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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 OSTI2015

Final Scientific/Technical Report – March 2015

The Center for Interface Science: Solar Electric Materials (CISSEM) was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES) from August 1, 2009 – December 31, 2014 under Award Number DE-SC0001084, as part of a broad set of Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) designed to underpin the development of economical energy conversion platforms for the 21st century. CISSEM successfully integrated the research groups of 19 principal investigators at The University of Arizona (the lead institution), the Georgia Institute of Technology, Princeton University, the University of Washington, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) into a coordinated and synergistic program, while also building a highly productive collaboration with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Our mission was to advance the understanding of interface science underlying solar energy conversion technologies based on organic and organic-inorganic hybrid materials – specifically in organic photovoltaic solar cells (OPVs); and to inspire, recruit and train future scientists and leaders in the basic science of solar electric energy conversion. CISSEM researchers focused on establishing a foundational understanding of the electronic properties of interfaces in area-scalable, thin-film photovoltaic platforms. Metal oxide interlayers used in OPVs to improve the efficiency of charge harvesting at electrodes was our central focus. A key feature of CISSEM research has been our ability to develop a comprehensive understanding of interfaces and interfacial processes at the atomic and molecular scales. This is a scientific foundation for thin-film photovoltaic technologies and our nation’s pursuit of lowering the costs of transforming the sun’s energy into electricity. Our efforts combined: i) theoretical modeling; ii) new materials development; iii) developing new measurement science approaches to characterize composition, molecular and supramolecular structure, band edge energies, electrical properties, and charge harvesting or injection; and iv) integrating our use-inspired new materials and enhanced knowledge of interfaces and interfacial processes into OPV platforms. The strengths of the characterization methodologies developed in CISSEM were recognized within the EFRC network, and were a major component of our interactions with other DOE-funded programs including EFRCs. CISSEM research has resulted in a legacy of 120+ peer-reviewed publications describing our basic science. Much of this highly collaborative research will now be built upon at CISSEM member institutions, with other extramural funding sources. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art facilities and expertise created for modern interface science, especially as they pertain to energy conversion and energy storage challenges, will ensure their broadest continued impact. DOE EFRC funding has positively impacted and enhanced the training and development of more than 140 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and research scientists at the five CISSEM institutions, and students from three Colorado universities associated with NREL. Our legacy also includes these student, postdoctoral researcher and scientist alumni who have taken positions of impact and responsibility in technology industries, government agencies and academia in the U.S., Asia and Europe.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Guidelines for Beamline and Front-End Radiation Shielding Design at the Advanced Photon Source (Rev. 5)

Shielding for the APS will be such that the individual radiation worker dose will be as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The ALARA goals for the APS are to keep the total of the work-related radiation exposure (exposure coming from other than natural or medical sources) as far below 5 person mSv/yr (500 person-mrem/yr), collective total effective dose equivalent, as reasonably achievable. For an individual APS radiation worker, the goal is to keep the maximum occupational total effective dose equivalent of any one employee as far below 2 mSv/yr as reasonably achievable. The ALARA goal for APS beamline scientists is to keep the total of the work-related radiation exposure (exposure coming from other than natural or medical sources) as far below 1 person mSv/yr (100 person-mrem/yr), collective total effective dose equivalent, as reasonably achievable. For an individual APS beamline scientist, the goal is to keep the maximum occupational total effective dose equivalent of any one scientist as far below 0.5 mSv/yr (50 mrem/yr) as reasonably achievable. The dose is actively monitored by the radiation monitors on the storage ring wall in each sector and by the frequent area surveys performed by the health physics personnel. For cases in which surveys indicate elevated hourly dose rates that may impact worker exposure, additional local shielding is provided to reduce the radiation field to an acceptable level. Passive area monitors are used throughout the facility to integrate doses in various areas. The results are analyzed for trends of increased doses, and shielding in these areas is evaluated and improved, as appropriate. The APS policy for on-site nonradiation workers in the vicinity of the APS facilities requires that the average nonradiation worker dose be below 0.2 mSv/yr (20 mrem/yr). In addition, the dose at the site boundary from all pathways is required to be below 0.1 mSv/yr (10 mrem/yr). For future modifications of the facility, the doses shall be evaluated and additional shielding provided to meet the policy requirements.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Drought-tolerant Biofuel Crops could be a Critical Hedge for Biorefineries

