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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Guide for States

The Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Guide for States provides state energy offices, public utility commissions, and partner organizations with a structured framework for integrating cyber-resilient engineering practices into energy planning, grantmaking, interconnection processes, and workforce development. As grid digitalization and the adoption of distributed energy resources accelerate, states face expanding cyber-physical risks that traditional cybersecurity measures alone cannot fully address. CIE offers a proactive, consequence-focused engineering methodology that emphasizes eliminating or mitigating high-impact failure modes through design, physical controls, and operational safeguards. The guide outlines the 12 core CIE principles, demonstrates their application through state-focused use cases—including grant evaluation rubrics, interconnection reviews, allow-list development, and training programs—and provides practical tools such as scoring frameworks, impact assessment methods, and implementation checklists. It also highlights pathways for state–utility collaboration and opportunities for technical assistance from national laboratories. By adopting CIE, states can enhance grid reliability, reduce lifecycle costs, strengthen supply-chain assurance, and foster a security-aware engineering culture that aligns with broader resilience and modernization goals. November 2025

29 - ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tractometry of the Human Connectome Project: resources and insights

The Human Connectome Project (HCP) has become a keystone dataset in human neuroscience, with a plethora of important applications in advancing brain imaging methods and an understanding of the human brain. We focused on tractometry of HCP diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI) data. We used an open-source software library (pyAFQ; https://yeatmanlab.github.io/pyAFQ) to perform probabilistic tractography and delineate the major white matter pathways in the HCP subjects that have a complete dMRI acquisition (n = 1,041). We used diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) to model white matter microstructure in each voxel of the white matter, and extracted tract profiles of DKI-derived tissue properties along the length of the tracts. We explored the empirical properties of the data: first, we assessed the heritability of DKI tissue properties using the known genetic linkage of the large number of twin pairs sampled in HCP. Second, we tested the ability of tractometry to serve as the basis for predictive models of individual characteristics (e.g., age, crystallized/fluid intelligence, reading ability, etc.), compared to local connectome features. To facilitate the exploration of the dataset we created a new web-based visualization tool and use this tool to visualize the data in the HCP tractometry dataset. Finally, we used the HCP dataset as a test-bed for a new technological innovation: the TRX file-format for representation of dMRI-based streamlines. We released the processing outputs and tract profiles as a publicly available data resource through the AWS Open Data program's Open Neurodata repository. We found heritability as high as 0.9 for DKI-based metrics in some brain pathways. We also found that tractometry extracts as much useful information about individual differences as the local connectome method. We released a new web-based visualization tool for tractometry—“Tractoscope” (https://nrdg.github.io/tractoscope). We found that the TRX files require considerably less disk space-a crucial attribute for large datasets like HCP. In addition, TRX incorporates a specification for grouping streamlines, further simplifying tractometry analysis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Exploring New Ways to Classify Industries for Energy Analysis and Modeling

As the US moves closer to embracing a net zero greenhouse gas emissions position, combustion processes outside the power sector are becoming urgent concerns. Industry is an important end user of energy and relies on fossil fuels used directly for process heating and as feedstocks for a diverse range of applications. Fuel and energy use by industry is heterogeneous, meaning that even a single product group can vary broadly in its production routes and associated energy usage. In the US, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) serves as the basis for data collection and reporting. In turn, data based on NAICS is the foundation of most US energy modeling. Thus, the effectiveness of NAICS at representing energy use is a limiting condition for plans to improve energy efficiency and alternatives to fossil fuels in industry. Facility-level data to build more detail into heterogeneous sectors is scarce. This work explores alternative classification schemes for industry based on energy use characteristics, and provides a validation of an approach to make facility-level energy use estimates based on publicly available data from the greenhouse gas reporting program. First, several approaches to industrial taxonomies and their usefulness for industrial energy modeling are summarized. Data from Industrial Assessment Centers is analyzed using unsupervised machine learning techniques to detect clusters. Cladistics, an approach from biology, is adapted to energy and process characteristics of industries. A cladogram is presented for evolutionary directions in the iron and steel sector. Cladograms are a promising tool for constructing scenarios and summarizing directions of sectoral innovation. Finally, validation is performed for facility-level energy estimates from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. This validation assists in making this data source available for use in energy modeling. Together, this work explores alternative approaches for categorizing industries in a way that aids understanding energy use, and presenting pathways for the future.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nuclear waste reduction: Exploring new pathways one step at a time

