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At least 469 records · Page 26

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2014

NASA HUNCH Hardware

What is NASA HUNCH? High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware-HUNCH is an instructional partnership between NASA and educational institutions. This partnership benefits both NASA and students. NASA receives cost-effective hardware and soft goods, while students receive real-world hands-on experiences. The 2014-2015 was the 12th year of the HUNCH Program. NASA Glenn Research Center joined the program that already included the NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Langley Research Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. The program included 76 schools in 24 states and NASA Glenn worked with the following five schools in the HUNCH Build to Print Hardware Program: Medina Career Center, Medina, OH; Cattaraugus Allegheny-BOCES, Olean, NY; Orleans Niagara-BOCES, Medina, NY; Apollo Career Center, Lima, OH; Romeo Engineering and Tech Center, Washington, MI. The schools built various parts of an International Space Station (ISS) middeck stowage locker and learned about manufacturing process and how best to build these components to NASA specifications. For the 2015-2016 school year the schools will be part of a larger group of schools building flight hardware consisting of 20 ISS middeck stowage lockers for the ISS Program. The HUNCH Program consists of: Build to Print Hardware; Build to Print Soft Goods; Design and Prototyping; Culinary Challenge; Implementation: Web Page and Video Production.

manufacturing↗

DOE OSTI2024

Leverage demand-side policies for energy security

Energy security is a top priority for governments, companies, and households because energy systems and the critical functions that they support are threatened by disruptions from wars, pandemics, climate change, and other shocks (1). More often than not, governments rely on policies focused on energy supply to enhance energy security while generally ignoring demand-side possibilities. Further, the indicators traditionally used to measure energy security are also tilted toward the supply side; this fails to capture the full spectrum of vulnerability to energy crises. Energy security assessments need to reflect the wider benefits of security related interventions more accurately. To that end, we develop a systematic approach to measuring the energy security impacts of policy interventions that explicitly considers energy demand (buildings, transport, and industry). Here, we determine that demand-side actions outperform conventional supply-side approaches at making countries more resilient. Energy demand links more directly than supply to the satisfaction of critical social functions and human well-being that are at the core of energy security. Yet, demand-side perspectives tend to be neglected or underrepresented in analysis and policy debates on energy security. Factors that contribute to this supply-side bias include the traditional sectoral organization of industries and policy institutions along fuels (coal, oil, and gas) and energy forms (electric utilities) as well as the decentralized and multivaried activities characteristic of energy demand (from vehicles to household appliances to manufacturing and more), which leads to a multitude of actors and institutional fragmentation. The basic fundamentals of energy systems and markets, where demand and supply are intricately linked, have also not yet risen from vague awareness to a central organizing principle among policy-makers for structuring the energy security discourse.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2026

What Is the Agent Doing? Visualizing Agentic AI Querying Workflows

We explore how visualizations can help users understand what an AI agent is doing as it builds and runs queries over data. As part of the LinkQ system, a natural language interface for querying knowledge graphs with a large language model (LLM), we designed two complementary views: A State Diagram that shows where the agent is within a larger workflow, and a Live Action Display that gives real-time updates about the agent's current task. In a study with 14 practitioners, we found that these visuals helped participants build stronger mental models of the agent's behavior while also increasing their confidence in the system. However, we also observed that users sometimes trusted incorrect outputs simply because the agent appeared to be doing the "right" thing. Our findings point to both the value and risk of visualizing agent behavior in interactive AI systems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Section 3 Reporting: Preserve America

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and countless advances in science and technology. For over 75 years, the Laboratory has played a leading role in the Department of Energy (DOE) Science and Technology mission and continues to contribute to the DOE’s missions in energy resources, environmental quality, and national security. The Laboratory is operated and managed by Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), which was founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, and Battelle, a non-profit applied science and technology organization. BNL is committed to longstanding partnerships with researchers, academic institutions, industry, students, teachers, and the surrounding community. BNL is located near the center of Suffolk County on Long Island, New York within Brookhaven Township, about 60 miles east of New York City. Most of BNL’s principal facilities are located near the center of the 5,265-acre (8.23 square mile) site (Figure 1). The developed area encompasses approximately 1,820 acres, consisting of: ▪ 500 acres originally developed by the Army (as part of WW II Camp Upton) and still used for offices and other operational buildings. ▪ 200 acres occupied by large, specialized research facilities. ▪ 520 acres occupied by outlying facilities, such as the Sewage Treatment Plant, research agricultural fields, housing facilities, and fire breaks. ▪ 400 acres of roads, parking lots, and connecting areas. ▪ 200 acres developed for the Long Island Solar Farm. The balance of the site, approximately 3,400 acres, is largely wooded and represents a native pine barrens ecosystem. In November 2000, DOE set aside 530 acres of undeveloped land at BNL as the Upton Ecological and Research Reserve. The Upton Reserve preserves this portion of the pine barrens ecosystem and provides an area for ecological research and education activities.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2026

