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At least 127 records · Page 7

An Overview of NASA’s Airborne and Field Data Resource Center

A key recommendation from NASA’s 2022 Airborne and Field Data Workshop called for the development of a virtual Resource Center for all stakeholders across the data lifecycle of airborne and field Earth observations. The agency’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project and Airborne Data Management Group (ADMG) have worked in concert to establish the newly launched NASA Airborne and Field Data Resource Center (AFDRC) to provide a single entry point for a wide assortment of information on and the effective, responsible stewardship of non-satellite observational data. The AFDRC compiles access to many existing resources, but does so in a newly organized way that integrates availability to increase efficiency and holistic understanding while simplifying users’ experience. Initially launched in fall of 2023, the AFDRC is a NASA Earthdata domain website that clarifies several previously disparate resources and provides newly updated information, including: Learning Resources: Educational resources to broaden understanding of the role airborne and field observations play in advancing understanding of our planet and NASA’s role in collecting and archiving these data. Support for data users to Find and Access Data: Advanced contextual browse/search capabilities that efficiently link researchers to data products suitable for their science objectives - this includes linking to NASA’s Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigations (CASEI). Working with Data: Tools specific to individual types of suborbital Earth Science data and their (inter-)disciplinary communities to provide access as well as guidance for their application. Stewardship Responsibilities: Resources for data producers with to lessen requirement burdens at the time of data transfer, and information for data stewards with consistent, authoritative guidance on best practices and agency- and/or community- specific archival procedures. This presentation will give an overview of the motivation for NASA’s AFDRC, approach for the design and content, iterative community-driven improvements, promote the use of the AFDRC, and solicit additional feedback from airborne and field data user communities.

Sara Lubkin↗

Resource Prospector Instrumentation for Lunar Volatiles Prospecting, Sample Acquisition and Processing

Data gathered from lunar missions within the last two decades have significantly enhanced our understanding of the volatile resources available on the lunar surface, specifically focusing on the polar regions. Several orbiting missions such as Clementine and Lunar Prospector have suggested the presence of volatile ices and enhanced hydrogen concentrations in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was the first to provide direct measurement of water ice in a permanently shadowed region. These missions with other orbiting assets have laid the groundwork for the next step in the exploration of the lunar surface; providing ground truth data of the volatiles by mapping the distribution and processing lunar regolith for resource extraction. This next step is the robotic mission Resource Prospector (RP).Resource Prospector is a lunar mission to investigate strategic knowledge gaps (SKGs) for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The mission is proposed to land in the lunar south pole near a permanently shadowed crater. The landing site will be determined by the science team with input from broader international community as being near traversable landscape that has a high potential of containing elevated concentrations of volatiles such as water while maximizing mission duration. A rover will host the Regolith Environment Science and Oxygen Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload for resource mapping and processing. The science instruments on the payload include a 1-meter drill, neutron spectrometer, a near infrared spectrometer, an operations camera, and a reactor with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for volatile analysis.

Lunar Crater↗

Virtual Resource Management Framework (CRADA Final Report)

There is a need for advanced and widespread business automation within the nuclear industry to drive down operational costs while sustaining or improving safe operations. While there are many business process automation platforms commercially available, the difficulty is that business processes typically rely on a mixture of resource types to accomplish the desired activities and there is no universal software framework virtualizing diverse resource types for the purpose of automation. In this context, we are referring to any capability, physical or intangible, that can be used by an organization to achieve its objectives as a resource. To deploy business automation broadly and enable integrated operations for nuclear (ION), a framework is needed to represent all resource types and their associated disparate data within a plant and to enable seamless flow of resource information to the technologies used for process automation and resource optimization.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Resource Prospector Instrumentation for Lunar Volatiles Prospecting, Sample Acquisition and Processing