Numerous researchers and policymakers have raised concerns over the adverse effects that growing bioenergy crops on prime agricultural land has on food prices, carbon balances, water demand and environmental health. Biofuel policies such as the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the second US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) already regulate biofuels for carbon emissions that occur due to indirect land use change. Biofuel producers can address these concerns and sidestep steep penalties for indirect land use change if they grow biofuel crops on land that has little or no economic value. The focus of most biofuel research over the last decade has been the development of biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks. It has been argued that deriving biofuels from non-food biomass, like switchgrass, and growing the crop on low value land would minimize competition with food production. Moreover, using non-irrigated rain-fed feedstocks can substantially reduce the lifecycle footprint of cellulosic biofuels. This has motivated scientists to study if biofuel crops can be genetically engineered to thrive on low-value, marginal lands. One example is the development of switchgrass genomics designed to enhance productivity. For a biofuel business, investing in the development of a product in expectation of a specific policy regime (i.e. the regulation of land use in fuel policy) is fraught with risk. While we believe that all fuel policies worldwide should reward biofuel crops grown on land that has little or no potential for growing food crops, there is good reason to believe that such globally coordinated policy on the subject of land use is unlikely. Hence, in this article, we assess the economic benefits of drought-tolerant switchgrass that may accrue to biofuel businesses independent of any incentives for the use of marginal land. The frequency of extreme weather and drought has increased in the U.S. over the last decade. While some researchers estimate that droughts are decreasing in severity and duration, most climate scientists report that advancing climate change is expected to worsen droughts throughout the U.S., especially in the Midwest, which is the nation’s largest producer of food crops. Scientists are increasingly convinced that climate change is leading to warmer extremes including severity of precipitation extremes. In the more likely scenario of worsening drought, we find that drought-tolerance of the cellulosic crop is critical for the biofuel industry to remain competitive, irrespective of whether the crop is grown on marginal or prime agricultural land. In other words, we find that over the lifetime of a typical biorefinery, there could be one or more years when a crop is likely to be severely diminished due to drought conditions, thereby driving cellulosic ethanol prices substantially higher than would otherwise be the case.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Analyzing task-based user study data to determine colormap efficiency

Domain scientists need colormaps to visualize their data and are especially useful for identifying areas of interest, like in ocean data to identify eddies or characterize currents. However, traditional Rainbow colormap performs poorly for understanding details, because of the small perceptual range. In order to assist domain scientists in recognizing and identifying important details in their data, different colormaps need to be applied to allow higher perceptual definition. Visual artist Francesca Samsel used her understanding of color theory to create new colormaps to improve perception. While domain scientists find the new colormaps to be useful, we implemented a rigorous and quantitative study to determine whether or not the new colormaps have perceptually more colors. Color count data from one of these studies will be analyzed in depth in order to determine whether or not the new colormaps have more perceivable colors and what affects the number of perceivable colors.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2014

