Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “collaborative engineering”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Develop and Manufacture an Ergonomically Sound Glovebox Glove Report

Ergonomic injury and radiation exposure are two safety concerns for the Plutonium Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This facility employs the largest number of gloveboxes (GB) at LANL with approximately 6000 gloves installed. The current GB glove design dates back to the 1960’s and is not based on true hand anatomy, revealing several issues: short fingers, inappropriate length from the wrist to finger webbing, nonexistent joint angles and incorrect thumb placement. These design flaws are directly related to elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and thumb (DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis) injuries. The current design also contributes to increased wear on the glove, causing unplanned glove openings (failures) which places workers at risk of exposure. An improved glovebox glove design has three significant benefits: 1) it will reduce the risk of injury, 2) it will improve comfort and productivity, and 3) it will reduce the risk of a glovebox failures. The combination of these three benefits has estimated savings of several million dollars. The new glove design incorporated the varied physical attributes of workers ranging from the 5 th percentile female to the 95th percentile male. Anthropometric hand dimensions along with current GB worker dimensions were used to develop the most comprehensive design specifications for the new glove. Collaboration with orthopedic hand surgeons also provided major contributtions to the design. The new glovebox glove was developed and manufactured incorporating over forty dimensions producing the most comprehensive ergonomically sound design. The new design received a LANL patent (patent attorney docket No: LANS 36USD1 “Protective Glove”, one of 20 highest patents awarded by the Richard P. Feynman Center for Innovation. The glove dimensions were inputed into a solid works model which was used to produce molds. The molds were then shipped to a glove manufacturer for production of the new glovebox gloves. The new glovebox gloves were tested against the presently used glovebox gloves for design validity. The testing included a subjective survey and four dexterity tests. The prototype was statistically significant in 3 dexterity tests and favorable on 8 out of 10 survey questions. The more ergonomically sound glovebox glove will improve worker comfort, mitigate glovebox worker injuries, and reduce glove breaches.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Subtask 1.3 – Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage for North Dakota Ethanol Production

Poster presented at Mastering the Subsurface Through Technology Innovation, Partnerships and Collaboration: Carbon Storage and Oil and Natural Gas Technologies Review Meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 1–3, 2017. University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), North Dakota ethanol producer Red Trail Energy (RTE), and North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), conducted a preliminary assessment for integrating small-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) at an industrial ethanol production facility near Richardton, North Dakota. This preliminary assessment included a technical evaluation of CCS implementation at the RTE site, development of a provisional field implementation plan (FIP), and economic analysis. Results indicated that commercial CCS is a technically and economically viable option for the significant reduction of CO 2 emissions from ethanol generation at the RTE facility.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tools for Design and Scale-Up of Solar Thermochemical Reactors: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-13-00530

NREL will be collaborating with the Participant on a United States - Australia Solar Energy Collaboration (USASEC) Project Number 1-USO034 "Tools for design and scale-up of solar thermochemical reactors." The grant funds for the Participant's 3.5 year project number 1-US034 commencing on 1 February 2013 have been awarded to the Participant by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and NREL will be collaborating with the Participant during the final 28 months of this project. This project seeks to provide basic knowledge required to design solar thermochemical reactors able to perform the required energy conversions. In several proposed and demonstrated reactors, concentrated sunlight directly irradiates small solid particles suspended in fluid, enabling very high heat transfer rates to the particles which are the sites of chemical reaction. The reactors, therefore, involve the complex and couple dynamics of turbulent, chemically reacting, particle-laden flows and their interaction with concentrating solar radiation. A strong understanding of these coupled interactions will be crucial important in predicting and optimizing the performance of prototype reactors, but this understanding does not yet exist, since they have never been studied in any fundamental way. The project has a assembled an internationally leading team from The University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the University of Adelaide in Australia and the NREL in the United States to address this key gap in available know-how. The project will use U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) supercomputers, among the most powerful available worldwide, with cutting-edge software tools to perform first-principles simulations of the relevant interactions. These studies will be combined with detailed laser-based measurements in Australia to provide the first comprehensive databases concerning the governing phenomena in directly irradiated solar-thermochemical reactors. The outcomes will be the basic scientific knowledge, engineering knowhow and modeling tools necessary to design new reactor concepts and then scale up from the laboratory bench to practical size systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Precipitation in pores: A geochemical frontier

