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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2021

Synthesizing Disparate LiDAR and Satellite Datasets through Deep Learning to Generate Wall-to-Wall Regional Inventories for the Complex, Mixed-Species Forests of the Eastern United States

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has become a commonly-used tool for generating remotely-sensed forest inventories. However, LiDAR-derived forest inventories have remained uncommon at a regional scale due to varying parameters among LiDAR data acquisitions and the availability of sufficient calibration data. Here, we present a model using a 3-D convolutional neural network (CNN), a form of deep learning capable of scanning a LiDAR point cloud, combined with coincident satellite data (spectral, phenology, and disturbance history). We compared this approach to traditional modeling used for making forest predictions from LiDAR data (height metrics and random forest) and found that the CNN had consistently lower uncertainty. We then applied the CNN to public data over six New England states in the USA, generating maps of 14 forest attributes at a 10 m resolution over 85% of the region. Aboveground biomass estimates produced a root mean square error of 36 Mg ha−1 (44%) and were within the 97.5% confidence of independent county-level estimates for 33 of 38 or 86.8% of the counties examined. CNN predictions for stem density and percentage of conifer attributes were moderately successful, while predictions for detailed species groupings were less successful. The approach shows promise for improving the prediction of forest attributes from regional LiDAR data and for combining disparate LiDAR datasets into a common framework for large-scale estimation.

Elias Ayrey↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward Complete Merger Identification at Cosmic Noon with Deep Learning

As we enter the era of large imaging surveys such as Roman, Rubin, and Euclid, a deeper understanding of potential biases and selection effects in optical astronomical catalogs created with the use of ML-based methods is paramount. This work focuses on a deeper understanding of the performance and limitations of deep learning-based classifiers as tools for galaxy merger identification. We train a ConvNeXT-Pico model on mock HST CANDELS images from the IllustrisTNG50 simulation. Our focus is on a more challenging classification of galaxy mergers and non-mergers at higher redshifts 1 < z < 1.5, including minor mergers and lower mass galaxies down to the stellar mass of 108M⊙. We demonstrate, for the first time, that a deep learning model, such as the one developed in this work, can successfully identify even minor and low mass mergers even at these redshifts. Our model achieves overall accuracy, purity, and completeness of over 73%. We show that some galaxy mergers can only be identified from certain observation angles, leading to a potential upper limit in overall accuracy. Using Grad-CAMs and UMAPs, we more deeply examine the performance and observe a visible gradient in the latent space with stellar mass and specific star formation rate, but no visible gradient with merger mass ratio or merger stage.

Schechter, Aimee L. [U. Colorado, Boulder]↗
DOE OSTI2024

Identifying Neutrino Final States and Energies in MicroBooNE with New Deep-Learning Based LArTPC Reconstruction Frameworks

MicroBooNE, a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) located in the $\nu_{\mu}$-dominated Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab, has been studying $\nu_{e}$ charged-current (CC) interaction rates to shed light on the MiniBooNE low energy excess. The LArTPC technology employed by MicroBooNE provides the capability to image neutrino interactions with mm-scale precision. Computer vision and other machine learning techniques are promising tools for image processing that could boost efficiencies for selecting $\nu_{e}$-CC and other rare signals, reduce cosmic and beam-induced backgrounds, and improve the reconstruction of neutrino energies. The MicroBooNE experiment has been at the forefront of developing and testing such techniques for use in physics analyses. In this poster we overview deep-learning based reconstruction methods. We will showcase the use of a recurrent neural network to estimate neutrino energies and present a new reconstruction framework that uses convolutional neural networks to locate neutrino interaction vertices, tag pixels with track and shower labels, and perform particle identification on reconstructed clusters. We will present studies characterizing the performance of these new tools and demonstrate their effectiveness through their use in an inclusive $\nu_{e}$-CC event selection.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Identifying Neutrino Final States and Energies in MicroBooNE with New Deep-Learning Based LArTPC Reconstruction Frameworks