A Search for Successful and Choked Jets in Nearby Broad-lined Type Ic Supernovae

The observational link between long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and broad-lined stripped-envelope core-collapse supernovae (SNe Ic-BL) is well established. Significant progress has been made in constraining what fraction of SNe Ic-BL may power high- or low-luminosity GRBs when viewed at small off-axis angles. However, the GRB–SN connection still lacks a complete understanding in the broader context of massive-star evolution and explosion physics. Models predict a continuum of outcomes for the fastest ejecta, from choked to ultrarelativistic jets, and observations from radio to X-rays are key to probing these scenarios across a range of viewing angles and velocities. Here, we present results from a coordinated radio-to-X-ray campaign targeting nearby (z ≲ 0.1) SNe Ic-BL designed to explore this diversity. With eight new radio-monitored events and updated data for one previously observed SN, we further tighten constraints on the fraction of SNe Ic-BL as relativistic as SN 1998bw (GRB 980425). We identify SN 2024rjw as a new radio-loud event likely powered by strong interaction with circumstellar material, and add evidence supporting a similar interpretation for SN 2020jqm. We also establish new limits on the properties of radio-emitting ejecta with velocities consistent with cocoons from choked jets, highlighting SN 2022xxf as a promising cocoon-dominated candidate. These results refine our understanding of the continuum linking ordinary SNe Ic-BL, engine-driven explosions, and GRBs, and contribute to building a sample that will inform future multimessenger searches for electromagnetic counterparts to high-energy neutrinos.

O’Dwyer, Tanner [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, M↗

NASA NTRS2012

The ISS as a Testbed for Future Large Astronomical Observatories: The OpTIIX Demonstration Program

Future large (diameters in excess of approx. 10 m) astronomical observatories in space will need to employ advanced technologies if they are to be affordable. Many of these technologies are ready to be validated on orbit and the International Space Station (ISS) provides a suitable platform for such demonstrations. These technologies include low-cost, low-density, highly deformable mirror segments, coupled with advanced sensing and control methods. In addition, the ISS offers available telerobotic assembly techniques to build an optical testbed that embodies this new cost-effective approach to assemble and achieve diffraction-limited optical performance for very large space telescopes. Given the importance that NASA attaches to the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences "Decadal Survey" process, essential capabilities and technologies will be demonstrated well in advance of the next Survey, which commences in 2019. To achieve this objective, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) are carrying out a Phase A/B study of the Optical Testbed and Integration on ISS eXperiment (OpTIIX). The overarching goal is to demonstrate well before the end of this decade key capabilities intended to enable very large optical systems in the decade of the 2020s. Such a demonstration will retire technical risk in the assembly, alignment, calibration, and operation of future space observatories. The OpTIIX system, as currently designed, is a six-hexagon element, segmented visual-wavelength telescope with an edge-to-edge aperture of 1.4 m, operating at its diffraction limit,

Burdick, G.↗

NASA NTRS1999

Climate Change and a Global City: An Assessment of the Metropolitan East Coast Region

The objective of the research is to derive an assessment of the potential climate change impacts on a global city - in this case the 31 county region that comprises the New York City metropolitan area. This study comprises one of the regional components that contribute to the ongoing U.S. National Assessment: The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change and is an application of state-of-the-art climate change science to a set of linked sectoral assessment analyses for the Metro East Coast (MEC) region. We illustrate how three interacting elements of global cities react and respond to climate variability and change with a broad conceptual model. These elements include: people (e.g., socio- demographic conditions), place (e.g., physical systems), and pulse (e.g., decision-making and economic activities). The model assumes that a comprehensive assessment of potential climate change can be derived from examining the impacts within each of these elements and at their intersections. Thus, the assessment attempts to determine the within-element and the inter-element effects. Five interacting sector studies representing the three intersecting elements are evaluated. They include the Coastal Zone, Infrastructure, Water Supply, Public Health, and Institutional Decision-making. Each study assesses potential climate change impacts on the sector and on the intersecting elements, through the analysis of the following parts: 1. Current conditions of sector in the region; 2. Lessons and evidence derived from past climate variability; 3. Scenario predictions affecting sector; potential impacts of scenario predictions; 4. Knowledge/information gaps and critical issues including identification of additional research questions, effectiveness of modeling efforts, equity of impacts, potential non-local interactions, and policy recommendations; and 5. Identification of coping strategies - i.e., resilience building, mitigation strategies, new technologies, education that affects decision-making, and better preparedness for contingencies.

