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Institute for Scientific and Educational Technology (ISET)-Education, Research and Training Programs in Engineering and Sciences

The 'Institute for Scientific and Educational Technology' has been established to provide a mechanism through which universities and other research organizations may cooperate with one another and with different government agencies and industrial organizations to further and promote research, education, and training programs in science, engineering, and related fields. This effort has been undertaken consistent with the national vision to 'promote excellence in America s educational system through enhancing and expanding scientific and technological competence.' The specific programs are directed in promoting and achieving excellence for individuals at all levels (elementary and secondary schools, undergraduate and graduate education, and postdoctoral and faculty research). The program is consistent with the existing activities of the Institute for Computational and Applied Mechanics (ICAM) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The efforts will be directed to embark on other research, education, and training activities in various fields of engineering, scientific, and educational technologies. The specific objectives of the present program may be outlined briefly as follows: 1) Cooperate in the various research, education, and technology programs of the Office of Education at LaRC. 2) Develop procedures for interactions between precollege, college, and graduate students, and between faculty and students at all levels. 3) Direct efforts to increase the participation by women and minorities in educational programs at all levels. 4) Enhance existing activities of ICAM and ASEE in education, research, and training of graduate students and faculty. 5) Invite distinguished scholars as appropriate and consistent with ISET goals to spend their summers and/or sabbaticals at NASA Langley andor ODU and interact with different researchers and graduate students. Perform research and administrative activities as needed to carry out the above mentioned activities. 6) The implementation of various activities of the ISET programs is carried out through cooperative efforts between Old Dominion University (ODU) and the Office of Education at LaRC. At present, major efforts are directed on the following ISET Programs: ICAM Programs, Academic Programs, Educational Research, Outreach Programs, Educational Technology and Cooperative Programs. These programs are described in the following sections.

Tiwari, S. N.↗

The Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL) 2002 Report

The NASA Nebraska Space Grant Consortium (NSGC) & EPSCoR programs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha are involved in a variety of innovative research activities. Such research is supported through the Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL) and collaborative seed funds. AERIAL is a comprehensive, multi-faceted, five year NASA EPSCoR initiative that contributes substantially to the strategic research and technology priorities of NASA while intensifying Nebraska s rapidly growing aeronautics research and development endeavors. AERIAL includes three major collaborative research teams (CRTs) whose nexus is a common focus in aeronautics research. Each CRT - Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS), Airborne Remote Sensing for Agricultural Research and Commercialization Applications (ARS), and Numerical Simulation of the Combustion of Fuel Droplets: Finite Rate Kinetics and Flame Zone Grid Adaptation (CEFD) -has a distinct research agenda. This program provides the template for funding of new and innovative research that emphasizes aerospace technology.

Bowen, Brent D.↗

NASA Microgravity Combustion Science Research Plans for the ISS

A peer-reviewed research program in Microgravity Combustion Science has been chartered by the Physical Sciences Research Division of the NASA Office of Biological and Physical Research. The scope of these investigations address both fundamental combustion phenomena and applied combustion research topics of interest to NASA. From this pool of research, flight investigations are selected which benefit from access to a microgravity environment. Fundamental research provides insights to develop accurate simulations of complex combustion processes and allows developers to improve the efficiency of combustion devices, to reduce the production of harmful emissions, and to reduce the incidence of accidental uncontrolled combustion (fires, explosions). Through its spacecraft fire safety program, applied research is conducted to decrease risks to humans living and working in space. The Microgravity Combustion Science program implements a structured flight research process utilizing the International Space Station (ISS) and two of its premier facilities- the Combustion Integrated Rack of the Fluids and Combustion Facility and the Microgravity Science Glovebox - to conduct space-based research investigations. This paper reviews the current plans for Microgravity Combustion Science research on the International Space Station from 2003 through 2012.