Data gathered from lunar missions within the last two decades have significantly enhanced our understanding of the volatile resources available on the lunar surface, specifically focusing on the polar regions. Several orbiting missions such as Clementine and Lunar Prospector have suggested the presence of volatile ices and enhanced hydrogen concentrations in the permanently shadowed regions of the moon. The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was the first to provide direct measurement of water ice in a permanently shadowed region. These missions with other orbiting assets have laid the groundwork for the next step in the exploration of the lunar surface; providing ground truth data of the volatiles by mapping the distribution and processing lunar regolith for resource extraction. This next step is the robotic mission Resource Prospector (RP). Resource Prospector is a lunar mission to investigate 'strategic knowledge gaps' (SKGs) for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The mission is proposed to land in the lunar south pole near a permanently shadowed crater. The landing site will be determined by the science team with input from broader international community as being near traversable landscape that has a high potential of containing elevated concentrations of volatiles such as water while maximizing mission duration. A rover will host the Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload for resource mapping and processing. The science instruments on the payload include a 1-meter drill, neutron spectrometer, a near infrared spectrometer, an operations camera, and a reactor with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer for volatile analysis. After the RP lander safely delivers the rover to the lunar surface, the science team will guide the rover team on the first traverse plan. The neutron spectrometer (NS) and near infrared (NIR) spectrometer instruments will be used as prospecting tools to guide the traverse path. The NS will map the water-equivalent hydrogen concentration as low as 0.5% by weight to an 80 centimeter depth as the rover traverses the lunar landscape. The NIR spectrometer will measure surficial H2O/OH as well as general mineralogy. When the prospecting instruments identify a potential volatile-rich area during the course of a traverse, the prospect is then mapped out and the most promising location identified. An augering drill capable of sampling to a depth of 100 centimeters will excavate regolith for analysis. A quick assay of the drill cuttings will be made using an operations camera and NIR spectrometer. With the water depth confirmed by this first auguring activity, a regolith sample may be extracted for processing. The drill will deliver the regolith sample to a crucible that will be sealed and heated. Evolved volatiles will be measured by a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and the water will be captured and photographed. RP is a solar powered mission, which given the polar location translates to a relatively short mission duration on the order of 4-15 days. This short mission duration drives the concept of operations, instrumentation, and data analysis towards critical real time analysis and decision support. Previous payload field tests have increased the fidelity of the hardware, software, and mission operations. Current activities include a mission level field test to optimize interfaces between the payload and rover as well as better understand the interaction of the science and rover teams during the mission timeline. This paper will include the current status of the science instruments on the payload as well as the integrated field test occurring in fall of 2015. The concept of operations will be discussed, including the real time science and engineering decision-making process based on the critical data from the instrumentation. The path to flight will be discussed with the approach to this ambitious low cost mission.

ISRU↗

In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Envisioned Future Priorities

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America (US) has initiated the Artemis Moon to Mars program to send astronauts (the first woman and person of color) back to the lunar surface, create a sustainable human lunar exploration program, and lead the first human exploration mission to the Mars surface in the 2030’s. A major objective of this program is to characterize the resources that exist on the Moon and Mars, and learn how to utilize them for sustained and affordable exploration. Commonly known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the search for, acquisition, and processing of resources in space has the potential to greatly reduce the dependency on transporting mission consumables and infrastructure from Earth, thereby reducing mission costs, risks, and dependency on Earth. Through the extraction and processing of resources into mission commodities such as rocket propellants, life support consumables, and fuel cell reactants, ISRU enhances and evolves the cis-lunar, lander, and surface transportation systems required for human exploration; expanding and ehancing HOW humans get to, explore, and return from the Moon. Through the extraction and processing of resources into metals, silicon, and other manufacturing and construction feedstock, ISRU enhances and allows for the expansion of critical infrastructure through in situ manufacturing and construction capabilities needed for WHAT humans do on the Moon and in cis-lunar space. Because of this, ISRU supports and enables commercial involvement beyond NASA and governmental agencies by both lowering the cost of sustained transportation to/from/on the Moon as well as supporting the market required for needing these transportation systems. To achieve this vision, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) ensures the coordinated development of ISRU and other critical space and surface infrastructure elements such as propulsion, power, manufacturing, construction, and robotics through the Strategic Technology Architecture Roundtable (STAR) process. Through STAR, an integrated framework and process has been created allowing for capabilities and technologies to be linked and assessed, gaps to be identified, specifications and metrics to be established, and provide a means to prioritize and implement technology development and missions. For lunar ISRU, three primary areas of development have been initiated, (1) understanding, mapping, extracting, and processing water and other volatiles found in polar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs), (2) methods, technologies to extract oxygen from regolith, and (3) methods, technologies, and use cases for metals, silicon, and other feedstock commodities extracted and produced from lunar resources. This presentation will briefly discuss the STAR process and elaborate on the current status and future plans for ISRU development, demonstration, and architecture implementation of NASA’s Envisioned Future Priorities plan for ISRU.

