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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
NASA NTRS2006

LDCM Grid Prototype (LGP)

The LGP successfully demonstrated that grid technology could be used to create a collaboration among research scientists, their science development machines, and distributed data to create a science production system in a nationally distributed environment. Grid technology provides a low cost and effective method of enabling production of science products by the science community. To demonstrate this, the LGP partnered with NASA GSFC scientists and used their existing science algorithms to generate virtual Landsat-like data products using distributed data resources. LGP created 48 output composite scenes with 4 input scenes each for a total of 192 scienes processed in parallel. The demonstration took 12 hours, which beat the requirement by almost 50 percent, well within the LDCM requirement to process 250 scenes per day. The LGP project also showed the successful use of workflow tools to automate the processing. Investing in this technology has led to funding for a ROSES ACCESS proposal. The proposal intends to enable an expert science user to produce products from a number of similar distributed instrument data sets using the Land Cover Change Community-based Processing and Analysis System (LC-ComPS) Toolbox. The LC-ComPS Toolbox is a collection of science algorithms that enable the generation of data with ground resolution on the order of Landsat-class instruments.

Weinstein, Beth↗
DOE OSTI2017

Science on a Sphere

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration developed Science on a Sphere to help explain Earth system science to people of all ages. Animated images, ranging from space to ocean temperatures and more, can be seen on this interactive sphere.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Nurturing transformative U.S. energy research: Two guiding principles [Nurturing U.S. energy research: Two guiding principles]

Energy research is critical to continuing advances in human productivity and welfare. In this Commentary, we raise for debate and discussion what in our view is a growing mis-control and mis-protection of U.S. energy research. This flawed approach originates in natural human tendencies exacerbated by an historical misunderstanding of research and development, science and technology, and the relationships between them. We outline the origin of the mis-control and mis-protection, and propose two guiding principles to mitigate them and instead nurture research: (i) focus on people, not projects; and (ii) culturally insulate research from development, but not science from technology. As a result, our hope is to introduce these principles into the discourse now, so they can help guide policy changes in U.S. energy research and development that are currently being driven by powerful geopolitical winds.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Quantitative Parameter Estimation, Model Selection, and Variable Selection in Battery Science

Numerical physics-based models are useful in understanding battery performance and devel- oping optimal battery design architectures. Data science developments have enabled software algorithms to perform data analysis and decision making that traditionally could only be per- formed by technical experts. Traditional workflows of model development - manual parameter estimation through visual comparison of simulations to experimental observations, and model discrimination through expert intuition - are time-consuming, and difficult to justify. This paper compares the conclusions derived from computationally scalable algorithms to conclu- sions developed by expert researchers. This paper illustrates how data science techniques, such as cross-validation and lasso regression, can be used to augment physics-based simulations to perform data analysis such as parameter estimation, model selection, variable selection, and model-guided design of experiment. The validation of these algorithms is that they produce results similar to those of the expert modeler. The algorithms outlined are well-established and the approaches are general, so can be applied to a variety of battery chemistries and architectures. The conclusions reached using these approaches are in agreement with expert analysis (literature results), were reached with minimal human intervention, and provide quantitative justification. By minimizing the amount of expert time, and providing rigorous quantitative justifications, these methods may accelerate battery development.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1995

Life Sciences Data Archive Scientific Development

The Life Sciences Data Archive will provide scientists, managers and the general public with access to biomedical data collected before, during and after spaceflight. These data are often irreplaceable and represent a major resource from the space program. For these data to be useful, however, they must be presented with enough supporting information, description and detail so that an interested scientist can understand how, when and why the data were collected. The goal of this contract was to provide a scientific consultant to the archival effort at the NASA-Johnson Space Center. This consultant (Jay C. Buckey, Jr., M.D.) is a scientist, who was a co-investigator on both the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 and Spacelab Life Sciences-2 flights. In addition he was an alternate payload specialist for the Spacelab Life Sciences-2 flight. In this role he trained on all the experiments on the flight and so was familiar with the protocols, hardware and goals of all the experiments on the flight. Many of these experiments were flown on both SLS-1 and SLS-2. This background was useful for the archive, since the first mission to be archived was Spacelab Life Sciences-1. Dr. Buckey worked directly with the archive effort to ensure that the parameters, scientific descriptions, protocols and data sets were accurate and useful.