MicroBooNE, a Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) located in the $\nu_{\mu}$-dominated Booster Neutrino Beam at Fermilab, has been studying $\nu_{e}$ charged-current (CC) interaction rates to shed light on the MiniBooNE low energy excess. The LArTPC technology employed by MicroBooNE provides the capability to image neutrino interactions with mm-scale precision. Computer vision and other machine learning techniques are promising tools for image processing that could boost efficiencies for selecting $\nu_{e}$-CC and other rare signals, reduce cosmic and beam-induced backgrounds, and improve the reconstruction of neutrino energies. The MicroBooNE experiment has been at the forefront of developing and testing such techniques for use in physics analyses. In this poster we overview deep-learning based reconstruction methods. We will showcase the use of a recurrent neural network to estimate neutrino energies and present a new reconstruction framework that uses convolutional neural networks to locate neutrino interaction vertices, tag pixels with track and shower labels, and perform particle identification on reconstructed clusters. We will present studies characterizing the performance of these new tools and demonstrate their effectiveness through their use in an inclusive $\nu_{e}$-CC event selection.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Deep Learning Reconstruction of Daily Soil CO 2 Efflux Reveals Biogeochemical Insights and Reduces Annual Estimate Uncertainty Despite Limited Daily Predictability

Soil CO 2 efflux is commonly measured monthly or seasonally, leaving daily dynamics poorly resolved and contributing to global estimation uncertainty. We trained a single Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model to predict daily soil CO 2 efflux across 82 globally distributed sites in COSORE, with 0.2%–46.9% daily data coverage from 2003 to 2020. Despite using far fewer sites than are typically used to train a single deep learning model, with observations biased toward temperate mesic sites, the LSTM model performed well at approximately one-third of sites, reconstructed nearly 2 decades of daily efflux, and outperformed commonly used approaches for estimating daily efflux when applied to the same data set. Performance was weakest at pronounced peaks and troughs and at non-temperate sites with <1.5 years of observations and irregular data patterns. Nevertheless, annual efflux from reconstructed daily data had <40% error even at underperforming sites, substantially improving estimates derived from monthly and seasonal sampling (maximum errors of 95% and 136%, respectively). Temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) estimated from reconstructed daily predictions closely matched estimates from daily observations, whereas Q 10 values derived from monthly or seasonal observations deviated substantially, suggesting that coarse temporal sampling may contribute to uncertainty in reported Q 10 values. Consistent daily reconstructions further enabled trend analyses for well-performing, predominantly temperate sites and showed increasing soil CO 2 efflux at most sites from 2003 to 2020, with more variable summer trends. Despite limitations, these results demonstrate the potential of LSTM models to reconstruct daily soil CO 2 efflux and reduce estimation uncertainties from sparse observations.

Smykalov, Valerie [Pennsylvania State University, ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spatiotemporal predictions of toxic urban plumes using deep learning

Industrial accidents, chemical spills, and structural fires can release large amounts of harmful materials that disperse into urban atmospheres and impact populated areas. Computer models are typically used to predict the transport of toxic plumes by solving fluid dynamical equations. However, these models can be computationally expensive due to the need for many grid cells to simulate turbulent flow and resolve individual buildings and streets. In emergency response situations, alternative methods are needed that can run quickly and adequately capture important spatiotemporal features. Here, we present a novel deep learning model called ST-GasNet inspired by the mathematical equations that govern the behavior of plumes as they disperse through the atmosphere. ST-GasNet learns the spatiotemporal dependencies from a limited set of temporal sequences of ground-level toxic urban plumes generated by a high-resolution large eddy simulation model. On independent sequences, ST-GasNet accurately predicts the late-time spatiotemporal evolution, given the early-time behavior as an input, even when a building splits a large plume into smaller plumes. By incorporating large-scale wind boundary condition information, ST-GasNet achieves a prediction accuracy of at least 90% on test data for the entire prediction period.

Civil and Environmental Engineering↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Portable Flow Device Using Fourier Ptychography Microscopy and Deep Learning for Detection of Biosignatures

A proof-of-concept, compact, portable Fourier Ptychographic Microscope (FPM) to perform wide field-of-view, high spatial resolution imaging (<1 μm) for biosignature motility in liquid samples, is presented. The FPM has the potential to be developed as a space-based payload for future landers destined to the Ocean Worlds. A portable FPM using an existing Fourier ptychography (FP) algorithm adapted for reconstruction is demonstrated. A NVIDIA Jetson Nano board and camera combined with FP, is used to computationally reconstruct sub-micron resolution images. Additionally, deep learning was employed to perform inferencing prediction which enables the on-edge FPM device.