Sutliff, Thomas J.↗

Dissemination of information about the technologies of the Vision Research Lab through the World Wide Web

The Vision Research Lab at NASA John Glenn Research Center is headed by Dr. Rafat Ansari. Dr. Ansari and other researchers have developed technologies that primarily use laser and fiber optics to non-invasively detect different ailments and diseases of the eye. One of my goals as a LERCIP intern and ACCESS scholar for the 2004 summer is to inform other NASA employees, researchers and the general public about these technologies through the development of a website. The website incorporates the theme that the eye is a window to the body. Thus by investigating the processes of the eye, we can better understand and diagnosis different ailments and diseases. These ailments occur in not only earth bound humans, but astronauts as well as a result of exposure to elevated levels of radiation and microgravity conditions. Thus the technologies being developed at the Vision Research Lab are invaluable to humans on Earth in addition to those astronauts in space. One of my first goals was to research the technologies being developed at the lab. The first several days were spent immersing myself in the various articles, journals and reports about the theories behind Dynamic Light Scattering, Laser Doppler Flowmetry, Autofluoresence, Raman Spectroscopy, Polarimetry and Oximetry. Interviews with the other researchers proved invaluable to help understand these theories as well gain hands on experience with the devices being developed using these technologies. The rest of the Vision Research Team and I sat down and discussed how the overall website should be presented. Combining this information with the knowledge of the theories and applications of the hardware being developed, I worked out different ideas to present this information. I quickly learned Paint Shop Pro 8 and FrontPage 2002, as well as using online tutorials and other resources to help design an effective website. The Vision Research Lab website incorporates the anatomy and physiology of the eye, different diseases that affect the eye and the technologies being develop at the lab to help diagnosis these diseases. It also includes background information on Dr. Ansari as well as other researchers involved in the lab and it includes segments on patents, awards and achievements. There are links to help viewers navigate to internal and external websites to further investigate different ideas and hrther understand the implications of these technologies at being developed.

Dorais, Christopher M.↗

Five Years of NASA Research on ISS: A Continuing Saga

The first NASA experiments reached ISS in September 2000, a very modest beginning to what later became a more robust, diverse and overall highly successful research program, continuing essentially uninterrupted since March 2001. Along the way, several major challenges had to be overcome. First, there were delays in the initial construction of the station. Second, maintenance of the station exceeded earlier assumptions resulting in less crew time being available for research. Third, the lengthy interruption of Shuttle flights after the Columbia accident significantly, but temporarily, reduced the research traffic to and from ISS. And fourth, the Vision of Space Exploration as caused a refocusing of NASA's research efforts on ISS from a multi-disciplinary basic and applied science program to one dedicated to solving the critical questions to enable exploration missions. The principal factors that allowed these challenges to be overcome have been flexibility and cooperation. Flexibility on the part of the ISS Program to minimize impacts to research from delays and resource bottlenecks, flexibility on the part of researchers to adapt their research to changing environments, and flexibility to be able to use existing and planned facilities not only for their original basic science purpose but also for new applications. And cooperation not only between the ISS Program and the research community, but also among NASA and its International Partners to continually strive to optimize the research conducted aboard ISS. Once the challenges were overcome, the research program has been remarkably successful, with an expanding on-orbit capability. Over 80 investigations have been completed, many resulting in publications.