Buckey, Jay C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2020

NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) Social Network and Community of Practice

The NASA Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) and Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) have been planned and funded by the NASA Earth Science Division. Both programs have a focus on engaging stakeholders and developing science useful for decision making. The resulting programs have funded significant scientific output and advancements in understanding how satellite remote sensing observations can be used to not just study how the Earth is changing, but also create data products that are of high utility to stakeholders and decisions makers. In this paper we focus on documenting thematic diversity of research themes and methods used, and how the CMS and ABoVE themes are related. We do this through developing a Correlated Topic Model on the 521 papers produced by the two programs and plotting the results in a network diagram. Through analysis of the themes in these papers, we document the relationships between researchers and institutions participating in CMS and ABoVE programs and the benefits from sustained engagement with stakeholders due to recurring funding. We note an absence of policy engagement in the papers and conclude that funded researchers need to be more ambitious and explicit in drawing the connection between their research and carbon policy implications in order to meet the stated goals of the CMS and ABoVE programs.

Molly E Brown↗
NASA NTRS1997

(abstract) Mars Balloon Trajectory Model for Mars Geoscience Aerobot Development

The Mars Geoscience Aerobot (MGA) is a proposed Mars aerobot (robotic aerovehicle) mission featuring advanced capabilities for surface imagimg and atmospheric science. Development of the MGA mission has been catalyzed by science objectives that include surface geology and atmospheric measurements. The MGA consists of a superpressure balloon that is reflective on top and white on the bottom to avoid condensation CO&sub2; frost during the night. The MGA also features a

balloons↗
NASA NTRS2015

A Model for Effective Professional Development of Formal Science Educators

The Lunar Workshops for Educators (LWE) series was developed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) education team in 2010 to provide professional development on lunar science and exploration concepts for grades 6-9 science teachers. Over 300 educators have been trained to date. The LWE model incorporates best practices from pedagogical research of science education, thoughtful integration of scientists and engineer subject matter experts for both content presentations and informal networking with educators, access to NASA-unique facilities, hands-on and data-rich activities aligned with education standards, exposure to the practice of science, tools for addressing common misconceptions, follow-up with participants, and extensive evaluation. Evaluation of the LWE model via pre- and post-assessments, daily workshop surveys, and follow-up surveys at 6-month and 1-year intervals indicate that the LWE are extremely effective in increasing educators' content knowledge, confidence in incorporating content into the classroom, understanding of the practice of science, and ability to address common student misconceptions. In order to address the efficacy of the LWE model for other science content areas, the Dynamic Response of Environments at Asteroids, the Moon, and moons of Mars (DREAM2) education team, funded by NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, developed and ran a pilot workshop called Dream2Explore at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in June, 2015. Dream2Explore utilized the LWE model, but incorporated content related to the science and exploration of asteroids and the moons of Mars. Evaluation results indicate that the LWE model was effectively used for educator professional development on non-lunar content. We will present more detail on the LWE model, evaluation results from the Dream2Explore pilot workshop, and suggestions for the application of the model with other science content for robust educator professional development.

Orbiter↗
NASA NTRS2016

Controlled Environments Enable Adaptive Management in Aquatic Ecosystems Under Altered Environments

Ecosystems worldwide are impacted by altered environment conditions resulting from climate, drought, and land use changes. Gaps in the science knowledge base regarding plant community response to these novel and rapid changes limit both science understanding and management of ecosystems. We describe how CE Technologies have enabled the rapid supply of gap-filling science, development of ecosystem simulation models, and remote sensing assessment tools to provide science-informed, adaptive management methods in the impacted aquatic ecosystem of the California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Delta is the hub for California's water, supplying Southern California agriculture and urban communities as well as the San Francisco Bay area. The changes in environmental conditions including temperature, light, and water quality and associated expansion of invasive aquatic plants negatively impact water distribution and ecology of the San Francisco Bay/Delta complex. CE technologies define changes in resource use efficiencies, photosynthetic productivity, evapotranspiration, phenology, reproductive strategies, and spectral reflectance modifications in native and invasive species in response to altered conditions. We will discuss how the CE technologies play an enabling role in filling knowledge gaps regarding plant response to altered environments, parameterization and validation of ecosystem models, development of satellite-based, remote sensing tools, and operational management strategies.