In Situ Resource Utilization↗

Optimization of distributed compute resources utilization in the CMS Global Pool

The CMS Submission Infrastructure is the primary system for managing computing resources for CMS workflows, including data processing, simulation, and analysis. It integrates geographically distributed resources from Grid, HPC, and cloud providers into federated pools managed by HTCondor and Glidein- WMS, for a total of around 500k CPU cores. This system dynamically manages workloads based on priorities defined by the collaboration. Additionally, CMS scheduling strategies must be flexible to handle multiple concurrent workloads while considering changing processing demands and resource availability from various providers.Efficient utilization of vast amounts of distributed compute resources is a key element for the success of the scientific programs of the LHC experiments. Optimizing the system is essential to maximize resource efficiency and fully utilize the distributed computing power. The CMS Submission Infrastructure team thus systematically investigates sources of inefficiency in workload scheduling to reduce their impact. In addition, a strategy of pilot overloading has been introduced to compensate for other inefficiency sources, thereby optimizing resource utilization and enhancing computational throughput.

Mascheroni, Marco [UC, San Diego (main)]↗

wa-hls4ml: A Benchmark and Surrogate Models for hls4ml Resource and Latency Estimation

As machine learning (ML) is increasingly implemented in hardware to address real-time challenges in scientific applications, the development of advanced toolchains has significantly reduced the time required to iterate on various designs. These advancements have solved major obstacles, but also exposed new challenges. For example, processes that were not previously considered bottlenecks, such as hardware synthesis, are becoming limiting factors in the rapid iteration of designs. To mitigate these emerging constraints, multiple efforts have been undertaken to develop an ML-based surrogate model that estimates resource usage of ML accelerator architectures. We introduce wa-hls4ml, a benchmark for ML accelerator resource and latency estimation, and its corresponding initial dataset of over 680,000 fully connected and convolutional neural networks, all synthesized using hls4ml and targeting Xilinx FPGAs. The benchmark evaluates the performance of resource and latency predictors against several common ML model architectures, primarily originating from scientific domains, as exemplar models, and the average performance across a subset of the dataset. Additionally, we introduce GNN- and transformer-based surrogate models that predict latency and resources for ML accelerators. We present the architecture and performance of the models and find that the models generally predict latency and resources for the 75% percentile within several percent of the synthesized resources on the synthetic test dataset.

Hawks, Benjamin [Fermilab] (ORCID:0000000157000288↗

TrustDER: Trusted, Private and Scalable Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources

In this project, the Stanford and SLAC Teams have developed a Trusted, Private and Scalable platform for coordinating Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources (TrustDER). This is a layered system that ensures private, trusted and scalable coordination and monitoring of DERs. It accommodates a variety of resources, such as solar generation, gensets and loads, with a particular focus on battery systems-based resources, as they are a transformational technology experiencing fast growth in adoption by large critical facilities. The platform can be used as standalone or added to existing aggregation systems to enable trust, privacy and resilience. TrustDER consists of layers that address each of the shortcomings of the existing state of the art. Each layer in the platform can operate independently but provides information to the layers above it to enable a novel form of overall coordination architecture. The project consists of several tasks, with each task dedicated to the design of each layer. Task 2 Resource Virtualization defined a software abstraction layer for distributed energy resources (DERs). The goal of this abstraction was to simplify the implementation of algorithms utilizing cooperation of DERs resources in a variety of use cases. Task 3 is on Secure ID for Asset Authentication. Identity Management Systems (IDMS) are a foundational infrastructure for interactions between entities (organizations, users, devices, and services). Secure ID is blockchain-based a distributed identity management system allowing (1) identity provisioning, (2) authentication, (3) authorization, and (4) identity data sharing for IoT-enabled assets on the electricity grid. In this project, the SLAC team focused on designing and testing Keymaker, a protocol for authenticating device identity managed by Secure ID. Task 5 Private and Safe Integration is focused on the design and evaluation of a DER cooperation scheme which allows for the aggregation of DERs without impacting network reliability. The approach is designed based on realistic assumptions regarding data availability, communication infrastructure limitations, and privacy. Task 6 Scalable Distributed Privacy for Information explored how virtualized batteries could be managed privately. Specifically, it examined the case in which a principal provides a partitioned battery to multiple clients. Task 7 Use Cases was to ensure that this technology was applied in relevant situations and scenarios. Primarily, this means that virtualization needed to be employed in a manner that either improved flexibility, bolstered security or privacy, or decreased costs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

