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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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12 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Toward the validation of crowdsourced experiments for lightness perception

Crowdsource platforms have been used to study a range of perceptual stimuli such as the graphical perception of scatterplots and various aspects of human color perception. Given the lack of control over a crowdsourced participant’s experimental setup, there are valid concerns on the use of crowdsourcing for color studies as the perception of the stimuli is highly dependent on the stimulus presentation. Here, we propose that the error due to a crowdsourced experimental design can be effectively averaged out because the crowdsourced experiment can be accommodated by the Thurstonian model as the convolution of two normal distributions, one that is perceptual in nature and one that captures the error due to variability in stimulus presentation. Based on this, we provide a mathematical estimate for the sample size needed to produce a crowdsourced experiment with the same power as the corresponding in-person study. We tested this claim by replicating a large-scale, crowdsourced study of human lightness perception with a diverse sample with a highly controlled, in-person study with a sample taken from psychology undergraduates. Our claim was supported by the replication of the results from the latter. These findings suggest that, with sufficient sample size, color vision studies may be completed online, giving access to a larger and more representative sample. With this framework at hand, experimentalists have the validation that choosing either many online participants or few in person participants will not sacrifice the impact of their results.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Crowdsourcing the Frontier: Advancing Hybrid Physics‐ML Climate Simulation via a $\$$50,000 Kaggle Competition

Subgrid machine-learning (machine learning [ML]) parameterizations have the potential to introduce a new generation of climate models that incorporate the effects of higher-resolution physics without incurring the prohibitive computational cost associated with more explicit physics-based simulations. However, important issues, ranging from online instability to inconsistent online performance, have limited their operational use for long-term climate projections. To more rapidly drive progress in solving these issues, domain scientists and ML researchers opened up the offline aspect of this problem to the broader ML and data science community with the release of ClimSim, a NeurIPS Data sets and Benchmarks publication, and an associated Kaggle competition. This paper reports on the downstream results of the Kaggle competition by coupling emulators inspired by the winning teams' architectures to an interactive climate model (including full cloud microphysics, a regime historically prone to online instability) and systematically evaluating their online performance. Our results demonstrate that online stability in the low-resolution real-geography setting is reproducible across multiple diverse architectures, which we consider a key milestone. All tested architectures exhibit strikingly similar offline and online biases, though their responses to architecture-agnostic design choices (e.g., expanding the list of input variables) can differ significantly. Multiple Kaggle-inspired architectures achieve state-of-the-art results on certain metrics such as zonal mean bias patterns and global Root Mean Squared Error, indicating that crowdsourcing the essence of the offline problem is one path to improving online performance in hybrid physics-AI climate simulation.

Environmental sciences↗
DOE OSTI2024

A functional microbiome catalogue crowdsourced from North American rivers

Predicting elemental cycles and maintaining water quality under increasing anthropogenic influence requires knowledge of the spatial drivers of river microbiomes. However, understanding of the core microbial processes governing river biogeochemistry is hindered by a lack of genome-resolved functional insights and sampling across multiple rivers. Here we used a community science effort to accelerate the sampling, sequencing and genome-resolved analyses of river microbiomes to create the Genome Resolved Open Watersheds database (GROWdb). GROWdb profiles the identity, distribution, function and expression of microbial genomes across river surface waters covering 90% of United States watersheds. Specifically, GROWdb encompasses microbial lineages from 27 phyla, including novel members from 10 families and 128 genera, and defines the core river microbiome at the genome level. GROWdb analyses coupled to extensive geospatial information reveals local and regional drivers of microbial community structuring, while also presenting foundational hypotheses about ecosystem function. Building on the previously conceived River Continuum Concept, we layer on microbial functional trait expression, which suggests that the structure and function of river microbiomes is predictable. We make GROWdb available through various collaborative cyberinfrastructures, so that it can be widely accessed across disciplines for watershed predictive modelling and microbiome-based management practices.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Labeling sequential data from noisy annotations

Crowdsourcing algorithms often work under the assumption that the data samples are independent. Recent work has shown that data dependence, such as temporal correlations in sequential data, can be leveraged to improve the label quality. Existing methods that exploit this special structure rely on third-order statistics of the annotator outputs to ensure the identifiability of key latent parameters, which are costly to acquire. This work proposes an approach for integrating crowdsourced annotations under the Dawid-Skene/Hidden Markov Model (DS-HMM) for sequential data based on second-order statistics, which naturally enjoys a lower sample complexity. An effective algorithm is proposed to tackle the challenging optimization problem associated with the proposed estimator. Numerical experiments showcase the effectiveness of the data labeling paradigm.