Continuation and Enhancement of the MPOWIR Program

MPOWIR is a community-based program that provides mentoring to physical oceanographers from late graduate school through early careers. The overall goal of MPOWIR is to make mentoring opportunities for junior physical oceanographers universally available and of higher quality by expanding the reach of mentoring opportunities beyond individual home institutions. The aim is to reduce the barriers to career development for all junior scientists in the field, with a particular focus on improving the retention of junior women. Over the past five years MPOWIR has expanded significantly. This funding cycle saw the development and enhancement of MPOWIR’s programs and outreach opportunities. MPOWIR’s main programmatic offerings are: mentor groups, a biannual conference, a website and blog, and town hall meetings at national events. Since 2009, MPOWIR has hosted 15 mentor groups, three Pattullo conferences, and created a website that has attracted over 50,000 visitors. MPOWIR’s mentoring groups and Pattullo conferences have reached more than 130 unique participants. Mentor Groups Mentor groups were established in the fall of 2008, and continue to gain momentum after 5 years. Since 2009, 11 groups have formed, with participants mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from Pattullo attendees. To gauge the impact of mentor groups, participants are surveyed approximately annually. Based on an extensive 2011 survey, 100% of mentoring group participants reported that they made progress on their stated scientific, professional, and personal goals. As part of these surveys, participants are asked what they value about their mentoring group, what the benefit of the mentoring group is to their current position, and they are asked questions about the logistics and setup of the groups. Based on the survey conducted in 2012, all participants rated participation in these groups a valuable experience, with particular value placed on feedback on professional development (100% Excellent to Good) and feedback on personal matters (92% Excellent to Good). Pattullo Conferences The centerpiece of the MPOWIR program is the Pattullo Conference, named for June Pattullo, the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in physical oceanography. At each event, the agenda includes research talks, professional development sessions, small group activities, and a question-and-answer session about early-career and retention issues posed by junior scientists to senior researchers. Pattullo Conference participants are surveyed after each conference about their experience. This survey asks participants to rate their opinion on specific topics and invites comments. Combining results from three conferences, 99% of junior participants would recommend the conference to another junior scientist. Of the junior participants, 92% rated the conference as “extremely valuable” overall, with a particular value placed on networking and professional development opportunities. Overall Impact To gain a better perspective on the success of MPOWIR to date, early participants were surveyed in 2013 about their current position, and the impact of MPOWIR on their career path. Individuals were asked to rank the extent to which MPOWIR had impacted various aspects of their professional growth. These aspects included efforts to obtain their current position; exposure to professional development skills; broadening of their professional network; mentoring on work and family balance; performance in current position; and raising awareness of mentoring in career development. Participants overwhelming indicated that MPOWIR had positively impacted all of these aspects. In particular, 95% of respondents expressed that MPOWIR exposed them to useful professional development skills “to a great extent” and 89% consider MPOWIR to have positively impacted their professional network “to a great extent”. Of those surveyed, the majority of participants were 2 years from their Ph.D. at the time of initial involvement. Their current job positions are well distributed over all post-Ph.D. categories: the greatest percentages of positions held are at research institutions (non-academic) or government agencies (29.3%), followed closely by non-faculty research positions at universities (27.6%) and faculty at research universities (22.4%). The remaining positions held (4-year college faculty, profit or not-for-profit company, policy, and graduate students) collectively total 19%. These initial indications point toward mentoring, as offered by MPOWIR, as an effective means for improving retention of women in physical oceanography.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Soil Water and Temperature System (SWATS) Instrument Handbook

The soil water and temperature system (SWATS) provides vertical profiles of soil temperature, soil-water potential, and soil moisture as a function of depth below the ground surface at hourly intervals. The temperature profiles are measured directly by in situ sensors at the Central Facility and many of the extended facilities of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The soil-water potential and soil moisture profiles are derived from measurements of soil temperature rise in response to small inputs of heat. Atmospheric scientists use the data in climate models to determine boundary conditions and to estimate the surface energy flux. The data are also useful to hydrologists, soil scientists, and agricultural scientists for determining the state of the soil.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Workshop on Advancing Experimental Rock Deformation Research: Scientific and Technical Needs