This article's purpose is to review some of the recent research in which geochemists have examined precipitation of solid phases in porous media, particularly in pores a few nanometers in diameter (nanopores). While this is a “review,” it is actually more forward-looking in that the list of things about this phenomenon that we do not know or cannot control at this time is likely longer than what we do know and can control. For example, there are three directly contradictory theories on how to predict how precipitation proceeds in a medium of varying pore size, as will be discussed below. The confusion on this subject likely stems from the complexity of the phenomenon itself: One can easily clog a porous medium by inducing a rapid, homogeneous precipitation directly from solution, or have limited precipitation occur that does not affect permeability or even porosity substantially. It is more difficult to engineer mineral precipitation in order to obtain a specific outcome, such as filling all available pore space over a targeted area for the purposes of contaminant sequestration. However, breakthrough discoveries could occur in the next five to ten years that enhance our ability to predict robustly and finely control precipitation in porous media by understanding how porosity and permeability evolve in response to system perturbations. These discoveries will likely stem (at least in part) from advances in our ability to 1) perform and interpret X-ray/neutron scattering experiments that reveal the extent of precipitation and its locales within porous media (Anovitz and Cole 2015, this volume), and 2) utilize increasingly powerful simulations to test concepts and models about the evolution of porosity and permeability as precipitation occurs (Steefel et al. 2015, this volume). A further important technique to isolate specific phenomena and understand reactivity is also microfluidics cell experiments that allow specific control of flow paths and fluid velocities (Yoon et al. 2012). An improved ability to synthesize idealized porous media will allow for tailored control of pore distributions, mineralogy and will allow more reproducible results. This in turn may allow us to isolate specific processes without the competing and obfuscatory effects that hinder generalization of observations when working with solely natural samples. It is likely that no one single experiment, or simulation technique will provide the key discoveries: to make substantive progress will require a collaborative effort to understand the interplay between fluid transport and geochemistry. Finally, where rock fracturing and elevated pressures are of concern, an understanding and capability to model geomechanical properties are necessary (Scherer 1999).

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Brahman

The Adversary & Interdiction Methods (AIM) program provides training and capability assessment services to government agencies around the country. Interdisciplinary teams equipped with gear and radioactive sources are repeatedly fielded to offsite events to collaborate with law enforcement agencies at all levels of government. AIM has grown rapidly over the past three years. A knowledge management system as evolved along with the program but it has failed to keep pace. A new system is needed. The new system must comply with cybersecurity and information technology solutions already in place at an institutional level. The offsite nature of AIM activities must also be accommodated. Cost and schedule preclude the commissioning of new software and the procurement of expensive hardware. The new system must exploit in-house capabilities and be established quickly. A novel system is proposed. This solution centers on a recently introduced institutional file sharing capability called Syncplicity. AIM-authored software will be combined with a dedicated institutional account to vastly extend the capability of this resource. The new knowledge management system will reduce error and increase efficiency through automation and be accessible offsite via mobile devices.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

The ScIDEP muon radiography project at the Egyptian Pyramid of Khafre

The ScIDEP Collaboration is constructing muon telescopes based on scintillator technology to investigate the internal structure of the Egyptian Pyramid of Khafre at Giza near Cairo using cosmic-ray muons. The collaboration aims to scan the pyramid from multiple viewpoints, both inside the king’s burial chamber that is located centrally at the base of the pyramid, and outside of the pyramid, to potentially identify any new internal structures. An overview of the project is presented, including the development of the data-acquisition system, the simulation framework, and very first detector studies.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

A New Approach to Distributed Hypothesis Testing and Non-Bayesian Learning: Improved Learning Rate and Byzantine-Resilience

Here, we study a setting where a group of agents, each receiving partially informative private signals, seek to collaboratively learn the true underlying state of the world (from a finite set of hypotheses) that generates their joint observation profiles. To solve this problem, we propose a distributed learning rule that differs fundamentally from existing approaches, in that it does not employ any form of “belief-averaging”. Instead, agents update their beliefs based on a min-rule. Under standard assumptions on the observation model and the network structure, we establish that each agent learns the truth asymptotically almost surely. As our main contribution, we prove that with probability 1, each false hypothesis is ruled out by every agent exponentially fast, at a network-independent rate that is strictly larger than existing rates. We then develop a computationally-efficient variant of our learning rule that is provably resilient to agents who do not behave as expected (as represented by a Byzantine adversary model) and deliberately try to spread misinformation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nature of innovations affecting photovoltaic system costs

