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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Opportunities to Expand Building Efficiency Programming at Community Colleges

According to the most recent U.S. Energy and Employment Report, more than 2.3 million workers in the United States are involved in activities that reduce energy usage in buildings. This workforce supports energy efficiency from the design of buildings and their systems through the manufacturing and trade of components and supplies involved in these systems to the installation, repair, and maintenance of these systems. Less than 10% of the workers in key building efficiency occupations have a bachelor’s or higher degree, compared to ~40% of the general workforce. Thus, the community college system is a key stakeholder in training and educating a large portion of the building efficiency workforce. Despite this, the literature review conducted for this report found almost no research focused on better understanding and supporting the role of community colleges as they train this workforce at scale. This report seeks to understand how and to what extent building efficiency and advanced building technology concepts are being addressed in community colleges as well as potential pathways for schools to consider to better prepare students to enter the building efficiency industry. The first section presents information from a literature review and data analysis to provide background on the building efficiency workforce, the types of building efficiency training and education available from community colleges, and the barriers and challenges that exist in the workforce. The second section offers a series of case studies that illustrate the various ways that building efficiency content can be addressed at community colleges. The final section provides an overview of the opportunities available to community colleges as well as considerations for schools that want to increase building efficiency programming.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Evaluation of a 3-Dimensional-Printed Head Simulation Technique for Teaching Flexible Nasopharyngoscopy to Radiation Oncology Residents

Simulation-based medical education is an effective tool for medical teaching, but simulation-based medical education deployment in radiation oncology (RO) is limited. Flexible nasopharyngoscopy (FNP), an essential skill for RO residents, requires practice that typically occurs on volunteer patients, introducing the potential for stress and discomfort. We sought to develop a high-fidelity simulator and intervention that provides RO residents the opportunity to develop FNP skills in a low-pressure environment.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Policies and Practices to Improve the Chemistry Graduate Student Experience: Implications of the ACS Survey of Graduate Students

STEM graduate education is vitally important in producing the talent needed to fuel our economy and provide solutions for the challenges we face in emerging diseases and climate change. Yet recent research indicates that women and students who identify as members of minority groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM face extraordinary challenges in their graduate careers. This commentary describes ways in which chemistry graduate education could become more supportive and inclusive through changes by graduate students, faculty, departments, funding agencies, and professional organizations. As a result the scientific workforce could utilize the full range of available talent and become more productive.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Is the testing effect ready to be put to work? Evidence from the laboratory to the classroom.

The testing effect refers to the benefits to retention that result from structuring learning activities in the form of a test. As educators consider implementing test-enhanced learning paradigms in real classroom environments, we think it is critical to consider how an array of factors affecting test-enhanced learning in laboratory studies bear on test-enhanced learning in real-world classroom environments. As such, this review discusses the degree to which test feedback, test format (of formative tests), number of tests, level of the test questions, timing of tests (relative to initial learning), and retention duration have import for testing effects in ecologically valid contexts (e.g., classroom studies). Attention is also devoted to characteristics of much laboratory testing-effect research that may limit translation to classroom environments, such as the complexity of the material being learned, the value of the testing effect relative to other generative learning activities in classrooms, an educational orientation that favors criterial tests focused on transfer of learning, and online instructional modalities. We consider how student-centric variables present in the classroom (e.g., cognitive abilities, motivation) may have bearing on the effects of testing-effect techniques implemented in the classroom. We conclude that the testing effect is a robust phenomenon that benefits a wide variety of learners in a broad array of learning domains. Still, studies are needed to compare the benefit of testing to other learning strategies, to further characterize how individual differences relate to testing benefits, and to examine whether testing benefits learners at advanced levels.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of Timing in the Design Process on Students’ Application of Design for Additive Manufacturing Heuristics

The goal of this work is to study the way student designers use design for additive manufacturing (DfAM) rules or heuristics. It can be challenging for novice designers to create successful designs for additive manufacturing (AM), due to its recent surge in popularity and lack of formal education or training. A study was carried out to investigate the way novices apply DfAM heuristics when they receive them at different points in the design process. A design problem was presented to students, and three different groups of student participants were given a lecture on DfAM heuristics at three different points in the design process: before the initial design, between the initial design and redesign, and after the redesign. The novelty and quality of each of the resulting designs were evaluated. Results indicate that although the DfAM heuristics lecture had no impact on the overall quality of the designs generated, participants who were given the heuristics lecture after the initial design session produced designs that were better-suited for 3D printing in the second phase of the design activity. However, receiving this additional information appears to prevent students from creatively iterating upon their initial designs, as participants who received heuristic information between the design sessions experienced a decrease in novelty between the two sessions. Additionally, receiving the heuristics lecture increased all students’ perceptions of their ability to perform DfAM-related tasks. Furthermore, these results validate the practicality of design heuristics in lecture form as AM training tools while also emphasizing the importance of iteration in the design process.