Uri, John J.↗

Research on the International Space Station - An Overview

The International Space Station (ISS) celebrates ten years of operations in 2008. While the station did not support permanent human crews during the first two years of operations November 1998 to November 2000 it hosted a few early science experiments months before the first international crew took up residence. Since that time and simultaneous with the complicated task of ISS construction and overcoming impacts from the tragic Columbia accident science returns from the ISS have been growing at a steady pace. As of this writing, over 162 experiments have been operated on the ISS, supporting research for hundreds of ground-based investigators from the U.S. and international partners. This report summarizes the experimental results collected to date. Today, NASA's priorities for research aboard the ISS center on understanding human health during long-duration missions, researching effective countermeasures for long-duration crewmembers, and researching and testing new technologies that can be used for future exploration crews and spacecraft. Through the U.S. National Laboratory designation, the ISS is also a platform available to other government agencies. Research on ISS supports new understandings, methods or applications relevant to life on Earth, such as understanding effective protocols to protect against loss of bone density or better methods for producing stronger metal alloys. Experiment results have already been used in applications as diverse as the manufacture of solar cell and insulation materials for new spacecraft and the verification of complex numerical models for behavior of fluids in fuel tanks. A synoptic publication of these results will be forthcoming in 2009. At the 10-year point, the scientific returns from ISS should increase at a rapid pace. During the 2008 calendar year, the laboratory space and research facilities were tripled with the addition of ESA's Columbus and JAXA's Kibo scientific modules joining NASA's Destiny Laboratory. All three laboratories, together with external payload accommodations, support a wide variety of research racks and science and technology experiments. In 2009, the number of crewmembers will increase from three to six, greatly increasing the time available for research. The realization of the international scientific partnership provides new opportunities for scientific collaboration and broadens the research potential on the ISS. Engineers and scientists from around the world are working together to refine their operational relationships and build from their experiences conducting early science to ensure maximum utilization of the expanded capabilities aboard ISS. This paper will summarize science results and accomplishments, and discuss how the early science utilization provides the foundation for continuing research campaigns aboard the ISS that will benefit future exploration programs.

Evans, Cynthia A.↗

Research Progress and Accomplishments on ISS

The first research payloads reached the International Space Station (ISS) more than two years ago, with research operating continuously since March 2001. Seven research racks are currently on-orbit, with three more arriving soon to expand science capabilities. Through the first five expeditions, 60 unique NASA-managed investigations from 11 nations have been supported, many continuing into later missions. More than 90,000 experiment hours have been completed, and more than 1,000 hours of crew time have been dedicated to research, numbers that grow daily. The multidisciplinary program includes research in life sciences, physical sciences, biotechnology, Earth sciences, technology demonstrations as well as commercial endeavors and educational activities. The Payload Operations and Integration Center monitors the onboard activities around the clock, working with numerous Principal Investigators and Payload Developers at their remote sites. Future years will see expansion of the station with research modules provided by the European Space Agency and Japan, which will be outfitted with additional research racks. The first research payloads arrived at ISS more than two years ago, and continuous science has been ongoing for more than one and a half years. During this time, the research capabilities have been tremendously increased, even as assembly of the overall platform continues. Despite significant challenges along the way, ISS continues to successfully support a large number of investigations in a variety of research disciplines. The results of some of the early investigations are reaching the publication stage. The near future looms with new challenges, but experience to date and dedicated efforts give reason to be optimistic that the challenges will be overcome and that new and greater successes will be added to past ones.

Roe, Lesa B.↗

How HRP Research Results Contribute to Human Space Exploration Risk Mitigation

In addition to the scientific value of publications derived from research, results from Human Research Program (HRP) research also support HRP’s goals of mitigating crew health and performance risks in space flight. Research results are used to build the evidence base characterizing crew health and performance risks, to support risk research plan development, to inform crew health and performance standards, and to provide technologies to programs for meeting those standards and optimizing crew health and performance in space. This talk will describe examples of how research results support these efforts. For example, HRP research results are used to revise or even create new standards for human space flight, which have been established to protect crew health and performance during flight, and prevent negative long-term health consequences due to space flight. These standards are based on the best available clinical and scientific evidence, as well as operational experience from previous space flight missions, and are reviewed as new evidence emerges. Research results are also used to update the HRP evidence base, which is comprised of a set of reports that provide a current record of the state of knowledge from research and operations for each of the defined human health and performance risks for future NASA exploration missions. A discussion of the role of evidence within the HRP architecture will also be presented. The scope of HRP research results extends well beyond publications, as they are used in several capacities to support HRP deliverables and, ultimately, the advancement of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Lumpkins, S. B.↗

