technologies and high-level programming languages offer us actual answers. We will firstly present the tools applied in our laboratory to implement this workflow, then we will describe the global perception carried out to continue the study of the Acoustic Emission signals recorded by the two microphones during the fourteen last CABRI R.I.A. test.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Remote Retrieval, Disruption and Processing of Legacy Nuclear Waste - 16179

The UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) is currently undertaking, in conjunction with Sellafield Ltd, a series of high profile trials of robotic equipment on a full scale test facility at their Workington Laboratory in England. These trials are designed to underpin and substantiate the processes proposed for the remote retrieval, disruption and processing of legacy Miscellaneous Beta Gamma Waste (MBGW) from a number of different donor plants on the Sellafield site, including some of the older fuel storage ponds and storage silos. These processes will be conducted inside the new Box Encapsulation Plant (BEP) which is due to be commissioned at Sellafield by 2020. These processes will subsequently enable Sellafield Ltd to safely recover legacy Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) from the older storage facilities on site and process it into a safer form which is more suitable for long term storage and then ultimately final disposal in a Geological Disposal Facility. As part of this legacy waste processing within the BEP plant, MBGW waste items will have to be remotely removed from a variety of different types of import skips. This waste will then be transferred, using robots, into the export container, which is a 3 m{sup 3} box liner, where the processed waste will be flood grouted to produce an encapsulated waste package. As part of this processing, any MBGW items consisting of sealed containers will have to be remotely disrupted before being grout encapsulated. This disruption is in order to (a) release any trapped liquors or gases from the containers and (b) ensure full grout infiltration of the container contents, thus minimising the amount of free liquors and voids within the final waste product. The NNL are conducting this technical work to confirm the viability of the proposed concept, processes and equipment. The developed solution consists of a linear layout of processing equipment with a pair of heavy duty, standard industrial, 'commercially off the shelf' (COTS) robots positioned around a Waste Handling Table. These robots have a 500 kg payload capacity and are operated remotely to handle all of the various types of MBGW waste, including the heavy and bulky items. The robots can be operated in manual tele-operation mode as well as pre-programmed automatic mode and have a range of primary and secondary tooling in order to perform the waste processing and disruption tasks as well as undertake general house-keeping and cleaning duties within the cell. The main tools include two types of hydraulic grab for the main waste recovery and handling tasks and a hydraulic shear for the waste disruption activities, but a number of other tools have also been designed and built for ancillary activities, such as a set of general purpose gripper jaws, drilling tool, bolt removal tool, pump tool, spray tool and a number of different housekeeping tools etc. The robot trials were started in November 2014, and have attracted a significant degree of high level stakeholder interest, including the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), Environment Agency (EA) and Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWML) witnessing a number of the critical demonstration trials. Robots of the type selected are readily available, robust, reliable and easy to use. The trials have been very successful in proving the retrieval, processing and disruption operations, reducing the burden in the legacy waste facilities. Utilising robots to perform these tasks will lower the probability of producing non-compliant waste packages. In addition the robots can increase the consolidation of incoming waste skips into outgoing 3 m{sup 3} box liners, significantly increasing packing efficiencies and reducing the overall number of export containers produced thus lowering the decommissioning and waste storage/disposal costs. The trials have also enabled an assessment of the optimum way to operate the robots, as well as their reliability and maintainability issues. Engineering work associated with recovering failed robots and removing them from a typical Sellafield plant environment and then subsequently replacing them with functioning robots has also been undertaken and further work is now planned. The success of the trials, completed safely to a very challenging timescale, has enabled the use of robots in BEP to be endorsed as a viable option by the key stakeholders. Following a robust decision making process, this was a clear cut decision. The technical development and testing of the robot technology is currently continuing in order to investigate areas such as robot reliability, failure recoveries, human factors, ease of waste identification, optimisation of throughput rates, nuclearisation modifications etc. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2019

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories: An Asset Management Journey - 19438

In this paper, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) outlines key tools, strategies and lessons learned from development of their Asset Management Program. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a 60-year old site in the midst of a C$1.2B redevelopment that includes construction of six new facilities and demolition of over 120 buildings and structures. The presentation outlines CNL's progress in creating an efficient and effective asset management program that leverages and optimizes current good practices while creating a consistent, disciplined and information-based approach for the maintenance and management of assets. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2016

