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U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program

The National Isotope Development Center (NIDC) interfaces with the User Community and manages the coordination of isotope production across the facilities and business operations involved in the production, sale, and distribution of isotopes. A virtual center, the NIDC is funded by the Isotope Development and Production for Research and Applications (IDPRA) subprogram of the Office of Nuclear Physics in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. PNNL’s Isotope Program operates in a multi-program category-2 nuclear facility, the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL), that contains 16 hot cells and 20 gloveboxes. As part of the DOE Isotope Program, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory dispenses strontium-90, neptunium-237, radium-223, and thorium-227. PNNL’s Isotope Program uses a dedicated hot-cell for strontium-90 dispensing and a dedicated glovebox for radium-223 and thorium-227 dispensing. PNNL’s Isotope Program has access to state of the art analytical equipment in the RPL to support their research and production activities. DOE Isotope Program funded research at PNNL has advanced the application of automated radiochemistry for isotope such as zirconium-89 and astatine-211 in partnership with the University of Washington.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

2017 Annual Progress Report: DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program

In the past year, the DOE Hydrogen Program (the Program) made substantial progress toward its goals and objectives. The Program has conducted comprehensive and focused efforts to enable the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in diverse sectors of the economy. With emphasis on applications that will effectively strengthen our nation's energy security and improve our stewardship of the environment, the Program engages in research, development, and demonstration of critical improvements in the technologies. Highlights of the Program's accomplishments can be found in the sub-program chapters of this report.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Going Beyond Code: A Guide for Creating Effective Green Building Programs for Energy Efficient and Sustainable Communities

This guide is designed to help state and local governments design and implement successful "beyond code" programs for new commercial and residential buildings. The goal is to help states and localities establish voluntary or mandatory programs that go well beyond traditional minimum code requirements for new buildings. The guide addresses keys to successful adoption and implementation and discusses the primary areas that are typically included in beyond code or green building programs, including energy-efficiency materials and resource conservation, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and site development and land use. Detailed descriptions and analysis of actual programs are discussed, including lessons learned and best practices. States and localities can use the information on local programs, model codes and standards, and the model energy-efficiency criteria for residential and commercial buildings to find the best approach for their jurisdiction to develop and implement an effective beyond code program.

Code adoption and implementation, sustainability, ↗

Customer enrollment and participation in building demand management programs: A review of key factors

Increasing the efficiency and flexibility of electricity demand is necessary for ensuring a cost-effective and reliable transition to zero-carbon electricity systems. Such demand-side management (DSM) resources have been procured by utilities for decades via energy efficiency and demand response programs; however, the key drivers of program enrollment and customer participation levels remain poorly understood — even as governments and grid planners seek to scale up the deployment of DSM assets to meet climate targets. Here we systematically review the evidence on multiple factors that may influence customer enrollment and participation in building DSM programs, focusing primarily on residential and commercial buildings. We examine the contexts in which relationships between DSM factors and outcomes are most often explored and with which methods; we also score the strength, direction, and internal consistency of each factor's reported impact on the enrollment and participation outcomes. We find that studies most commonly assess the effects of economic incentives for load flexibility on program participation levels, often using simulation-based methods in lieu of measured data. Few studies focus on program enrollment outcomes or regulatory drivers of either enrollment or participation, and gaps are also evident in the coverage of emerging DSM opportunities like load electrification. Removal of structural barriers (e.g., the lack of controls infrastructure) and the use of third party services (e.g., load aggregators) are the factors with the largest positive impacts on DSM outcomes, but no single factor emerges as clearly most impactful. For a given factor, the range of reported impacts typically varies widely across the relevant studies reviewed. Our findings provide a snapshot of the state of knowledge about building DSM and customer decision-making, and they expose key gaps in understanding that must be filled if building DSM is to expand as a critical resource for operating clean power grids.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Building a Diverse and Inclusive STEM Workforce: The JUMP into STEM Program: Preprint

The JUMP into STEM program is a DOE-funded initiative jointly run by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National La-boratory. Through this program, students from historically underrepresented backgrounds are engaged in the science of building energy-efficient infrastruc-ture. Through program stages, students have opportunity to compete in chal-lenges, competitions, and internship opportunities. We have conducted a study of past participants in the program. We find that 1) the program has been effec-tive at engaging a diverse array of participants from a variety of backgrounds, including historically underrepresented backgrounds, and 2) the program has been effective at promoting career paths in STEM, and more specifically, in en-ergy efficiency.