computer-aided design↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Storm Safari in Subtropical South America: Proyecto RELAMPAGO

In this article, we provide an overview of the experimental design, execution, education and public outreach, data collection, and initial scientific results from the Remote Sensing of Electrification, Lightning, and Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations (RELAMPAGO) field campaign. RELAMPAGO was a major field campaign conducted in the Córdoba and Mendoza provinces in Argentina and western Rio Grande do Sul State in Brazil in 2018–19 that involved more than 200 scientists and students from the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. This campaign was motivated by the physical processes and societal impacts of deep convection that frequently initiates in this region, often along the complex terrain of the Sierras de Córdoba and Andes, and often grows rapidly upscale into dangerous storms that impact society. Observed storms during the experiment produced copious hail, intense flash flooding, extreme lightning flash rates, and other unusual lightning phenomena, but few tornadoes. The five distinct scientific foci of RELAMPAGO—convection initiation, severe weather, upscale growth, hydrometeorology, and lightning and electrification—are described, as are the deployment strategies to observe physical processes relevant to these foci. The campaign’s international cooperation, forecasting efforts, and mission planning strategies enabled a successful data collection effort. In addition, the legacy of RELAMPAGO in South America, including extensive multinational education, public outreach, and social media data gathering associated with the campaign, is summarized.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Commitment to Active Allyship Is Required to Address the Lack of Hispanic and Latinx Representation in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

In 2021, people of Hispanic and Latinx origin made up 6% of the atmospheric and Earth sciences workforce of the United States, yet they represent 20% of the population. Motivated by this disparity in Hispanic and Latinx representation in the atmospheric and Earth science workforce, this manuscript documents the lack of representation through existing limited demographic data. The analysis presents a clear gap in participation by Hispanic and Latinx people in academic settings, with a widening gap through each education and career stage. Several factors and challenges impacting the representation disparity include the lack of funding for and collaboration with Hispanic-serving institutions, limited opportunities due to immigration status, and limited support for international research collaborations. We highlight the need for actionable steps to address the lack of representation and provide targeted recommendations to federal funding agencies, educational institutions, faculty, and potential employers. While we wait for systemic cultural change from our scientific institutions, grassroots initiatives like those proudly led by the AMS Committee for Hispanic and Latinx Advancement will emerge to address the needs of the Hispanic and Latinx scientific and broader community. We briefly highlight some of those achievements. Lasting cultural change can only happen if our leaders are active allies in the creation of a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive future. Alongside our active allies we will continue to champion for change in our weather, water, and climate enterprise.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Suisun Summit 2022: Emerging Themes and Open Questions in qEEG and Neurotherapies

The Suisun Summit 2022 was a gathering of 70 clinicians, educators, and researchers in quantitative electroencephalography and neurofeedback. During this 5-day event, several themes emerged in talks or discussion groups: EEG/qEEG Reading Skills; Medication Effects and Pharmaco-EEG; Technological Advancements; Emerging Concerns; and Growing Community Prestige through Research. Participants were asked to summarize what they believed to be the most important messages from the event to share with colleagues who were not in attendance, resulting in this review. A unifying concept for all the themes was a desire for higher quality, standardized EEG/qEEG education that provides depth as well as breadth. Models of clinical care that encourage open communication with prescribers and functional medicine specialists were strongly emphasized. Abstracts from all presentations are attached in Addendum B.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

2019 Community Involvement Report

Sandia National Laboratories is committed to being an informed, compassionate and contributing neighbor in our local communities. This commitment has been demonstrated throughout Sandia's history, and is an enduring part of our future. New Mexico faces many challenges, including one of the highest childhood poverty rates in the United States and one of the lowest educational proficiency rates. Lack of affordable housing and insufficient educational achievement are issues in the Bay Area near our Livermore site. To address the greatest challenges faced in Sandia's communities of Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA, and other remote sites, Sandia's contributions leverage resources in three critical focus areas. In 2019, National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, contributed $1.4M to our local communities, including $151K in the Livermore area.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