Fourier↗
DOE OSTI2025

A deep learning and finite element approach for exploration of inverse structure–property designs of lightweight hybrid composites

Hybrid composites have important applications, such as high-performance and lightweight materials in aerospace and automotive industries. Hybrid composites utilize the synergy of diverse fillers to achieve desired material properties, but usually have more complicated microstructures. While topology optimization can optimize a particular property, designing hybrid composites for customized mechanical performances, e.g. full-range stress–strain curve, remains challenging. Here, a computational framework that integrated finite element analysis (FEA) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods of Conditional Generative Adversarial Networks (cGAN) deep learning and transfer learning was developed to establish inverse structure–property relationships and design tailor-made hybrid composites. Based on FEA-generated datasets of hybrid fiber-particle–matrix microstructures and their corresponding full-range stress–strain curves, a cGAN architecture was trained to generate tailored microstructures and establish structure–property relationships. Similarity in microstructural features and well-matched stress–strain curves based on the AI-generated composites were achieved. In conclusion, transfer learning was used to expand the pre-trained model for designing different materials systems.

Hybrid composites↗
NASA NTRS2020

Deepti: Deep-Learning-Based Tropical Cyclone Intensity Estimation System

Tropical cyclones are one of the costliest natural disasters globally because of the wide range of associated hazards. Thus, an accurate diagnostic model for tropical cyclone intensity can save lives and property. There are a number of existing techniques and approaches that diagnose tropical cyclone wind speed using satellite data at a given time with varying success. This paper presents a deep learning-based objective, diagnostic estimate of tropical cyclone intensity from infrared satellite imagery with 13.24 kt Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). In addition, a visualization portal in a production system is presented that displays deep learning output and contextual information for end users, one of the first of its kind.

Manil Maskey↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improving Building Footprint Extraction Using NAIP and 3DEP Lidar Derived Features with Deep Learning

Accurate building footprint extraction is critical for applications ranging from population estimation to disaster management. Although optical imagery provides detailed spectral information, it often struggles with shadows, occlusions, and background clutter in dense urban environments. Lidar data, by contrast, offer precise elevation and structural attributes but face challenges such as variable point density and noise. This study integrates multispectral imagery from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) with lidar-derived feature height and intensity from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) to improve footprint extraction using a U-Net–based deep learning model. A six-band input stack (RGB, near-infrared, height, intensity) was developed, normalized, and tiled for training and evaluation against Microsoft Global Building Footprints (GBF). Results from the Houston, TX test site show that the six-band model achieved a precision of 0.86, recall of 0.88, F1 score of 0.87, and Intersection-over-Union (IoU) of 0.76, consistently outperforming four-band baselines by reducing false positives while maintaining sensitivity. Predictions on withheld Houston tiles confirmed strong within-region generalization, yielded a precision of 0.78, recall of 0.81, F1 score of 0.79, and IoU of 0.66. Qualitative analysis further revealed limitations stemming from both training label quality and vegetation–building confusion. These findings demonstrate the complementary value of integrating spectral and structural information for robust building footprint extraction and how domain adaptation strategies can be used to enhance cross-regional transferability.

Liu, Jung Kuan [United States Geological Survey (U↗
DOE OSTI2024

Predicting Li-ion Battery Performance for Impurity-doped NMC Cathodes Using Deep Learning

With the electric vehicle (EV) market expansion and the energy sector's shift towards electrification, the demand for battery metals, including lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni), is set to surpass supply. A critical knowledge gap exists in the purity standards for battery precursors and the impact of impurities on battery performance. Addressing this, our study employs a Deep Machine Learning (DL) based multi-objective optimization approach to interpret the relationship between metal impurities in domestic battery resources and their effects on battery performance. We analyze experimental data from Li-ion batteries with NMC (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt oxide) cathodes over 1000 cycles, representing approximately ~6-8 months of operation, to establish a baseline of performance without impurities. Leveraging this data, we develop a Physics-Informed Deep Learning (PIDL) framework to extend our findings to cases that include metal impurities (e.g., Fe, Cu, Al) ranging from (0.001 - 0.01) %, respectively. By incorporating physics-based features, our PIDL model can accurately estimate the performance of NMC cathodes doped with various metal impurities to provide rapid design decisions. This research paves the way for informed decisions in Li-ion battery material design and optimization, ensuring the sustainable growth of the EV market and the broader energy sector.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multiomics and deep learning dissect regulatory syntax in human development