DEI↗

Importance of Data Management in a Long-term Biological Monitoring Program

The long-term Biological Monitoring and Abatement Program (BMAP) has always needed to collect and retain high-quality data on which to base its assessments of ecological status of streams and their recovery after remediation. Its formal quality assurance, data processing, and data management components all contribute to this need. The Quality Assurance Program comprehensively addresses requirements from various institutions, funders, and regulators, and includes a data management component. Centralized data management began a few years into the program. An existing relational database was adapted and extended to handle biological data. Data modeling enabled the program's database to process, store, and retrieve its data. The data base's main data tables and several key reference tables are described. One of the most important related activities supporting long-term analyses was the establishing of standards for sampling site names, taxonomic identification, flagging, and other components. There are limitations. Some types of program data were not easily accommodated in the central systems, and many possible data-sharing and integration options are not easily accessible to investigators. The implemented relational database supports the transmittal of data to the Oak Ridge Environmental Information System (OREIS) as the permanent repository. From our experience we offer data management advice to other biologically oriented long-term environmental sampling and analysis programs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Mathematical Programming Models for Shale Oil & Gas Development: A Review and Perspective

Here, in this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of mathematical programming models for shale oil & gas development, and we offer a perspective on outstanding research opportunities. We distinguish contributions in five major topic areas, namely: (1) development planning, (2) water management, (3) production optimization, (4) supplies, gathering & processing, and (5) life cycle analysis & sustainability. We highlight how various types of mathematical programming models (i.e., linear programs, nonlinear programs, mixed-integer linear programs, mixed-integer nonlinear programs) have been proposed primarily by the Process Systems Engineering community to address the respective decision-making problems, and we highlight instances of successful deployment in industry. Finally, based on a critical assessment of the existing body of work, we identify opportunities for future research across the major topic areas.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Integrity of the National Resident Matching Program for Radiation Oncology: National Survey of Applicant Experiences

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of radiation oncology applicants and to evaluate the prevalence of behaviors that may be in conflict with established ethical standards. Methods and Materials: An anonymous survey was sent to all 2013 applicants to a single domestic radiation oncology residency program through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Questions included demographics, survey of observed behaviors, and opinions regarding the interview and matching process. Descriptive statistics were presented. Characteristics and experiences of respondents who matched were compared with those who did not match. Results: Questionnaires were returned by 87 of 171 applicants for a 51% response rate. Eighty-two questionnaires were complete and included for analysis. Seventy-eight respondents (95.1%) reported being asked at least 1 question in conflict with the NRMP code of conduct. When asked where else they were interviewing, 64% stated that this query made them uncomfortable. Forty-five respondents (54.9%) reported unsolicited post-interview contact by programs, and 31 (37.8%) felt pressured to give assurances. Fifteen respondents (18.3%) reported being told their rank position or that they were “ranked to match” prior to Match day, with 27% of those individuals indicating this information influenced how they ranked programs. Half of respondents felt applicants often made dishonest or misleading assurances, one-third reported that they believed their desired match outcome could be improved by deliberately misleading programs, and more than two-thirds felt their rank position could be improved by having faculty from their home institutions directly contact programs on their behalf. Conclusions: Radiation oncology applicants report a high prevalence of behaviors in conflict with written NRMP policies. Post-interview communication should be discouraged in order to enhance fairness and support the professional development of future radiation oncologists.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Prenatal ethanol exposure programs an increased susceptibility of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in female adult offspring rats

Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) induces dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in fetus and adult offspring. However, whether PEE increases the susceptibility to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in offspring and its underlying mechanism remain unknown. This study aimed to demonstrate an increased susceptibility to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD and its intrauterine programming mechanisms in female rat offspring with PEE. Rat model of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was established by PEE, the female fetus and adult offspring that fed normal diet (ND) or HFD were sacrificed. The results showed that, in PEE + ND group, serum corticosterone (CORT) slightly decreased and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and glucose increased with partial catch-up growth; In PEE + HFD group, serum CORT decreased, while serum IGF-1, glucose and triglyceride (TG) increased, with notable catch-up growth, higher metabolic status and NAFLD formation. Enhanced liver expression of the IGF-1 pathway, gluconeogenesis, and lipid synthesis as well as reduced expression of lipid output were accompanied in PEE + HFD group. In PEE fetus, serum CORT increased while IGF-1 decreased, with low body weight, hyperglycemia, and hepatocyte ultrastructural changes. Hepatic IGF-1 expression as well as lipid output was down-regulated, while lipid synthesis significantly increased. Based on these findings, we propose a “two-programming” hypothesis for an increased susceptibility to HFD-induced NAFLD in female offspring of PEE. That is, the intrauterine programming of liver glucose and lipid metabolic function is “the first programming”, and postnatal adaptive catch-up growth triggered by intrauterine programming of GC-IGF1 axis acts as “the second programming”. - Highlights: • Prenatal ethanol exposure increase the susceptibility of NAFLD in female offspring. • Prenatal ethanol exposure reprograms fetal liver’s glucose and lipid metabolism . • Prenatal ethanol exposure cause the adaptive change of glucocorticoid-IGF1 axis.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Optimal management program for asbestos containing building materials to be available in the event of a disaster