Establishing a Cyber Security Culture for the Nuclear Industry

This paper explores the development of a Cyber Security Culture that deploys the appropriate technological and Human Performance tools using the key tenets of INPO's Nuclear Safety Culture program as a basis. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Transportation and Systems Analysis Collaborations in Support of a Federal Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Waste Management (IWM) program under the Office of Nuclear Energy is planning for the future transportation, storage, and eventual disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from nuclear power plant sites across the United States. To better enable informed decision-making regarding the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, the IWM program has been sponsoring the development and application of system analysis tools capable of analyzing various options for managing SNF and HLW. With these tools, integrated waste management system (IWMS) architecture analyses are being conducted to support the future deployment of a comprehensive nuclear waste management system that considers all major back-end aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle (i.e., transportation, storage, and disposal). System analyses and assessments typically use these modeling and simulation tools to investigate implications of changes in various assumptions and parameters such as acceptance rates, receipt logic, facility capacities and capabilities, use of standardized canisters, start and stop dates of facilities, etc. The Next Generation System Analysis Model (NGSAM) is an agent-based simulation toolkit that is used for a system-level simulation and analysis focused on SNF management in the United States. An analyst using NGSAM has the ability to define several factors like the number of storage facilities, capacity at each facility, transportation schedules, shipment rates, and other conditions. NGSAM’s primary purpose is to provide a system analyst with capabilities to model the IWMS and gain insights into SNF and HLW management alternatives including the impact of system choices, associated cost estimates, and development of integrated yet flexible approaches. IWM is also developing the Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START). START is a web-based geospatial tool developed to provide visualization and initial evaluation of transportation options associated with future SNF and HLW shipment planning and operations. This includes characterizing safety, economic, and environmental conditions on and in proximity to shipment origins as well as along prospective transportation routes. Information from the START tool can be presented/shared as maps, graphics, geospatial files, and tabular form to enable easy data representation and export functionality. The system analysis, NGSAM, and START teams had been working closely for several years before formalizing this collaboration. START provides the SNF routing information for use in NGSAM. System analysts use the NGSAM tool to generate results (schedule, costs, infrastructure acquisitions, shipment rates, etc.). Subject-matter experts and system analysts work together to inform how NGSAM should model the waste management system. Specifically, this paper discusses the collaborations between the system analysis, NGSAM, and START teams and their accomplishments over the past year. Some examples of these efforts include calibrating and adding data to the START output files to meet NGSAM needs, gaining a better understanding of START data used in NGSAM, as well as how updates in START data could result in an improved NGSAM analysis. Detailed examples of various tasks that have been performed by the team will be discussed in the full paper. Continued efforts in this direction are expected in the coming years.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Transportation and System Analysis Collaborations in Support of a Federal Consolidated Interim Storage Facility

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Waste Management (IWM) program under the Office of Nuclear Energy is planning for the future transportation, storage, and eventual disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from nuclear power plant and waste custodian sites across the United States. To better enable informed decision-making regarding the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, the IWM program has been sponsoring the development and application of system analysis tools capable of analyzing various options for managing SNF and HLW. With these tools, integrated waste management system (IWMS) architecture analyses are being conducted to support the future deployment of a comprehensive nuclear waste management system that considers all major back-end aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle (i.e., transportation, storage, and disposal). System analyses and assessments typically use these modeling and simulation tools to investigate implications of changes in various assumptions and parameters such as acceptance rates, receipt logic, facility capacities and capabilities, use of standardized canisters, start and stop dates of facilities, etc. The Next Generation System Analysis Model (NGSAM) is an agent-based simulation toolkit that is used for a system-level simulation and analysis focused on SNF management in the United States. NGSAM’s primary purpose is to provide a system analyst with capabilities to model the IWMS and gain insights into SNF and HLW management alternatives including the impact of system choices, associated cost estimates, and development of integrated yet flexible approaches. An analyst using NGSAM can define several factors like the number of storage facilities, capacity at each facility, transportation schedules, shipment rates, and other conditions. IWM is also developing the Stakeholder Tool for Assessing Radioactive Transportation (START). START is a web-based geospatial tool developed to provide the visualization and initial evaluation of transportation options associated with future SNF and HLW shipment planning and operations. This includes characterizing safety, economic, and environmental conditions at and in proximity to shipment origins as well as along prospective transportation routes. Information from the START tool can be presented/shared as maps, graphics, geospatial files, and tabular form to enable easy data representation and export functionality. The system analysis, NGSAM, and START teams have been working closely for several years before formalizing this collaboration. START provides the SNF transportation routing information for use in NGSAM. System analysts use the NGSAM tool to generate results (schedule, costs, infrastructure acquisitions, shipment rates, etc.). Subject-matter experts and system analysts work together to inform how NGSAM should model the waste management system. Specifically, this paper discusses the collaborations between the system analysis, NGSAM, and START teams and their accomplishments over the past year. Some examples of these efforts include calibrating and adding data to the START output files to meet NGSAM needs, gaining a better understanding of START data used in NGSAM as well as how updates in START data could result in an improved NGSAM analysis. Detailed examples of various tasks that have been performed by the team will be discussed in the full paper. Continued efforts in this direction are expected in the coming years.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Field Programmable Gate Array Data Capture for Control Systems