Transcription factors establish cell identity during development by binding regulatory DNA in a sequence-specific manner, often promoting local chromatin accessibility and regulating gene expression1. Mapping accessible chromatin offers critical insights into transcriptional control, but available datasets for human development are restricted to bulk tissue, single organs or single modalities2. Here we present the Human Development Multiomic Atlas, a single-cell atlas of chromatin accessibility and gene expression from 817,740 fetal cells across 12 organs, spanning 203 cell types and more than 1 million candidate cis-regulatory elements, many of which exhibit organ-specific in vivo enhancer activity. Deep learning models trained to predict accessibility from local DNA sequence unravel a comprehensive lexicon of motifs that influence accessibility, including composite motifs exhibiting distinct syntactic constraints that are predicted to mediate transcription factor cooperativity. We identify ‘hard’ syntactic rules requiring precise motif spacing and orientation, ‘soft’ rules allowing flexible motif arrangements, and ubiquitous motifs inhibiting accessibility. Model-based interpretation of genetic variants reveals that disruption of motifs with positive and negative effects is associated with concordant effects on gene expression. Our work delineates how motif syntax governs cell-type-specific chromatin accessibility and provides a foundational resource for decoding cis-regulatory logic and interpreting genetic variation during human development.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deep Learning Approaches for Predicting the Surface Tension of Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids (ILs) are a novel class of solvents that have attracted significant attention due to their unique and tunable properties. Among their physiochemical characteristics, surface tension plays a critical role in various industrial applications including electrolytes, heat transfer fluids, and separation processes. However, because of the exploratory nature of IL design and the vast combinatorial space of possible anion–cation pairs, the experimental determination of these properties is often impractical, being both time-consuming and costly. To overcome these challenges, computational approaches are increasingly employed to develop accurate predictive models that can accelerate IL discovery and design. In this study, we present two deep learning (DL) models for predicting the surface tension of ILs across a broad temperature range at a constant pressure. The models use simplified molecular input line entry system, SMILES, representations of ILs to extract molecular features as inputs. Both DL models demonstrate excellent agreement with experimental data, achieving an R 2 value of 0.990 and a root-mean-square error of 0.792 mN/m. In conclusion, these results offer valuable insights for the rapid screening and rational design of ILs with tailored surface tension values.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Adaptive stretching of representations across brain regions and deep learning model layers

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) is known to modulate the visual system to favor goal-relevant information by accentuating task-relevant stimulus dimensions. Does the brain broadly re-configures itself to optimize performance by stretching visual representations along task-relevant dimensions? We considered a task that required monkeys to selectively attend on a trial-by-trial basis to one of two dimensions (color or motion direction) to make a decision. Although effects were most prominent in frontal areas, representations stretched along task-relevant dimensions in all sites considered: V4, MT, lateral PFC, frontal eye fields (FEF), lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP), and inferotemporal cortex (IT). Spike timing was crucial to this code. A deep learning model was trained on the same visual input and rewards as the monkeys. Despite lacking an explicit selective attention or other control mechanism, by minimizing error during learning, the model’s representations stretched along task-relevant dimensions, indicating that stretching is an adaptive strategy.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Generative deep-learning reveals collective variables of Fermionic systems