U.S. Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment

As the U.S. offshore wind market prepares for rapid growth, our understanding of specific workforce requirements and pathways to meet those requirements is not keeping pace. Without this deeper understanding, there is a risk that the workforce will not develop as efficiently or robustly as is needed to fully realize the benefits of offshore wind. The "U.S. Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment" provides a more detailed assessment of the workforce demand, supply, and pathways to support key stakeholders including industry, state and local governments, educational organizations, and unions in their efforts to attract, educate, train, and retain a domestic workforce to support this burgeoning industry.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Proposed Subcritical Assembly for Nuclear Criticality Safety Training at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The design of a new subcritical assembly at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been finalized. This design takes the feasibility study of the subcritical assembly performed in August 2020 to an implementable design. This subcritical assembly will support the Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) training and education program. The addition of this subcritical assembly into the NCSP training and education will enhance the program by providing backup capacity for training if nuclear facility operations are disrupted at Sandia National Laboratories or the National Criticality Experiments Research Center; providing a new location that is more accessible to students in the Eastern portion of the United States; providing flexibility to support students from a diverse background (e.g., university students, foreign nationals). The proposed subcritical assembly uses legacy AGN-201M research reactor fuel plates that are available at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The final design of this subcritical assembly contains approximately 617 grams of 235 U as UO 2 powder distributed homogeneously in polyethylene. The fuel plates will have a graphite neutron reflector to obtain a core multiplication, M, from 10 to 20, corresponding to a $k_{eff}$ of 0.90 to 0.95, respectively. The subcritical assembly will be able to support at least four experiments for the training courses: (1) the addition of fissile material to the core (mass), (2) a core separation experiment (interaction), (3) the addition of moderators to the core (moderation), and (4) the addition of neutron absorbers to the core (poison/absorption). The subcritical assembly will be designed to be inherently safe—subcritical under all normal and abnormal conditions— and will provide the capability to conduct hands-on training to support NCSP and general nuclear criticality safety staff training and qualification goals.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploring Professor Motivations and Implementations of a Real-World Problem-Solving Project

Engineering education literature offers a variety of theoretical and conceptual frameworks for project-based learning. This study explores the implementation of real-world problem-solving projects in engineering education. The research team analyzed the motivations and methods behind professors' adoption of such projects through exploratory qualitative interviews with seven professor participants who integrated a nation-wide student competition into their courses. We analyzed the resulting data using a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify key themes of professor practices. Findings reveal that the real-world aspect of the projects and alignment with values and research interests were primary motivators for implementation. While implementation methods varied significantly based on context (i.e., university setting, course type), we found that these projects could be effectively integrated into various classroom settings. The findings support the recommendation for non-academic institutions to develop and manage competitions that can be integrated into classrooms and which offer a point of engagement that is available to professors from a wide range of disciplines.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hands-On PV Experience (HOPE) Workshop, Final Technical Report FY22-FY24

The Hands-On Photovoltaics Experience, or HOPE, is a one-week school held at NLR each summer to educate graduate student photovoltaic researchers in the fundamentals of photovoltaics (PV) as well as specific cell technologies and measurement & characterization techniques. The program brings students from universities across the U.S. and their faculty advisors to spend a week in an in-depth, intensive program, including hands-on lab experiences in solar cell fabrication and testing. This program is intended to educate the students and increase collaboration among the students, their advising faculty, and staff at NLR. Our survey results consistently indicate high satisfaction with this program and good student outcomes post-HOPE. HOPE is a selective program with a competitive application process and is limited to 12-20 students each year. Keeping the program small enables a high level of interaction among the students and individualized attention from the faculty and staff.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cybersecurity Training Curriculum Analysis through the application of Machine Learning Text Classification and Natural Language Processing

In the domain of cybersecurity, there are a wide variety of education and training courses offered by a variety of training providers (commercial vendors, governmental, and academic institutions). Unfortunately, a comprehensive cross-provider mapping of the body of course offerings does not currently exist. Furthermore, although individual providers have made efforts, an accepted cross-provider mapping of education and training courses (or categories) to an accepted framework of work-roles by cybersecurity work-role and competency level has not yet been developed. The inability to compare training courses by topic or cybersecurity work-role and the level of difficulty (competency level) affects all organizations in identifying and selecting potential training opportunities for their personnel performing cybersecurity duties. In this work, we report on our application of Machine Learning (ML) Text Classification and Natural Language Processing (NLP) methodologies to begin to create a process to organize an accurate and thorough catalog of course offerings by work-role and competency level. Through the analysis of text-based course attributes (description, learning objectives, prerequisites, etc.) along with the text-based attributes for identified cybersecurity work-roles, our ML efforts examined methods to determine the work-role "best-fit" for each course as well as the competency level through action-verb text comparison.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Intern Professional Development Center: A Model for Improving Student Engagement Within Industry - 20006