Some Industrial Control Systems (ICS) networks are based on protocols such as Serial and Industrial Ethernet. These protocols currently have no existing cybersecurity monitoring tools, leaving a large gap in the cyber defense of critical infrastructure. In order to analyze such ICS traffic, it is first necessary to implement methods of capturing the ICS data. Whereas traditional methods of analyzing data would use microprocessors, the nature of high-speed analog data can be difficult to implement on such a versatile processor, as they are rather inefficient for doing a single task. Whereas Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide an adequate tool in analyzing high speed data, as despite the lack of program versatility, Programmable Logic can implement a solution with minimal clock cycles, allowing time for each new packet of data to be captured before a new data sample is taken.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2022

MIRaGE-Lite V.4.X

SAND2022-4254 O The goal of Multiscale Inverse Rapid Group-theory for Engineered-metamaterials (MIRaGE), funded under the DARPA EXTREME program, is to create a group theory-based multiscale simulation tool that enables the inverse design of metamaterials exhibiting exotic electromagnetic behaviors beyond the limits of conventional optics. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

El-Kady, Ihab↗

DOE OSTI2025

INTEGRATION OF DATA ANALYTICS WITH SYSTEM HEALTH PROGRAMS

Industry equipment reliability and asset management programs are essential elements that help ensure the safe and economical operation of nuclear power plants. The effectiveness of these programs is addressed in several industry developed and regulatory programs. However, these programs have proven to be labor intensive and expensive. There is an opportunity to significantly enhance the collection, analysis, and use of this information to provide more cost-effective plant operation. Additionally, there is an acute industry need to leverage advanced technology to reduce costs and improve operational effectiveness. The goal of this paper is to provide effective and efficient analytical methods and tools to support risk-informed decisions for the equipment reliability and asset management programs at nuclear power plants. This is accomplished by creating a direct bridge between component health/lifecycle data and decision making (e.g., maintenance scheduling and project prioritization). Here we are supporting typical system engineer decisions regarding maintenance activity scheduling and component ageing management. This is performed in a risk-informed context where herein the term “risk” is broadly constructed to include both plant reliability and economics. This framework combines data analytics tools to analyze equipment reliability data with risk-informed methods designed to support system engineer decisions (e.g., maintenance and replacement schedules, optimal maintenance posture) in a customizable workflow. A challenge is that the structure of this workflow strongly depends on the decision that needs to be made, the type of data available, and the constraints that need to be considered. Current methods are designed to provide specific answers to specific problems; however, these methods might prove to be inadequate even when problem settings slightly change (e.g., different types of requirements, additional dependencies between system reliability and economics). We tackled this challenge by designing framework in a flexible and modular fashion such that the user can assemble and customize his/her own workflow that integrates SSC economic lifecycle models (e.g., maintenance and replacement costs), system reliability models, and optimization methods.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2014

Applying an improved rapid impact assessment matrix method to strategic environmental assessment of urban planning in China

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has become an increasingly important decision-support tool for providing information on the environmental implications of a policy, plan, or program. The goal is to safeguard the environment and promote sustainable development at the strategic level. Despite major progress in implementing SEA practices internationally, developing countries, such as China, often lag behind in applying SEA methodology. Lack of available data and time constraints arising from tight schedules create problems. The rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) is a potential resource for breaking through such difficulties. Our analysis of RIAM applications suggested that it could become a tool for evaluating strategic alternatives because of its applicability in interdisciplinary settings, its transparency, and its short implementation timeframe. To make it more suitable for the SEA context, we have developed two major improvements to the conventional RIAM process: assignment of weights to assessment indicators and the development of an integrated environmental assessment score (IES). The improved RIAM process was employed in an SEA of the development plan for the Nansha District in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province in China. It was used to assess five alternatives for development in Wanqingsha (WQS), a subunit of Nansha, where important ecological resources are located and where industrial development could impact the air quality in the neighboring Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The evaluation identified WQS-A04 as the preferred alternative. This alternative involved a minimal amount of industrial development – 10% compared with the most intense development alternative – and included important wetland preservation plans. The assessment results have been incorporated into the officially approved development plan for Nansha. The improved RIAM methodology is well adapted to the technical aims of SEA and decision-making structures in China. It offers the potential for delivering timely and quality results to decision-making processes. To achieve the desired efficiency, it is recommended that an SEA procedure take into account findings acquired from an improved RIAM application at an early stage, then, at a later stage, results from more comprehensive assessments conducted using more sophisticated methods should be added, if time and data are available. - Highlights: • RIAM is a potential SEA tool due to its multidisciplinary setting and rapid process. • Weighting index and computing IES are raised for improving RIAM when applied to SEAs. • The improved RIAM boosts SEA effectiveness by timely responding to decision-making. • The improved RIAM is more suitable to an SEA bothered by tight time or data shortage. • The improved RIAM adapts to the technical aims of SEA and decision features in China.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Programming PAM antennae for efficient CRISPR-Cas9 DNA editing