Highlights: • The safe management of asbestos is a matter of considerable importance. • There is a lack of literature concerning the development of a program for ACBMs. •A management program for the optimal disposal of ACBMs has been developed. • This program is also available in the event of a post-disaster. - Abstract: The safe management and disposal of asbestos is a matter of considerable importance. A large number of studies have been undertaken to quantify the issue of waste management following a disaster. Nevertheless, there have been few (if any) studies concerning asbestos waste, covering the amount generated, the cost of disposal, and the degree of hazard incurred. Thus, the current study focuses on developing a program for the management of Asbestos Containing Building Materials (ACBMs), which form the source of asbestos waste in the event of a disaster. The study will also discuss a case study undertaken in a specific region in Korea in terms of: (1) the location of ACBM-containing buildings; (2) types and quantities of ACBMs; (3) the cost of ACBM disposal; (4) the amount of asbestos fiber present during normal times and during post-disaster periods; (5) the required order in which ACBM-containing buildings should be dismantled; and (6) additional greenhouse gases generated during ACBM removal. The case study will focus on a specific building, with an area of 35.34 m{sup 2}, and will analyze information concerning the abovementioned points. In addition, the case study will focus on a selected area (108 buildings) and the administrative district (21,063 buildings). The significance of the program can be established by the fact that it visibly transmits information concerning ACBM management. It is a highly promising program, with a widespread application for the safe management and optimal disposal of asbestos in terms of technology, policy, and methodology.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Status of Iran's nuclear program and negotiations

Iran's nuclear program poses immense challenges to international security. Its gas centrifuge program has grown dramatically in the last several years, bringing Iran close to a point where it could produce highly enriched uranium in secret or declared gas centrifuge plants before its breakout would be discovered and stopped. To reduce the risk posed by Iran's nuclear program, the P5+1 have negotiated with Iran short term limits on the most dangerous aspects of its nuclear programs and is negotiating long-term arrangements that can provide assurance that Iran will not build nuclear weapons. These long-term arrangements need to include a far more limited and transparent Iranian nuclear program. In advance of arriving at a long-term arrangement, the IAEA will need to resolve its concerns about the alleged past and possibly on-going military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Artium mater in relativistic astrophysics : New perspectives for a European-Latin American PhD program

Following the successful scientific space missions by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile, as well as the high-energy particle activities at CERN in Genve, we have created a Ph.D. program dedicated to the formation of scientists in the field of relativistic astrophysics. The students of such a program will lead the theoretical developments of one of the most active fields of research, based on the above observational and experimental facilities. This program needs expertise in the most advanced topics of mathematical and theoretical physics, and in relativistic field theories. It requires the ability to model the observational data received from the above facilities, as well as all the basic knowledge in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. This activity is necessarily international, no single university can cover the broad expertises. From this, the proposed program of the IRAP Ph.D., in one of the youngest and most dynamical French universities, pole of research and teaching in the Euro-Mediterranean region (PRES): the University of Nice. It benefits from the presence of the astrophysics research institute of Observatoire de la Cte d’Azur involved in relativistic and non-photonic astrophysics. The participation of the Freie Universitaet Berlin, Oldenburg and Bremen Universities and of the Einstein Institute in Potsdam offers the possibility of teaching in relativistic field theories at the highest level. The University of Savoy offers the link to the particle physics at CERN. The activities at the University of Rome, at Stockholm University and at ICRANet offer teaching programs in all the fields of relativistic astrophysics, including cosmology, the physics of gravitational collapse, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole physics. Finally, the University of Ferrara will be present with lectures and researches in the topics they have pioneered such as x-ray astrophysics and observational cosmology. Through ICRANet the extra-European connections with Brazil, China and India will be guaranteed: in China, with the Shanghai Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Science, studying the formation and evolution of large-scale structure and galaxies; in India, with the Indian Centre for Space Physics (ICSP), renowned for its research on compact objects as well as on solar physics and astrochemistry; in Brazil with ICRANet Brazil where a successful program of research and teaching in relativistic astrophysics has been established in recent years.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A comparative analysis of US state-level policies and programs to advance energy justice