wa-hls4ml and lui-gnn: A benchmark and GNN-based surrogate model for hls4ml resource and latency estimation

As machine learning (ML) increasingly serves as a tool for addressing real-time challenges in scientific applications, the development of advanced tooling has significantly reduced the time required to iterate on various designs. These advancements have solved major obstacles, but also exposed new challenges. For example, processes that were not previously considered bottlenecks, such as model synthesis, are now becoming limiting factors in the rapid iteration of designs. To reduce these emerging constraints, multiple efforts are being launched toward designing an ML-based surrogate model that estimates resource usage of synthesized accelerator architectures. This model would reduce the design iteration time, especially when designing within a set of given hardware constraints. This approach shows considerable potential, but as it stands, the effort is early and would benefit from coordination and standardization to assist future work as it emerges. We introduce wa-hls4ml, a benchmark for ML accelerator resource and latency estimation, and its corresponding initial dataset of more than 100,000 fully connected neural networks, all synthesized using hls4ml and targeting Xilinx FPGAs. In addition to the resource utilization and latency data provided, the dataset includes generated artifacts and log files for many of the synthesized neural networks, in order to support future research in ML-based code generation. The benchmark evaluates the performance of resource and latency predictors against several common ML model architectures, primarily originating from scientific domains, as exemplar models, as well as the average performance across a subset of the dataset. We measure the performance of a given predictor model through multiple metrics, including $R^2$ score and SMAPE on regression tasks, as well as inference time to further characterize the estimator under test. Additionally, we introduce the latency/utilization inference graph neural network (lui-gnn), a surrogate model that uses a graph neural network to represent input architectures in the form of a directed graph. This graph representation allows for a diverse set of model architectures to all be effectively handled by a surrogate model. We present the architecture and performance of the model, as evaluated by the new proposed benchmark, including SMAPE, $R^2$ score, and inference times, and find that lui-gnn generally predicts latency and utilization for the 75\% quantile within several percent of the synthesized resources on the synthetic test dataset, indicating that this approach of estimating resource and latency via a surrogate models has promise and warrants further research.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

wa-hls4ml: A Benchmark and Surrogate Models for hls4ml Resource and Latency Estimation

As machine learning (ML) is increasingly implemented in hardware to address real-time challenges in scientific applications, the development of advanced toolchains has significantly reduced the time required to iterate on various designs. These advancements have solved major obstacles, but also exposed new challenges. For example, processes that were not previously considered bottlenecks, such as hardware synthesis, are becoming limiting factors in the rapid iteration of designs. To mitigate these emerging constraints, multipleefforts have been undertaken to develop an ML-based surrogate model that estimates resource usage of synthesized ML accelerator architectures. We introduce wa-hls4ml, a benchmark for ML accelerator resource and latency estimation, and its corresponding initial dataset of over 680 000 fully connected and convolutional neural networks, all synthesized using hls4ml and targeting Xilinx FPGAs. The benchmark evaluates the performance of resource and latency predictors against several common ML model architectures, primarily originating from scientific domains, as exemplar models, and the average performance across a subset of the dataset. Additionally, we introduce GNN- and transformer-based surrogate models that predict latency and resources for ML accelerators. We present the architecture and performance of the models and find that the models generally predict latency and resources for the 75% percentile within several percent of the synthesized resources on the synthetic test dataset.