Remote Sensing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Updates in Developing a Prototype Science Pipeline and Full-Volume, Global Hyperspectral Synthetic Data Sets for NASA’s Earth System Observatory’s Upcoming Surface, Biology and Geology Mission

The Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission recently passed mission confirmation review and has entered phase A – design and development. SBG will acquire high resolution solar-reflected spectroscopy and thermal infrared observations at a data rate of ~2.5 TB/day and generate products at ~40 TB/day. Given that the per-day volume is greater than NASA’s total extant airborne hyperspectral data collection, collecting, processing, disseminating, and exploiting the SBG data present new challenges. To meet these challenges, we have developed a prototype science pipeline and a full-volume global hyperspectral synthetic data set to help prepare for SBG’s flight (see poster GC42D-0730). Our science pipeline is based on the science processing technology developed for NASA’s Kepler and TESS planet-hunting missions. The pipeline infrastructure, Ziggy, provides a scalable architecture for robust, repeatable, and replicable science and application products that can be run on a range of systems from a laptop to the cloud or a supercomputer. Ziggy is compliant with NASA Procedural Requirement (NPR) 7150.2C, is at a technical readiness level (TRL) of 7 and has been released to github.com/nasa/ziggy. We integrated Ziggy with EO-1/Hyperion workflows to build a prototype pipeline and ingested the 17-year mission archive that provides globally sampled visible through shortwave infrared spectra that are representative of SBG data types and volumes. We fully implemented the first stage and processed the entire 55 TB Hyperion data set from the raw data (Level 0) to top-of-the-atmosphere radiance (Level 1R). We are currently evaluating the ISOFIT atmospheric correction module to convert the L1R data to surface reflectance (Level 2) before reprocessing the full data set to L2. Crosschecks are being performed with RadCalNet as well as with coincident observations by AVIRIS. We are also investigating modern methods for georectifying the Hyperion scenes. Finally, we describe an analysis of the cost to conduct forward processing and reprocessing campaigns for SBG on HECC with dedicated compute and storage resources using the resurrected Hyperion pipeline as a proxy for full-volume SBG data. The analysis demonstrates that SBG L0 data can be processed to L2 on HECC with full reprocessing campaigns every two years for ~$2.6M over a 7-year lifespan. Moreover, 69% of the system capacity would be available for other activities, possibly enabling future open-source science activities, including algorithm development, L3+ processing, .etc.

ESD↗
DOE OSTI2022

Topical Group on Application and Industry Community Engagement Frontier Snowmass 2021 (Summary Report)

HEP community leads and operates cutting-edge experiments for the DOE Office of Science which have challenging sensing, data processing, and computing requirements that far surpass typical industrial applications. To make necessary progress in the energy, material, and fundamental sciences, development of novel technologies is often required to enable these advanced detector and accelerator programs. Our capabilities include efficient co-design, which is a prerequisite to enable the deployment of advanced techniques in a scientific setting where development spans from rapid prototyping to robust and reliable production scale. This applies across the design spectrum from the low level fabrication techniques to the high level software development. It underpins the requirement for a holistic approach of innovation that accelerates the cycle of technology development and deployment. The challenges set by the next generation of experiments requires a collaborative approach between academia, industry and national labs. Just a single stakeholder will be unable to deliver the technologies required for the success of the scientific goals. Tools and techniques developed for High Energy Physics (HEP) research can accelerate scientific discovery more broadly across DOE Office of Science and other federal initiatives and also benefit industry applications.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1980

The meaning of space science

The development of aerospace sciences through the first decade of NASA's existence was reviewed. Those scientific investigations made possible or significantly aided by rockets, satellites, and space probes are discussed along with the resulting space techniques that developed by way of those investigations.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2006