Abstract The US energy system is undergoing massive changes that have environmental, technological, and societal implications. Decisions and actions taken now will dramatically alter the trajectory of our future energy system. Though new technologies can lessen the dangers of anthropogenic climate change, an effective and sustainable transition requires addressing social justice issues as a priority. To this end, many states have implemented policies and programs that address energy justice. A formal survey of state-level energy justice policies and programs is needed to better understand the methods used to assist communities targeted and the impacts of these efforts. Such an analysis should include an analysis of the metrics used to judge the effectiveness of the enacted policies and programs. In this paper, we analyze the energy justice policies and programs of seven different US states. From this analysis, we identify three important aspects of state energy policies. First, most policies and programs do not articulate their goals, nor cite metrics to judge their successes. This lack of transparency and accountability is a major roadblock to truly just solutions. Second, states focus on a very narrow range of solutions for energy justice issues. The most prevalent being utility bill assistance, which does not address the systemic and enduring challenges faced by many low-income or historically marginalized communities. Lastly, comprehensive energy policy does not acknowledge and address housing, employment, education, and healthcare inequities that exacerbate energy system inequities. The work presented in this paper sheds light on the progress of state-level energy justice policies and programs across the United States, and we argue more work needs to be done to understand best practices in energy justice policymaking.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Hybrid Programming for Near-Term Quantum Computing Systems

Recent computations involving quantum processing units (QPUs) have demonstrated a series of challenges inherent to hybrid classical-quantum programming, compilation, execution, and verification and validation. Despite considerable progress, system-level noise, limited low-level instructions sets, remote access models, and an overall lack of portability and classical integration presents near-term programming challenges that must be overcome in order to enable reliable scientific quantum computing and support robust hardware benchmarking. In this work, we draw on our experience in programming QPUs to identify common concerns and challenges, and detail best practices for mitigating these challenges within the current hybrid classical-quantum computing paradigm. Following this discussion, we introduce the XACC quantum compilation and execution framework as a hardware and language independent solution that addresses many of these hybrid programming challenges. XACC supports extensible methodologies for managing a variety of programming, compilation, and execution concerns across the increasingly diverse set of QPUs. We use recent nuclear physics simulations to illustrate how the framework mitigates programming, compilation, and execution challenges and manages the complex workflow present in QPU-enhanced scientific applications. Finally, we codify the resulting hybrid scientific computing workflow in order to identify key areas requiring future improvement.

Mccaskey, Alex↗

Designing a unified programming model for heterogeneous machines

While high-efficiency machines are increasingly embracing heterogeneous architectures and massive multithreading, contemporary mainstream programming languages reflect a mental model in which processing elements are homogeneous, concurrency is limited, and memory is a flat undifferentiated pool of storage. Moreover, the current state of the art in programming heterogeneous machines tends towards using separate programming models, such as OpenMP and CUDA, for different portions of the machine. Both of these factors make programming emerging heterogeneous machines unnecessarily difficult. We describe the design of the Phalanx programming model, which seeks to provide a unified programming model for heterogeneous machines. It provides constructs for bulk parallelism, synchronization, and data placement which operate across the entire machine. Our prototype implementation is able to launch and coordinate work on both CPU and GPU processors within a single node, and by leveraging the GASNet runtime, is able to run across all the nodes of a distributed-memory machine.

Garland, Michael↗

Assessment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Upon the Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program: Assessment of the ARRA

The Department of Energy (DOE) administers the national low-income Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). Under this program, DOE provides grants to states (grantees), which then provide grants to local weatherization agencies (subgrantees), to weatherize income-eligible homes for free. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 allocated $5 billion in funding to WAP, a very significant increase from an annual appropriation that ranged in the $200–250 million range for many years. Furthermore, as part of a major evaluation of WAP, states and local weatherization agencies were surveyed, in part, to assess their experiences during the ARRA period. The substantial funding increase created a number of issues for the national weatherization network: the political visibility of their programs increased significantly, organizational responsibilities were shifted, new laws and regulations were passed that impacted their programs, media attention of their programs increased, federal oversight of their programs increased; and programmatic costs increased because of the increased oversight and because ARRA required WAP to operate under the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. There was also some concern within the national weatherization network that the influx of ARRA funds would permanently damage nonfederal funding leveraging relationships. However, two-thirds of grantees and over 40% of subgrantees stated that they believe that the long-term impacts of ARRA on leveraging relationships will be positive.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The DOE fellows program-a workforce development initiative for the US department of energy