Rosenzweig, Cynthia↗

NASA NTRS2014

Scalable Asset Discovery, Vulnerability Scanning, and Penetration Testing for Remote Sites and Wireless Spectrums Utilizing an Embedded Linux Plug - PwniPlug and the Raspberry Pi B+ as a Sample Pen Test

All devices attached to the NASA KSC network are subject to security vulnerability scanning and/or penetration testing. In today's changing environment, vulnerable and/or unprotected systems can easily be overlooked. Systems that are not properly managed can become a potential threat to the operational integrity of our systems and networks. This includes all NASA (internal and external) information systems within NASA KSC Internet Protocol (IP) address space, and NASA KSC facilities. The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) recommends that all NASA Centers and information systems be subject to penetration testing on a regular interval in accordance with the guidelines identified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (ITS-HBK-2810.04-02A) Protecting information and equipment at NASA is an area of increasing concern. In addition to the CPU's on the network; Supervisory, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are especially vulnerable because these systems have lacked standards, use embedded controllers with little computational power and informal software, are connected to physical processes, have few operators, and are increasingly also being connected to corporate networks. The scope of work is comprised of several individual components which together build upon previous work by Drew Branch, NASA KSC Intern. The Pwn Plug is the selected COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) device chosen to test simplification of mandatory IT Security tasks. The device will be utilized to provide services to NASA KSC and enable an assessment of infrastructure soundness and regulatory compliance in an efficient, economical, and business responsive manner. The Pwn Plug is designed as a pen testing appliance which provides a hardware platform that can support commercial penetration testing efforts at significantly reduced costs. The expected outcomes are: 1) External Penetration Testing, 2) Social Engineering, 3) Procedural Documentation, 4) Recommended Remediation Action Plan, 5) System Retest & Remediation Attestation and 6) Final Reports, out briefing and Presentation. Due to physical and material constraints beyond intern and mentor control, the project was redefined as a working pen-test scenario. Limitations of lab availability and tools dictated an academic exercise. This report was developed within the scenario guidelines suggested by the project mentor. The guidelines were to be creative in developing a Pen Test program for a client.

Penetration Testing↗

DOE OSTI2026

Technology pathways for energy- and water-efficient controlled environment agriculture: A review of technologies, implementation pathways, and regional use cases

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) offers high-yield, climate-resilient food production, but high energy and resource demands challenge its sustainability. This paper synthesizes technologies that can improve outcomes across six categories—energy, CO 2 utilization, building envelope, hardware, water, and process—plus colocation strategies. We evaluate 80 technologies and define ten implementation pathways bundling complementary technologies to reduce energy use, optimize water consumption, and minimize emissions. Regional application is demonstrated through five U.S. case studies spanning different climates. A logic framework guides pathway selection for case studies based on climate, infrastructure, and regulatory context, informing context-sensitive technology deployment. Results show energy intensity reductions of 3–55 %, ranging from energy management programs to comprehensive lighting retrofits; water savings of 20–40 % through closed-loop recirculation; and emissions reductions of 3–100 %, with strategic energy management achieving 3–5 % and renewable electricity paired with electrified heating achieving up to 100 %. Text mining revealed that energy, hardware, and process technologies account for 91 % of literature coverage. Water, building envelope, and CO 2 utilization remain underexplored, indicating priorities for future research. This integrative approach to technology assessment supports growers, developers, and policymakers in aligning CEA system design with local conditions, improving resource efficiency and addressing gaps in cross-domain technology coverage.

Controlled environment agriculture↗

DOE OSTI2026

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) End-of-Performance and Decommissioning Considerations [Slides]

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of end-of-performance and decommissioning considerations for large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). It outlines expected system lifespans, midterm assessment needs, and pathways for extending operational life through augmentation or repowering. The presentation details regulatory requirements that govern decommissioning plans, cost estimates, financial assurance mechanisms, and performance obligations across multiple jurisdictions. It further examines end-of-life equipment management, including recycling, waste handling, transportation, and environmental compliance. Designed to support Malawi's electricity-sector institutions, the presentation highlights how planning for decommissioning and environmental stewardship can be integrated early in project development to ensure safe, financially accountable, and environmentally responsible BESS system retirement.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2015