A workshop for the experimental rock deformation community was held in Boston on August 16-19, 2012, following some similar but smaller preliminary meetings. It was sponsored primarily by the NSF, with additional support from the DOE, the SCEC, and in-kind support by the USGS. A white paper summarizing the active discussions at the workshop and the outcomes is available (https://brownbox.brown.edu/download.php?hash=0b854d11). Those attending included practitioners of experimental rock deformation, i.e., those who conduct laboratory experiments, as well as users of the data provided by practitioners, namely field geologists, seismologists, geodynamicists, earthquake modelers, and scientists from the oil and gas industry. A considerable fraction of those attending were early-career scientists. The discussion initially focused on identifying the most important unsolved scientific problems in all of the research areas represented by the users that experiments would help solve. This initial session was followed by wide-ranging discussions of the most critical problems faced by practitioners, particularly by early-career scientists. The discussion also focused on the need for designing and building the next generation of experimental rock deformation equipment required to meet the identified scientific challenges. The workshop participants concluded that creation of an experimental rock deformation community organization is needed to address many of the scientific, technical, and demographic problems faced by this community. A decision was made to hold an organizational meeting of this new organization in San Francisco on December 1-2, 2012, just prior to the Fall Meeting of the AGU. The community has decided to name this new organization “Deformation Experimentation at the Frontier Of Rock and Mineral research” or DEFORM. As of May 1, 2013, 64 institutions have asked to be members of DEFORM.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Summary of Adsorption Capacity and Adsorption Kinetics of Uranium and Other Elements on Amidoxime-based Adsorbents from Time Series Marine Testing at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been conducting marine testing of uranium adsorbent materials for the Fuel Resources Program, Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) beginning in FY 2012. The marine testing program is being conducted at PNNL’s Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL), located at Sequim Bay, along the coast of Washington. One of the main efforts of the marine testing program is the determination of adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics for uranium and selected other elements (e.g. vanadium, iron, copper, nickel, and zinc) for adsorbent materials provided primarily by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), but also includes other Fuel Resources Program participants. This report summarizes the major marine testing results that have been obtained to date using time series sampling for 42 to 56 days using either flow-through column or recirculating flume exposures. The major results are highlighted in this report, and the full data sets are appended as a series of Excel spreadsheet files. Over the four year period (2012-2016) that marine testing of amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbents was conducted at PNNL’s Marine Science Laboratory, there has been a steady progression of improvement in the 56-day adsorbent capacity from 3.30 g U/kg adsorbent for the ORNL 38H adsorbent to the current best performing adsorbent prepared by a collaboration between the University of Tennessee and ORNL to produce the adsorbent SB12-8, which has an adsorption capacity of 6.56 g U/kg adsorbent. This nearly doubling of the adsorption capacity in four years is a significant advancement in amidoxime-based adsorbent technology and a significant achievement for the Uranium from Seawater program. The achievements are evident when compared to the several decades of work conducted by the Japanese scientists beginning in the 1980’s (Kim et al., 2013). The best adsorbent capacity reported by the Japanese scientists was 3.2 g U/kg adsorbent for a 180 day deployment at temperatures between 15 and 25 °C (Kim et al., 2013) The majority of the capacities the Japanese scientists reported were less than 2 g U/kg adsorbent (Kim et al., 2013). Repeated time series measurements of a common formulation of amidoxime-based adsorbent, the ORNL AF series, by both flow-through column (3.91 ± 0.11 g U/kg adsorbent). and recirculating flume exposures (4.03 ± 0.12 g U/kg adsorbent) produced 56-day adsorption capacities that agreed extremely well. This excellent agreement generates confidence that the testing procedures are accurate and reliable, and, moreover, that the technology to produce the adsorbents is highly reliable and reproducible, lending additional confidence of the robustness and homogeneity of the production technology.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Soil Temperature and Moisture Profile (STAMP) System Handbook

The soil temperature and moisture profile system (STAMP) provides vertical profiles of soil temperature, soil water content (soil-type specific and loam type), plant water availability, soil conductivity, and real dielectric permittivity as a function of depth below the ground surface at half-hourly intervals, and precipitation at one-minute intervals. The profiles are measured directly by in situ probes at all extended facilities of the SGP climate research site. The profiles are derived from measurements of soil energy conductivity. Atmospheric scientists use the data in climate models to determine boundary conditions and to estimate the surface energy flux. The data are also useful to hydrologists, soil scientists, and agricultural scientists for determining the state of the soil. The STAMP system replaced the SWATS system in early 2016.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience (SuPER)

The University of Tennessee (UTK) and University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) partnership supported the three main thrusts of the SUPER project---performance, energy, and resilience. The UTK-UTEP effort thus helped advance the main goal of SUPER, which was to ensure that DOE's computational scientists can successfully exploit the emerging generation of high performance computing (HPC) systems. This goal is being met by providing application scientists with strategies and tools to productively maximize performance, conserve energy, and attain resilience. The primary vehicle through which UTK provided performance measurement support to SUPER and the larger HPC community is the Performance Application Programming Interface (PAPI). PAPI is an ongoing project that provides a consistent interface and methodology for collecting hardware performance information from various hardware and software components, including most major CPUs, GPUs and accelerators, interconnects, I/O systems, and power interfaces, as well as virtual cloud environments. The PAPI software is widely used for performance modeling of scientific and engineering applications---for example, the HOMME (High Order Methods Modeling Environment) climate code, and the GAMESS and NWChem computational chemistry codes---on DOE supercomputers. PAPI is widely deployed as middleware for use by higher-level profiling, tracing, and sampling tools (e.g., CrayPat, HPCToolkit, Scalasca, Score-P, TAU, Vampir, PerfExpert), making it the de facto standard for hardware counter analysis. PAPI has established itself as fundamental software infrastructure in every application domain (spanning academia, government, and industry), where improving performance can be mission critical. Ultimately, as more application scientists migrate their applications to HPC platforms, they will benefit from the extended capabilities this grant brought to PAPI to analyze and optimize performance in these environments, whether they use PAPI directly, or via third-party performance tools. Capabilities added to PAPI through this grant include support for new architectures such as the lastest GPU and Xeon Phi accelerators, and advanced power measurement and management features. Another important topic for the UTK team was providing support for a rich ecosystem of different fault management strategies in the context of parallel computing. Our long term efforts have been oriented toward proposing flexible strategies and providing building boxes that application developers can use to build the most efficient fault management technique for their application. These efforts span across the entire software spectrum, from theoretical models of existing strategies to easily assess their performance, to algorithmic modifications to take advantage of specific mathematical properties for data redundancy and to extensions to widely used programming paradigms to empower the application developers to deal with all types of faults. We have also continued our tight collaborations with users to help them adopt these technologies to ensure their application always deliver meaningful scientific data. Large supercomputer systems are becoming more and more power and energy constrained, and future systems and applications running on them will need to be optimized to run under power caps and/or minimize energy consumption. The UTEP team contributed to the SUPER energy thrust by developing power modeling methodologies and investigating power management strategies. Scalability modeling results showed that some applications can scale better with respect to an increasing power budget than with respect to only the number of processors. Power management, in particular shifting power to processors on the critical path of an application execution, can reduce perturbation due to system noise and other sources of runtime variability, which are growing problems on large-scale power-constrained computer systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Well Integrity for Natural Gas Storage in Depleted Reservoirs and Aquifers

