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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 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Spectrally Selective Nanocomposite Textile for Outdoor Personal Cooling

Outdoor heat stress poses a serious public health threat and curtails industrial labor supply and productivity, thus adversely impacting the wellness and economy of the entire society. With climate change, there will be more intense and frequent heat waves that further present a grand challenge for sustainability. However, an efficient and economical method that can provide localized outdoor cooling of the human body without intensive energy input is lacking. Here, a novel spectrally selective nanocomposite textile for radiative outdoor cooling using zinc oxide nanoparticle–embedded polyethylene is demonstrated. By reflecting more than 90% solar irradiance and selectively transmitting out human body thermal radiation, this textile can enable simulated skin to avoid overheating by 5–13 °C compared to normal textile like cotton under peak daylight condition. In conclusion, owing to its superior passive cooling capability and compatibility with large–scale production, this radiative outdoor cooling textile is promising to widely benefit the sustainability of society in many aspects spanning from health to economy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A prospective study on myocardial injury after BNT162b2 mRNA COVID ‐19 fourth dose vaccination in healthy persons

Aims To prospectively evaluate the incidence of myocardial injury after the administration of the fourth dose BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer‐BioNTech) against COVID‐19. Methods and results Health care workers who received the BNT162b2 vaccine during the fourth dose campaign had blood samples collected for high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs‐cTn) during vaccine administration and 2–4 days afterward. Vaccine‐related myocardial injury was defined as hs‐cTn elevation above the 99th percentile upper reference limit and >50% increase from baseline measurement. Participants with evidence of myocardial injury underwent assessment for possible myocarditis. Of 324 participants, 192 (59.2%) were female and the mean age was 51.8 ± 15.0 years. Twenty‐one (6.5%) participants had prior COVID‐19 infection, the mean number of prior vaccine doses was 2.9 ± 0.4, and the median time from the last dose was 147 (142–157) days. Reported vaccine‐related adverse reactions included local pain at injection site in 57 (17.59%), fatigue in 39 (12.04%), myalgia in 32 (9.88%), sore throat in 21 (6.48%), headache in 18 (5.5%), fever ≥38°C in 16 (4.94%), chest pain in 12 (3.7%), palpitations in 7 (2.16%), and shortness of breath in one (0.3%) participant. Vaccine‐related myocardial injury was demonstrated in two (0.62%) participants, one had mild symptoms and one was asymptomatic; both had a normal electrocardiogram and echocardiography. Conclusion In a prospective investigation, an increase in serum troponin levels was documented among 0.62% of healthy health care workers receiving the fourth dose BNT162b2 vaccine. The two cases had mild or no symptoms and no clinical sequela. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05308680.

Levi, Nir↗
DOE OSTI2024

30 years of semiconductor nanowire research: A Personal Journey

This project is about flux line pinning in high T c superconductors using columnar defects as the pinning centers. The basic idea is that linear structural defects can pin the flux lines within HTSCs so that their critical current density (the maximal current density that these HTSCs can carry with zero resistance) can be enhanced. The question is how to create such linear structural defects within crystalline cuprate thin films. Scientists have already successfully demonstrated the concept by irradiating HTSC crystals with high-energy ions at synchrotron beamline facilities. However, such heavy ion irradiation is practically not viable for large-scale processes. Finally, we reasoned that maybe we could introduce some sort of linear nanoscopic objects into HTSC to form a composite, and then these linear nanoscopic objects would serve as the magnetic flux line pinning centers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

John Grant and the multifaceted nature of true professionalism: Personal perspective