Coordination of International Risk-Reduction Investigations by the Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration

Effective use of the unique capabilities of the International Space Station (ISS) for risk reduction on future deep space missions involves preliminary work in analog environments to identify and evaluate the most promising techniques, interventions and treatments. This entails a consolidated multinational approach to biomedical research both on ISS and in ground analogs. The Multilateral Human Research Panel for Exploration (MHRPE) was chartered by the five ISS partners to recommend the best combination of partner investigations on ISS for risk reduction in the relatively short time available for ISS utilization. MHRPE will also make recommendations to funding agencies for appropriate preparatory analog work. In 2011, NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) and the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Science, acting for MHRPE, developed a joint US-Russian biomedical program for the 2015 one-year ISS mission (1YM) of American and Russian crewmembers. This was to evaluate the possibilities for multilateral research on ISS. An overlapping list of 16 HRP, 9 IBMP, 3 Japanese, 3 European and 1 Canadian investigations were selected to address risk-reduction goals in 7 categories: Functional Performance, Behavioral Health, Visual Impairment, Metabolism, Physical Capacity, Microbial and Human Factors. MHRPE intends to build on this bilateral foundation to recommend more fully-integrated multilateral investigations on future ISS missions commencing after the 1YM. MHRPE has also endorsed an on-going program of coordinated research on 6-month, one-year and 6-week missions ISS expeditions that is now under consideration by ISS managers. Preparatory work for these missions will require coordinated and collaborative campaigns especially in the psychological and psychosocial areas using analog isolation facilities in Houston, Köln and Moscow, and possibly elsewhere. The multilateral Human Analogs research working group (HANA) is the focal point of those planning discussions, with MHRPE coordinating between the national programs and then supporting implementation on ISS. Experience gained during preparations for the 1YM has identified improvements in both American and Russian processes to enable well-integrated investigations on all subsequent ISS expeditions. Among those is that the greatest efficiency is to be gained with investigations that are fully integrated from their conception, with co-principal investigators, a consolidated proposal and integrated plans for crewmember time and other flight-related resources. Analog investigations preceding future ISS expeditions will employ these lessons in efficiency to evaluate the techniques and tools to be validated aboard ISS. In this way, the resources and capabilities of ISS can be applied most efficiently to solving the problems facing astronauts of all nations in missions deep into the solar system.

Charles, John B.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Nebraska Earth Science Education Network: Enhancing the NASA, University, and Pre-College Science Teacher Connection with Electronic Communication

The primary goals of this project were to: 1. Promote and enhance K-12 earth science education; and enhance the access to and exchange of information through the use of digital networks in K-12 institutions. We have achieved these two goals. Through the efforts of many individuals at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Nebraska Earth Science Education Network (NESEN) has become a viable and beneficial interdisciplinary outreach program for K-12 educators in Nebraska. Over the last three years, the NASA grant has provided personnel and equipment to maintain, expand and develop NESEN into a program that is recognized by its membership as a valuable source of information and expertise in earth systems science. Because NASA funding provided a framework upon which to build, other external sources of funding have become available to support NESEN programs.

Gosselin, David C.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Total Optical Depth Analysis for NO2, O3 and Aerosols by a Multi-Filter Shadowband Radiometer

The main focus of this research is the retrieval of tropospheric aerosol information using a Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer, Model MFR-7, placed on the roof of the Science Building at Medgar Evers College. This instrument makes precise measurements of atmospheric extinction of the direct solar beam simultaneously at six wavelengths (475, 500, 615, 670, 840 and 940 nm) at one minute intervals throughout the day. We are interested in measuring the changes in the optical depth of ambient aerosols, mass, effective particle size, aerosol size distribution, and chemical composition of ambient particulate matter in the Greater New York City Area. Results will be compared with data obtained by A. Lacis, B. Carlson and B. Cairns at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Williamson, Lorenzo↗

DOE OSTI2025

Phonon Olympics: Phonon property and lattice thermal conductivity benchmarking from open-source packages

