Results for “University” — Page 58

DOE OSTI2024

Grid-Ready Energy Analytics Training with Data (“GREAT with Data”)

GridEd is a collaborative educational initiative consisting of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), 5 Partner Universities (Stony Brook University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of California – Riverside, Virginia Tech, Washington State University), and participating industry sponsors. This educational initiative focuses on developing and training the next generation of power engineers so they can help shape the electric grid of the future by anticipating and fulfilling the needs of changing electric industry requirements. GridEd is leveraging electric industry research to educate a future electric grid workforce by empowering new and continuing education students, not only to become competent and well-informed engineers, but also to participate and influence major technological, social, and policy decisions that address critical global challenges. GridEd’s activities are centered around four core pillars: Enhancement of university power systems engineering curricula; Professional development and training for a diverse electric industry workforce; Stimulating students to join the movement for the next generation of power engineers, and; Improve workforce development efforts in the electric utility industry. Major accomplishments over the course of the project were: Over 50 unique professional short courses were delivered by more than 30 instructors across the GridEd network; Over 3,600 unique learners, many who took multiple courses, received more than 27,000 professional development hours (PDH) and over 1,000 certificates of completion; Approximately 2,900 unique learners undertook a course that was offered LIVE online or in-person; Approximately 700 unique learners undertook a course that was offered as computer-based training (CBT); Over 35 unique university courses were delivered by more than 30 instructors to 1,500 university students across the GridEd network; One-hundred-and-fifty-seven (157) students were funded to completed 43 student projects in topics of power systems and data science, and; Six (6) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) recruited as Affiliate Universities via Utility Partners. The professional training initiative and workforce development activities launched by this project will be sustained through EPRI’s collaborative business model with industry. Stimulating students to join the power engineering workforce of the future and the enhancement of tertiary training may continue to need government support.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

2024 IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Conference (Aug 4-8, 2024)

The 2024 IUFRO Tree Biotechnology Conference is the biennial meeting on genomics, molecular biology, and biotechnology of forest trees, associated with the IUFRO Working Party 2.04.06. This year's meeting was held in Annapolis, MD, USA from August 4th to 8th and was hosted by Yiping Qi (University of Maryland), Edward Eisenstein (University of Maryland), Gary Coleman (University of Maryland), and Heather Coleman (Syracuse University). The conference covered seven topics over the course of five days: 1) Biological and ecological insights from OMICS, 2) Advancing technologies for targeted trait manipulation and acceptability to diverse tree species, 3) Genes, development, and physiology, 4) Translating genomics and biotechnology to practice, 5) Trees in a changing world, 6) Genetic and phenotypic diversity for breeding and genomic selection, and 7) Biotechnology for biomaterials and bioeconomy. In addition to the sessions, there were two plenary sessions, provided by John Ralph (University of Wisconsin) and Tanja Pyrhäjärvi (University of Helsinki). The meeting celebrated the second awardees of the newly created IUFRO WG 2.04.06 Award: Excellence in Forest Molecular Biology and Genomics, which was presented to Chung-Jui (C.J.) Tsai (University of Georgia). Greg Goralogia (Oregon State University) was the recipient of the associated Early Career Award. The scientific presentations at the conference highlighted cutting-edge advancements in many facets of forest biotechnology research, including applications of genomic selection in forest genetics and breeding, the use of genetic editing, tree physiology, stress response, molecular breeding, wood development, "omics" technologies, and the social and economic impacts of genetically modified (GM) trees. Scientific take homes from the meeting include the power of NMR to dissect the composition of lignin, the genomic diversity of forest trees that has enormous potential for tree improvement and the integration of systems biology with climate and geographical data. The conference attracted a mix of students (25), postdoctoral fellows (32), and scientists from academia (66) and industry (18). In all, the conference was attended by 141 registered participants, representing 20 countries that participated in 23 invited lectures (including 6 'early-career' keynotes), 27 voluntary talks and 61 poster presentations. Support for the conference was drawn from a wide variety of Academia, Industry, and Government sources, and included financial support from several tree improvement companies. Overall, the conference was a great success, providing an exceptional mix of science and social activities in a relaxed and collegial atmosphere. More information about the meeting can be found at treebiotech.org. The next meeting will be held in Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 2026, hosted jointly by Zander Myburg, Dave Drew (University of Stellenbosch,) and Sanushka Naidoo (University of Pretoria, FABI).