Innovations improve technology costs through various kinds of engineering advancements, including changes to materials choices and device or process designs. Understanding how these innovations relate to cost change can reveal aspects of the process of technology evolution, yet developing such understanding is often not possible with a strictly quantitative approach due to data limitations. In this paper we develop a hybrid quantitative-qualitative framework for relating specific innovations to cost change by using the variables in a quantitative technology cost change model as an organizing principle. We demonstrate this framework by applying it to the cost decline in photovoltaic (PV) systems over the last five decades. This framework generates new understanding of a set of innovations that contributed to PV modules’ sustained cost decline and the more modest trends observed in balance-of-system (BOS) costs. The results show the great diversity of innovations that affected PV costs, drawing on wide-ranging fields of expertise within scientific research and practice. We find that there are differences in the characteristics of innovations that reduced the cost of PV modules compared to innovations influencing BOS costs. Numerous module innovations reduced costs by advancing manufacturing tools and processes that improved material quality. Many BOS innovations reduced costs through a combination of component design changes, integration, automation, digitalization, and standardization. Overall, most innovations in our sample affected PV hardware. However, some also target ‘soft technologies’ such as task durations through innovations like fast-track permitting, which require improved collaboration and process streamlining. This framework also provides insight into the nature of knowledge spillovers between technologies. Both module and BOS hardware innovations show the benefits of PV’s position within an ‘ecosystem’ of continuously advancing technologies in many industries, in particular semiconductors and electronics, and also point to the importance of public institutions for accelerating testing, permitting, and training.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Basic Research Needs for Inverse Methods for Complex Systems under Uncertainty

Inverse problems, which aim to infer unknown properties of a system using experimental and observational data, are central to addressing many of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) most critical scientific and engineering challenges. Accurate, computationally efficient, and data-efficient solutions to inverse problems are essential for advancing DOE mission-critical science drivers, including analyzing data from large-scale experimental facilities, optimizing fusion reactor performance, accelerating materials discovery, enhancing geophysical imaging, improving wildfire predictions, and enabling autonomous systems and digital twins. However, these problems are becoming increasingly complex, often involving nonlinear, highdimensional, and interconnected systems and models that span multiple physics and scales, while relying on data with varying quantity, quality, and information content. Compounding these challenges is the uncertainty inherent in DOE-relevant systems, where errors in inputs, noise in data, incompleteness of data, and discrepancies between models and reality constrain the accuracy and precision of solutions. At the same time, the convergence of recent scientific computing trends—scientific machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computing advances such as exascale computing—is creating unprecedented opportunities for tackling these challenges. The cross-cutting nature of inverse problems, combined with their growing complexity and rapidly evolving data and algorithmic demands, strongly motivates the formulation of a prioritized research agenda to maximize their capabilities and impact. In response to this need, DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program in the Office of Science convened the Workshop on Basic Research Needs for Inverse Problems for Complex Systems Under Uncertainty in June 2025. This workshop brought together experts across disciplines to identify grand challenges and major opportunities in the field. Through collaborative discussions, the workshop defined transformative research directions aimed at addressing the mathematical, statistical, and computational challenges posed by inverse problems under uncertainty. As a result of these efforts, four priority research directions (PRDs) were identified to guide future research and development in this area. These PRDs, summarized below, represent a roadmap for advancing the foundational science and mathematics of inverse problems, enabling robust, scalable, and uncertainty-aware solutions that are critical for DOE applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2018

The application of radiochronometry during the 4th collaborative materials exercise of the nuclear forensics international technical working group (ITWG) [Radiochronometry in the CMX-4 exercise]

In a recent international exercise, 10 international nuclear forensics laboratories successfully performed radiochronometry on three low enriched uranium oxide samples, providing 12 analytical results using three different parent-daughter pairs serving as independent chronometers. The vast majority of the results were consistent with one another and consistent with the known processing history of the materials. In general, for these particular samples, mass spectrometry gave more accurate and more precise analytical results than decay counting measurements. Additionally, the concordance of the 235 U– 231 Pa and 234 U– 230 Th chronometers confirmed the validity of the age dating assumptions, increasing confidence in the resulting conclusions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Research and Development of Multiphysics Models in Support of the Conversion of the High Flux Isotope Reactor to Low Enriched Uranium Fuel