Introduction Motivation The 2015-2016 Aliso Canyon/Porter Ranch natural gas well blowout emitted approximately 100,000 tonnes of natural gas (mostly methane, CH 4 ) over four months. The blowout impacted thousands of nearby residents, who were displaced from their homes. The high visibility of the event has led to increased scrutiny of the safety of natural gas storage at the Aliso Canyon facility, as well as broader concern for natural gas storage integrity throughout the country. Federal Review of Well Integrity In April of 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), announced the formation of a new Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety. The Task Force enlisted a group of scientists and engineers at the DOE National Laboratories to review the state of well integrity in natural gas storage in the U.S. The overarching objective of the review is to gather, analyze, catalogue, and disseminate information and findings that can lead to improved natural gas storage safety and security and thus reduce the risk of future events. The “Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘PIPES Act of 2016,’’which was signed into law on June 22, 2016, created an Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Task Force led by the Secretary of Energy and consisting of representatives from the DOT, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Department of Commerce and the Department of Interior. The Task Force was asked to perform an analysis of the Aliso Canyon event and make recommendations on preventing similar incidents in the future. The PIPES Act also required that DOT/PHMSA promulgate minimum safety standards for underground storage that would take effect within two years. Background on the DOE National Laboratories Well Integrity Work Group One of the primary areas that the Task Force is studying is integrity of natural gas wells at storage facilities. The DOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE) took the lead in this area and asked scientists and engineers from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)) to form a Work Group to address this area. This Work Group is an expansion of the original “Lab Team” comprising scientists and engineers from SNL, LLNL, and LBNL which was formed to support the State of California’s response to the Aliso Canyon incident and operated under the Governor of California’s Aliso Canyon Emergency Order (1/6/2016). The Lab Team played a key role in advising the State of California’s Department of Conservation (DOC) in its oversight of SoCalGas during and after the incident.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Center for Theoretical Underground Physics and Related Areas – CETUP*2016 Summer Program