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Involving the new generations in Fermilab endeavors

Since 1984 the Italian groups of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and Italian Universities, collaborating with the DOE laboratory of Fermilab (US) have been running a two-month summer training program for Italian university students. While in the first year the program involved only four physics students of the University of Pisa, in the following years it was extended to engineering students. This extension was very successful and the engineering students have been since then extremely well accepted by the Fermilab Technical, Accelerator, and Scientific Computing Division groups. Over the many years of its existence, this program has proven to be the most effective way to engage new students in Fermilab endeavors. Many students have extended their collaboration with Fermilab with their Master’s Thesis and PhD. Since 2004 the program has been supported in part by DOE in the frame of an exchange agreement with INFN. Over its almost 40 years of history, the program has grown in scope and size and has involved more than 550 Italian students from more than 20 Italian Universities, Several Institutes of Research, including ASI and INAF in Italy, and the ISSNAF Foundation in the US, have provided additional financial support. Since the program does not exclude appropriately selected non-Italian students, a handful of students from European and non-European Universities were also accepted over the years. Each intern is supervised by a Fermilab Mentor responsible for performing the training program. Training programs spanned from Tevatron, CMS, Muon (g-2), Mu2e, and Short Baseline Neutrino Experiments and DUNE design and experimental data analysis, development of particle detectors (silicon trackers, calorimeters, drift chambers, neutrino and dark matter detectors), design of electronic and accelerator components, development of infrastructures and software for exascale data handling, research on superconductive elements and on accelerating cavities, and theory of particle accelerators. Since 2010, within an extended program supported by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, a total of 30 students in physics, astrophysics, and engineering have been hosted for two months in the summer at US space science Research Institutes and laboratories. In 2015 the University of Pisa included these programs within its educational programs. Accordingly, Summer School students are enrolled at the University of Pisa for the duration of the internship and are identified and ensured as such. At the end of the internship, the students are required to write summary reports on their achievements. After positive evaluation by a University Examining Board, interns are acknowledged credits for their Diploma Supplement. The program was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic but restarted successfully in 2022. We believe this program can be taken as a model and easily adopted by interested institutions.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Involving the new generations in particle physics endeavours

Since 1984 INFN and University of Pisa scientists performing experiments at Fermilab have been running a two-month summer training program for Italian students at the lab. In 1984 the program involved only a few physics students from the University of Pisa, but it was later extended to other INFN groups and to engineering students. Since 2004 the program has been supported in part by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the frame of an exchange agreement with INFN and has been run by the Cultural Association of Italians at Fermilab (CAIF). In 2007 the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Pisa) established an agreement with Fermilab to share the cost of four engineering students each year. In the almost 40 years of its history, the program has hosted at Fermilab approximately 550 Italian students from more than 20 Italian universities and from some non-Italian universities. In addition, in the years 2010-2019, with the support of the Italian National Institute of Astrophyics (INAF), the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and CAIF, 30 students were hosted in other US laboratories and universities. The Fermilab training programs spanned from data analysis to design and construction of particle detectors and accelerator components, R/D on superconductive elements, theory of accelerators, and analysis of astrophysical data. At the other US laboratories the offered training was on Space Science. In 2015 the University of Pisa endorsed the program as one of its own Summer Schools. The interns are enrolled as Pisa students for the duration of the internship. They are required to write summary reports published in the Fermilab and University of Pisa web pages. Upon positive evaluation by a University board, students are acknowledged 6 ECTS credits. The entire program is expected to expand further under CAIF management. An agreement has been signed between ASI and CAIF, for ASI to support yearly three two-months fellowships in US space science. In the following we inform on student recruiting, training programs, and final evaluation