The findings presented in this report are results of a five year effort led by the RRD Division of the ORNL, which is focused on research and development toward the conversion of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) fuel from high-enriched uranium (HEU) to low-enriched uranium (LEU). This report focuses on the tasks accomplished by the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) team from the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering (MABE) that provided expert support in multiphysics modeling of complex problems associated with the LEU conversion of the HFIR reactor. The COMSOL software was used as the main computational modeling tool, whereas Solidworks was also used in support of computer-aided-design (CAD) modeling of the proposed LEU fuel design. The UTK research has been governed by a statement of work (SOW), which was updated annually to clearly define the specific tasks reported herein. Ph.D. student Isaac T. Bodey has focused on heat transfer and fluid flow modeling issues and has been aided by his major professor Dr. Rao V. Arimilli. Ph.D. student Franklin G. Curtis has been focusing on modeling the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) phenomena caused by the mechanical forces acting on the fuel plates, which in turn affect the fluid flow in between the fuel plates, and ultimately the heat transfer, is also affected by the FSI changes. Franklin Curtis has been aided by his major professor Dr. Kivanc Ekici. M.Sc. student Adam R. Travis has focused two major areas of research: (1) on accurate CAD modeling of the proposed LEU plate design, and (2) reduction of the model complexity and dimensionality through interdimensional coupling of the fluid flow and heat transfer for the HFIR plate geometry. Adam Travis is also aided by his major professor, Dr. Kivanc Ekici. We must note that the UTK team, and particularly the graduate students, have been in very close collaboration with Dr. James D. Freels (ORNL technical monitor and mentor) and have benefited greatly from his leadership and expertise in COMSOL modeling of complex physical phenomena. Both UTK and ORNL teams have used COMSOL releases 3.4 through 5.0 inclusive (with particular emphasis on 3.5a, 4.3a, 4.3b, and 4.4) for most of the work described in this report, except where stated otherwise. Just as in the performance of the research, each of the respective sections has been originally authored by respective authors. Therefore, the reader will observe a contrast in writing style throughout this document.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program — A Summary of Collaborative Research and Development Activities

This report describes the collaborative research and development projects in which the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is engaged with industry, regulatory agencies, and other organizations to achieve outcomes that are directed at sustaining the U.S. nuclear power industryduring Fiscal Year 2018. One way that this Program accomplishes its objectives—to develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, enhance the economic performance, and extend the life of current reactors—is by conducting research together with industry and key organizations through cooperative arrangements and plans, through coordinated planning and management of resources and activities, through periodic technical exchanges of data and information, or by other means of interaction (i.e., contracts, memoranda of understanding, non-disclosure agreements, etc.). Broadly, these interactions represent different types of collaborations—formal or informal agreements between two or more organizations to work on something together that may be for a short or extended duration and may involve a single purpose or broad set of goals. DOE’s research, development, and demonstration role focuses on enhancing the safe, efficient, and economical performance of the nation’s nuclear fleet while studying and mitigating aging phenomena and issues that are applicable to the service environments of operating reactors and require unique DOE laboratory expertise. Often, research and development (R&D) and demonstration activities are cost-shared, coordinated, or otherwise jointly conducted with industry, regulatory agencies, or other organizations through the aforementioned or other collaborative mechanisms. Operation of the existing fleet of plants to 60 years, extending the operating lifetimes of those plants beyond 60 years and, where practical, making further improvements in their productivity are essential to support the nation’s energy needs. Recently, several utilities have submitted or announced plans to submit applications to the U.S. NRC to begin the subsequent license-renewal process, extending the operating license period beyond 60 years from the date of their initial licensing. This marks an important planned milestone in the history of commercial nuclear power operations in the U.S.—one that underscores the long-term dependability of these plant designs and the commitment to their long-term performance by the organizations that operate them. The LWRS Program will continue to work with owner-operators to address the key issues needed to support the technical bases for continued safe long-term operation of our nation’s nuclear power assets.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Salt Sampling FY21 Technical Report