Marrinan, Timothy P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

The silicon citizen naturalist

Smartphone-wielding citizen scientists and an AI called FLORIST are transforming ecology at the continental scale. Here, in this issue of Cell, when Tibbs-Cortes et al. pair the crowdsourced data with controlled genetics, they discover how switchgrass times its flowering to outwit both frost and heat, depending on latitude.

Hudson, Matthew E. [University of Illinois at Urba↗
DOE OSTI2026

Automatic Lane-Level Road Network Extraction from Aerial Imagery for Transportation Digital Twins

Accurate road networks are essential for credible traffic microsimulation and transportation digital twins, yet high-definition maps are often difficult to obtain due to limited availability, high cost, or proprietary restrictions. Some build networks from crowdsourced data, such as OpenStreetMap, but these sources often contain geometric and semantic inconsistencies. Others create networks manually, a process that is labor-intensive and difficult to scale. To address these limitations, this work presents an end-to-end pipeline that automatically extracts georeferenced, lane-level road networks from publicly available high-resolution satellite imagery and converts them into simulation-ready assets. The developed end-to-end pipeline has three primary modules: (1) A computer-vision-based module first detects directed lane geometries and intersection layouts. (2) A heuristic-based topology construction module then identifies approach and exit legs and establishes conflict-free lane-to-lane connections. (3) Finally, an automatic simulation-building module converts the extracted network into standard formats, e.g., OpenDRIVE, and generates routable SUMO networks. The framework supports both complete network construction from scratch and local-scale refinement of existing networks through lane-count correction, transition recovery, and geometric regularization. The proposed pipeline provides a practical pathway to generate traffic simulation networks from satellite imagery, significantly reducing manual reconstruction effort and enabling scalable, continuously updated transportation digital twins.

Guo, Hetian [University of Georgia, Athens] (ORCID↗
DOE OSTI2026

Smart building HVAC control challenge: experience and solutions from the ADRENALIN project

A smart building HVAC control competition crowdsourced and compared algorithms on fair and equal ground using the standardized BOPTEST framework. The competition attracted 138 participants, but only 9% submitted valid solutions for the final stage, highlighting the complexity of advanced HVAC control design. The winning solutions showed significant potential to reduce energy use and cost by shifting demand, without compromising occupant comfort. Across scenarios, thermal energy cost reductions of 36–76% relative to a baseline, were achieved. In peak heat periods, the cost reduction leveraged limited energy use reduction (0–15%), but more significant energy price reduction (34–62%). This shows smart controls' ability to avoid as much as possible consumption during the morning peak hours, when spot prices are tendentially the highest. Hosting the competition has highlighted challenges in creating competitions that both are fair and promotes solutions that are transferable to real life implementation.

BOPTEST↗
DOE OSTI2025

Do Research Software Engineers and Software Engineering Researchers Speak the Same Language?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that research software engineers (RSEs) and software engineering researchers (SERs) often use different terminologies for similar concepts, creating communication challenges. To better understand these divergences, we have started investigating how software engineering fundamentals from the SER community are interpreted within the RSE community, identifying aligned concepts, knowledge gaps, and areas for potential adaptation. In conclusion, our preliminary findings reveal opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration, and our systematic methodology for terminology mapping provides a foundation for a crowdsourced extension and validation in the future.

Kehrer, Timo [Univ. of Bern (Switzerland)] (ORCID:↗
DOE OSTI2026

Decision Making Under Uncertainty Human Subjects Data - Fire Evacuation Task

This dataset contains de-identified data from human subjects experiments, along with the images and code that were used to run the experiments (as a crowdsourced online study). In this study, participants were shown the probability of a house being in the burn zone of a wildfire. They were asked if they would stay in the house or evacuate in that scenario. The probability information was presented in different ways, including text and maps. The studies tested the impact of different visual cues on the participants' patterns of decisions.