For last six years Center for Theoretical Underground Physics and Related Areas (CETUP*) successfully provided a stimulating environment for creative thinking and open communication between researches of varying ages and nationalities in dynamic atmosphere of intense scientific interactions. Ongoing and proposed Neutrino and Dark Matter experiments are expected to unveil the answers to fundamental questions about the Universe. CETUP*2016 was focused exactly on these subjects bringing together experts in dark matter, neutrino physics, particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology from around the world. Scientists invited to participate in the program not only provided theoretical support to the underground science, but they also examined core questions including: What is the nature of dark matter?, What is the origin of the neutrino masses?, How well do we know the neutrino parameters?, How have neutrinos shaped the evolution of the universe?, , What are the fundamental underlying symmetries of the Universe? Is there a Grand Unified Theory of the Universe? and many others. The 2016 CETUP* summer program consisted of three sessions (June 6 – July 16, 2016) covering various aspects of theoretical and experimental neutrino physics, unification and dark matter. The two week long session on Physics and Instrumentation of the Near Detector for the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiments (June 6 – June 16) was followed by the two week long Neutrino Physics/Unification session: “From Grand Unification to String Theory and Back” (June 20 – July 2). The program ended with two week long session on Dark Matter Physics (July 4 – July 16). This six-week long program allowed for thorough discussions and an effective and comprehensive analysis of topics related to Dark Matter, Dark Energy, Neutrino Physics including astrophysical neutrinos, near and far detector physics, neutrino interactions, Higgs Boson, Inflation, Leptogenesis and many others that will advance the knowledge in particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The scientific program usually consisted of 2-3 hour-long talks on selected subjects in dark matter and neutrino physics from both theoretical and experimental perspective and followed by extended in depth discussions. The format of the program accommodated separate discussion sessions where the outstanding issues of the disciplines were explored, for example: The Future of Large Physics Projects in the US, and the Role of Theory in the Future of US Physics. 2016 CETUP* summer program was attended by over 70 national and international scientists (including 17 graduate students, 16 postdocs and 39 senior scientists) from over 48 different universities and laboratories. CETUP* participants were very active senior and junior members of the community in order to make the discussions informative and productive. CETUP* 2016 provided a stimulating venue for the exchange of scientific ideas among experts in dark matter, neutrino physics, particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology. During Dark Matter session thirty-seven scientific talks and extended discussions were presented. Twenty-nine talks and discussions were conducted during the Neutrino Physics sessions by international Neutrino Physics experts. The power point presentations for the talks and discussions can be found on the CETUP* website: http://research.dsu.edu/cetup/agenda.aspx. Based on the collaborations established during CETUP* already ten preprints were published and many more are in preparation: https://research.dsu.edu/cetup/preprints.aspx?cetupYear=2016. The proceedings from CETUP*2016 are in preparation to be published by American Institute of Physics in summer 2017. Multiple outreach efforts aimed to share the excitement of the research with K-12, teachers, undergraduate and graduate students as well as the general public.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience (SUPER): University of Utah Final Report

Over the course of this project, computational scientists working on behalf of the Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE SC) were exploiting a new generation of petascale computing resources to make previously inaccessible discoveries in a broad range of disciplines including physics, chemistry and material science. The computational systems underpinning this work increased in performance potential from tens to hundreds of Pflop/s, and evolved significantly from those in use at the beginning of the project in terms of available concurrency; wider use of accelerators such as graphics processing units(GPUs); and changes to the memory hierarchy including the incorporation of a new generation of persistent devices (e.g., phase change memory). To ensure that DOE's computational scientists can successfully exploit this emerging generation of high performance computing (HPC) systems, the University of Southern California (USC) assembled a broad team of computer scientists with the expertise to address the most pressing challenges of DOE's computing systems: (a) end-to-end performance optimization, including single-node performance, interprocessor communication, load balancing and I/O; (b) performance portability for heterogeneous systems, including accelerators; (c) minimizing energy consumption; (d) resilient computation; and, (e) exploiting new memory technology.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Building Virtual Ecosystems: Computational Challenges for Mechanistic Modeling of Terrestrial Environments Workshop, Germantown, Maryland, March 26–27, 2014

The mission of the Climate and Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science is “to advance a robust, predictive understanding of Earth’s climate and environmental systems and to inform the development of sustainable solutions to the nation’s energy and environmental challenges.” This formidable challenge requires quantification of stocks and controls on states, fluxes, and residence times of water, carbon, and other key elements through all components of the terrestrial system. These components include vegetation, soils, the deep vadose zone, groundwater, and surface water. To achieve this level of predictive understanding, a new generation of multiscale, multiphysics models is needed for terrestrial systems—models that incorporate process couplings and feedbacks between various “pools” (i.e., vegetation, soils, subsurface aquifers, and surface waters) across wide ranges of spatial and temporal scales. To explore the potential of a new generation of multiscale, multiphysics models for revolutionizing the understanding of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics, BER held the Computational Challenges for Mechanistic Modeling of Terrestrial Environments workshop on March 26–27, 2014, in Germantown, Maryland. The workshop brought together 29 researchers with diverse expertise, including hydrologists, environmental scientists, ecologists, microbiologists, plant scientists, and computational scientists. Through a combination of invited talks, breakout sessions, and report-back discussions, workshop attendees identified challenges and research opportunities needed to develop a more seamless and continuous framework for mechanistic modeling of terrestrial environments extending from the bedrock to the atmospheric boundary layer and from single-plant systems to fields of crops to watersheds and river basins.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) Translational Program in Nuclear Medicine (Final Report)

The Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) Translational Program in Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging This project established the Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) translational program, focused on the acceleration of new clinical molecular imaging methods. Molecular imaging approaches to imaging are a very flexible and powerful development, with many recent examples advancing the diagnosis and guiding the management of human disease. These methods depend on the design, synthesis and testing of new radiotracers (molecules designed to target specific cells or tissues in the body), labeled with short-lived radioactive atoms (positron emitters). The new radiotracers are imaged in the human body using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The University of Michigan PET Center has considerable experience in the discovery, development, refinement and initial human applications of new PET radiotracers. An emerging impediment to efficient availability of new PET radiotracers, however, involves the regulatory environment at multiple levels. Many potentially successful ideas are delayed or even prevented from entering human use by these barriers. In the current grant, we provided hands-on experience for the next generation of young scientists working in molecular imaging so that they are equipped to effectively move new ideas and radiotracers from the research laboratory to the nuclear medicine clinic (bench-to-bedside). For new radiotracer development, oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and local institutional committees and reviews are required. These aspects of translation from laboratory to clinic are often omitted from the formal training of new scientists, but were provided to three trainees via direct mentorship in the MNTR program. The MNTR training program built on the translational successes of the University of Michigan Division of Nuclear Medicine and capitalized on our strengths (facilities, faculty, a wide-ranging selection of projects, and the experience and commitment to bring new radiotracers into human studies) to systematically train three fellows in radiochemistry and nuclear medicine. Integrated training in development, validation and clinical translation of new PET radiotracers occurred through practical involvement in multiple research projects, each at a different stage along the pathway from bench-to-bedside. Each trainee obtained experience of the entire process over about 2 years. Projects involved development of new radiotracers for neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer disease), movement disorders (e.g. Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy) and neurodevelopmental syndromes (e.g. Tourette syndrome) as well as new radiochemistry methods for synthesizing radiotracers. Each project was pursued in a close collaboration between the fellow trainee and both the clinical and basic science faculty at the University of Michigan PET Center, and provided an unprecedented opportunity for the highest-level training in academic radiochemistry and nuclear medicine research. The project has resulted in 17 peer-reviewed publications to date, and at least 4 more are in preparation. Additionally, 1 book chapter and 26 conference presentations have resulted from this grant. Upon completion of the MNTR Program, the trainees have emerged as translational scientists wielding the necessary skill-set (practical research experience, multidisciplinary training, regulatory know-how) to embark on successful careers in translational molecular imaging, bringing continued advances in the field to bear on important human disorders. As a metric of the Program’s success, one fellow has already secured employment in the field, while the other two are finishing writing papers; they wish to also stay in the radiochemistry and nuclear medicine community, and are currently applying for jobs.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2018

Connecting AmeriFlux to the Globe, Extending the Partnership with Global Flux Network FLUXNET