The goal of the salt sampling program at Argonne is to develop and deploy automated molten salt sampling approaches to enable high-precision in-process salt sample analysis to improve the timeliness of sampling-based accountancy measurements. Tools currently under development in support of this goal include (1) a modular vacuum sampler with an accompanying sample handling method for coupling vacuum sampling with high-precision at-line sample analysis, (2) a pneumatic sample generator that enables high-throughput sample analysis to improve the precision of existing analytical techniques, and (3) a windowless flow cell to enable on-line optical analysis of molten salt in a sampling loop. Compared to point sampling approaches (i.e., dip probes), vacuum sampling systems and on-line sampling loops facilitate access to a larger cross-section of a process fluid. This is known to improve the characterization of the process fluid by producing more representative samples and by enabling the analysis of a larger cross section of the fluid. A vacuum sampling approach for molten salts eliminates the risk of dross contamination of samples and avoids the use of moving parts in the salt. In FY21, two methods for integrating a vacuum sampler with a pneumatic sample generator were tested. These included direct fluidic coupling and coupling using a solid salt transfer mechanism. Solid salt transfer was ultimately selected over fluidic coupling, primarily to enable the transport of samples over longer distances to support automated at-line integration with high-precision techniques (such as microcalorimetry) that cannot withstand the extreme conditions near an electrorefining process. To facilitate rapid solid salt coupling, new mechanisms were developed for rapidly charging and discharging salt sample tubes at the vacuum sampler and pneumatic sample generator, respectively. While the charging mechanism will be deployed in FY22, the tube transfer method and discharge mechanism were tested in FY21. These were deployed at one of Argonne’s engineering-scale electrorefiners to implement at-line high-throughput pneumatic micro-sample generation capabilities. The method was used to generate precise uranium- and lanthanide-bearing electrorefiner micro-samples with the specific dimensions requested by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in testing their novel microcalorimeter x-ray techniques. The solid salt transfer mechanism proved not only to be an effective means of integrating the precision sample generator with vacuum sampling, but also improved the performance of the sampler generator. Because the modular sampling approach described here eliminates the need for new high-radiation sample handling capabilities, salt-wetted seals, salt-wetted moving parts, and heated transfer lines outside the electrorefiner, it will address most of the remaining technical challenges for the at-line deployment of high-precision analytical techniques. This will enable significant reductions in the time delay for sampling-based accountancy measurements by eliminating the need for manual off-line sample processing and analysis. On-line optical analysis of molten salt in a sampling loop would provide complementary information to at-line and in-situ techniques. In FY21, an open-aperture molten salt gravity flow cell with windowless optical access to flowing salt was successfully demonstrated. Future work should include the refinement and performance testing of the on-line and at-line sampling tools, integration of additional analysis techniques, stakeholder outreach and collaboration, evaluation of the integrated methods, and analyses to determine how the various tools might fit into an integrated safeguards monitoring system of unattended near real time monitoring tools.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-213-00: Developments in International Medical Physics Collaborations in Africa and Latin America

The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA-SC) of the AAPM will present a multi-institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA-SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO’s), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in-house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub-Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also impede the creation of more training centers. The increasing need of qualified MPs require establishing a coordinated system of national Education & Training Centers (ETC), to meet the international standards of education and training in Medical Physics. This shortfall calls for support of organizations such as the IOMP, AAPM, ALFIM, IAEA, etc. Examples from various LA countries, as well as some proposed solutions, will be presented. In particular, we will discuss the resources that the AAPM and its members can offer to support regional programs. The ‘Medical Imaging’ physicist in the emerging world: Challenges and opportunities - Caridad Borrás (WGNIMP Chair) While the role of radiation therapy physicists in the emerging world is reasonably well established, the role of medical imaging physicists is not. The only perceived needs in radiology departments are equipment quality control and radiation protection, tasks that can be done by a technologist or a service engineer. To change the situation, the International Basic Safety Standard, which is adopted/adapted world-wide as national radiation protection regulations, states: “For diagnostic radiological procedures and image guided interventional procedures, the requirements of these Standards for medical imaging, calibration, dosimetry and quality assurance, including the acceptance and commissioning of medical radiological equipment, are fulfilled by or under the oversight of, or with the documented advice of a medical physicist, whose degree of involvement is determined by the complexity of the radiological procedures and the associated radiation risks”. Details on how these requirements can be carried out in resource-limited settings will be described. IAEA support to medical physics in Africa and Latin America: achievements and challenges Ahmed Meghzifene (IAEA) Shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in radiotherapy and imaging, insufficient and inadequate education and training programs, as well as a lack of professional recognition were identified as the main issues to be addressed by the IAEA. The IAEA developed a series of integrated projects aiming specifically at promoting the essential role of medical physicists in health care, developing harmonized guidelines on dosimetry and quality assurance, and supporting education and clinical training programs. The unique feature of the IAEA approach is support it provides for implementation of guidelines and education programs in Member States through its technical cooperation project. The presentation will summarize IAEA support to Latin America and Africa in the field of medical physics and will highlight how the new International Basic Safety Standards are expected to impact the medical physics practice in low and middle income countries. Learning Objectives: Learn about the shortage of qualified Medical Physicists in Africa and Latin America. Understand the reasons of this shortage. Learn about the ways to improve the situation and AAPM role in this process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-213-01: AAPM Projects and Collaborations in Africa