An Overview of NASA's SubsoniC Research Aircraft Testbed (SCRAT)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center acquired a Gulfstream III (GIII) aircraft to serve as a testbed for aeronautics flight research experiments. The aircraft is referred to as SCRAT, which stands for SubsoniC Research Aircraft Testbed. The aircraft’s mission is to perform aeronautics research; more specifically raising the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of advanced technologies through flight demonstrations and gathering high-quality research data suitable for verifying the technologies, and validating design and analysis tools. The SCRAT has the ability to conduct a range of flight research experiments throughout a transport class aircraft’s flight envelope. Experiments ranging from flight-testing of a new aircraft system or sensor to those requiring structural and aerodynamic modifications to the aircraft can be accomplished. The aircraft has been modified to include an instrumentation system and sensors necessary to conduct flight research experiments along with a telemetry capability. An instrumentation power distribution system was installed to accommodate the instrumentation system and future experiments. An engineering simulation of the SCRAT has been developed to aid in integrating research experiments. A series of baseline aircraft characterization flights has been flown that gathered flight data to aid in developing and integrating future research experiments. This paper describes the SCRAT’s research systems and capabilities

aeronautics↗

An Overview of NASA's Subsonic Research Aircraft Testbed (SCRAT)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center acquired a Gulfstream III (GIII) aircraft to serve as a testbed for aeronautics flight research experiments. The aircraft is referred to as SCRAT, which stands for SubsoniC Research Aircraft Testbed. The aircraft's mission is to perform aeronautics research; more specifically raising the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of advanced technologies through flight demonstrations and gathering high-quality research data suitable for verifying the technologies, and validating design and analysis tools. The SCRAT has the ability to conduct a range of flight research experiments throughout a transport class aircraft's flight envelope. Experiments ranging from flight-testing of a new aircraft system or sensor to those requiring structural and aerodynamic modifications to the aircraft can be accomplished. The aircraft has been modified to include an instrumentation system and sensors necessary to conduct flight research experiments along with a telemetry capability. An instrumentation power distribution system was installed to accommodate the instrumentation system and future experiments. An engineering simulation of the SCRAT has been developed to aid in integrating research experiments. A series of baseline aircraft characterization flights has been flown that gathered flight data to aid in developing and integrating future research experiments. This paper describes the SCRAT's research systems and capabilities.

testbed↗

How HRP Research Results Contribute to Human Space Exploration Risk Mitigation

In addition to the scientific value of publications derived from research, results from Human Research Program (HRP) research also support HRP's goals of mitigating crew health and performance risks in space flight. Research results are used to build the evidence base characterizing crew health and performance risks, to support risk research plan development, to inform crew health and performance standards, and to provide technologies to programs for meeting those standards and optimizing crew health and performance in space. This talk will describe examples of how research results support these efforts. For example, HRP research results are used to revise or even create new standards for human space flight, which have been established to protect crew health and performance during flight, and prevent negative long-term health consequences due to space flight. These standards are based on the best available clinical and scientific evidence, as well as operational experience from previous space flight missions, and are reviewed as new evidence emerges. Research results are also used to update the HRP evidence base, which is comprised of a set of reports that provide a current record of the state of knowledge from research and operations for each of the defined human health and performance risks for future NASA exploration missions. A discussion of the role of evidence within the HRP architecture will also be presented. The scope of HRP research results extends well beyond publications, as they are used in several capacities to support HRP deliverables and, ultimately, the advancement of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit.

Lumpkins, Sarah↗

International Research Results and Accomplishments From the International Space Station

In 2016, the International Space Station (ISS) partnership published the first-ever compilation of international ISS research publications resulting from research performed on the ISS through 2011. The International Space Station Research Accomplishments: An Analysis of Results From 2000-2011 is a collection of summaries of over 1,200 journal publications that describe ISS research in the areas of biology and biotechnology; Earth and space science; educational activities and outreach; human research; physical sciences; technology development and demonstration; and, results from ISS operations. This paper will summarize the ISS results publications obtained through 2011 on behalf of the ISS Program Science Forum that is made up of senior science representatives across the international partnership. NASA's ISS Program Science office maintains an online experiment database (www.nasa.gov/issscience) that tracks and communicates ISS research activities across the entire ISS partnership, and it is continuously updated. It captures ISS experiment summaries and results and includes citations to the journals, conference proceedings, and patents as they become available. The International Space Station Research Accomplishments: An Analysis of Results From 2000-2011 is a testament to the research that was underway even as the ISS laboratory was being built. It reflects the scientific knowledge gained from ISS research, and how it impact the fields of science in both space and traditional science disciplines on Earth. Now, during a time when utilization is at its busiest, and with extension of the ISS through at least 2024, the ISS partners work together to track the accomplishments and the new knowledge gained in a way that will impact humanity like no laboratory on Earth. The ISS Program Science Forum will continue to capture and report on these results in the form of journal publications, conference proceedings, and patents. We anticipate that successful ISS research will continue to contribute to the science literature in a way that helps to formulate new hypotheses and conclusions that will enable science advancements across a wide range of scientific disciplines both in space and on Earth.

