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

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Collaborative Research: Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence: Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) for Broadening Participation in STEM

The Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE) for Broadening Participation in STEM, a partnership of Chicago State University (CSU), aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students graduating with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and matriculating into graduate STEM programs. As a member institution of the LSMRCE, Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, (Fermilab) looked to support its continued mission of increasing URM student participation in its Summer Internship in Science and Technology (SIST) internship program. The program provided URMs with access to research skills development, mentoring and professionalization activities via paid, summer research internships at Fermilab. Students received instruction and mentoring while gaining exposure to a global laboratory workforce and community with diverse academic and professional expertise. In addition, students established professional relationships and networked with senior researchers, early career scientists, technical professionals, post-docs and other undergraduate interns to help forge collaboration, innovation and mentoring opportunities at Fermilab and LSMRCE partner institutions

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Fostering Computational Thinking within Elementary Classrooms through a Research-Practice Partnership: A Strategy for Broadening Participation in Computer Science

This paper describes a research-practice partnership involving twenty elementary teachers and a support team of university researchers and K-12 learning specialists. Over five years, the partnership explored ways to highlight and to expand computational thinking within math and science instruction. The project sought to increase student awareness, confidence, and fluency with computational thinking as a problem-solving approach, with particular attention to students from groups historically underrepresented in computer science. Based on feedback from across the partnership – together with analysis of student attitude and problem-solving data – this experience report identifies successes, challenges, and recommendations for future study.

Broadening participation↗
DOE OSTI2024

Building a Diverse and Inclusive HPC Community for Mission-Driven Team Science

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been a long-standing leader in driving advances in science and technology through advanced computing. However, DOE laboratories are currently facing urgent workforce challenges, particularly in terms of underrepresentation from key communities, including people of color, women, persons with disabilities, and first-generation scholars. This paper introduces the work carried out as part of the Exascale Computing Project (ECP) Broadening Participation Initiative, which aims to address workforce challenges through a lens that considers the distinct needs and culture of high-performance computing (HPC). The work focuses on three main efforts: hosting Intro to HPC Bootcamps, expanding the Sustainable Research Pathways (SRP) internship and workforce development program, and establishing an HPC Workforce Development and Retention Action Group. Finally, the paper also highlights various workforce efforts throughout the computational science community and explores opportunities for future work aimed at broadening participation in HPC.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

In the Mix : A Workshop Merging Computational Chemistry and Electrochemistry Alongside Data Science

As chemistry expands to more complex and interdisciplinary areas, a new generation of diverse researchers must engage with science and learn effective cross-disciplinary collaboration and communication. To these ends, we designed and implemented In the Mix, a graduate student-led, two-day workshop for undergraduate students promoting collaborative science in the context of energy storage innovations. Here, the interactive workshop was designed for future and emerging researchers to gain hands-on experience with data science, computational chemistry, and electrochemistry techniques that are critical for developing materials for battery technologies. Participants also visited commercial renewable energy facilities to help them connect discovery-based research with industry and broader societal considerations. The workshop content and structure ensured that participants experienced the interrelatedness of the fields and understood the importance of collaborative research to yield scientific advances with real-world applications. An external team evaluated the workshop and participants’ perceptions of their experiences. While our research context was energy storage, the workshop goals and outcomes are applicable to other contexts. Interdisciplinary, experiential workshops are a key avenue to broadening participation in science and research, and the ideas presented here can be readily modified for other scientific contexts and/or incorporated as broader impact activities.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Plant Summit 2019

The Plant Science Research Network organized the Plant Summit 2019, which took place February 10-13, 2019 at Biosphere 2 (Oracle, AZ). The Summit brought together plant scientists from many quarters, including stakeholders from academic institutions, government, nonprofits, and private industry with a broad range of experience in plant science research and education. Participants were guided through a facilitated workshop to review and assess the outcomes from previous PSRN workshops on cyberinfrastructure, postgraduate training, broadening participation, and future scenarios. An outcome of the Summit is the development of a report, “The Plant Science Decadal Vision (2020-2030): Reimagining the Potential of Plants for a Healthy Future.” The Decadal Vision frames societally vital, exciting and far-reaching research challenges as being necessary and deeply interwoven with human and technical resources. An Executive Summary of that report is provided.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Low-Cost Screening of Algae for Extreme Tolerance to pH, Temperature, Salinity, and Light