Matzen, Laura E. [Sandia National Laboratories (SN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laboratory time series moisture manipulative experiment from sediment across the contiguous US: time series aerobic respiration and geochemistry (v2)

This dataset supports a broader study examining the effects of wetting and drying on hyporheic zone respiration across the contiguous United States (CONUS). The dataset provides data generated from a laboratory moisture manipulation experiment. The contents include time series aerobic respiration and moisture; dissolved oxygen; sediment geochemistry data; and field metadata (including qualitative information on instream and river corridor characteristics). Samples were collected as part of the WHONDRS CONUS-Scale Model-Sample Study (CM). This study was designed following ICON (integrated, coordinated, open, and networked) principles to facilitate a model-experiment (ModEx) iteration approach, leveraging crowdsourced sampling across the CONUS. The data package associated with the CM study is available at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1923689. CM sampling began in April 2022 and ended in October 2023. This study uses subsamples from a subset of CM samples collected between June 2022 and June 2023. The original field samples were labeled as CM_###. Subsequent subsamples for this study were labeled as EC_###. The labels from the field samples and the EC subsamples can be mapped directly based on the digits following the prefix and underscore (i.e., EC_001 is a subsample from CM_001). See the critical details section below for more details on sample naming. This data package was originally published in August 2024. It was updated in February 2026 (v2; new and modified files). See the change history section in the readme for more details. For details on how to navigate this data package, see this infographic from the River Corridor SFA https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. This dataset is comprised of one folder of raw Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) data and one main data folder containing (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) field metadata; (4) readme; (5) field protocol; and a (6) a subfolder with sediment sample data from the incubation experiment. The sample data subfolder contains (1) dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC); (2) total nitrogen (TN); (3) adenosine triphosphate (ATP); (4) percent carbon and nitrogen; (5) effect size; (6) iron (II); (7) gravimetric moisture; (8) respiration rates and raw dissolved oxygen values; (9) specific conductance; (10) pH; (11) temperature; (12) a summary containing median values of each data type for each treatment (wet and dry); (13) methods codes; (14) FTICR-MS methods; and (15) a subfolder of 9.4 Tesla FTICR-MS data. This folder contains three subfolders, one containing the sediment .xml data files, one containing the sediment CoreMS output files, the other containing instructions and scripts for processing the files in CoreMS (https://github.com/EMSL-Computing/CoreMS). All files are .csv, .pdf, .R, .ref, or .xml.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Machine learning model inputs, outputs, and scripts associated with “Artificial intelligence-guided iterations between observations and modeling significantly improve environmental predictions”