Consideration of the elements that contribute to professional and scientific impact is relevant in a volume honoring John Grant for two reasons. First, John has contributed in many ways to both advancing the methodology and the practical application of surface-analytical tools to understanding surfaces and interfaces of technological importance. The second reason is a little more complex. In an era when there is an effort to quantify contributions in various ways (e.g., citations, H-index, number of publications) and when social media seems, at least anecdotally, to lead a younger generation of scientists to be less involved in traditional professional activities, it is appropriate to examine the nature of the activities that make a lasting contribution to the advancement of science and technology and the professional community that makes progress possible. The multifaceted nature of John’s professional activities provides an appropriate background for exploring the nature of professionalism. With no reservations one can say that the foundation of professionalism is rooted in a scientist’s expertise in some area of research or practice. This expertise might be measured in numerous ways depending upon the field and could include numbers of publications, citations, patents, problems solved, research support obtained, or students produced. These “products” may or may not be readily visible to the community at large. Chuck Wagner – a pioneer in XPS, developer of an empirical set of XPS sensitivity factors and the modified Auger-parameter plot, and winner of the AVS Nerken Award in 1989 – observed that he could not publish or talk about 90% of the work he had done when working for Shell Oil. However, based on XPS capability developments that he could publish, he had a major impact on the development and application of XPS. To some degree John Grant’s research fits this model as well. Much of his early work at the Air Force Materials Research Laboratory was directed at solving materials problems and this important and often ground-breaking work was not published. However, a great deal of creativity and development was required to enable surface-sensitive tools such as AES and XPS to become useful for solving critical problems, and this work could be published.

Baer, Donald R.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Science Personality and STEM Ambassador

Dr. Amy Elliott has had unique opportunities to serve as a STEM role model through her various media production projects. Her debut on screen was as a competitor on an engineering reality show competition called “The Big Brain Theory,” aired by The Discovery Channel. Following this competition, Dr. Elliott served as an on-camera host for RoboNation’s water-based, annual collegiate competitions and for The Science Channel’s viral video show, “Outrageous Acts of Science.” Dr. Elliott also serves as volunteer pit-crew for Green Envy Racing, a woman-lead race team that seeks to set and speed records with electric motorcycles. Because of Dr. Elliott’s public exposure, she was selected as an IF/THEN Ambassador by the American Associate for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a program that seeks to highlight women as STEM role models. Dr. Elliott’s work in 3D printing is frequently a source of inspiration for her.

Elliott, Amy↗
DOE OSTI2019

Emerging Role of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography in Lipid-Lowering Therapy: a Bridge to Image-Guided Personalized Medicine

Purpose of Review: To summarize the current status of coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) in the assessment of coronary plaques and discuss the ability of serial coronary CTA to quantitatively measure changes in the plaque burden in response to lipid-lowering therapy. Recent Findings: Recent advances in coronary CTA have allowed identification of high-risk coronary features in acute coronary syndrome and measurement of changes in the coronary plaque burden with good reproducibility. Statin therapy may delay plaque progression and change some plaque features. However, the clinical relevance of quantitative changes in coronary plaques and the optimal methods to reduce the plaque burden remain unclear. Summary: Despite guideline-directed lipid-lowering therapy, adverse events still occur in substantial numbers of patients receiving statins. Coronary CTA is noninvasive and has high diagnostic performance in patients with coronary artery disease, making change in the plaque burden an applicable biomarker for individualized assessment of future risk.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Residential retrofits at scale: opportunity identification, saving estimation, and personalized messaging based on communicating thermostat data

Basic insulation and heating system retrofits of existing homes could achieve annual energy savings of up to $4–5 billion in the USA. However, current US utility energy efficiency (EE) programs are costly and challenging to scale. Customer acquisition occurs primarily through energy bill mailers, mass media, and on-line advertising that lack specificity about particular home retrofit opportunities, expected energy savings, and cost-effectiveness. Specific retrofit opportunities are identified via on-site home energy assessments that can be inconvenient to homeowners, expensive, and of variable accuracy. Our paper discusses using communicating thermostat data to significantly increase the customer uptake of energy conservation measures (ECMs) by identifying homes with the most significant retrofit opportunities, estimating post-retrofit energy savings, and formulating home-specific outreach. We extended our previously developed gray-box building model to identify physical building parameters corresponding to the target retrofit opportunities, i.e., whole-home R value, air leakage characteristics, and heating system efficiency. Here, the estimated R values and air leakage characteristics compare favorably with the ground truth. The validated algorithms can calculate home-specific energy savings estimate for each ECM, and the algorithm outputs can be used by utility EE programs to formulate home-specific retrofit offers.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