Ikhana: A NASA UAS Supporting Long Duration Earth Science Missions

NASA's Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a General Atomics MQ-9 Predator-B modified to support the conduct of Earth science missions for the NASA Science Mission Directorate through partnerships, other government agencies and universities. Ikhana, a Native American word meaning 'intelligence', can carry over 2000 lbs of atmospheric and remote sensing instruments in the payload bay and external pods. The aircraft is capable of mission durations in excess of 24 hours at altitudes above 40,000 ft. Redundant flight control, avionics, power, and network systems increase the system reliability and allow easier access to public airspace. The aircraft is remotely piloted from a mobile ground control station (GCS) using both C-band line-of-sight and Ku-band over-the-horizon satellite datalinks. NASA's GCS has been modified to support on-site science monitoring, or the downlink data can be networked to remote sites. All ground support systems are designed to be deployable to support global Eart science investigations. On-board support capabilities include an instrumentation system and an Airborne Research Test System (ARTS). The ARTS can host research algorithms that will autonomously command and control on-board sensors, perform sensor health monitoring, conduct data analysis, and request changes to the flight plan to maximize data collection. The ARTS also has the ability to host algorithms that will autonomously control the aircraft trajectory based on sensor needs, (e.g. precision trajectory for repeat pass interferometry) or to optimize mission objectives (e.g. search for specific atmospheric conditions). Standard on-board networks will collect science data for recording and for inclusion in the aircraft's high bandwidth downlink. The Ikhana project will complete GCS development, science support systems integration, external pod integration and flight clearance, and operations crew training in early 2007. A large-area remote sensing mission is currently scheduled for the Summer 2007.

Cobleigh, Brent R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Position, Navigation, and Timing: GPS Scientific Applications

This slide presentation reviews the development and deployment of the Global Positioning System (GPS). This presentation also includes measuring space and time, GPS as a tool for science, development of high precision JPL GPS receivers, and technology and applications developments.

geodesy↗
DOE OSTI2016

TH-C-204-00: Medical Physics Workshop: An Update On the Journal’s Improvement Activities and Guidance On Writing and Reviewing Papers

In this presentation, the Editors will outline our vision for the future of Medical Physics and review recent work-in-progress initiatives to implement this vision. Finally, we will close with guidance to authors on how to write a good Medical Physics paper. A major focus will be the transition to a new publisher in 2017 following a more than 40-year association with American Institute of Physics Publishing (AIPP). Vision for Medical Physics and status of current initiatives: Jeff Williamson, Editor-in-Chief The broad vision of Medical Physics is “to continue the Journal’s tradition of publishing the very best science that propels our discipline forward and improves our contribution to patient care.” More concretely, the Journal should be the preeminent forum for exchange of cutting edge medical physics science. We seek to identify the best contributions in (a) high impact clinical physics innovations; (b) clinical translation and validation of basic science innovations; and (c) cutting edge basic science developments with potential for patient care improvements. Among the challenges and opportunities, we face are: electronic-only and open access publishing; competition from new radiological science journals; trends towards more interactive, social-media based scientific communities; and diversification of the medical physics research, authorship, and readership domains, including clinical applications quite foreign to core ABR clinical competencies. Recently implemented and ongoing initiatives include: Revised Table of Contents (TOC) and more contemporary topical submission categories Structured review template in HTML format Comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy for identifying reviewer expertise Formal process for soliciting high quality and impact Review and Vision 20/20 Articles We have recruited four Review Article Co-editors: John Rowlands and Ingrid Reiser (imaging physics) and Joao Seco and Tim Zhu (therapy physics). The Co-Editors will identify timely topics and solicit high profile authors to submit review manuscripts. To submit an article, authors will need to work with an assigned Co-Editor to develop a mutually acceptable outline and abstract. 