NOTE: The manuscript associated with this data package is currently in review. The data may be revised based on reviewer feedback. Upon manuscript acceptance, this data package will be updated with the final dataset and additional metadata. This data package is associated with the manuscript “Artificial intelligence-guided iterations between observations and modeling significantly improve environmental predictions” (Malhotra et al., in prep). This effort was designed following ICON (integrated, coordinated, open, and networked) principles to facilitate a model-experiment (ModEx) iteration approach, leveraging crowdsourced sampling across the contiguous United States (CONUS). New machine learning models were created every month to guide sampling locations. Data from the resulting samples were used to test and rebuild the machine learning models for the next round of sampling guidance. Associated sediment and water geochemistry and in situ sensor data can be found at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/datasets/doi:10.15485/1923689, https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/datasets/doi:10.15485/1729719, and https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/datasets/doi:10.15485/1603775. This data package is associated with two GitHub repositories found at https://github.com/parallelworks/dynamic-learning-rivers and https://github.com/WHONDRS-Hub/ICON-ModEx_Open_Manuscript. In addition to this readme, this data package also includes two file-level metadata (FLMD) files that describes each file and two data dictionaries (DD) that describe all column/row headers and variable definitions. This data package consists of two main folders (1) dynamic-learning-rivers and (2) ICON-ModEx_Open_Manuscript which contain snapshots of the associated GitHub repositories. The input data, output data, and machine learning models used to guide sampling locations are within dynamic-learning-rivers. The folder is organized into five top-level directories: (1) “input_data” holds the training data for the ML models; (2) “ml_models” holds machine learning (ML) models trained on the data in “input_data”; (3) “examples” contains files for direct experimentation with the machine learning model, including scripts for setting up “hindcast” run; (4) “scripts” contains data preprocessing and postprocessing scripts and intermediate results specific to this data set that bookend the ML workflow; and (5) “output_data” holds the overall results of the ML model on that branch. Each trained ML model resides on its own branch in the repository; this means that inputs and outputs can be different branch-to-branch. There is also one hidden directory “.github/workflows”. This hidden directory contains information for how to run the ML workflow as an end-to-end automated GitHub Action but it is not needed for reusing the ML models archived here. Please see the top-level README.md in the GitHub repository for more details on the automation. The scripts and data used to create figures in the manuscript are within ICON-ModEx_Open_Manuscript. The folder is organized into four folders which contain the scripts, data, and pdf for each figure. Within the “fig-model-score-evolution” folder, there is a folder called “intermediate_branch_data” which contains some intermediate files pulled from dynamic-learning-rivers and reorganized to easily integrate into the workflows. NOTE: THIS FOLDER INCLUDES THE FILES AT THE POINT OF PAPER SUBMISSION. IT WILL BE UPDATED ONCE THE PAPER IS ACCEPTED WITH ANY REVISIONS AND WILL INCLUDE A DD/FLMD AT THAT POINT. We thank the United States Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Cowiche Canyon Conservatory, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (Scientific Research Permit #210901), and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation for access to field locations where the samples labeled “SSS” were collected. We also thank the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Yakama Nation Fisheries for working with us to facilitate sample collection and optimization of data usage according to their values and worldview. WHONDRS consortium members were asked to provide any acknowledgments for the collection of samples labeled “CM” and the following is a list of acknowledgments that were submitted with their corresponding Site IDs: (MART) Research activities were conducted in part on the Wind River Experimental Forest within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest; (MP- 100379) Philadelphia is part of Lenapehoking, the ancestral homelands of the Lenape peoples; (MP-102398) Land surveyed is the ancestral homelands of the Nookhose'iinenno (Arapaho), Tsis tsis'tas (Cheyenne), and Nuuchu (Ute); (MP-100749 and MP- 100747) Georgia Coastal Ecosystem LTER, OCE-1832178; (SP-70 and SP-72) Eastern Shoshone, Shoshone-Bannock; (MP- 102944) Funded by Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. On the traditional lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Rhonde, and the Clatsop-Nehalem Confederated Tribe; (MP- 100607) Holiday Creek is located on the traditional territory of the Monacan Indian Nation; (SP-45) Lafayette Blue Springs State Park; (MP-102420) NSF DEB-2016749; (MP-100019) New Hampshire Agriculture Experiment Station; (SP-35) Rayonier (land owner; https://www.rayonier.com/); (MP- 101276) US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research, Subsurface Biogeochemical Research, Watershed Dynamics and Evolution SFA at ORNL; (MP- 103224) Watershed Dynamics and Evolution SFA at ORNL; (MP- 101584) Traditional lands of the Oceti Sakowin (Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda) and Anishinaabe Peoples.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

ML-driven Strong Lens Discoveries: Down to θ E ~ $0^{_{''}}_{^.}03$ and M halo < 10 11 M ⊙

We present results on extending the strong lens discovery space down to much smaller Einstein radii ( θ E ≲ $0^{_{''}}_{^.}03$) and much lower halo mass (M halo < 10 11 M ⊙ ) through the combination of JWST observations and machine learning (ML) techniques. First, we forecast detectable strong lenses with JWST using CosmoDC2 as the lens catalog, and a source catalog down to 29th magnitude. By further incorporating the VELA hydrodynamical simulations of high-redshift galaxies, we simulate strong lenses. We train a ResNet on these images, achieving near-100% completeness and purity for “conventional” strong lenses ( θ E ≳ $0^{_{''}}_{^.}05$), applicable to JWST, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the Roman Space Telescope, and Euclid VIS. For the first time, we also search for very low halo mass strong lenses (M halo < 10 11 M ⊙ ) in simulations, with θ E << $0^{_{''}}_{^.}05$, down to the best resolution ($0^{_{''}}_{^.}03$) and depth (10,000 s) limits of JWST using ResNet. A U-Net model is employed to pinpoint these small lenses in images, which are otherwise virtually impossible for human detection. Our results indicate that JWST can find ∼17/deg 2 such low-halo-mass lenses, with the locations of ∼1.1/deg 2 of these detectable by the U-Net at ∼100% precision (and ∼7.0/deg 2 at a 99.0% precision). To validate our model for finding “conventional” strong lenses, we apply it to HST images, discovering two new strong lens candidates previously missed by human classifiers in a crowdsourcing project (E. O. Garvin et al. 2022). This study demonstrates the (potentially “superhuman”) advantages of ML combined with current and future space telescopes for detecting conventional, and especially, low-halo-mass strong lenses, which are critical for testing cold dark matter models.

Silver, Ethan [Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (↗