Three widely used open-source packages for determining phonon properties and lattice thermal conductivities (ALAMODE, phono3py, and ShengBTE) are benchmarked by teams of expert users and the package developers. The phonons for Ge, RbBr, monolayer MoSe 2 , and AlN are modeled at zero temperature, and they scatter through three-phonon and phonon-isotope processes, with thermal conductivities obtained from the linearized Peierls–Boltzmann transport equation with input from density functional theory calculations. Over a wide range of temperatures, the thermal conductivities calculated by the teams fall within at most ±15% of their mean values for each of the four materials. The phonon frequencies, obtained from the harmonic force constants, do not show large differences between the calculations, indicating that the modal heat capacities and group velocities are not responsible for the thermal conductivity variations. It is the lifetimes associated with three-phonon scattering, obtained from the cubic force constants, that drive the variations. The many decisions required to calculate the cubic force constants (e.g., supercell size, atomic displacement, neighbor cutoff, and application of symmetries) make identification of the precise origin of the thermal conductivity variations challenging. The calculated thermal conductivities do not generally show agreement with experimental measurements, which is attributed to the limitations of the density functional theory calculations. Guidance for the development of best practices is provided, which will help to standardize protocols needed for building thermal conductivity databases. The results provide a baseline for future benchmarking of other packages and more advanced calculations.

McGaughey, Alan J. H. [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pitt↗

DOE OSTI2025

Topological Rigidity and Non-Abelian Defect Junctions in Chiral Nematic Systems with Effective Biaxial Symmetry

We study topologically stable defect structures in systems where the defect line classification in three dimensions and associated algebra of interactions (the fundamental group) are governed by the non-Abelian eight-element group, the quaternions 𝑄 8 . The non-Abelian character of the defect algebra leads to a topological rigidity of bound defect pairs, and trivalent junctions which are the building blocks of multijunction trivalent networks. We realize such structures in laboratory chiral nematics and analyze their behavior analytically, along with numerical modeling.

Liquid crystals↗

DOE OSTI2023

Positron beams at Ce+BAF

Positron beams would provide a new and meaningful probe for the experimental program at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab). The JLab Positron Working Group, formed in 2018 and now with over 250 members from 75 institutions, continues to develop an experimental program with high duty-cycle positron beams including but not limited to future hadronic physics and dark matter experiments. Critical requirements involve generating positron beams with a high degree of spin polarization, sufficient intensity and a continuous-wave (CW) bunch train compatible with acceleration to 12 GeV at the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF). In this presentation we describe a start-to-end layout for positron beams at 12 GeV CEBAF utilizing the Low Energy Research Facility (LERF) at Jefferson Lab to build two new injectors. A GaAs dc high voltage photo-gun first generates >1 mA of polarized electrons which are then accelerated to 80-150 MeV and directed to a high-power spinning W target for polarized bremsstrahlung and positron pair creation. A second injector then collects, bunches and accelerates the positrons to 123 MeV. The positron beams are transported by a new beam line and injected into the CEBAF acceptance for acceleration to the end stations with energies up to 12 GeV. The layout is optimized to provide Users with positron spin polarization >60% and intensity greater than >100 nA, and with higher intensities when polarization is not required.

Benesch, J.↗

NASA NTRS1975

Application of solar energy; Proceedings of the First Southeastern Conference, Huntsville, Ala., March 24-26, 1975

Topics related to architectural and institutional considerations are discussed along with studies of components and subsystems. Subjects in the area of system design and analysis are also explored. Residential and commercial applications are considered, taking into account hot-water usage in a typical single-family residence, solar heating and cooling of mobile homes, aspects of design and performance in the case of a solar heating system using a reflective pyramid optical condenser, solar heating in a Boston school, a performance analysis of solar service hot water systems, comparative performance analyses of three solar heated and cooled buildings, and the use of solar energy in a soybeam processing operation. Applications related to power generation are also examined, giving attention to solar thermal electric power systems and photovoltaic research. Individual items are announced in this issue.

Wu, S. T.↗

DOE OSTI2022

WPTO Navigator

Protecting hydroelectric plants from incidents that adversely impact their cyber-physical systems presents unique challenges due to the plants’ widely dispersed geographic locations and varied configurations as well as the relative nascent nature of the cyberattacks targeting these facilities. To help hydroelectric plants better respond to and mitigate cybersecurity incidents, this Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office Navigator aligns the processes within the National Institute of Standards 800-61r2 Computer Security Incident Handling Guide with the emergency actions within the FEMA 64 Emergency Action Plan Framework. This work is to be used at a hydroelectric plant to quickly understand how the plant responds to a cyber incident in relationship to the actions involved in an emergency action plan involving a hydroelectric plant. In addition to this product, there are three other products meant to be distributed to a hydroelectric plant to assist in their cyber incident response and recovery. The first, a report on the processes of building a R&R flip book based on a large set of existing guidance. The second, a handy flip book meant to be distributed to hydroelectric plants to assist them during a cybersecurity incident occurring on a hydroelectic plant. And the third is a comprehensive set of resources to assist an operator in locating appropriate guidance during the recovery process.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