AAPM projects and collaborations in Africa Adam Shulman (AA-SC Chair) The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA-SC) of the AAPM will present a multi-institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA-SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO’s), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in-house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub-Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also impede the creation of more training centers. The increasing need of qualified MPs require establishing a coordinated system of national Education & Training Centers (ETC), to meet the international standards of education and training in Medical Physics. This shortfall calls for support of organizations such as the IOMP, AAPM, ALFIM, IAEA, etc. Examples from various LA countries, as well as some proposed solutions, will be presented. In particular, we will discuss the resources that the AAPM and its members can offer to support regional programs. The ‘Medical Imaging’ physicist in the emerging world: Challenges and opportunities - Caridad Borrás (WGNIMP Chair) While the role of radiation therapy physicists in the emerging world is reasonably well established, the role of medical imaging physicists is not. The only perceived needs in radiology departments are equipment quality control and radiation protection, tasks that can be done by a technologist or a service engineer. To change the situation, the International Basic Safety Standard, which is adopted/adapted world-wide as national radiation protection regulations, states: “For diagnostic radiological procedures and image guided interventional procedures, the requirements of these Standards for medical imaging, calibration, dosimetry and quality assurance, including the acceptance and commissioning of medical radiological equipment, are fulfilled by or under the oversight of, or with the documented advice of a medical physicist, whose degree of involvement is determined by the complexity of the radiological procedures and the associated radiation risks”. Details on how these requirements can be carried out in resource-limited settings will be described. IAEA support to medical physics in Africa and Latin America: achievements and challenges Ahmed Meghzifene (IAEA) Shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in radiotherapy and imaging, insufficient and inadequate education and training programs, as well as a lack of professional recognition were identified as the main issues to be addressed by the IAEA. The IAEA developed a series of integrated projects aiming specifically at promoting the essential role of medical physicists in health care, developing harmonized guidelines on dosimetry and quality assurance, and supporting education and clinical training programs. The unique feature of the IAEA approach is support it provides for implementation of guidelines and education programs in Member States through its technical cooperation project. The presentation will summarize IAEA support to Latin America and Africa in the field of medical physics and will highlight how the new International Basic Safety Standards are expected to impact the medical physics practice in low and middle income countries. Learning Objectives: Learn about the shortage of qualified Medical Physicists in Africa and Latin America. Understand the reasons of this shortage. Learn about the ways to improve the situation and AAPM role in this process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-213-02: Status of Medical Physics Collaborations, and Projects in Latin America