Ruttley, Tara M.↗

Advances in Rodent Research Missions on the International Space Station

A Research platform for rodent experiment on the ISS is an essential tool for advancing biomedical research in space. The Rodent Research allows for experiments of much longer duration that experiments on the Shuttle. NASA’s Rodent Research (RR)-1 mission was successfully completed, including post-flight analysis and achieved a number of objectives including validation of flight hardware, on-orbit operations, and science capabilities that were developed at the NASA Ames Research Center. Briefly, twenty C57BL/6J adult female mice were launched on the SpX4 Dragon vehicle, which thrived for up to 37 days in microgravity. Daily health checks of the mice were performed during the mission via downlinked video; all animals were healthy and displayed normal behavior without any significant signs of stress. Behavioral analysis demonstrated that Flight and Ground Control mice exhibited the same range of behaviors, including eating, drinking, exploratory behavior, self- and allo-grooming, and social interactions indicative of healthy animals. The animals were euthanized and select tissues were collected from some of the mice on orbit to assess the long-term sample storage capabilities of the ISS. The data obtained from the flight mice were comparable to those from the 3 groups of control mice (baseline, vivarium and ground controls), suggesting that the ISS has adequate capability to support long-duration rodent experimentations. We recovered over 35 tissues from 40 RR1 frozen carcasses, yielded over 3200 aliquots of tissues, and distributed to the scientific community, including NASA’s GeneLab and scientists in the U.S. through Biospecimen Sharing Program via Ames Life Science Data Archive. Tissues were also distributed to Russian research colleagues at the Institute for Biomedical Problems. The expression levels of select genes including albumin, catalase, GAPDH, HMGCoA Reductase, and IGF1 were determined using RNA isolated from the livers by qPCR and no significant differences by one factor ANOVA were found between flight and ground control groups. In addition, some of the liver samples were subject to transcriptomics, epigenomics and proteomics. The data are now available to the scientific community through GeneLab’s open science data website. Since the RR1 mission, another long duration mission (Rodent Research-2) was completed on the ISS in 2015 in which 20 female C57 BL/6J mice were successfully maintained on the ISS for varying time points, with the last group of 5 animals being on-orbit for 54 days. This second Rodent Research flight expanded the program’s capabilities with the introduction of new technologies including blood collection and separation and bone densitometry scanning. Furthermore, we have continued to expand the ISS’s capabilities by running a series of ground-based verification testing using male mice. Our next step is to fly male mice for Rodent Research-4 on SpaceX-10 to study the effects of microgravity on bone healing and regeneration. It will be the first long-duration mission using male mice using Rodent Hardware. In addition, the number of mice will increase from 20 mice (on RR-1 and RR-2) to 40 for RR-4. When samples return to Earth, a number of tissues will be dissected from the frozen carcasses and select tissue samples will become available to the scientific community via BSP. Altogether, we have continued to expand our capabilities for performing long-duration missions on the ISS as emphasized in the National Research Council’s Decadal Survey released in 2011 and to maximize science return from each mission.