5) A new and exciting class of articles: Medical Physics Dataset Articles (MPDAs) MPDAs describe scientifically or clinically valuable open-access datasets with high potential for contributing to the research of medical physicists working on related problems. In contrast to Research Articles, MPDAs should not include hypothesis testing; or data analyses supporting generalizable conclusions. The publically accessible dataset must be permanently archived before the MPDA can be published. This initiative is being led by Joe Deasy. Update on new publisher transition: The transition of AAPM scientific publishing operations to a major publishing house is a major opportunity to expand Medical Physics readership and its scholarly impact. The advantages include: (a) common manuscript management and web hosting platforms for Medical Physics and its sister journal, JACMP; (b) greater than 4-fold expansion of subscribing institutions; and (c) resources to mount data-driven, highly targeted marketing campaigns to enhance citation and download rates. A transition update of this epochal development, which has only begun as of this writing (3/31/16), will be given. Improving manuscript quality via structured reviews, enhanced scientific category taxonomy, and outreach: Shiva Das, Therapy Physics Editor Medical Physics is committed to continuous improvement with the ultimate goal of improving the potential impact of accepted manuscripts. In order to do so, Medical Physics must be able to tap into important/emerging areas and be able to select high quality contributions consistently via discerning reviews. Improving the quality of reviews is crucial to selecting high quality manuscripts and also to improving manuscript impact via feedback in the review process. With this in mind, Medical Physics is in the process of: (a) fostering outreach to important areas that are currently underrepresented in Medical Physics; (b) implementing a structured template review form; and (c) implementing a comprehensive scientific category taxonomy to identify reviewers who are best suited to an article. Outreach efforts have begun to various scientific areas. Strategies to increase submissions from these areas will be discussed. As a consequence of this effort, a special issue on particle therapy is under development. A review template was implemented in late 2014 on a limited test basis. Based on reviewer feedback, the template was restructured and shortened to capture essential review elements. The restructured template is due to be released shortly. The new scientific category taxonomy is in the process of being deployed to reviewers and associate editors. Salient aspects of the structured review template and scientific category taxonomy will be discussed in this talk. Writing good scientific papers and responding to critiques: Mitch Goodsitt, Imaging Physics Editor The essential components of the abstract, introduction, methods, discussion and conclusion sections of manuscripts, as well as the desired writing style and style of the figures and tables will be reviewed. Publishable Medical Physics manuscripts must include clear and concise statements of the novelty and clinical and/or scientific importance of the authors’ work. Examples of novelty include: new technical solution to an important clinical problem; new generalizable knowledge; and first demonstration that an existing engineering solution solves a clinical problem. Please note that we encourage authors of recently published conference proceedings (e.g., SPIE, IEEE) papers on novel medical physics related work to submit more substantial versions of that work to our journal. All submissions must include: sufficient background information and rationale; enough detail for others to reproduce the authors’ work; sufficient statistical analysis to refute or validate the authors’ hypotheses; a description of how the present work compares to, is distinct from, and improves upon others’ work; and sections devoted to the limitations of the study and future directions. Writing should be polished. Poor wording, grammar and composition frustrate the review process. Our journal does not have copyeditors for revising manuscripts. When authors receive critiques from the referees and associate editor, the authors should provide a detailed point-by-point response to each comment. The authors’ rebuttal should include the text of the original criticism, the authors’ response, and a pasted copy of the modified text along with the line numbers in the revised article. The new text should be highlighted in a different font color in the revised submission. Following these recommendations will improve submissions and facilitate the review process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