AAPM projects and collaborations in Africa Adam Shulman (AA-SC Chair) The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA-SC) of the AAPM will present a multi-institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA-SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO’s), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in-house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub-Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also impede the creation of more training centers. The increasing need of qualified MPs require establishing a coordinated system of national Education & Training Centers (ETC), to meet the international standards of education and training in Medical Physics. This shortfall calls for support of organizations such as the IOMP, AAPM, ALFIM, IAEA, etc. Examples from various LA countries, as well as some proposed solutions, will be presented. In particular, we will discuss the resources that the AAPM and its members can offer to support regional programs. The ‘Medical Imaging’ physicist in the emerging world: Challenges and opportunities - Caridad Borrás (WGNIMP Chair) While the role of radiation therapy physicists in the emerging world is reasonably well established, the role of medical imaging physicists is not. The only perceived needs in radiology departments are equipment quality control and radiation protection, tasks that can be done by a technologist or a service engineer. To change the situation, the International Basic Safety Standard, which is adopted/adapted world-wide as national radiation protection regulations, states: “For diagnostic radiological procedures and image guided interventional procedures, the requirements of these Standards for medical imaging, calibration, dosimetry and quality assurance, including the acceptance and commissioning of medical radiological equipment, are fulfilled by or under the oversight of, or with the documented advice of a medical physicist, whose degree of involvement is determined by the complexity of the radiological procedures and the associated radiation risks”. Details on how these requirements can be carried out in resource-limited settings will be described. IAEA support to medical physics in Africa and Latin America: achievements and challenges Ahmed Meghzifene (IAEA) Shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in radiotherapy and imaging, insufficient and inadequate education and training programs, as well as a lack of professional recognition were identified as the main issues to be addressed by the IAEA. The IAEA developed a series of integrated projects aiming specifically at promoting the essential role of medical physicists in health care, developing harmonized guidelines on dosimetry and quality assurance, and supporting education and clinical training programs. The unique feature of the IAEA approach is support it provides for implementation of guidelines and education programs in Member States through its technical cooperation project. The presentation will summarize IAEA support to Latin America and Africa in the field of medical physics and will highlight how the new International Basic Safety Standards are expected to impact the medical physics practice in low and middle income countries. Learning Objectives: Learn about the shortage of qualified Medical Physicists in Africa and Latin America. Understand the reasons of this shortage. Learn about the ways to improve the situation and AAPM role in this process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-213-03: Challenges and Opportunities

AAPM projects and collaborations in Africa Adam Shulman (AA-SC Chair) The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA-SC) of the AAPM will present a multi-institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA-SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO’s), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in-house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub-Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also impede the creation of more training centers. The increasing need of qualified MPs require establishing a coordinated system of national Education & Training Centers (ETC), to meet the international standards of education and training in Medical Physics. This shortfall calls for support of organizations such as the IOMP, AAPM, ALFIM, IAEA, etc. Examples from various LA countries, as well as some proposed solutions, will be presented. In particular, we will discuss the resources that the AAPM and its members can offer to support regional programs. The ‘Medical Imaging’ physicist in the emerging world: Challenges and opportunities - Caridad Borrás (WGNIMP Chair) While the role of radiation therapy physicists in the emerging world is reasonably well established, the role of medical imaging physicists is not. The only perceived needs in radiology departments are equipment quality control and radiation protection, tasks that can be done by a technologist or a service engineer. To change the situation, the International Basic Safety Standard, which is adopted/adapted world-wide as national radiation protection regulations, states: “For diagnostic radiological procedures and image guided interventional procedures, the requirements of these Standards for medical imaging, calibration, dosimetry and quality assurance, including the acceptance and commissioning of medical radiological equipment, are fulfilled by or under the oversight of, or with the documented advice of a medical physicist, whose degree of involvement is determined by the complexity of the radiological procedures and the associated radiation risks”. Details on how these requirements can be carried out in resource-limited settings will be described. IAEA support to medical physics in Africa and Latin America: achievements and challenges Ahmed Meghzifene (IAEA) Shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in radiotherapy and imaging, insufficient and inadequate education and training programs, as well as a lack of professional recognition were identified as the main issues to be addressed by the IAEA. The IAEA developed a series of integrated projects aiming specifically at promoting the essential role of medical physicists in health care, developing harmonized guidelines on dosimetry and quality assurance, and supporting education and clinical training programs. The unique feature of the IAEA approach is support it provides for implementation of guidelines and education programs in Member States through its technical cooperation project. The presentation will summarize IAEA support to Latin America and Africa in the field of medical physics and will highlight how the new International Basic Safety Standards are expected to impact the medical physics practice in low and middle income countries. Learning Objectives: Learn about the shortage of qualified Medical Physicists in Africa and Latin America. Understand the reasons of this shortage. Learn about the ways to improve the situation and AAPM role in this process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

WE-AB-213-04: IAEA Support to Medical Physics in Africa and Latin America: Achievements and Challenges