Barzi, E.↗

DOE OSTI2021

S0 Uncrewed Aircraft System Measurement Characterization Field Campaign Report

The lower atmosphere contributes directly to the modulation of weather and climate. Understanding the importance of this part of the atmosphere, scientists have worked to improve the representation of the atmospheric boundary layer in numerical prediction tools. Such work depends upon information from observing systems, including remote sensors, weather balloons, and research aircraft. Recent years have seen significant advances in uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) for atmospheric research. Those efforts have provided new perspectives on atmospheric and surface conditions, particularly from smaller UAS (sUAS) platforms. This field campaign included collection of data using several sUAS, and comparing the sUAS data to those from different observing facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) observatory in Oklahoma. Over the course of one week, the Black Swift Technologies and University of Nebraska teams conducted flights for the sole purpose of system evaluation and intercomparison. In addition, these teams conducted joint flight operations at the Marshall, Oklahoma Mesonet site alongside teams from the University of Colorado, University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University to collect additional data for side-by-side comparison. Platforms operated by Black Swift Technologies and the University of Nebraska under this project included one fixed-wing and two rotary-wing platforms, as well as an instrumented surface vehicle. These include the Black Swift Technologies S0 UAS, the University of Nebraska M600 UAS, a University of Nebraska-operated Meteomatics Meteodrone UAS, and the University of Nebraska CoMeT (Combined Mesonet and Tracker) vehicle. Additional details on all of these platforms can be found in de Boer et al. (in prep). In total, 95 sUAS flights were conducted for a combined total of 18.6 flight hours. The S0 was operated both to the south and north of the SGP 60 m tower, while the M600 and Meteodrone were operated directly to the east of the tower. Weather conditions were generally good, with moderate winds. Flights were conducted both to follow the extra radiosondes that were launched as part of this campaign, as well as to conduct extended statistical sampling at tower instrument heights. The later flights also provided data for statistical platform intercomparison.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

Ninth International Workshop on Chiral Dynamics, 2018

The Ninth International Workshop on Chiral Dynamics (CD18) was hosted by the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL) and held on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC. The workshop was from September 17 th to 21 st , 2018. This series of workshops, which started at MIT in 1994, brings together theorists and experimentalists every three years to discuss the status and challenges in the physics of low-energy quantum chromodynamics (QCD), Goldstone Boson dynamics, meson-baryon interactions, few-body physics, lattice QCD and Chiral Perturbation Theory. The last workshop was jointly hosted by the Department of Physics of the University of Pisa and the Pisa branch of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in July 2015. Previous hosts of the workshop include MIT in 1994, the University of Mainz in 1997, Jefferson Lab in 2000 and 2012, the University of Bonn in 2003, TUNL and Duke University in 2006, and the University of Bern in 2009. Hosting this workshop is an important and substantial service to the international low-energy QCD physics community. Nearly 120 participants attended the workshop, which delivered twenty plenary talks, and over ninety parallel presentations. Proceedings of the workshop are published in Proceedings of Science at https://pos.sissa.it/317/. These proceedings present topics convened in this 9 th workshop and provide a comprehensive review of the field, highlighting recent accomplishments and discussing challenges that will motivate research in the coming years.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Sandia Academic Alliance Program Collaboration Report: 2020-2021 Accomplishments

University partnerships play an essential role in sustaining Sandia’s vitality as a national laboratory. The SAA is an element of Sandia’s broader University Partnerships program, which facilitates recruiting and research collaborations with dozens of universities annually. The SAA program has two three-year goals. SAA aims to realize a step increase in hiring results, by growing the total annual inexperienced hires from each out-of-state SAA university. SAA also strives to establish and sustain strategic research partnerships by establishing several federally sponsored collaborations and multi-institutional consortiums in science & technology (S&T) priorities such as autonomy, advanced computing, hypersonics, quantum information science, and data science. The SAA program facilitates access to talent, ideas, and Research & Development facilities through strong university partnerships. Earlier this year, the SAA program and campus executives hosted John Myers, Sandia’s former Senior Director of Human Resources (HR) and Communications, and senior-level staff at Georgia Tech, U of Illinois, Purdue, UNM, and UT Austin. These campus visits provided an opportunity to share the history of the partnerships from the university leadership, tours of research facilities, and discussions of ongoing technical work and potential recruiting opportunities. These visits also provided valuable feedback to HR management that will help Sandia realize a step increase in hiring from SAA schools. The 2020-2021 Collaboration Report is a compilation of accomplishments in 2020 and 2021 from SAA and Sandia’s valued SAA university partners.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2022