TH-C-204-01: Vision for Medical Physics and Status of Current Initiatives

In this presentation, the Editors will outline our vision for the future of Medical Physics and review recent work-in-progress initiatives to implement this vision. Finally, we will close with guidance to authors on how to write a good Medical Physics paper. A major focus will be the transition to a new publisher in 2017 following a more than 40-year association with American Institute of Physics Publishing (AIPP). Vision for Medical Physics and status of current initiatives: Jeff Williamson, Editor-in-Chief The broad vision of Medical Physics is “to continue the Journal’s tradition of publishing the very best science that propels our discipline forward and improves our contribution to patient care.” More concretely, the Journal should be the preeminent forum for exchange of cutting edge medical physics science. We seek to identify the best contributions in (a) high impact clinical physics innovations; (b) clinical translation and validation of basic science innovations; and (c) cutting edge basic science developments with potential for patient care improvements. Among the challenges and opportunities, we face are: electronic-only and open access publishing; competition from new radiological science journals; trends towards more interactive, social-media based scientific communities; and diversification of the medical physics research, authorship, and readership domains, including clinical applications quite foreign to core ABR clinical competencies. Recently implemented and ongoing initiatives include: Revised Table of Contents (TOC) and more contemporary topical submission categories Structured review template in HTML format Comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy for identifying reviewer expertise Formal process for soliciting high quality and impact Review and Vision 20/20 Articles We have recruited four Review Article Co-editors: John Rowlands and Ingrid Reiser (imaging physics) and Joao Seco and Tim Zhu (therapy physics). The Co-Editors will identify timely topics and solicit high profile authors to submit review manuscripts. To submit an article, authors will need to work with an assigned Co-Editor to develop a mutually acceptable outline and abstract. 5) A new and exciting class of articles: Medical Physics Dataset Articles (MPDAs) MPDAs describe scientifically or clinically valuable open-access datasets with high potential for contributing to the research of medical physicists working on related problems. In contrast to Research Articles, MPDAs should not include hypothesis testing; or data analyses supporting generalizable conclusions. The publically accessible dataset must be permanently archived before the MPDA can be published. This initiative is being led by Joe Deasy. Update on new publisher transition: The transition of AAPM scientific publishing operations to a major publishing house is a major opportunity to expand Medical Physics readership and its scholarly impact. The advantages include: (a) common manuscript management and web hosting platforms for Medical Physics and its sister journal, JACMP; (b) greater than 4-fold expansion of subscribing institutions; and (c) resources to mount data-driven, highly targeted marketing campaigns to enhance citation and download rates. A transition update of this epochal development, which has only begun as of this writing (3/31/16), will be given. Improving manuscript quality via structured reviews, enhanced scientific category taxonomy, and outreach: Shiva Das, Therapy Physics Editor Medical Physics is committed to continuous improvement with the ultimate goal of improving the potential impact of accepted manuscripts. In order to do so, Medical Physics must be able to tap into important/emerging areas and be able to select high quality contributions consistently via discerning reviews. Improving the quality of reviews is crucial to selecting high quality manuscripts and also to improving manuscript impact via feedback in the review process. With this in mind, Medical Physics is in the process of: (a) fostering outreach to important areas that are currently underrepresented in Medical Physics; (b) implementing a structured template review form; and (c) implementing a comprehensive scientific category taxonomy to identify reviewers who are best suited to an article. Outreach efforts have begun to various scientific areas. Strategies to increase submissions from these areas will be discussed. As a consequence of this effort, a special issue on particle therapy is under development. A review template was implemented in late 2014 on a limited test basis. Based on reviewer feedback, the template was restructured and shortened to capture essential review elements. The restructured template is due to be released shortly. The new scientific category taxonomy is in the process of being deployed to reviewers and associate editors. Salient aspects of the structured review template and scientific category taxonomy will be discussed in this talk. Writing good scientific papers and responding to critiques: Mitch Goodsitt, Imaging Physics Editor The essential components of the abstract, introduction, methods, discussion and conclusion sections of manuscripts, as well as the desired writing style and style of the figures and tables will be reviewed. Publishable Medical Physics manuscripts must include clear and concise statements of the novelty and clinical and/or scientific importance of the authors’ work. Examples of novelty include: new technical solution to an important clinical problem; new generalizable knowledge; and first demonstration that an existing engineering solution solves a clinical problem. Please note that we encourage authors of recently published conference proceedings (e.g., SPIE, IEEE) papers on novel medical physics related work to submit more substantial versions of that work to our journal. All submissions must include: sufficient background information and rationale; enough detail for others to reproduce the authors’ work; sufficient statistical analysis to refute or validate the authors’ hypotheses; a description of how the present work compares to, is distinct from, and improves upon others’ work; and sections devoted to the limitations of the study and future directions. Writing should be polished. Poor wording, grammar and composition frustrate the review process. Our journal does not have copyeditors for revising manuscripts. When authors receive critiques from the referees and associate editor, the authors should provide a detailed point-by-point response to each comment. The authors’ rebuttal should include the text of the original criticism, the authors’ response, and a pasted copy of the modified text along with the line numbers in the revised article. The new text should be highlighted in a different font color in the revised submission. Following these recommendations will improve submissions and facilitate the review process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

TH-C-204-02: Improving Manuscript Quality Via Structured Reviews, Enhanced Scientific Category Taxonomy, and Outreach