Hawks, Benjamin G. [Fermilab]↗

GeoThermalCloud: Cloud Fusion of Big Data and Multi-Physics Models using Machine Learning for Discovery, Exploration, and Development of Hidden Geothermal Resources

The primary goals of this project are exploring hidden geothermal resources in the U.S.A. and designing profitable enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Many processes and parameters control geothermal exploration and energy production from geothermal fields. Diverse datasets (e.g., geology, geochemistry, geophysics, satellite, airborne geophysics) are available to help characterize subsurface geothermal conditions. Sparse and multi-scale characteristics of these datasets prohibit properly leveraging these datasets for geothermal exploration and profitable EGS design. Recent advancements in machine learning (ML) promise to resolve these issues. The tremendous challenges and risks of geothermal exploration and production bring the demand for novel ML methods and tools that can (1) analyze large field datasets, (2) assimilate model simulations (large inputs and outputs), (3) process sparse datasets, (4) perform transfer learning (between sites with different exploratory levels), (5) extract hidden geothermal signatures in the field and simulation data, (6) label geothermal resources and processes, (7) identify high-value data acquisition targets, and (8) guide geothermal exploration and production by selecting optimal exploration, production, and drilling strategies. To address these necessities, ML-based geothermal resources exploration and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) design tools have been developed. The exploration tool is called GeoThermalCloud and EGS design tool is called GeoDT-ML. GeoThermalCloud (https://github.com/SmartTensors/GeoThermalCloud.jl) utilizes a LANL unsupervised ML platform called SmartTensors (https://tensors.lanl.gov/) to automate data analyses and interpretations by extracting hidden signatures to identify geothermal prospects. Also, it enables the identification of critical measurements needed to identify geothermal resource signatures. Alternatively, GeoDT-ML (https://github.com/SmartTensors/GeoThermalCloud.jl/tree/master/EGS) is an ML-based alternative to GeoDT (https://github.com/GeoDesignTool/GeoDT.git), a fast, simplified multi-physics solver to evaluate EGS project designs in uncertain geologic systems. GeoDT-ML leverages recent advances in deep learning and high-performance computing. It is a faster and simpler version of GeoDT. To make this project a success, we used capabilities of LANL, PNNL, Google, Stanford, and Julia Computing. We analyzed eight datasets of the U.S.A. using GeothermalCloud and demonstrated potential highly prospective geothermal resources and identified key factors defining highly prospective sites. The first data set includes 44 locations in southwest New Mexico and 18 geological, hydrogeological, geophysical, geothermal, geochemical attributes. We defined low- and medium-temperature hydrothermal systems and discovered a new highly prospective site. The second data set analyzed 18 shallow water chemistry attributes at 14,342 locations in the Great Basin. It demarcated modestly, moderately, and highly prospective sites including key attributes for each type of prospectivity. The third data set analyzed Utah FORGE data including satellite (InSAR), geophysical (gravity, seismic), geochemical, and geothermal attributes. Here, we performed prospectivity analysis to identify future drilling locations using geological, geochemical, and geophysical attributes. Maps of temperature at depth and heat flow are constructed based on the available data. Prospectivity maps were generated, and drilling locations were proposed for future geothermal field exploration. The fourth data set analyzed 21 attributes at 120 locations in Tularosa Basin, New Mexico; data comes from past play fairway analyses in this region. ML analyses identified geothermal signatures associated with modestly, moderately, and highly hydrothermal systems. We also defined dominant attributes and spatial distribution of the geothermal signatures. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth datasets include Tohatchi Springs, New Mexico, Hawaii, Brady site, Nevada, and EGS Collab, respectively. Moreover, we coupled GeothermalCloud and magnetotellurics data to pinpoint drilling locations for developing geothermal projects in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico. GeothermalCloud found potential prospective locations for geothermal resources near White Sands Missile Range and McGregor Range at Fort Bliss. Magnetotellurics data determined the potential depth (~1800m) of geothermal prospects at McGregor Range based on apparent resistivity structures/layers in the subsurface. The McGregor Range consists of three resistivity layers and two resistivity structures. Magnetotellurics data also helps identify that the western portion of the McGregor Range has thick and low-resistivity earth materials. The low resistivity to the west is most likely for a fault system. Assuming temperature is consistent with a geothermal reservoir, the west-central part of the McGregor Range has the highest geothermal potential because of the increase in porosity and associated permeability attributed to the interpreted fault system. Also, we devised a coupling strategy between a process model and GeothermalCloud to characterize hydrogeological conditions and geothermal conditions, respectively. The process model characterizes hydrogeological and geothermal conditions on highly prospective geothermal sites provided by GeothermalCloud. We developed a physics-informed neural network (PINN) version of the Burns equation that can be easily coupled with GeothermalCloud. Furthermore, we performed an optimal design decision maximizing the economic value of an EGS power plant. This study optimized the range of well spacing between injection and production wells maximizing net present value in dollars (NPV). For this task, we used the GeoDT to simulate the Utah FORGE EGS development cycle from the initial well design to the end of production. Next, we accomplished another crucial task, which is predicting permeability of geothermal reservoirs. Predicting permeability of geothermal reservoirs is a non-trivial task because of huge computational runtime of simulation and lack of measurements. To avoid these limitations, we used easy-to-measure chemical concentrations in the subsurface as measurement data and convolutional neural network based ML model of a high-fidelity model. Next, we predicted permeability using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. We found that Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation predicts permeability with a high certainty if the prediction zone in the simulation area has chemical concentration data. Finally, we analyzed the DOE funded INGENIOUS and GeoDAWN projects data. For discovering hidden geothermal systems in the Great Basin, the INGENIOUS project accumulated old data, collected new data, and released them in 2022. The dataset includes a total of 24 geological, geophysical, and geochemical attributes. Data resolution and scale significantly vary prohibiting an appropriate usage. To avoid such limitations, we brought all data in the same resolution and scale by applying the inverse distance weighting interpolation technique for predicting data in unsampled locations. Subsequently, we analyzed LiDAR data of the GeoDAWN project. We received data in tiles format. The DOE’s overarching goal is to use ML on LiDAR data for finding favorable geological structures (e.g., step up faults in Brady, Nevada). To serve the purpose, we need to label favorable geologic structures that correspond to LiDAR data. We wrote an algorithm to label the LiDAR data with the favorable geologic structures.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Biomass Resources and Emission Reduction Potential of Agricultural and Livestock Residues in Mainland China from 2013 to 2022