We propose a project that will extend and expand the activities and contributions of AmeriFlux, to the global stage by working with our international partners to continue operating and expand the functioning of global FLUXNET database. One goal is to produce the next-generation FLUXNET dataset. This will be an integrated dataset on carbon, water and energy fluxes, on meteorological conditions and on the structure and function of the ecosystems; we have to potential to construct a new database, double the size of the La Thuile dataset, with over 2000 site-years of trace gas flux measurements, and supporting meteorological and site meta-data from over 400 sites world-wide. The production of the next FLUXNET database is critical to the activities of this ROSE’s solicitation because these data will drive many of the carbon cycle synthesis activities and the model parameterization and validation activities. A second goal is to build the next-generation, data-system that will house, distribute and query data and discover new information by the broader biogeoscience user community. The third goal is to use these data in synthesis activities that improve our understanding on how climate, weather, ecological, physiological and soil factors govern the exchange of carbon, water and energy between vegetation and the atmosphere at multiple time and space scales. The fourth goal is to act as a coordinator of the project to recruit data, to organize a workshop/conference and to build a community of data sharing and interaction across vast cultural spectrum of participating scientists. The rationale for proposing this work is based on the fact that the vast databases that are produced by flux networks cannot perpetuate and evolve without continued support of the intellectual activities of scientists who produce data, expert in databases, and scientists who use data for modeling. The actuality of a flux network takes human intervention to recruit data from different countries and cultures, to build trust to share data in open-access format, to support data users, and to collaborate. Specifically, we will develop an updated data portal that is easy to navigate and conducive for distributing, visualization, evaluation and discovery of the multiple types of flux and environmental data and information. We will foster collaboration and interactions with our national and international partners and the recruitment of data by: 1) continuing the periodic publication of the newsletter, FLUXLETTER; 2) by hosting an international conference; 3) by coordinating and launching multi-investigator data synthesis activities; and 4) by developing tools that coordinate the development of research papers resulting from the dataset. Data products include raw and gap-filled data at their native time steps (30 minute averages), data products that are integrated on daily and annual time scales and value added products like ecosystem respiration and canopy photosynthesis. Uncertainty analysis and quality control metrics will be produced in coordination with AmeriFlux and ICOS. We will also work with colleagues to expand the scope of FLUXNET beyond carbon dioxide and water vapor, and start archiving the growing methane flux databases that are being collected, world-wide. The interpretation of the flux data relies on good meta-data. We will work with data providers to populate and expand the meta-data archives. We will also work with collaborators to incorporate data from remote sensing products such as MODIS and Landsat, from corresponding climate and weather stations. Another goal is to incorporate new data on canopy structure, with recent LIDAR acquisitions, to populate the data archive with automated soil respiration and understory flux measurements, where available and local climate records for corresponding sites. And, we will collaborate with the TRY database, by merging flux data with plant trait information.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Scalable Data Management, Analysis, and Visualization (SDAV) Institute

The purpose of the SDAV institute is to provide tools and expertise in scientific data management, analysis, and visualization to DOE’s application scientists. Our goal is to actively work with application teams to assist them in achieving breakthrough science, and to provide technical solutions in the data management, analysis, and visualization regimes that are broadly used by the computational science community. Over the last 5 years members of our institute worked directly with application scientists and DOE leadership-class facilities to assist them by applying the best tools and technologies at our disposal. We also enhanced our tools based on input from scientists on their needs.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for Georgia

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessments (PSHA) form the basis for most contemporary seismic provisions in building codes around the world. The current building code of Georgia (2009) is not fully compatible with seismic hazard and design concepts of modern codes. The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia is currently undertaking an update to the building code to align it with EuroCode. In conjunction with EuroCode, a National Annex specific to Georgia is needed, including seismic hazard values for the territory of Georgia. A comprehensive earthquake catalogue is fundamental to a robust PSHA in the region. The Caucasus has had an uneven seismic recording and reporting history both temporally and spatially. Therefore, there has been a strong regional effort to bring together data from all the countries in the Caucasus, to digitize and standardize paper-based data from the Soviet era, and to re-examine magnitude and location calculations. The earthquake catalogue resulting from this effort forms the basis for a reliable seismic hazard assessment. Recognizing these needs, the U.S. Department of Energy through Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) initiated a project in 2015 to engage and train local scientists in the Caucasus to install new equipment, to enhance the quality of seismic monitoring and reporting, and to improve and harmonize the regional earthquake catalogue. In 2016, the project scope was expanded to include the modernization of seismic hazard assessments. To this end, a series of workshops were held in Georgia, the first one of which presented an overview of PSHA and its components to various participants from the universities and other research organizations in the region. This kick-off workshop was followed by numerous hands-on training workshops in 2017 and 2018, covering all aspects of PSHA. In addition to their training goals, the workshops brought together existing and new information relevant to PSHA studies in the region, providing a platform for local scientists/engineers and experts from other parts of the world to interact, cooperate and discuss various pieces of the PSHA input. This report outlines the aspects of the earthquake catalogue development and PSHA project that were specifically undertaken to form the basis for the building code update in Georgia. Georgia straddles the Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus Fold and Thrust belts, where the convergent tectonic setting generates significant earthquake activity. To the east of the country, evidence indicates the possibility of a remnant subducting slab that causes earthquakes deeper than 40km. This study systematically compiles and improves all available data on local seismicity, active faults, and ground motion attenuation characteristics of the region; and builds a framework to enable a contemporary PSHA to be carried out with the engagement of local scientists. To this end, six regional workshops were organized in total over a three-year period of time, with participation from the United States, Canada and Hungary as well as countries in the Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. The workshops served multiple purposes such as training, data collection, interactions between local earth scientists and engineers, and brainstorming and knowledge exchange among local and international experts.

Geosciences↗