2022 LaserNetUS Users' Meeting

Organized and funded in 2018 through the US Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), LaserNetUS was created to provide vastly improved access to unique lasers for researchers. LaserNetUS is a network of ten high-power laser facilities, both academic and national laboratories, across the United States and Canada. These labs operate many of the premier mid- to large-scale high-intensity laser facilities in the US and Canada that are designed to be used in pioneering experimental studies in high energy density plasma and high field optical science. The network’s principal goal is to provide access to these state-of-the-art laser facilities to a broad range of researchers in the US and abroad. In its over four years of operation, LaserNetUS has awarded beamtime for over 60 user experiments to researchers from 25 different institutions. Over 400 user scientists, many of whom are students and post-docs, have participated in experiments at LaserNetUS facilities so far. The network now has over 1250 members. The LaserNetUS institutions are Colorado State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, SLAC National Lab, The Ohio State University, University of Michigan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Rochester, and University of Texas at Austin. LaserNetUS hosted its first in-person Annual Users’ Meeting at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO, Aug 16-18, 2022. The meeting had 158 attendees, including 39 sponsored students and post-docs whose attendance and travel to the meeting were covered by DOE funds. Attendees included the 2018 Nobel Laureate in Physics, Donna Strickland. The program consisted of 5 plenary talks and several invited and contributed talks, a user community forum, a poster session, and built-in time for networking. The event focused on students and early career professionals. The poster session was held in combination with a reception to facilitate discussions and maximize interactions between the participants. The 39 sponsored students each presented a poster at the poster session, giving them valuable practice in sharing their research with others in the field. Many students and postdocs also gave talks during the main programming. Lunch and coffee breaks were provided for attendees for the duration of the conference on CSU’s campus. This allowed for networking among all participants. The building used to host the conference also had plenty of seating outside the auditorium, which was conducive to smaller one-on-one meetings and discussions between participants. There was also a lab tour of CSU’s Advanced Beam Laboratory. The day before and after the conference also included satellite meetings for the lab PIs and the Scientific Advisory Board. DOE support was used for rental of the auditorium and supporting rooms, student participation, 50% of the food costs, and transportation to the Advanced Beam Lab.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Sap Velocity Data for Urban Trees in Chicago, Illinois (2024-2025)

This dataset contains uncorrected sap velocity measurements using the heat ratio method (HRM) collected using ICT International SFM1x sensors at five urban sites in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the DOE CROCUS project. The data includes continuous monitoring of sap velocity from various tree species, including Maples (Acer spp.): Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum), and Red Maple (Acer rubrum); Oaks (Quercus spp.): Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor); American Elm (Ulmus americana); Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos); Cottonwood (Populus deltoides); and Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) across Chicago State University (CSU), Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Northwestern University (NU), University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), and West Woodlawn "Blacks in Green" (BIG). These include both street trees and those in urban park locations. Measurements were collected at 15-20 minute intervals, depending on the sensor, and transmitted via Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) protocols. The wireless data was collected by Sage Network (https://sagecontinuum.org/) nodes. The dataset includes sensor ID, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, tree species (common and scientific names), tree identification number, diameter at breast height (DBH in cm), uncorrected sap velocity measurements (cm/hr) from both inner and outer probes, and Sage Node identifiers so the data can be mapped to related variables such as air quality and wind speed that were collected on the Sage nodes. All timestamps are in local Chicago time (CDT/CST). Quality control flags are provided using a 3-bit binary system indicating physical range violations (< -10 or > 60 cm/hr), step spikes (absolute difference > 36 cm/hr), and stuck sensor conditions (> 10 consecutive identical values). These are raw data, not corrected for wood anatomy or species-specific characteristics. Data is provided in comma separated (CSV) format. This dataset is part of a larger collection of CROCUS environmental monitoring data, including linked datasets from Air Quality Transmitter (AQT) sensors, Weather Transmitter (WXT) sensors, and Multi-Function Research LoRaWAN (MFR) Nodes. DOIs for the supporting data are provided as part of this data package.