In my home country of Venezuela, nuclear energy is not a topic that attracts much attention. The government briefly oversaw some nuclear energy programs during the 1950s, but currently there are no active nuclear power facilities in the country. In fact, the Venezuelan government signed and ratified the treaty of the prohibition of nuclear weapons in 2021, which states that Venezuela has never owned, possessed or controlled nuclear weapons or programs of any kind. When I moved to the United States, however, nuclear energy became an extremely relevant topic. In the 1940s, the U.S. government established and oversaw the Manhattan Project to build atomic bombs for use in World War II. After the war, the government encouraged scientists to use this information on nuclear reactions to develop nuclear energy for peaceful civilian purposes instead.1 During these early days of nuclear research, there were no formal regulatory standards for nuclear waste management. Policies usually were self-regulated and often created based on existing policies of disposal for non-nuclear waste.2 As a result, there were instances of nuclear waste leaching into the environment and affecting local communities. So, much research has been conducted since then to characterize and store nuclear waste safely and securely.3 I first became interested in nuclear energy during my undergraduate studies when I worked on a project involving ligand synthesis to help extract actinides from nuclear waste. I then studied electrochemistry in molten salt systems for nuclear energy applications during my Ph.D. As I approached graduation, I started looking into national laboratories that have programs involving nuclear energy and waste management. At Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the focus is more on applied processes and how nuclear energy can be innovated to realize next-generation reactor design and technologies. This focus led me to apply for a Seaborg distinguished postdoctoral position at INL, for which I was chosen based on my proposal of a way to improve nuclear waste recycling. To understand my proposal, we must familiarize ourselves with the makeup of nuclear waste. After uranium dioxide is used as nuclear fuel in a reactor, the fuel matrix is then characterized by various fission products, including rare earth elements, alkali and alkaline earths, and actinides. Some of these fission products can potentially be recovered through pyroprocessing, 4 which involves the electrochemical dissolution of the used nuclear fuel in a molten chloride salt mixture at high temperatures. Though some of the fission products can be easily recovered—for example, uranium is reduced onto an inert cathode by applied potentials—numerous other fission products such as rare earth elements are difficult to recover due to their multivalent oxidation states and side reactions.5 To improve the recovery efficiency of rare earth elements specifically, I proposed investigating the fundamental interactions between rare earth elements in the molten chloride salt and their metallic form (Figure 1). The kinetic pathways and the chemical reactions of these elements, which will be elucidated through spectro-electrochemistry at high temperatures, will give insights on how the recovery efficiency can be improved. Although my research focuses on fundamental science, it will benefit the applied process by generating new scientific knowledge and closing the gap for efficient recycling of the waste: one step at a time.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Mitochondrial adventures at the organelle society

Highlights: • Mitochondrial malfunction affects lysosomal biogenesis via AMPK signaling. • Lysosomal malfunction represses mitochondrial function. • ER stress promotes degradation of damaged mitochondria. • Organelle crosstalk is a key component of mitochondrial signaling in physiology and pathology. Mitochondria are constantly communicating with the rest of the cell. Defects in mitochondria underlie severe pathologies, whose mechanisms remain poorly understood. It is becoming increasingly evident that mitochondrial malfunction resonates in other organelles, perturbing their function and their biogenesis. In this manuscript, we review the current knowledge on the cross-talk between mitochondria and other organelles, particularly lysosomes, peroxisomes and the endoplasmic reticulum. Several organelle interactions are mediated by transcriptional programs, and other signaling mechanisms are likely mediating organelle dysfunction downstream of mitochondrial impairments. Many of these organelle crosstalk pathways are likely to have a role in pathological processes.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

The NAMPT/E2F2/SIRT1 axis promotes proliferation and inhibits p53-dependent apoptosis in human melanoma cells