AbstractBioprospecting algae strains with tolerance to extreme conditions such as pH, temperature, salinity, and light is crucial for advancing biotechnology and environmental applications. However, traditional screening methods often involve significant costs and labor, restricting their accessibility and practical use. In this study, we developed and validated low-cost, high-throughput screening techniques, predominantly employing agar plates and liquid culture assays, to effectively differentiate tolerance levels among various algae strains. The methodologies were optimized using the model microalgaChlamydomonas reinhardtiiand its closely related speciesChlamydomonas incertaand the recently discovered extremophilicChlamydomonas pacifica. We systematically evaluated the algae for tolerance to extremes by establishing precise gradients of pH (acidic to alkaline conditions), salinity (0 to 5 M NaCl), temperature (34–42°C), and light intensity (40 to 2977 μE·m⁻²·s⁻¹). Our results demonstrated that these cost-effective, agar plate-based methods effectively distinguished algae strains exhibiting superior tolerance to extreme environmental conditions. These screening techniques not only provided clear differentiation among the closely related strains but also delivered reproducible outcomes suitable for scaling up to larger bioprospecting efforts. Furthermore, the affordability and simplicity of these methods facilitate their implementation in resource-limited laboratories, thereby broadening participation in algae bioprospecting endeavors. This study highlights the potential of low-cost, accessible screening techniques to significantly enhance the discovery and characterization of algal strains with extreme traits. Ultimately, these methods support the development of robust algae-based resources, driving innovation in diverse industrial processes and environmental solutions.Graphical Abstract

Saucedo, Barbara (ORCID:0009000008860839)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Careers in STEM: A Latina Perspective

Three Latina computing professionals at a large national laboratory reflect on the circumstances affecting the low representation of this segment of the population in STEM fields, and computing in particular. Here, the authors share highlights of their path to STEM careers and some of the efforts they are involved in for broadening participation in computing. They consider the roles of minority serving institutions, representation and mentoring, and advocacy.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2024

FacultyHack Events: Faculty-Focused Hackathons for High-Performance Computing Curriculum Development

Broadening participation initiatives are important for engaging underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Such initiatives help foster supportive and inclusive work environments that promote creativity and productivity. While there are initiatives that aim to engage students and faculty, opportunities remain to improve faculty support. Hackathons have proved to be a useful approach for student engagement. There are, however, limited insights into whether and how such events would also work for faculty aiming to develop curricula. This paper discusses the design of a faculty-focused hackathon event, FacultyHack, for curriculum development. We outline the logistics and structure for two past FacultyHack events, detail changes between events, and describe potential improvements and lessons learned.

Holmen, John [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000259342641)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Conference Travel Fellowships: The 10th Annual International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling, Baltimore, Maryland, October 19-22, 2020 (Final Technical Report)

The original scope aimed to broaden participation in the 10th International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling (MMM 10) by supporting travel and accommodation for 10 junior scientists from U.S. Institutions. A funding request of $\$$10,000 was submitted to partially offset the cost of registration and local accommodation for these early-career participants. Since the award was made close to the date MMM 10 was to be held, we requested a no-cost extension to defer this travel support to the 11th International Conference on Multiscale Materials Modeling (MMM 11), which was held in Prague Congress Center in the Czech Republic. The scope of the travel award remained the same: supporting travel and accommodation for 10 junior scientists from U.S. Institutions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final DOE-ASR Report for the Project “Using LASSO to bridge the gap between model and observations and to learn about atmospheric convection”