Chicago↗

DOE OSTI2026

A network of soil moisture, soil temperature, air temperature, net radiation, ground heat flux and ground water for Chicago, Illinois

This dataset contains environmental monitoring data collected using solar-powered Multi-Function Research (MFR) Long Range Wide Area (LoRaWAN)-enabled nodes at 11 sites in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the DOE Urban Integrated Field Lab CROCUS project. The MFR node system consists of an Input/Output Digital Input Module (IB8) interface box (ICT International) providing wired connections for environmental sensors and an MFR-Node-L data logger that manages power, data processing, and LoRaWAN communication. The wireless data are ingested via Sage network (https://sagecontinuum.org/) nodes that contain LoRaWAN antennae. Measurements were collected from 11 MFR nodes deployed across Chicago State University (CSU), Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Northwestern University (NU), University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), West Woodlawn "Blacks in Green" (BIG), and Indian Boundary Prairies (IBP). Each MFR node supports a consistent suite of sensors measuring atmospheric, soil, and hydrological variables. Atmospheric measurements include 2m air temperature (°C), 2m vapor pressure deficit (kPa), and 2m shortwave/longwave radiation (incoming and outgoing, W/m²) measured using ATH-VPD and Apogee SN500 sensors. Soil measurements include volumetric water content (VWC, %) and temperature (°C) at four depths (15, 30, 45, and 60 cm below surface) using Meter Teros54 sensors, and heat flux (W/m²) at 10 cm depth using Huske HFP01-05 sensors. At selected locations, Meter Hydros21 sensors measure groundwater depth (mm), specific conductivity (dS/m), and temperature (°C). The dataset includes timestamps, site identifiers with location names, device IDs, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, variable names with units, measurement depths, values, sensor names, and Sage node identifiers. All timestamps are in local Chicago time (CDT/CST). Quality control flags are provided using a 6-bit binary system indicating physical range violations, step spikes, 24-hour flat-line conditions, 6-hour jitter, 7-day ultra-low variance, and persistent high offset. Data is provided in CSV and CF-compliant NetCDF formats. This dataset is part of a larger collection of CROCUS environmental monitoring data, including linked datasets from Air Quality Transmitter (AQT) sensors, Weather Transmitter (WXT) sensors, and Sap Flow Meter (SFM1x) sensors.

Chicago↗

DOE OSTI2024

Generalized models for inflationary preheating: Oscillations and symmetries

The paradigm of the inflationary universe provides a possible explanation for several observed cosmological properties. In order for such solutions to be successful, the universe must convert the energy stored in the inflaton potential into standard model particles through a process known as reheating. In this paper, we reconsider the reheating process for the case where the inflaton potential respects an approximate (but spontaneously broken) conformal symmetry during the reheating epoch. After reviewing the Effective Field Theory of Reheating, we present solutions for the nonlinear oscillations of the inflaton field, derive the corresponding Hill’s equation for the coupled reheating field, and determine the stability diagram for parametric resonance. For this class of models —the simplest realization being a scalar field with a quartic term—the expansion of the universe drives the coupled field toward a more unstable part of parameter space, in contrast to the standard case. We also generalize this class of models to include quadratic breaking terms in the potential during the reheating epoch and address the process of stability in that universality class of models.

Barrowes, Leia [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor]↗

DOE OSTI2020

Special issue on the 24th workshop on MHD stability control

We report the 24th workshop on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability control was held on the Columbia University campus 28–30th October, 2019. The purpose of this annual workshop is to discuss cutting edge results and form future plans for active control of MHD instabilities in magnetic confinement fusion reactor concepts. The program was organized by an international committee of representatives from Auburn University (USA), Columbia University (USA), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (USA), Princeton University (USA), Tottori University (Japan), Kyoto Institute of Technology (Japan), National Institute of Radiological Sciences (Japan), National Institute for Fusion Science (Japan), Institutes of Physical Science—Chinese Academy of Sciences (People's Republic of China), and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italian Republic). Dr Gerald Navratil and Columbia University, in particular, were responsible for organizing and hosting the meeting on their beautiful Morningside Heights campus.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Fundamental Physics of Ferroelectrics 2019