The US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) oversees one of the largest and most technically challenging cleanup programs in the world. The mission of DOE-EM is to complete the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy from five decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. Since 1995, Florida International University's Applied Research Center (FIU-ARC) has supported the DOE-EM mission and provided unique research capabilities to address some of these highly technical and difficult challenges. This partnership has allowed FIU-ARC to create a unique infrastructure that is critical for the training and mentoring of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students and has exposed many STEM students to 'hands-on' DOE-EM applied research, supervised by the scientists and engineers at ARC. As a result of this successful partnership between DOE and FIU, DOE requested FIU-ARC to create the DOE-FIU Science and Technology Workforce Development Initiative in 2007. This innovative program was established to create a 'pipeline' of minority STEM students trained and mentored to enter DOE's environmental cleanup workforce. The program was designed to help address DOE's future workforce needs by partnering with academic, government and private companies (DOE contractors) to mentor future minority scientists and engineers in the research, development, and deployment of new technologies and processes addressing DOE's environmental cleanup challenges. Since its inception in 2007, the program has trained and mentored 78 FIU STEM minority students. Although, the program has been in existence for only six years, a total of 75 internships have been conducted at DOE National Laboratories, DOE sites, DOE Headquarters and field offices, and DOE contractors. Over 100 DOE Fellows have participated in the Waste Management (WM) Symposia since 2008 with a total of 84 student posters and 7 oral presentations given at WM. The DOE Fellows participation at WM has resulted in three Best Student Poster Awards (WM09, WM10, and WM11) and one Best Professional Poster Award (WM09). DOE Fellows have also presented their research at ANS DD and R and ANS Robotics Topical meetings and this year two Fellows will present at the International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management (ICEM13) in Brussels, Belgium. Moreover, several of our DOE Fellows have already obtained employment with DOE-EM, other federal agencies, DOE contractors, commercial nuclear power companies, and other STEM industry (GE, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Johnson and Johnson, Beckman-Coulter, and other top companies). This paper will discuss how DOE Fellows program is training and mentoring FIU STEM students in Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management technical challenges and research. This training and mentoring has resulted in the development of well-trained and polished young scientists and engineers that will become the future workforce in charge of carrying on DOE-EM's environmental cleanup mission. The paper will showcase FIU's DOE Fellows model and highlight some of the applied research the DOE Fellows have conducted at FIU's Applied Research Center and across the DOE Complex by participating in summer internship assignments. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Patient-specific radiation dose and cancer risk estimation in CT: Part I. Development and validation of a Monte Carlo program

Purpose: Radiation-dose awareness and optimization in CT can greatly benefit from a dose-reporting system that provides dose and risk estimates specific to each patient and each CT examination. As the first step toward patient-specific dose and risk estimation, this article aimed to develop a method for accurately assessing radiation dose from CT examinations. Methods: A Monte Carlo program was developed to model a CT system (LightSpeed VCT, GE Healthcare). The geometry of the system, the energy spectra of the x-ray source, the three-dimensional geometry of the bowtie filters, and the trajectories of source motions during axial and helical scans were explicitly modeled. To validate the accuracy of the program, a cylindrical phantom was built to enable dose measurements at seven different radial distances from its central axis. Simulated radial dose distributions in the cylindrical phantom were validated against ion chamber measurements for single axial scans at all combinations of tube potential and bowtie filter settings. The accuracy of the program was further validated using two anthropomorphic phantoms (a pediatric one-year-old phantom and an adult female phantom). Computer models of the two phantoms were created based on their CT data and were voxelized for input into the Monte Carlo program. Simulated dose at various organ locations was compared against measurements made with thermoluminescent dosimetry chips for both single axial and helical scans. Results: For the cylindrical phantom, simulations differed from measurements by -4.8% to 2.2%. For the two anthropomorphic phantoms, the discrepancies between simulations and measurements ranged between (-8.1%, 8.1%) and (-17.2%, 13.0%) for the single axial scans and the helical scans, respectively. Conclusions: The authors developed an accurate Monte Carlo program for assessing radiation dose from CT examinations. When combined with computer models of actual patients, the program can provide accurate dose estimates for specific patients.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