In this presentation, the Editors will outline our vision for the future of Medical Physics and review recent work-in-progress initiatives to implement this vision. Finally, we will close with guidance to authors on how to write a good Medical Physics paper. A major focus will be the transition to a new publisher in 2017 following a more than 40-year association with American Institute of Physics Publishing (AIPP). Vision for Medical Physics and status of current initiatives: Jeff Williamson, Editor-in-Chief The broad vision of Medical Physics is “to continue the Journal’s tradition of publishing the very best science that propels our discipline forward and improves our contribution to patient care.” More concretely, the Journal should be the preeminent forum for exchange of cutting edge medical physics science. We seek to identify the best contributions in (a) high impact clinical physics innovations; (b) clinical translation and validation of basic science innovations; and (c) cutting edge basic science developments with potential for patient care improvements. Among the challenges and opportunities, we face are: electronic-only and open access publishing; competition from new radiological science journals; trends towards more interactive, social-media based scientific communities; and diversification of the medical physics research, authorship, and readership domains, including clinical applications quite foreign to core ABR clinical competencies. Recently implemented and ongoing initiatives include: Revised Table of Contents (TOC) and more contemporary topical submission categories Structured review template in HTML format Comprehensive hierarchical taxonomy for identifying reviewer expertise Formal process for soliciting high quality and impact Review and Vision 20/20 Articles We have recruited four Review Article Co-editors: John Rowlands and Ingrid Reiser (imaging physics) and Joao Seco and Tim Zhu (therapy physics). The Co-Editors will identify timely topics and solicit high profile authors to submit review manuscripts. To submit an article, authors will need to work with an assigned Co-Editor to develop a mutually acceptable outline and abstract. 5) A new and exciting class of articles: Medical Physics Dataset Articles (MPDAs) MPDAs describe scientifically or clinically valuable open-access datasets with high potential for contributing to the research of medical physicists working on related problems. In contrast to Research Articles, MPDAs should not include hypothesis testing; or data analyses supporting generalizable conclusions. The publically accessible dataset must be permanently archived before the MPDA can be published. This initiative is being led by Joe Deasy. Update on new publisher transition: The transition of AAPM scientific publishing operations to a major publishing house is a major opportunity to expand Medical Physics readership and its scholarly impact. The advantages include: (a) common manuscript management and web hosting platforms for Medical Physics and its sister journal, JACMP; (b) greater than 4-fold expansion of subscribing institutions; and (c) resources to mount data-driven, highly targeted marketing campaigns to enhance citation and download rates. A transition update of this epochal development, which has only begun as of this writing (3/31/16), will be given. Improving manuscript quality via structured reviews, enhanced scientific category taxonomy, and outreach: Shiva Das, Therapy Physics Editor Medical Physics is committed to continuous improvement with the ultimate goal of improving the potential impact of accepted manuscripts. In order to do so, Medical Physics must be able to tap into important/emerging areas and be able to select high quality contributions consistently via discerning reviews. Improving the quality of reviews is crucial to selecting high quality manuscripts and also to improving manuscript impact via feedback in the review process. With this in mind, Medical Physics is in the process of: (a) fostering outreach to important areas that are currently underrepresented in Medical Physics; (b) implementing a structured template review form; and (c) implementing a comprehensive scientific category taxonomy to identify reviewers who are best suited to an article. Outreach efforts have begun to various scientific areas. Strategies to increase submissions from these areas will be discussed. As a consequence of this effort, a special issue on particle therapy is under development. A review template was implemented in late 2014 on a limited test basis. Based on reviewer feedback, the template was restructured and shortened to capture essential review elements. The restructured template is due to be released shortly. The new scientific category taxonomy is in the process of being deployed to reviewers and associate editors. Salient aspects of the structured review template and scientific category taxonomy will be discussed in this talk. Writing good scientific papers and responding to critiques: Mitch Goodsitt, Imaging Physics Editor The essential components of the abstract, introduction, methods, discussion and conclusion sections of manuscripts, as well as the desired writing style and style of the figures and tables will be reviewed. Publishable Medical Physics manuscripts must include clear and concise statements of the novelty and clinical and/or scientific importance of the authors’ work. Examples of novelty include: new technical solution to an important clinical problem; new generalizable knowledge; and first demonstration that an existing engineering solution solves a clinical problem. Please note that we encourage authors of recently published conference proceedings (e.g., SPIE, IEEE) papers on novel medical physics related work to submit more substantial versions of that work to our journal. All submissions must include: sufficient background information and rationale; enough detail for others to reproduce the authors’ work; sufficient statistical analysis to refute or validate the authors’ hypotheses; a description of how the present work compares to, is distinct from, and improves upon others’ work; and sections devoted to the limitations of the study and future directions. Writing should be polished. Poor wording, grammar and composition frustrate the review process. Our journal does not have copyeditors for revising manuscripts. When authors receive critiques from the referees and associate editor, the authors should provide a detailed point-by-point response to each comment. The authors’ rebuttal should include the text of the original criticism, the authors’ response, and a pasted copy of the modified text along with the line numbers in the revised article. The new text should be highlighted in a different font color in the revised submission. Following these recommendations will improve submissions and facilitate the review process.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