The workshop “Fundamental Physics of Ferroelectrics 2019” took place in January 2019 at USF and hosted around 80 participants (from both US and overseas) 32 of whom were early career professionals (PostDocs and graduate students). This was a 2.5 day workshop with 8 invited presentations, 39 oral presentations, and 27 posters. It brought together experts in the area of ferroelectrics and related materials and allowed for interactions, collaborations and exchange of ideas and progress. The invited speakers were Jorge Iniguez (University of Luxembourg), Manila Songvilay (University of Edinburgh), James Scott (St. Andrews), David Singh (University of Missouri), Philippe Ghosez (Université de Liège), Marin Alexe (University of Warwick), Takeshi Egami (University of Tennessee), Sergey Vakhrushev (Ioffe Physical Technical Institute), and Karin Rabe (Rutgers University). The DOE funding was used (i) to provide awards for junior participants (graduate students and PostDocs): best oral presentations (1st, 2nd and 3rd places) and best poster presentations (1st, 2nd and 3rd places). First places in both categories $\$ $300, second places in both categories $\$ $250 and third places in both categories $\$ $200. Information about the awardees available at the conference website.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Studies of surface adsorbate electronic structure and femtochemistry at the fundamental length and time scales. Final report

The electronic structure and ultrafast (10-15 s-femtosecond timescale) electron dynamics were investigated for clean and atom/molecule covered metal surfaces. The studies were performed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to measure the structure of adsorbed atoms and molecules on metal surfaces, and to investigate their electronic properties. The electronic structure of the observed molecular networks was calculated by electronic structure theory in collaboration with Prof. Jin Zhao, who is a long-time collaborator, a Professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, and holds an Adjunct Professorship at the University of Pittsburgh. We also investigated the electronic properties of C60 molecules when they are templated by corrugated black phosphorous surfaces. We found unexpected charge delocalization that is enabled by the templating. This research was done in collaboration with Professor Min Feng at the Wuhan University, and who also holds an Adjunct Professorship at the University of Pittsburgh. Moreover, the electronic structure and electron dynamics in metal surfaces were investigated by time-resolved photoemission electron spectroscopy. The focus of ultrafast spectroscopy has been on the plasmonic response of silver surfaces. One direction has been to develop multidimensional (energy, momentum, and time) photoelectron spectroscopy of the coherent response of solid surfaces. This method was applied to study the collective electron excitations known generally as plasmons, which screen optical fields from penetration into metals. Although this collective response has been known for more than 60 years and is used extensively to deposit optical energy into metals, how this happens is poorly known. We investigated the plasmonic response of silver at the point where the dielectric response passes through zero and bulk plasmon is excited by light. We discovered that the plasmon excitation decays by exciting electrons from the Fermi level of a metal, which is contrary to what is believed in the plasmonic science community. This research has been performed in collaboration with Dr. Marcel Reutzel, who was a postdoctoral fellow working on this research at the University of Pittsburgh, and now has a faculty position at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Prof. Branko Gumhalter from the Institute of Physics in Zagreb contributed on the theory of plasmonic decay processes. Furthermore, we investigated the Floquet engineering of electronic bands in metals leading to multiphoton photoemission and above threshold photoemission. Finally, we demonstrated that it is possible to change the electronic structure of metals by application of optical fields. Our studies indicated that this happens on subfemtosecond time scale and could potentially be used in ultrafast information processing and quantum computation. Related document information

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2020

Characterizing Impacts of Dry Coal Feeding in High Pressure Oxy-Coal Combustion Systems