Complex processes of fermionic systems ranging from protein folding to nuclear fission often follow a low-dimensional reaction path parametrized in terms of a few collective variables. In nuclear theory, variables related to the shape of the nuclear density in a mean-field picture are key to describing the large amplitude collective motion of the neutrons and protons. Exploring the adiabatic energy landscape spanned by these degrees of freedom reveals the possible reaction channels while simulating the dynamics in this reduced space yields their respective probabilities. Unfortunately, this theoretical framework breaks down whenever the systems encounters a quantum phase transition with respect to the collective variables. Here, in this study, we introduce a novel generative deep-learning algorithm designed to build reaction paths that ensure that the many-fermion wave function stays differentiable with respect to the collective variables. This approach is applicable to any fermionic system described by a coherent state. We use the case of potential energy curves in the 16 O nucleus within the Hartree-Fock theory to illustrate its main features.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Synthetic data-driven deep learning for label-free autonomous atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a widely used tool for nanoscale characterization across materials science, energy research, and biology. However, its adoption in high-throughput materials discovery and statistically driven studies remains limited by a strong dependence on expert operator input and by the scarcity of annotated experimental AFM datasets needed to enable data-driven automation. Here, we introduce SimuScan, a synthetic-data–driven framework that enables reliable AFM feature identification, segmentation, and targeted imaging without requiring large manually labeled experimental datasets. SimuScan generates tunable, high-fidelity synthetic AFM images of defined morphologies while incorporating realistic experimental artifacts, including tip–sample convolution, noise, flattening distortions, and surface debris. These datasets are shown to support scalable, label-free training of modern deep learning models for AFM analysis. When integrated into data-driven AFM workflows, SimuScan-trained models can locate and analyze nanoscale structures across large datasets and guide targeted follow-up imaging. We validate this approach on nanostructured surfaces, DNA assemblies, and bacterial cells, demonstrating robust generalization across diverse sample types with minimal operator intervention. More broadly, this work establishes a general strategy for generating explicitly conditioned, task-relevant synthetic data to improve the reliability of downstream models in autonomous microscopy.

Millan-Solsona, Ruben [Oak Ridge National Laborato↗
DOE OSTI2026

Deep learning‑based metal artefact reduction in X-ray computed tomography of TRISO fuel compacts

TRISO (TRi-structural ISOtropic) – compact-type micro-particle fuels – are next generation nuclear fuel compacts designed with safety in mind. Structural integrity and characterisation before and after irradiation are important to determine the performance of the fuel compacts under real reactor conditions. X-ray computed tomography can be an important tool for non-destructive evaluation of these fuel compacts. The fuel particles are highly attenuating for X-rays which creates metal artefact, rendering the images unusable. Our artefact correction can mitigate these artefacts significantly. The proposed method works by first segmenting highly-attenuating structures (metal) and forward projecting to localise the source of artefacts in the projection domain, then, using a traditional or U-net-based deep learning architecture, contextually interpolating those regions to remove the artefacts. Finally the reconstruction from the modified projection is fused with the segmented metal. The proposed method shows a significant improvement in the image quality while significantly reducing the reconstruction time compared to the standard technique.

Rahman, Obaid [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000277810840)↗
DOE OSTI2025

SetBERT: the deep learning platform for contextualized embeddings and explainable predictions from high-throughput sequencing

MOTIVATION: High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is a modern sequencing technology used to profile microbiomes by sequencing thousands of short genomic fragments from the microorganisms within a given sample. This technology presents a unique opportunity for artificial intelligence to comprehend the underlying functional relationships of microbial communities. However, due to the unstructured nature of HTS data, nearly all computational models are limited to processing DNA sequences individually. This limitation causes them to miss out on key interactions between microorganisms, significantly hindering our understanding of how these interactions influence the microbial communities as a whole. Furthermore, most computational methods rely on post-processing of samples which could inadvertently introduce unintentional protocol-specific bias. RESULTS: Addressing these concerns, we present SetBERT, a robust pre-training methodology for creating generalized deep learning models for processing HTS data to produce contextualized embeddings and be fine-tuned for downstream tasks with explainable predictions. By leveraging sequence interactions, we show that SetBERT significantly outperforms other models in taxonomic classification with genus-level classification accuracy of 95%. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SetBERT is able to accurately explain its predictions autonomously by confirming the biological-relevance of taxa identified by the model. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: All source code is available at https://github.com/DLii-Research/setbert. SetBERT may be used through the q2-deepdna QIIME 2 plugin whose source code is available at https://github.com/DLii-Research/q2-deepdna.

Ludwig, David W↗