Melanoma is the most common primary malignant neoplasm in adults, causing more deaths than any other skin cancer, necessitating the development of new target-based approaches. Current evidence suggests SIRT1, the mammalian nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD{sup +})-dependent protein deacetylase, and nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the rate-limiting NAD{sup +} biosynthetic enzyme, together comprise a novel systemic regulatory network to play a pivotal role in cell proliferation and apoptosis. Nevertheless, how the regulation of this cofactor interfaces with signal transduction network remains poorly understood in melanoma. Here, we report NAMPT is highly expressed in melanomaassociated with poor overall survival in patients. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of NAMPT decreased NAD{sup +} levels and melanoma cell proliferation capacity, and NAMPT knockdown induced apoptosis through the activity of the tumor suppressor p53. Next, we demonstrate NAMPT regulates the transcription factor E2F family member 2 (E2F2) in the apoptosis process. Downstream, E2F2 control the mRNA and protein levels of SIRT1. Finally, we find NAMPT mediates the apoptosis resistance of melanoma cells through NAMPT-E2F2-SIRT1 axis, more than NAD{sup +}-driven transcriptional program. Accordingly, our results demonstrated that NAMPT is a prognostic marker in melanoma, and the identificationofNAMPT-E2F2-SIRT1 pathway establishes another link between NAMPT and apoptosis events in melanoma, with therapeutic implications for this deadly cancer. - Highlights: • The expression of NAMPT is remarkably high in melanoma tumors and associated with poor overall survival in patients. • NAMPT is required for E2F2 and SIRT1 expression for regulating p53 and apoptosis levels in human melanoma cells. • NAMPT/E2F2/SIRT1 is a novel regulatory pathway that governs melanoma cells proliferation and apoptosis resistance.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Reaction pathways of furfural, furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran on Cu(111) and NiCu bimetallic surfaces

Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is an important reaction for converting biomass-derived furfural to value-added 2-methylfuran, which is a promising fuel additive. In this work, the HDO of furfural to produce 2-methylfuran occurred on the NiCu bimetallic surfaces prepared on either Ni(111) or Cu(111). The reaction pathways of furfural were investigated on Cu(111) and Ni/Cu(111) surfaces using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) experiments. These studies provided mechanistic insights into the effects of bimetallic formation on enhancing the HDO activity. Specifically, furfural weakly adsorbed on Cu(111), while it strongly adsorbed on Ni/Cu(111) through an η 2 (C,O) configuration which led to the HDO of furfural on Ni/Cu(111). Lastly, the ability to dissociate H 2 on Ni/Cu(111) is also an important factor for enhancing the HDO activity over Cu(111).

2-Methylfuran↗
DOE OSTI2017

Recovery from temporary endoplasmic reticulum stress in plants relies on the tissue-specific and largely independent roles of bZIP28 and bZIP60, as well as an antagonizing function of BAX-Inhibitor 1 upon the pro-adaptive signaling mediated by bZIP28

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is an ancient signaling pathway that commits to life-or-death outcomes in response to proteotoxic stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In plants, the membrane-tethered transcription factor bZIP28 and the ribonuclease-kinase IRE1 along with its splicing target, bZIP60, govern the two cytoprotective UPR signaling pathways known to date. The conserved ER membrane-associated BAX inhibitor 1 (BI1) modulates ER stress-induced programmed cell death through yet-unknown mechanisms. Despite the significance of the UPR for cell homeostasis, in plants the regulatory circuitry underlying ER stress resolution is still largely unmapped. To gain insights into the coordination of plant UPR strategies, we, in this study, analyzed the functional relationship of the UPR modulators through the analysis of single and higher order mutants of IRE1, bZIP60, bZIP28 and BI1 in experimental conditions causing either temporary or chronic ER stress. We established a functional duality of bZIP28 and bZIP60, as they exert partially independent tissue-specific roles in recovery from ER stress, but redundantly actuate survival strategies in chronic ER stress. We also discovered that BI1 attenuates the pro-survival function of bZIP28 in ER stress resolution and, differently to animal cells, it does not temper the ribonuclease activity of inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE1) under temporary ER stress. Together these findings reveal a functional independence of bZIP28 and bZIP60 in plant UPR, and identify an antagonizing role of BI1 in the pro-adaptive signaling mediated by bZIP28, bringing to light the distinctive complexity of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in plants.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Inhibition of the eukaryotic initiation factor-2α kinase PERK decreases risk of autoimmune diabetes in mice

Preventing the onset of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) is feasible through pharmacological interventions that target molecular stress–responsive mechanisms. Cellular stresses, such as nutrient deficiency, viral infection, or unfolded proteins, trigger the integrated stress response (ISR), which curtails protein synthesis by phosphorylating eukaryotic translation initiation factor-2α (eIF2α). In T1D, maladaptive unfolded protein response (UPR) in insulin-producing β cells renders these cells susceptible to autoimmunity. We found that inhibition of the eIF2α kinase PKR-like ER kinase (PERK), a common component of the UPR and ISR, reversed the mRNA translation block in stressed human islets and delayed the onset of diabetes, reduced islet inflammation, and preserved β cell mass in T1D-susceptible mice. Single-cell RNA-Seq of islets from PERK-inhibited mice showed reductions in the UPR and PERK signaling pathways and alterations in antigen-processing and presentation pathways in β cells. Spatial proteomics of islets from these mice showed an increase in the immune checkpoint protein programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in β cells. Golgi membrane protein 1, whose levels increased following PERK inhibition in human islets and EndoC-βH1 human β cells, interacted with and stabilized PD-L1. Collectively, our studies show that PERK activity enhances β cell immunogenicity and that inhibition of PERK may offer a strategy for preventing or delaying the development of T1D.

