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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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241 records · Page 14

Enhancing Cluster Identification in Atom Probe Tomography Data Using Transfer Learning

Atom Probe Tomography (APT) is a powerful technique for visualizing the atomic-scale distribution of solutes in materials, but quantitative cluster analysis of APT datasets remains a challenge due to the need for subjective parameter selection in clustering algorithms. While distance-based and density-based methods such as HDBSCAN are widely used, their performance is highly sensitive to user-defined parameters, which undermines reproducibility and accuracy. This study proposes an image-based, deep learning-aided workflow for automating parameter selection and cluster detection in APT data analysis. By projecting 3D APT point clouds onto 2D planes, we leverage pretrained convolutional neural networks (ConvNeXt-Tiny and ResNet-50) through transfer learning to predict the number of clusters present in synthetic datasets. The output is used to guide K-means clustering and estimate HDBSCAN parameters, specifically minimum cluster size and minimum sample points. This approach reduces reliance on manual parameter tuning, improving consistency and scalability. The methodology demonstrates the feasibility of using image-based deep learning for interpreting complex spatial patterns in APT data, enabling faster and more objective analysis. The complete workflow and code are made publicly available to support reproducibility and future research.

Density-based clustering↗

Flavor as an Incomplete Structure: Conceptual Questions and the Role of DUNE

Flavor remains one of the most successful yet least understood structures of the Standard Model. The discovery of the Higgs boson completed the electroweak account of mass generation, but did not explain the origin of fermion families, mass hierarchies, or mixing patterns. In this sense, flavor can be regarded as an empirically successful but conceptually incomplete structure. Neutrinos occupy a particularly sensitive place within this problem: their masses are tiny, their mixing is large, and their mass-generation mechanism may differ from that of charged fermions. In this article, we discuss flavor as an open conceptual problem and argue that DUNE, as a phased program spanning precision oscillation measurements and sensitivity to BSM and dark-sector phenomena, provides a powerful framework for testing the self-consistency and possible limits of the present three-flavor description. In particular, the complementarity between the long-baseline program and the Phase I near-detector complex, together with the DUNE-PRISM strategy for controlling interaction-model systematics and enabling data-driven near-to-far predictions, makes DUNE especially well-suited to search for small, correlated departures from the minimal flavor framework.

Montanari, Claudio S. [Fermilab; INFN, Pavia] (ORC↗

Neutrino-Argon Cross Sections in MicroBooNE: Measurements Spanning Multiple Interaction Channels, Final States, and Neutrino Fluxes

Neutrinos are one of the most elusive particles in the Standard Model of particle physics due to their tiny interaction cross section, which makes them challenging to detect and study. There are three known flavors of neutrinos, and any given neutrino probabilistically oscillates between them as a function of the particle's energy and propagation distance. Experimental characterization of these oscillations elucidates fundamental properties of the neutrino and the Standard Model. Meeting the precision goals of ongoing and future oscillation measurements requires detailed modeling of the way neutrinos interact with nuclear matter. Precision modeling of these interactions is a challenging theoretical problem, rich with intricate physics effects to explore, and requires input from equally precise measurements of neutrino-nucleus interaction cross sections spanning a broad range of scattering channels. To fill this need, there is an ongoing multi-experiment effort to measure these cross sections across energies, interaction channels, and nuclear targets. This thesis describes three analyses reporting neutrino-argon cross section measurements with data from the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber detector. These span multiple interaction channels, final state topologies, and neutrino fluxes. The first analysis is a set of inclusive charged current muon neutrino cross section measurements for final states with and without protons, which provides a unique view of the hadronic final state produced in these interactions. Second is a set of cross section measurements for neutral current neutral pion production, which provides a vital dataset on this under-characterized channel. Third is significant progress on measuring neutrinos produced by kaons decaying at rest, which represents a unique opportunity to measure cross sections with a mono-energetic flux of neutrinos. These measurements are accompanied by a modeling study in the GiBUU theory framework, which probes the sensitivity of the muon neutrino and pion production measurements to the modeling of nucleon-nucleon final state interactions in neutrino-nucleus scattering.