Controlling carbon emissions is a global goal, and China is actively implementing carbon reduction measures. As a major agricultural nation, China has considerable potential for developing agricultural residues as renewable and environmentally friendly biomass energy. In this study, we obtained data on crop yields, crop-to-grain ratios, and livestock excretion coefficients to calculate the biomass resources of agricultural and livestock residues in Chinese provinces from 2013 to 2022. Crop residue biomass resources showed a distribution pattern with higher levels in the north than in the south and the east than in the west. Henan and Heilongjiang provinces consistently had the highest resource levels, exceeding 35 million tons annually for 10 years. The biomass resources from livestock residues were relatively abundant in Sichuan, Henan, Yunnan, Shandong, Hunan, and Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Shandong, and Henan had the greatest potential for CO2 emission reductions, primarily located in regions abundant in biomass resources and with high traditional energy consumption levels. ArcGIS was used to apply natural break classification to categorize the potential for emission reductions from agricultural and livestock residues across China from 2013 to 2022 into five classes. Based on factors such as crop planting area and livestock numbers, the spatiotemporal distribution of factors influencing the quantity of biomass resources was examined using Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression. A tailored and integrated approach should be used for biomass, and the development of biomass energy should be promoted through policy support and technological innovation.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

An inventory of undiscovered Canadian mineral resources

Unit regional value (URV) and unit regional weight are area standardized measures of the expected value and quantity, respectively, of the mineral resources of a region. Estimation and manipulation of the URV statistic is the basis of an approach to mineral resource evaluation. Estimates of the kind and value of exploitable mineral resources yet to be discovered in the provinces of Canada are used as an illustration of the procedure. The URV statistic is set within a previously developed model wherein geology, as measured by point counting geologic maps, is related to the historical record of mineral resource production of well-developed regions of the world, such as the 50 states of the U.S.A.; these may be considered the training set. The Canadian provinces are related to this training set using geological information obtained in the same way from geologic maps of the provinces. The desired predictions of yet to be discovered mineral resources in the Canadian provinces arise as a consequence. The implicit assumption is that regions of similar geology, if equally well developed, will produce similar weights and values of mineral resources.