Research & Experimental Medicine↗
DOE OSTI2018

FY18Q1 Quarterly Report: Radiation Enhanced Diffusion of Ag, Ag-Pd, Eu, and Sr in Neutron Irradiated PyC/SiC Diffusion Couples

Obtaining accurate diffusion kinetics in materials representative of those found in tristructural-isotopic (TRISO) coated particle fuel is needed to predict the diffusive release of the same fission products in reactor. Planar diffusion couples with representative pyrocarbon (PyC) and silicon carbide (SiC) layers are being produced using the same fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (FB-CVD) technology used to produce TRISO particles from the first irradiation experiment of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Qualification and Development Program (AGR). The layer properties of the planar diffusion couples are tailored to meet the specified PyC density and microstructure of the SiC layer as defined by the AGR program. The influence of these variables on diffusion is also being explored by producing PyC and SiC variants. The pathway to producing the diffusion couples is discussed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

FY18Q3 Quarterly Report: Radiation Enhanced Diffusion of Ag, Ag-Pd, Eu, and Sr in Neutron Irradiated PyC/SiC Diffusion Couples

Obtaining accurate diffusion kinetics in materials representative of those found in tristructural-isotopic (TRISO) coated particle fuel is needed to predict the diffusive release of fission products in reactor. Planar diffusion couples with representative pyrocarbon (PyC) and silicon carbide (SiC) layers are being produced using the same fluidized-bed chemical vapor deposition (FBCVD) technology used to produce TRISO particles from the first irradiation experiment of the Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) Fuel Qualification and Development Program. The layer properties of the planar diffusion couples are tailored to meet the specified PyC density and microstructure of the SiC layer as defined by the AGR program. The influence of these variables on diffusion is also being explored by producing PyC and SiC variants. The pathway to producing the diffusion couples is discussed and builds upon efforts described in previous reports [1–3].

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design of Hypothetical Processes for the Production of 131 I and 99 Mo from Activation Targets

For over six decades, medical isotope production has been a high-priority focus of many research reactors across the globe. The majority of these isotopes were produced using highly-enriched uranium (HEU) or low enriched uranium (LEU) – delivering millions of doses of diagnostic and therapeutic isotopes. As a consequence of this production, however, six decades of isotope production has resulted in massive quantities of spent uranium material worldwide with no known disposition pathway creating growing proliferation concerns. Supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Material Management and Minimization (M3) program, there has been increased focus in the production of high-priority isotopes without special nuclear materials or without uranium altogether. Isotope production via activation can potentially fulfill regional isotope demands – particularly in under-developed regions without access to isotope supply chains. The benefits of this approach would be a reduction in uranium proliferation risks, less special nuclear material wastes, and reduced risk of supply disruption in the likely event that major isotope producers will again go off-line as has happened in recent years due to a number of factors.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Clutter mitigation, multiple peaks, and high-order spectral moments in 35 GHz vertically pointing radar velocity spectra