Bogart, Benjamin [Michigan U.]↗

Searching for heavy charged relics in the Earth

We propose a method for detecting an ambient density of heavy, electrically-charged particles. Such particles would impact the Earth, lose energy in terrestrial matter, and become trapped. We study the accumulation of these rare particles in multiple target materials that provide large exposure, such as water and geological rocks. We discuss strategies for concentrating the particles by centrifugation or gravitational settling, along with particle identification using mass spectrometry. This method enables the discovery of charged relics with masses $1-10^{12}\,{\rm TeV}$ comprising a tiny fraction of the local dark matter density, reaching down to $f_X\sim 10^{-20}$ at the lowest masses. A pathfinder experiment using only a liter of water and one centrifuge (or $\sim \text{m}^3$ and no centrifuge) operating for a month can already reach $f_X\sim 10^{-10}$ and probe new parameter space.

Ebadi, Reza [Johns Hopkins U.; Delaware U.] (ORCID↗

Designing resilient IoT and Edge Computing with federated tinyML

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge Computing (EC) has brought significant conveniences to modern society but has also greatly expanded the cyber attack surfaces, particularly as these technologies are being increasingly integrated into critical systems such as power grids, healthcare, and smart homes. Here, to improve IoT/EC’s cybersecurity posture, we leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) by employing tinyML to monitor voluminous IoT data for cyber threats while addressing devices’ resource constraints, and utilizing Federated Learning (FL) to share local detection knowledge across the system while preserving privacy. Building on our three-layer architecture combining tinyML and FL to enhance autonomous cyber attack detection, this paper demonstrated that the architecture improves detection accuracy, reduces resource consumption, and enables lightweight, secure IoT device monitoring. These results were validated using the public N-BaIoT dataset as well as real IoT network traffic data collected under multiple attack scenarios from our testbeds. Additionally, we introduced an enhanced FL methodology with a novel preprocessing stage, including federated feature selection and global preprocessor construction, to address IoT/EC data heterogeneity. We developed a physical IoT testbed for attack simulations and data collection, implemented a tinyML-powered detector for realistic model validation, and also built a virtual testbed for scalable evaluations of FL models across diverse network environments.

Cognitive cyber↗

Advancing Energy Justice in Alaska

NREL works with remote and rural communities across Alaska and the world to develop energy and building technologies that enhance culture, strengthen economies, and improve resilience in a changing environment. Alaska and Arctic communities not only face one of the harshest climates on earth; they also pay some of the highest energy and housing costs in the nation. NREL's Alaska Campus collaborates with communities and tribes to develop affordable, culturally appropriate homes and buildings that combine traditional knowledge and twenty-first century technology. Demonstration homes deployed all over Alaska prove out new technologies in energy efficiency, foundations, indoor air quality, and clean energy. Local workforce development is incorporated into every project: new homes are built by local workers, often including the home's future occupant. With the Arctic warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, coastal erosion and thawing permafrost are wreaking havoc on roads, buildings, and infrastructure across Alaska. With an inclusive approach to R&D, NREL is helping communities adapt to a changing environment and advancing energy justice in the world's extremes.

Alaska housing prototypes↗

Scaling Up to Zero Energy Ready - and Down to 530 ft2

There is a demonstrated need for affordable housing and smaller homes. Reduced square footage new construction projects present a solution for this growing need. Completion of these types of projects is not without challenges however, as high efficiency building measures present problems with proper equipment sizing and indoor environmental quality. This case study describes the support provided by FSEC to the Manatee County Habitat for Humanity to create a small footprint home design that qualifies for Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) certification in Florida. Specific measures to address equipment sizing challenges, and interior air quality targets are identified among other construction elements that contribute to qualifying for ZERH certification. Discussion of the approach to meeting these challenges is informative to other efforts to build to above code standards in hot humid climates, and other regions.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