Atmospheric convection spans a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and involves complex interactions with the surrounding dynamic and thermodynamic environment, particularly over tropical continental regions. These processes remain a major source of uncertainty in weather and climate models, including persistent biases in the diurnal cycle of convective precipitation that directly affect estimates of climate sensitivity. Addressing these challenges requires the combined use of high-resolution observations and cloud-resolving modeling frameworks. In this context, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Large-Eddy Simulation ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) activity provides a powerful platform that pairs comprehensive observations with numerical simulations to enable process-level understanding of atmospheric convection. Within this context, this Research and Development Partnership Pilot (RDPP) project was designed to initiate and expand DOE ARM/ASR research capacity at minority-serving institutions, while advancing scientific understanding of convective processes over the Amazon rainforest. Consistent with the RDPP mission, the project emphasized partnership development, training, and workforce capacity building alongside exploratory research activities. On the scientific side, the project produced two peer-reviewed journal articles, and one manuscript currently under review (see list in section 3.1). Together, these studies combine long-term ARM observations and cloud-resolving and convection-permitting modeling to investigate the environmental controls on the shallow-to-deep convective transition during the Amazon wet season. The results demonstrate the central role of early-day moisture preconditioning and large-scale dynamical forcing in regulating isolated deep convection, provide mechanistic insight into convective evolution, and establish physically informed modeling frameworks for future sensitivity experiments. These scientific outcomes are described in sections 2.1 to 2.3 and were disseminated in 8 conference presentations (see section 3.2) and 5 invited talks (see section 3.3), reflecting broad engagement with our community. Equally important, the project achieved its RDPP capacity-building objectives (see section 2.4). A sustained research partnership was established among the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Morgan State University (MSU), and Howard University (HU), and extended to include collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The project organized multiple multi-day training events focused on ARM data, LASSO simulations, and quantitative analysis methods, directly engaging students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty across institutions. These activities broadened participation in ASR research and led to independent adoption of LASSO workflows by students beyond the immediate project team. Finally, the project successfully positioned the participating institutions to pursue future DOE research. Preliminary scientific results, coupled with strengthened partnerships and technical capacity, enabled the submission of follow-on proposals to DOE ASR funding opportunities. In this way, the project fulfilled the RDPP goal of seeding durable research capacity and laying the foundation for larger-scale, sustained engagement with DOE ARM and ASR programs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data-Driven Modeling and Control of Systems with Plasma-Surface Interactions (Final Technical Report)

This final technical report summarizes the activities and accomplishments in the period from February 2023 thru January 2026. The objective of the proposed research is to investigate the physical mechanisms and processes underlying the formation of structures and patterns in systems with plasma-surface interactions. In the past decades, there have been extensive studies on the interaction of glow discharges, dielectric barrier discharges, and arc discharges with confining or intervening surfaces. The advancement of the understanding of these phenomena is not only of fundamental scientific interest and relevance to the knowledge of the plasma state, but also with profound implications in various technological applications. The research will integrate theoretical, computational, and experimental work within an innovative framework of data assimilation, i.e., optimally combining model predictions with measurements. The scientific merit of this research has three aspects. Firstly, it extends the studies of plasma-surface interactions to systems with insulator surfaces and multi-layer systems, while existing studies are predominantly on electrode surfaces. Secondly, it expects to develop a novel data-driven modeling approach based on data assimilation to enhance the predictive and control capabilities, which could make transformative contributions to basic plasma research. Thirdly, it will shed new light on outstanding problems related to formation of patterns interfacing plasmas. This project also aims to launch an education and outreach initiative at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, a non-R1, minority-serving institution in South Texas. The initiative is structured as a four-tier pyramid. Tier one will be a webinar series for culture and capacity building to inform broader audience in the region about the research fields of plasma science and engineering. Tier two will be the creation and offering of an upper-level undergraduate course on introductory plasma physics, which will help with the recruitment for the upper tiers. On tier three, we will engage and mentor senior design students to conduct work toward the research goal of this project. There will also be a certificate program on general plasma science for undergrad and graduate students, part of which will be lab training at Princeton University. Tier four will be the supervision and mentoring of Ph.D. students. Therefore, this project will systematically expand the talent pipeline, broaden participation from communities historically and geographically underrepresented in DOE SC research portfolio, significantly improve the research and education capacity at the PI’s institution, and contribute to developing a diverse workforce in plasma science and engineering.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Intro to HPC Bootcamp: Engaging New Communities Through Energy Justice Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a long-standing leader in research and development of high-performance computing (HPC) in the pursuit of science. However, we face daunting challenges in fostering a robust and diverse HPC workforce. Basic HPC is not typically taught at early stages of students' academic careers, and the capacity and knowledge of HPC at many institutions are limited. Even so, such topics are prerequisites for advanced training programs, internships, graduate school, and ultimately for careers in HPC. To help address this challenge, as part of the DOE Exascale Computing Project's Broadening Participation Initiative, we recently launched the Introduction to HPC Training and Workforce Pipeline Program to provide accessible introductory material on HPC, scalable AI, and analytics. We describe the Intro to HPC Bootcamp, an immersive program designed to engage students from underrepresented groups as they learn foundational HPC skills. Here, the program takes a novel approach to HPC training by turning the traditional curriculum upside down. Instead of focusing on technology and its applications, the bootcamp focuses on energy justice to motivate the training of HPC skills through project-based pedagogy and real-life science stories. Additionally, the bootcamp prepares students for internships and future careers at DOE labs. The first bootcamp, hosted by the advanced computing facilities at Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley, and Oak Ridge National Labs and organized by Sustainable Horizons Institute, took place in August 2023.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Soil metagenomics umbrella narrative