Bacterial CRISPR-Cas9 nucleases have been repurposed as powerful genome editing tools. Whereas engineering guide RNAs or Cas nucleases have proven to improve the efficiency of CRISPR editing, modulation of protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM), indispensable for CRISPR, has been less explored. Here, we develop a DNA origami–based platform to program a PAM antenna microenvironment and address its performance at the single-molecule level with submolecular resolution. To mimic spatially controlled in vivo PAM distribution as may occur in chromatin, we investigate the effect of PAM antennae surrounding target DNA. We find that PAM antennae effectively sensitize the DNA cleavage by recruiting Cas9 molecules. Super-resolution tracking of single single-guide RNA/Cas9s reveals localized translocation of Cas9 among spatially proximal PAMs. We find that the introduction of the PAM antennae effectively modulates the microenvironment for enhanced target cleavage (up to ~50%). These results provide insight into factors that promote more efficient genome editing.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Quantum Nature and Mass of the Neutrino. FY20 Annual Laboratory Continuation Progress Report

Over the last 100 years we have learned a much about the neutrino, but there remain interesting questions about this weakly interacting particle. In particular, at LLNL we are developing experiments to measure the mass and the quantum nature of the neutrino. The 2015 long range plan recommended tonne-scale neutrinoless double beta decay experiments as the top new project priority and this experiment will target the quantum nature of the neutrino. The LLNL team is motivated and focused on developing the best technology for this experiment which is a liquid xenon time project chamber called nEXO. On a longer time scale, LLNL is also developing technology to measure the neutrino mass with tritium decay experiments. Work on nEXO at LLNL started in 2015 with an LDRD and program development funds to develop the nEXO concept, publish sensitivity predictions, explore alternatives and risks, and to build a credible project team and this effort is on going. In addition, we received research funding from DOE-SC NP and LLNL manages pre-conceptual R&D for the nEXO collaboration a portion of which is executed at LLNL. The Project 8 effort is solely funded by LLNL LDRD, and ends this year. A second LDRD effort is focused on repurposing cyclotron radiation emission spectroscopy for eV-scale X-ray detection. This second effort, while separated from Project 8, still has scientific and technical commonalities with Project 8. The funding for this X-ray detection effort will continue for one more year. LLNL has a long history of building large projects, science projects and time projection chambers, but nEXO is in fact the first project of this scale that LLNL is prepared to lead for DOE-SC NP.We have the tools, skills, people and motivation to make nEXO a reality. The current program development dollars are used to prepare the nEXO concept for down select and CD1. These internal LLNL dollars pay for a number of things including project staff to organize the nEXO collaboration for the various reviews that lie ahead, to develop the draft plans and structure to manage the project as well as setting up an external advisory committee. The current LDRD is exploring alternatives that effect the risk profile as well as possible performance improvements. The DOE-SC NP base funding is targeted at simulation and analysis of the nEXO concept in preparation for the down select and refinement of the understanding of the detector as well as scientific effort on the large xenon test stand (LXTS) that will burn down one of the largest risks to the nEXO project. Lastly, LLNL is leading the pre-conceptual R&D effort and managing the funds for the nEXO collaboration. The results of this effort are reported elsewhere, but the scope of this executed at LLNL will be reported here and is primarily the engineering and construction of the LXTS experiment. The primary technical contribution of LLNL to the Project 8 concept is the formation and study of atomic tritium. Atomic tritium is necessary for Project 8 to reach the ultimate sensitivity. LLNL has considerable experience with tritium and is well suited for this crucial work. Although the focus of this work is strictly fundamental science, there has already been one significant spinoff to develop a new means to measure radio xenon in the air

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