Choi, S.↗

Integrated Research Plan to Assess the Combined Effects of Space Radiation, Altered Gravity, and Isolation and Confinement on Crew Health and Performance: Implementation Strategy

This document supplements the white paper titled CBS Integrated Research Plan: Problem Statement. The Problem Statement describes why it is important to implement a fully integrated research plan to derive risk estimates for the combined, potentially synergistic, effects of the three major spaceflight hazards (space radiation; isolated, confined, and extreme environments; altered gravity). These risk estimates will help establish acceptable maximum decrement or change in a physiological or behavioral parameter during or after spaceflight, and the acceptable limit of exposure to the combined spaceflight hazards. This Implementation Strategy describes how the research plan will accomplish the CBS Integrated Research Plan goals. The Implementation Strategy includes approaches to evaluate relationships among biological responses underlying three risks that are managed by three of NASA’s Human Research Project (HRP) organizational “elements”. This CBS (Acute effects of radiation on CNS, BMed, Sensorimotor) Integrated Research Plan also identifies strategies to monitor and mitigate decrements to operationally relevant performance. Currently, the strategy that was initiated in 2018, includes an eight-year research plan and a four-year validation plan that extend to the year 2030. Once the monitoring tools and countermeasures are developed, they will be validated and refined during four years of early exploration missions. The planned tasks and their associated research products and deliverables have been mapped to the individual research emphases to clearly demonstrate how each research area helps ensure crew health and safety during exploration missions.

Susan Steinberg↗

Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility: Addressing advanced nuclear materials research

The Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR NSUF), based at the Idaho National Laboratory in the United States, is supporting Department of Energy and industry research efforts to ensure the properties of materials in light water reactors are well understood. The ATR NSUF is providing this support through three main efforts: establishing unique infrastructure necessary to conduct research on highly radioactive materials, conducting research in conjunction with industry partners on life extension relevant topics, and providing training courses to encourage more U.S. researchers to understand and address LWR materials issues. In 2010 and 2011, several advanced instruments with capability focused on resolving nuclear material performance issues through analysis on the micro (10-6 m) to atomic (10-10 m) scales were installed primarily at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. These instruments included a local electrode atom probe (LEAP), a field-emission gun scanning transmission electron microscope (FEG-STEM), a focused ion beam (FIB) system, a Raman spectrometer, and an nanoindentor/atomic force microscope. Ongoing capability enhancements intended to support industry efforts include completion of two shielded, irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) test loops, the first of which will come online in early calendar year 2013, a pressurized and controlled chemistry water loop for the ATR center flux trap, and a dedicated facility intended to house post irradiation examination equipment. In addition to capability enhancements at the main site in Idaho, the ATR NSUF also welcomed two new partner facilities in 2011 and two new partner facilities in 2012; the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and associated hot cells and the University California Berkeley capabilities in irradiated materials analysis were added in 2011. In 2012, Purdue University’s Interaction of Materials with Particles and Components Testing (IMPACT) facility and the Pacific Northwest Nuclear Laboratory (PNNL) Radiochemistry Processing Laboratory (RPL) and PIE facilities were added. The ATR NSUF annually hosts a weeklong event called User’s Week in which students and faculty from universities as well as other interested parties from regulatory agencies or industry convene in Idaho Falls, Idaho to see presentations from ATR NSUF staff as well as select researchers from the materials research field. User’s week provides an overview of current materials research topics of interest and an opportunity for young researchers to understand the process of performing work through ATR NSUF. Additionally, to increase the number of researchers engaged in LWR materials issues, a series of workshops are in progress to introduce research staff to stress corrosion cracking, zirconium alloy degradation, and uranium dioxide degradation during in-reactor use.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

University of Kansas Medical center Cancer Research Equipment Award Type: Construction Grant

A major mechanism to strengthen the overall cancer focus of KUCC and expand specific research programs is through targeted recruitment of additional cancer researchers to increase the national and international status of the Cancer Center, enhance the number of NCI/cancer-related grants, fill critical research needs, and enable new collaborative projects. Over the last five years KUCC has demonstrated the ability to recruit nationally recognized basic, translational and clinical scientists to fill key leadership positions and strengthen our research programs. These researchers require new and renovated research facilities require state-of-the-art laboratory equipment. This includes standard equipment for the renovated laboratories and more specialized equipment as part of new investigator start-up packages. This funding is used to support recruitment, facilities, equipment, shared resources, administration, and patient care services. KUCC is committed to recruiting additional cancer researchers to increase the national and international status of the Cancer Center, enhance the number of NCI/cancer-related grants, fill critical research positions and build the four cancer research programs. Each purposeful hire aims to further the scientific vision, mission, and goals of the Cancer Center research programs. The funds requested will be used to supplement the recruitment packages of future cancer center recruits primarily through purchase of key equipment items.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Florida International University Research on Soil and Groundwater Contamination at DOE's Hanford and Savannah River Sites - 18547