Implementing accessible, authentic research experiences in introductory courses is challenging, particularly at institutions serving diverse student populations. To address this gap, we developed and deployed a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) focused on plant-microbe interactions in General Biology II at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a minority-serving institution with a diverse student body. Students grew sugar beets (Beta vulgaris), extracted DNA from the rhizoplane, and used the Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) for bioinformatic analysis to compare microbial relative abundance in fertilized versus unfertilized soil. Over five semesters, the CURE engaged 103 students and leveraged the intuitive KBase platform to make complex sequencing data accessible. Pre/post-course survey data revealed significant increases in student self-assessed research skills, including the ability to explain results and determine the types of data to collect. Furthermore, students reported significant gains in confidence related to experimental design and hypothesis development, alongside a strong increase in familiarity with KBase. Informal faculty feedback indicated high student engagement and appreciation for the real-world connections (e.g. food systems, agriculture, and health). This scalable, low-cost model effectively integrates data science tools into the foundational curriculum, demonstrating a potent strategy for boosting research skills and broadening participation in authentic scientific inquiry among diverse undergraduate students.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Customer outcomes in Pay-As-You-Save programs

We review the energy and financial outcomes of households participating in several programs based on successive versions of the Pay As You Save¯ (PAYS¯) system. PAYS¯ programs offer non-debt financing for energy efficiency (and sometimes other technologies) in residential buildings through a tariff attached to the home’s utility meter, designed to be offset by project savings. We find that the five programs we study generally serve customers living in zip codes with levels of income and education below the national average and unemployment rates above the national average, demonstrating their potential to improve equity in energy efficiency adoption. Using weather-normalized analysis of energy consumption data, we show that most customers of Midwest Energy’s program reduce annual electricity and gas consumption, averaging 15% and 26% reductions respectively. Changes in energy consumption calculated using this method represent a combination of project effects and changes in occupant behavior. These results are similar to existing analyses of PAYS¯ programs in North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee. About half of participating Midwest households generate sufficient energy cost savings to cover their monthly tariff. Various factors, including changes in occupant behavior, program error, causes independent of the customer or program, or some combination thereof may explain lower-than-expected cost reductions in some projects. Given the inherent variability in annual household electricity consumption, we feel these programs are enabling energy efficiency improvements and their attendant co-benefits, including occupant health and comfort and reduced carbon emissions, while reasonably balancing energy savings and tariff costs. Pairing PAYS¯ with additional financial assistance, as well as promoting cost-effective measures such as air and duct sealing, could further broaden program participation by enabling additional projects to meet PAYS¯ program eligibility rules.

Deason, Jeff↗
DOE OSTI2024

IX Cell Wall Research Conference 2022 (IXCWRC): Cell wall research for new fundamental discoveries and applications in plant biology

This application is for securing funds to offset the registration fees and lodging costs for US-based early career investigators (ERCs) to participate to the IX Cell Wall Research Conference 2022 (IXCWRC 2022): Cell wall research for new fundamental discoveries and applications in plant biology. The conference will be held in East Lansing, Michigan on June 13-17, 2022. The conference will focus on the plant cell wall. Plant cells are encapsulated by the cell wall, a dynamic structure that protects them, enables them to interface with the external environment and supports the growth of the entire organism. There is a growing interest in understanding the complex processes necessary to build and deconstruct the plant cell wall. A better understanding of how the cell wall is synthesized during plant growth and in response to the environment, and how it is deconstructed for a broad variety of applications can inform and improve biotechnological processes for increasing biomass yield and improving industrial processes for the recovery of valuable, sustainable polymers. Acquiring such knowledge requires the exchange of new ideas and results as well as the development and application of new technologies. The IXCWRC 2022 aims to reach this goal by providing an opportunity for an open forum to discuss new ideas and theories and develop collaborations for scientists across the globe in a diverse and supportive environment. A distinction of the IXCWRC 2022 from all the preceding plant cell wall conferences will be its focus on the training and inclusion of the next generation of scientists, the ERCs. The overall goal of this application is to broaden the participation of ERCs with a focus on underrepresented communities. The specific goal of this application is to secure support for registration and lodging for US-based ERCs to attend the conference. Priority will be given to ERCs from underrepresented communities in science. We expect that support from DOE will allow the development of an exciting and innovative program to discuss the latest scientific advances in cell wall biology research, advance the next generation of plant cell wall researchers and foster the foundations of an inclusive community in science.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Population ecology and biogeochemical implications of ssDNA and dsDNA viruses along a permafrost thaw gradient