Many innovations and technical improvements have been made over the last half-century regarding our understanding of nuclear materials, with some of the brightest minds in the world collectively working towards a cleaner, brighter, healthier future. However, there is a demographical oddity with the enormous technical workforce that helped shape this new world: they are aging, collectively. Known as the 'silver tsunami,' mass retirements are in the near future for many technical industries, something that the industrial community is not entirely prepared to accommodate. There is an urgent need for a tech-savvy generation to replace the baby boomers, and there must be an uninterrupted hand-off from one generation to the next of institutional knowledge and best practices. Further, it is not enough to simply replace every retiring engineer with a younger one in a 'cold hand-off' - this information transfer takes time. Many educational communities, such as those in the Tri-Cities, Washington, are rising to the challenge, with STEM-focused programs, introducing students to technical concepts and potential career opportunities at an early age. However, while individually, academic institutions search for internships and industry has open positions for interested students, no single clearinghouse exists in the Mid-Columbia region to match talent with opportunities, regardless of the sending or receiving organizations. To fill this void, AYB Drafting (AYB) has established a career development and personal growth center, the Intern Professional Development Center (IPDC). The IPDC, located in Richland, Washington, addresses the problem of what has been referred to as the 'Graying of America,' as it bridges the gap between education and career for the up and coming workforce, creating valuable efficiencies for the young workforce and the industry alike. The operating principles and details of the initial IPDC launch are discussed in the following text, as well as the apparent success and overwhelming positive feedback received in just the first year of operation. (authors)

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploring Professor Motivations and Implementations of a Real-World Problem-Solving Project: A Case Study in Preparing Students for the Emerging Building Science Industry: Preprint

Engineering education literature offers a variety of theoretical and conceptual frameworks for project-based learning. This study explores the implementation of real-world problem-solving projects in engineering education. The research team analyzed the motivations and methods behind professors' adoption of such projects through exploratory qualitative interviews with seven professor participants who integrated a nation-wide student competition into their courses. We analyzed the resulting data using a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify key themes of professor practices. Findings reveal that the real-world aspect of the projects and alignment with values and research interests were primary motivators for implementation. While implementation methods varied significantly based on context (i.e., university setting, course type), we found that these projects could be effectively integrated into various classroom settings. The findings support the recommendation for non-academic institutions to develop and manage competitions that can be integrated into classrooms and which offer a point of engagement that is available to professors from a wide range of disciplines.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Insights from 20 years of the Molecule of the Month

For 20 years, Molecule of the Month articles have highlighted the functional stories of 3D structures found in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). The PDB is the primary archive of atomic structures of biological molecules, currently providing open access to more than 150,000 structures studied by researchers around the world. The wealth of knowledge embodied in this resource is remarkable, with structures that allow exploration of nearly any biomolecular topic, including the basic science of genetic mechanisms, mechanisms of photosynthesis and bioenergetics, and central biomedical topics like cancer therapy and the fight against infectious disease. The central motivation behind the Molecule of the Month is to provide a user-friendly introduction to this rich body of data, charting a path for users to get started with finding and exploring the many available structures. The Molecule of the Month and related materials are updated regularly at the education portal PDB-101 (http://pdb101.rcsb.org/), offering an ongoing resource for molecular biology educators and students around the world.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Immersive Analytics in Critical Spatial Domains: From Materials to Energy Systems

Immersive analytics (IA) leverages virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality to transform how users interact with complex datasets across domains such as science, industry, and education. These immersive technologies offer spatial and multimodal environments that foster intuitive exploration, but they also introduce challenges related to cognitive load, interface design, and system performance. Here, this article presents a comprehensive review of visualization techniques, interaction models, and multimodal inputs utilized in IA. Drawing on case studies in scientific visualization, industrial training, and educational communication, we examine both the potential and limitations of current systems. Finally, we propose future research directions, focusing on real‐time collaboration, adaptive user interfaces, and scalable data exploration strategies to advance the field.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