Nuclear weapons production and other defense-related activities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites have resulted in radionuclide and heavy metal contamination in surface and subsurface environments nationwide. The DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM) faces a number of environmental challenges that are technically complex and unique to EM with tremendous associated cleanup costs. The success of the DOE EM mission will require development and insertion of innovative approaches and novel technologies to address the significant challenges associated with the remaining cleanup of contaminated sites. A key focus of the applied research portfolio addresses data gaps related to the behavior and chemistry of radionuclides of concern as well as the co-mingling of these contaminants in groundwater at EM sites such as Hanford, Savannah River, Oak Ridge and others. Florida International University (FIU) is conducting research in conjunction with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) scientists to support environmental remediation efforts at Hanford and SRS. This research is focused on remediation technologies for contaminated soil and groundwater as well as the assessment of the fate and transport of contaminants in the environment. The overall objective is to reduce contaminant mobility through the development and application of state-of-the-art scientific and environmental remediation technologies. The FIU strategy is to conduct basic science research that fills knowledge gaps and complements work conducted at DOE sites. Support to Hanford includes contributing to the understanding of {sup 99}Tc chemistry and the fate and transport mechanisms of co-mingled contaminants including {sup 99}Tc, U(VI), Cr, and iodine (I). FIU has also provided basic science research that supports a treatability study currently underway at Hanford, which uses ammonia gas injection to manipulate pH and immobilize U(VI) in the subsurface. In addition, support for long-term monitored natural attenuation is provided through geophysical research that monitors subsurface contaminant and microbial responses. Research to evaluate the environmental factors that control the fate and transport of contaminants and co-contaminants in soil and groundwater is being performed for SRS. This research has contributed to the development, design, and deployment of innovative strategies to enhance the natural attenuation processes and to validate novel in situ remediation technologies. The SRS EM test bed demonstrations directly benefit SRS cleanup initiatives. Current investigations focus on natural organic compounds, such as humate, as a potential amendment for the treatment of uranium in groundwater associated with the SRS F-Area Seepage Basins plume, investigates the synergy between humate and silica to optimize the pH adjustment strategy for uranium remediation and investigates the interaction of Tc and I with soil from the Four Mile Branch wetland. Collaborative relationships between FIU and the national laboratories have provided synergy and benefits over the years to FIU, the national laboratories, the DOE complex, and the DOE EM mission. By working closely with the national laboratories, FIU research is not only closely aligned with the cleanup mission priorities at the DOE sites, but complements and supports the work at national laboratories. This coordination and leveraging of research efforts results in time- and cost-savings, and accelerates progress in the DOE EM environmental restoration mission. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Applying energy justice metrics to photovoltaic materials research

Abstract Achieving the energy transition sustainably requires addressing how new technologies may impact justice in the energy system. The Justice Underpinning Science and Technology Research (JUST-R) metrics framework was recently proposed to aid researchers in considering justice in early-stage research on energy technologies; however, case study evaluations of the framework revealed a desire from researchers to see metrics specialized to particular fields of study. Here, we refine metrics from the JUST-R framework to enhance its applicability to photovoltaic (PV) materials research. Metrics are reorganized to align with aspects of the research process (e.g., research team or source materials). For most metrics, baseline values are suggested to enable researchers to compare their project to competing technologies or standards at their institutions. These refinements are integrated into a tool to facilitate easier understanding and evaluation of justice considerations in early-stage PV research, which can serve as a template for evaluating other energy technologies. Graphical abstract

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