Abstract. This study presents and applies three separate processing methods to improve high-order moments estimated from 35 GHz (Ka band) vertically pointing radar Doppler velocity spectra. The first processing method removes Doppler-shifted ground clutter from spectra collected by a US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Ka-band zenith pointing radar (KAZR) deployed at Oliktok Point (OLI), Alaska. Ground clutter resulted from multiple pathways through antenna side lobes and reflections off a rotating scanning radar antenna located 2 m away from KAZR, which caused Doppler shifts in ground clutter returns from stationary targets 2.5 km away. After removing clutter in the recorded velocity spectra, the second processing method identifies multiple separate and sub-peaks in the spectra and estimates high-order moments for each peak. Multiple peaks and high-order moments were estimated for both original 2 and 15 s averaged spectra. The third processing step improves the spectrum variance, skewness, and kurtosis estimates by removing velocity variability due to turbulent broadening during 15 s averaging intervals. Applying the multiple peak processing to Doppler velocity spectra during liquid-only clouds can identify cloud and drizzle particles and during mixed-phase clouds can identify liquid cloud and frozen hydrometeors. Consistent with previous studies, this work found that spectrum skewness assuming only a single spectral peak was a good indicator of two hydrometeor populations (for example, cloud and drizzle particles) being present in the radar pulse volume. Yet, after dividing the spectrum into multiple peaks, velocity spectrum skewness for individual peaks is near zero, indicating nearly symmetric peaks. This suggests that future studies should use velocity skewness of single-peak spectra as an indicator of possible multiple hydrometeor populations and then use multiple-peak moments for quantitative studies. Three future activities will continue this work. First, KAZR spectra from several ARM sites have been processed and are available in the ARM archive as a principal investigator (PI) product. ARM programmers are evaluating these processing methods as part of future multiple-peak products generated by ARM. Third, MATLAB code generating the Oliktok Point products has been uploaded as supplemental material for public dissemination.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Formation of Gas-Phase Allyl Radicals from Glycerol on Rutile TiO2(110)

The reaction pathways of glycerol on partially reduced TiO2(110) have been studied by a combination of molecular beam dosing and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD). Glycerol is found to bind more strongly to TiO2(110) than glycols due to an additional hydroxyl group in the molecule. When the Ti surface sites are saturated by glycerol, the majority of glycerol molecules (~ 95%) undergo further reactions to yield carbon-free (water and hydrogen) and carbon-containing products that are desorbed during the TPD ramp. In contrast to glycols for which both water and hydrogen arise exclusively from the cleavage of glycol O-H bonds, we identify two distinct reaction channels resulting from the cleavage of O-H and C-H bonds, respectively, for both water and hydrogen evolution from glycerol on TiO2(110). Quantitative determination of the desorption yields of water and hydrogen reveals that the C-H bond scission channel which occurs at higher temperature than the O-H bond scission channel, is a minor reaction channel for water formation, while it is a major reaction channel responsible for hydrogen evolution. For the carbon-containing products, we exclude both carbon deposition and carbon oxides (CO and CO2) formation, and identify the allyl radical as the major carbon-containing product. The formation of the allyl radical is accompanied by the formation of various minor carbon-containing products including propylene, acrolein, allyl alcohol, acetone, formaldehyde and ethylene. The different surface chemistries observed between glycerol and simpler alcohols and glycols on TiO2(110), suggest that smaller oxygenates cannot serve as models for larger oxygenates in probing their reaction pathways on oxide surfaces. The new reaction channels observed for glycerol on TiO2(110) may open up a new way to convert bio-renewable glycerol directly to pure hydrogen and hydrocarbons on TiO2. This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Sciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences, and performed in EMSL, a national scientific user facility sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is a multiprogram national laboratory operated for the DOE by Battelle.

Chen, Long↗
DOE OSTI2018

Final Report on Community Solar Design Models for Consumer, Industry, & Utility Success