AAPM projects and collaborations in Africa Adam Shulman (AA-SC Chair) The African Affairs Subcommittee (AA-SC) of the AAPM will present a multi-institutional approach to medical physics support in Africa. Current work to increase the quality of care and level of safety for the medical physics practice in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe will be presented, along with preliminary projects in Nigeria and Botswana. Because the task of addressing the needs of medical physics in countries across Africa is larger than one entity can accomplish on its own, the AA-SC has taken the approach of joining forces with multiple organizations such as Radiating Hope and TreatSafely (NGO’s), the IAEA, companies like BrainLab, Varian and Elekta, medical volunteers and academic institutions such as NYU and Washington University. Elements of current projects include: 1) Distance training and evaluation of the quality of contouring and treatment planning, teaching treatment planning and other subjects, and troubleshooting using modern telecommunications technology in Senegal, Ghana, and Zimbabwe; 2) Assistance in the transition from 2D to 3D in Senegal and Zimbabwe; 3) Assistance in the transition from 3D to IMRT using in-house compensators in Senegal; 4) Modernizing the cancer center in Senegal and increasing safety and; 5) Training on on 3D techniques in Ghana; 6) Assisting a teaching and training radiation oncology center to be built in Zimbabwe; 7) Working with the ISEP Program in Sub-Saharan Africa; 8) Creating instructional videos on linac commissioning; 9) Working on a possible collaboration to train physicists in Nigeria. Building on past achievements, the subcommittee seeks to make a larger impact on the continent, as the number and size of projects increases and more human resources become available. The State of Medical Physics Collaborations and Projects in Latin America Sandra Guzman (Peru) The lack of Medical Physicists (MP) in many Latin American (LA) countries leads to recruitment of professionals with incomplete education. In most LA countries only one MP responsible for each Center is currently mandated. Currently there is a large disparity among MP training programs and there is significant debate about the standards of MP graduate education in many LA countries. There are no commonly recognized academic programs, not enough clinical training sites and clinical training is not typically considered as part of the MP work. Economic pressures and high workloads also impede the creation of more training centers. The increasing need of qualified MPs require establishing a coordinated system of national Education & Training Centers (ETC), to meet the international standards of education and training in Medical Physics. This shortfall calls for support of organizations such as the IOMP, AAPM, ALFIM, IAEA, etc. Examples from various LA countries, as well as some proposed solutions, will be presented. In particular, we will discuss the resources that the AAPM and its members can offer to support regional programs. The ‘Medical Imaging’ physicist in the emerging world: Challenges and opportunities - Caridad Borrás (WGNIMP Chair) While the role of radiation therapy physicists in the emerging world is reasonably well established, the role of medical imaging physicists is not. The only perceived needs in radiology departments are equipment quality control and radiation protection, tasks that can be done by a technologist or a service engineer. To change the situation, the International Basic Safety Standard, which is adopted/adapted world-wide as national radiation protection regulations, states: “For diagnostic radiological procedures and image guided interventional procedures, the requirements of these Standards for medical imaging, calibration, dosimetry and quality assurance, including the acceptance and commissioning of medical radiological equipment, are fulfilled by or under the oversight of, or with the documented advice of a medical physicist, whose degree of involvement is determined by the complexity of the radiological procedures and the associated radiation risks”. Details on how these requirements can be carried out in resource-limited settings will be described. IAEA support to medical physics in Africa and Latin America: achievements and challenges Ahmed Meghzifene (IAEA) Shortage of clinically qualified medical physicists in radiotherapy and imaging, insufficient and inadequate education and training programs, as well as a lack of professional recognition were identified as the main issues to be addressed by the IAEA. The IAEA developed a series of integrated projects aiming specifically at promoting the essential role of medical physicists in health care, developing harmonized guidelines on dosimetry and quality assurance, and supporting education and clinical training programs. The unique feature of the IAEA approach is support it provides for implementation of guidelines and education programs in Member States through its technical cooperation project. The presentation will summarize IAEA support to Latin America and Africa in the field of medical physics and will highlight how the new International Basic Safety Standards are expected to impact the medical physics practice in low and middle income countries. Learning Objectives: Learn about the shortage of qualified Medical Physicists in Africa and Latin America. Understand the reasons of this shortage. Learn about the ways to improve the situation and AAPM role in this process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