Reaction Engineering International (REI) has managed a team of experts from the University of Utah, Southeast University (SEU) in Nanjing, China, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Corrosion Management Ltd. (C-M), Praxair, and Brigham Young University (BYU) to investigate dry pulverized coal feeding for pressurized oxy-coal combustion. Dry feed firing systems for entrained flow, pressurized, oxy-coal combustors have not been well developed, although related technologies have been used in the Shell Gasification Process and for pressurized fluid bed combustion. DOE-funded research recently completed at REI and the University of Utah focused on characterizing impacts of high temperatures and pressures in oxy-coal combustion systems. For high pressure combustion, that research used a coal slurry feed into a 17 bar pressurized combustor. As a consequence of that research, it was identified that fuel feeding and firing system flexibility are challenges that require attention. Based on that experience, the approach of using a coal slurry feed system leads to challenges in producing consistent atomization of the slurry, which causes burnout problems, especially at high pressures. In addition, slurry atomization processes may be difficult to scale to sizes appropriate for practical commercial use. Dry pressurized coal burner systems, on the other hand, have the potential to yield efficiency gains, improve flexibility and facilitate applications at larger scales. Experimental work was conducted at the University of Utah Industrial Combustion and Gasification Research Facility as well as the 100 kW pressurized oxy-coal combustor (POC) facility at Brigham Young University. Mechanism development and CFD-based combustion and dense-phase flow modeling were performed at REI. Successful completion of the project objectives has resulted in the following key deliverables: 1) Design and prototype of a pressurized pulverized coal feeding and oxy-firing system 2) Data from a 100kW, pressurized (15 bar) entrained flow reactor with a dry feeding delivery and burner system that describes flame characteristics, radiative heat flux profiles, carbon burnout, along with characteristics of ash aerosols, fouling, and slagging. 3) Validated and transportable models that describe the relevant conditions in pressurized oxy-combustion systems and that can be used for scale-up and optimization. 4) Principles to guide design of high pressure, pilot-scale and full-scale coal oxy-firing systems. 5) Assessment of pressurized oxy-combustion impacts on key parameters relevant to oxy-coal fired utility boilers such as coal devolatilization, char oxidation, mineral matter transformation, deposition, and corrosion. The experimental data, pressurized oxy-firing system principles, and process mechanisms provided by this work can be used by electric utilities, boiler OEMs, equipment suppliers, design firms, software vendors, consultants and government agencies to assess the use of high temperature and high pressure oxy-combustion in current research and to guide development of new oxy-coal boiler designs.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2021

Characterizing Impacts of Dry Coal Feeding in High Pressure Oxy-Coal Combustion Systems

Reaction Engineering International (REI) has managed a team of experts from the University of Utah, Southeast University (SEU) in Nanjing, China, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Corrosion Management Ltd. (C-M), Praxair, and Brigham Young University (BYU) to investigate dry pulverized coal feeding for pressurized oxy-coal combustion. Dry feed firing systems for entrained flow, pressurized, oxy-coal combustors have not been well developed, although related technologies have been used in the Shell Gasification Process and for pressurized fluid bed combustion. DOE-funded research recently completed at REI and the University of Utah focused on characterizing impacts of high temperatures and pressures in oxy-coal combustion systems. For high pressure combustion, that research used a coal slurry feed into a 17 bar pressurized combustor. As a consequence of that research, it was identified that fuel feeding and firing system flexibility are challenges that require attention. Based on that experience, the approach of using a coal slurry feed system leads to challenges in producing consistent atomization of the slurry, which causes burnout problems, especially at high pressures. In addition, slurry atomization processes may be difficult to scale to sizes appropriate for practical commercial use. Dry pressurized coal burner systems, on the other hand, have the potential to yield efficiency gains, improve flexibility and facilitate applications at larger scales. Experimental work was conducted at the University of Utah Industrial Combustion and Gasification Research Facility as well as the 100 kW pressurized oxy-coal combustor (POC) facility at Brigham Young University. Mechanism development and CFD-based combustion and dense-phase flow modeling were performed at REI. Successful completion of the project objectives has resulted in the following key deliverables: 1) Design and prototype of a pressurized pulverized coal feeding and oxy-firing system 2) Data from a 100kW, pressurized (15 bar) entrained flow reactor with a dry feeding delivery and burner system that describes flame characteristics, radiative heat flux profiles, carbon burnout, along with characteristics of ash aerosols, fouling, and slagging. 3) Validated and transportable models that describe the relevant conditions in pressurized oxy-combustion systems and that can be used for scale-up and optimization. 4) Principles to guide design of high pressure, pilot-scale and full-scale coal oxy-firing systems. 5) Assessment of pressurized oxy-combustion impacts on key parameters relevant to oxy-coal fired utility boilers such as coal devolatilization, char oxidation, mineral matter transformation, deposition, and corrosion. The experimental data, pressurized oxy-firing system principles, and process mechanisms provided by this work can be used by electric utilities, boiler OEMs, equipment suppliers, design firms, software vendors, consultants and government agencies to assess the use of high temperature and high pressure oxy-combustion in current research and to guide development of new oxy-coal boiler designs.