Anthropogenic-driven climate change is accelerating permafrost thaw, threatening to release vast carbon stores through increased microbial activity. While microbial roles are increasingly studied, the contributions of viruses remain largely unexplored, in part due to soil-associated technical challenges that have hindered their detection and characterization. Here, we applied an optimized virion enrichment workflow along a permafrost thaw gradient, identifying 9,963 viral populations (vOTUs), including single- and double-stranded DNA viruses, with 99.9% novelty compared to other soils. Hosts were predicted for 38% of vOTUs, spanning nine archaeal, and 36 bacterial phyla, 22% of which were linked to metagenome-assembled genomes, including key carbon-cycling taxa. Genomic analyses revealed 811 putative auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) from 658 vOTUs, nearly half involved in carbon processing. These included 59 glycoside hydrolases (GH) across nine GH families, 45 for monosaccharide degradation, and seven involved in short-chain fatty acid and C1 metabolism, linking viruses to both early and late stages of carbon turnover. Additionally, six vOTUs carried racD, which may stabilize microbial necromass and promote long-term carbon storage. Viral and AMG functional diversity increased with thaw stage, indicating that viruses might participate in a broadening range of microbial metabolic processes as permafrost thaws. These findings expand our understanding of virus contributions in microbial carbon processing and suggest their important role in deciphering soil carbon fate under changing climate conditions.

Biological and medical sciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

40th Eastern Regional Photosynthesis Conference

Photosynthesis has shaped global biochemistry and geochemistry in its production of almost all atmospheric oxygen, and almost every electron that supports the processes of life on Earth was extracted from water by the light-dependent reactions, many of which were then used to fix carbon in the dark reactions. To humans, that fixed carbon is the originator of all fossil fuels and a critical step in conversion of solar photons to human-usable energy. The Eastern Regional Photosynthesis Conference (ERPC) serves as a forum for advancement of science in this field. As a regional-level conference, it specializes in providing developmental opportunities for early-career researchers from undergraduates to pre-tenure professors, as well as broadening the field in terms of participating scholars and research approaches to produce new interdisciplinary collaborations. Funding from the Department of Energy is used to mitigate registration and attendance costs for junior (non-PI) researchers. The ERPC is one of the three regional conferences in the field of photosynthesis research in the United States, alongside the Western Photosynthesis Conference (currently in California) and the Midwestern Photosynthesis Conference (Turkey Run, Indiana). A longstanding incubator for scientific discourse, discovery, and collaborations, this conference has spawned many collaborations which led to Department of Energy-funded projects and brought two full generations of scientists into the field. In 2023 the landmark 40th such conference was held at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts. The conference was held April 14th-16th, 2023. The majority of the total attendees are traditionally undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, whose scientific development greatly benefits from conferences like these. Almost all talks besides the ones given by invited speakers were given by young scientists who benefited from this award. Many posters presented at this conference were also the work of junior scientists. This conference is many young scientists' first exposure to the photosynthesis research community and its primary goal is to provide a positive atmosphere for those attendees, as exemplified by the three poster sessions and dedicated interactions between senior and junior scientists. Additionally, this was the first year of a successful equitable outreach and speaker recruitment plan to provide fair representation at the conference in line with Department of Energy policies and mission. The central focus of the ERPC is the understanding of energy flow from photons to usable chemical products in both natural and artificial photosynthesis. We support the DOE-BES aim of understanding of the biochemical/biophysical processes of photosynthesis to inform new technology development and field applications. This year’s theme, “Photosynthesis Across Scales,” reflected the scope of work being done from the individual exciton to the crop scale. This research encompasses applied biology, chemistry, physics, and materials engineering. The aim of this conference is to present new discoveries, techniques, and questions which can be sourced from any of these disciplines and provide an audience which is broadly qualified to use or respond to these developments.

08 HYDROGEN↗