Since the inception of the first community solar program in 2006, a number of different utility, solar industry and consumer driven community solar program models have emerged across the country with varying regulatory and solar market frameworks behind them. There is little consistency in how programs are administered, participant benefits are assigned, and customers are charged for participation. Further, while it is regularly speculated that community solar programs meet the needs of customers, no such consumer research has been completed against different community solar program models. This collaborative research effort addressed three primary issues: Program design models are numerous and evolving, with varying degrees of applicability across different state policy, utility regulatory, and solar market types. The agents, transaction methods, and accruing costs and benefits are highly variable and largely built on anecdotally successful model evolution. ‘Community solar’ (shared/group solar, solar gardens, etc.) has become a catch-all concept that means different things to different stakeholders, limiting constructive program development and growth. Everything from green pricing programs to remote net metering to metering aggregation has been framed as community solar. Consumer research on individual concepts and program models has been done, but no comprehensive and comparative market research on the broader design models and attributes has been performed. SEPA’s collaborative research effort on Community Solar Design Models for Consumer, Industry, & Utility Success is premised on the principle that greater standardization of community solar models and better understanding of consumer interests are key underpinnings of increased community solar deployment. Utilizing a cross-sectional multi-stakeholder working group, as well as focus groups and surveys, webinars, targeted outreach, and other tools, this project aims to expand the community solar knowledge base, facilitate information exchange, identify opportunities for standardization and improvement, determine what consumers’ interests are and how best to message to them, promote the research results within the solar and utility industries, and advance key opportunities for strategic deployment plans for community solar. A summary of these key takeaways/lessons learned during the grant period include: Siting of system should be evaluated up-front in the process Engage stakeholders collaboratively and early to help ensure the best chance for a successful program IT/billing departments must have a seat at the design table Establish upfront target objectives with respect to residential and commercial program access levels helps ensure program success Balance trade-offs to manage utility and developer risk with customer participation carefully to optimize pricing and sizing the program offering Over the course of the 42 month grant period, SEPA and its project team conducted a series of activities all designed to accelerate the number and size of community solar programs across the country. These activities included: Community Solar Program Design Models (2 reports) – SEPA, in collaboration with its projects team, the Coalition for Community Solar Access, and over 60 administrators of actual community solar programs, developed two reports providing hard data on the developments of community solar. These reports touched on program performance, quantity and type of programs, and program design steps, among other aspects. The reports collectively received over 2000 unique downloads. Market Research Report – SEPA, in collaboration with The Shelton Group, conducted a series of national surveys and focus groups to identify what customers were looking for in a community solar offering. The resulting report, “What the Community Solar Customer Wants”, received over 1,000 unique downloads. Technical Assistance Projects – SEPA supported 8 organizations who were pursuing community solar programs. Based on this support, over 5.7 MWs of new solar capacity have been developed. Technical Assistance Case Studies – SEPA developed two case studies detailing the technical assistance work in Fremont, NE Department of Utilities and the public power arm of Minster Ohio. These two reports have received 1,002 unique downloads. Webinar – SEPA hosted two webinars on community solar which collectively received 743 participants. The webinars focused on disseminating the findings of the research conducted under this project, as well as the research conducted in separate solar market pathways projects. Community Solar Design Workshops – 120 registrants learned about the trends in community solar and participated a business case exercise to design their own programs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

NNSA Minority Serving Institute Partnership Program (MSIPP)— Advanced Synergistic Program for Indigenous Research in Engineering (ASPIRE) (FY22 Q1 Progress Report)

In 2016, the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) initiated the Minority Serving Institution Partnership Plan (MSIPP) targeting Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) to offer programs that will prepare students for technical careers in NNSA’s laboratories and production plants. The MSIPP consortium’s approach is as follows: 1) align investments at the college and university level to develop a curriculum and workforce needed to support NNSA’s nuclear weapon enterprise mission, and 2) to enhance research and education at under-represented colleges and universities. The first TCU consortium that MSIPP launched was known as the Advanced Manufacturing Network Initiative (AMNI) whose purpose was to develop additive manufacturing (AM) learning opportunities. The AMNI consortium consisted of Bay Mills Community College, Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Navajo Tech University, Salish Kootenai Community College, Turtle Mountain Community College, and United Tribes Technical College. In 2016, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), the AMNI consortium and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), in collaboration with Sandia National Labs, using a grant by NNSA hosted the first TCU Advanced Manufacturing Technology Summer Institute (TCU AMTSI). The AMNI consortium will officially end Sept. 2022. However, building on the successes of AMNI, in FY22 NNSA’s MSIPP launched three additional consortiums: (1) the Indigenous Mutual Partnership to Advanced Cybersecurity Technology (IMPACT), which focuses on STEM and cybersecurity, (2) the Advanced Synergistic Program for Indigenous Research in Engineering (ASPIRE), which focuses on STEM and the electrical and mechanical engineering skills set needed for renewable and distributed energy systems, and (3) the Partnership for Advanced Manufacturing Education and Research (PAMER), which focuses on developing and maintaining a sustainable pathway for a highly trained, next-generation additive manufacturing workforce and a corresponding community of subject matter experts for NNSA enterprises. The following report summarizes the status update during this quarter for the ASPIRE program.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Three-dimensional DNA-programmable nanoparticle superlattices

In recent decades, there have been considerable efforts made in the design and synthesis of materials comprised of functional nanoscale particles. However, there is an increasing need to establish platform approaches for creating large-scale three-dimensional (3D) organizations from these particles, with the ability to control and prescribe ordered structures. The use of DNA, as a means of programming interactions between nanocomponents, provides powerful and tailorable means for the rational self-assembly of nanomaterials. Here, the assembly pathway and assembled phases are highly dependent on both particle shape and interparticle interactions, governed by particle DNA coronas, binding modes, or linking mediators capable of complex topologies. This review highlights and discusses recent significant advancements in the field, as well as offers outlook towards future paths in the assembly of the DNA programmable three-dimensional nanoparticle superlattices.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