pressurized oxy-coal combustion, sub-micron ash ae↗

DOE OSTI2022

Characterizing Impacts of Dry Coal Feeding in High Pressure Oxy-Coal Combustion Systems

Reaction Engineering International (REI) has managed a team of experts from the University of Utah, Southeast University (SEU) in Nanjing, China, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Corrosion Management Ltd. (C-M), Praxair, and Brigham Young University (BYU) to investigate dry pulverized coal feeding for pressurized oxy-coal combustion. Dry feed firing systems for entrained flow, pressurized, oxy-coal combustors have not been well developed, although related technologies have been used in the Shell Gasification Process and for pressurized fluid bed combustion. DOE-funded research recently completed at REI and the University of Utah focused on characterizing impacts of high temperatures and pressures in oxy-coal combustion systems. For high pressure combustion, that research used a coal slurry feed into a 17 bar pressurized combustor. As a consequence of that research, it was identified that fuel feeding and firing system flexibility are challenges that require attention. Based on that experience, the approach of using a coal slurry feed system leads to challenges in producing consistent atomization of the slurry, which causes burnout problems, especially at high pressures. In addition, slurry atomization processes may be difficult to scale to sizes appropriate for practical commercial use. Dry pressurized coal burner systems, on the other hand, have the potential to yield efficiency gains, improve flexibility and facilitate applications at larger scales. Experimental work was conducted at the University of Utah Industrial Combustion and Gasification Research Facility as well as the 100 kW pressurized oxy-coal combustor (POC) facility at Brigham Young University. Mechanism development and CFD-based combustion and dense-phase flow modeling were performed at REI. Successful completion of the project objectives has resulted in the following key deliverables: 1) Design and prototype of a pressurized pulverized coal feeding and oxy-firing system 2) Data from a 100kW, pressurized (15 bar) entrained flow reactor with a dry feeding delivery and burner system that describes flame characteristics, radiative heat flux profiles, carbon burnout, along with characteristics of ash aerosols, fouling, and slagging. 3) Validated and transportable models that describe the relevant conditions in pressurized oxy-combustion systems and that can be used for scale-up and optimization. 4) Principles to guide design of high pressure, pilot-scale and full-scale coal oxy-firing systems. 5) Assessment of pressurized oxy-combustion impacts on key parameters relevant to oxy-coal fired utility boilers such as coal devolatilization, char oxidation, mineral matter transformation, deposition, and corrosion. The experimental data, pressurized oxy-firing system principles, and process mechanisms provided by this work can be used by electric utilities, boiler OEMs, equipment suppliers, design firms, software vendors, consultants and government agencies to assess the use of high temperature and high pressure oxy-combustion in current research and to guide development of new oxy-coal boiler designs.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2023

Cybersecurity Center for Secure Evolvable Energy Delivery Systems (SEEDS)

The SEEDS Center has successfully completed its mission to research and develop a plethora of technologies during its six-year timeframe. The Center institutions of the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Carnegie-Mellon University, Florida International University, Lehigh University, and MIT all worked together with industry partners to define relevant energy sector cybersecurity issues, create projects to address those issues, and execute those projects in roughly two and three-year increments. The short project descriptions below indicate some really keystone areas of research. The teams generally met all of their objectives with only a few exceptions, which is tremendous in an R&D center. In fact, the success of one project led to the creation of a startup company, Bastazo, Inc. that is commercializing the SPARTAN project. In addition to creating new technologies, the Center helped to educate a desperately needed workforce. Lastly, a big success is that the UA seriously followed the mandate of the original program manager to try to become self-sustaining. This effort has resulted in a combined NSF center with the CREDC Center at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. To summarize the SEEDS effort, great research was funded, students were educated and put into the workforce, technology is being commercialized and offered to the electric sector, and the research efforts are being sustained through additional funding. The effort was an unqualified success.

03 NATURAL GAS↗