Labovitz, M. L.↗

Putting wind resource atlases to use

An assessment of an area's wind resource and proper site selection are critical to the successful utilization of wind energy. How the twelve recently published wind energy resource atlases for the United States and its territories can be used to evaluate in the atlas on various geographic scales (regional, state and station) and time scales (annual, seasonal and diurnal) is discussed. In addition to techniques for extracting the magnitude of the wind resource, methods are presented for estimating the seasonal and diurnal variations of the wind resource for an area, the certainty with which the resource has been estimated and the fraction of land area with a given wind resource.

Elliott, D. L.↗

Space Station Freedom resource allocation accommodation of technology payload requirements

An overview of the Office of Aeronautics, Exploration, and Technology (OAET) Space Station Freedom Technology Payload Development Program is provided, and the OAET Station resource requirements are reviewed. The requirements are contrasted with current proposed resource allocations. A discussion of the issues and conclusions are provided. It is concluded that an overall 20 percent resource allocation is appropriate to support OAET's technology development program, that some resources are inadequate even at the 20 percent level, and that bartering resources among U.S. users and international partners and increasing the level of automation may be viable solutions to the resource constraint problem.

Avery, Don E.↗

NASA Space Engineering Research Center for utilization of local planetary resources

The University of Arizona and NASA have joined to form the UA/NASA Space Engineering Research Center. The purpose of the Center is to discover, characterize, extract, process, and fabricate useful products from the extraterrestrial resources available in the inner solar system (the moon, Mars, and nearby asteroids). Individual progress reports covering the center's research projects are presented and emphasis is placed on the following topics: propellant production, oxygen production, ilmenite, lunar resources, asteroid resources, Mars resources, space-based materials processing, extraterrestrial construction materials processing, resource discovery and characterization, mission planning, and resource utilization.

Ramohalli, Kumar↗

Method for optimizing resource allocation in a government organization

The managers in Federal agencies are challenged to control the extensive activities in government and still provide high-quality products and services to the American taxpayers. Considering today's complex social and economic environment and the $3.8 billion daily cost of operating the Federal Government, it is evident that there is a need to develop decision-making tools for accurate resource allocation and total quality management. The goal of this thesis is to provide a methodical process that will aid managers in Federal Government to make budgetary decisions based on the cost of services, the agency's objectives, and the customers' perception of the agency's product. A general resource allocation procedure was developed in this study that can be applied to any government organization. A government organization, hereafter the 'organization,' is assumed to be a multidivision enterprise. This procedure was applied to a small organization for the proof of the concept. This organization is the Technical Services Directorate (TSD) at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. As part of the procedure, a nonlinear programming model was developed to account for the resources of the organization, the outputs produced by the organization, the decision-maker's views, and the customers' satisfaction with the organization. The information on the resources of the organization was acquired from current budget levels of the organization and the human resources assigned to the divisions. The outputs of the organization were defined and measured by identifying metrics that assess the outputs, the most challenging task in this study. The decision-maker's views are represented in the model as weights assigned to the various outputs and were quantified by using the analytic hierarchy process. The customer's opinions regarding the outputs of the organization were collected through questionnaires that were designed for each division individually. Following the philosophy of total quality management, information on customers' satisfaction is presented in the model as the quality of output. The model is a nonlinear one whose objective is to maximize customers' satisfaction such that the total cost of operation does not exceed the organization's budget. This model represents a structured approach or policy mechanism, at the agency level, to make capital investment decisions based on the priorities of the agency and the quality of outputs. This procedure applied to TSD resulted in a resources allocation scheme that was reasonable and acceptable to the decision-makers and, as expected, dependent on the assumptions and accuracy of the data used in the model.

Afarin, James↗

Resource Management for Distributed Parallel Systems

Multiprocessor systems should exist in the the larger context of distributed systems, allowing multiprocessor resources to be shared by those that need them. Unfortunately, typical multiprocessor resource management techniques do not scale to large networks. The Prospero Resource Manager (PRM) is a scalable resource allocation system that supports the allocation of processing resources in large networks and multiprocessor systems. To manage resources in such distributed parallel systems, PRM employs three types of managers: system managers, job managers, and node managers. There exist multiple independent instances of each type of manager, reducing bottlenecks. The complexity of each manager is further reduced because each is designed to utilize information at an appropriate level of abstraction.

Neuman, B. Clifford↗