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DOE OSTI2026

High-Purity Quantum Emission from an Au 24 (S-CH 2 Ph- t Bu) 20 Nanocluster at Room Temperature

Atomically precise gold nanoclusters have garnered significant attention for their diverse applications, ranging from biological labeling to optoelectronics. Their potential in optical quantum computing, which calls for ideal single-photon sources, has recently become a key area of interest. In the current work, we use photon antibunching experiments to explore the single-photon emission efficiency of atomically precise Au 24 nanoclusters protected by 4-tert-butylbenzyl mercaptan ligands (Au 24 (TBBM) 20 ). This cluster exhibits quantum emission with good photostability and without any observable blinking or spectral drift at room temperature under an inert gas atmosphere, with antibunching dips (g 2 (0)) as low as 0.07 in the solid state or, equivalently, a single-photon purity of 93% under time-gated conditions. Transient absorption and time-gated antibunching studies reveal that the short emission lifetime of this cluster and its high photoluminescence quantum yield in the solid state play critical roles in enhancing the emitted single-photon purity. This research advances the understanding of single-emitter behavior in atomically precise gold nanoclusters, contributing to the development of stable quantum emitters that are essential for quantum computing and cryptography.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2026

Battery Life Prediction Using Reduced-Order Physics Models and Machine Learning (CRADA Final Report)

Phase 1 (Original CRADA, plus no-cost extension modifications #1-3, 6/1/2017 to 3/13/2021): The Australian Department of Defence (AUDoD) is performing accelerated aging tests of Li-ion batteries to benchmark their reliability and degradation characteristics. Using its previously developed battery lifetime predictive model framework, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) will develop analytical models based the AUDoD data to predict lifetime of the multiple Li-ion battery chemistries under real-world use scenarios of interest to AUDoD. The NLR model is based on physical degradation mechanisms encountered by Li-ion batteries and has been previously validated. Phase 2 (CRADA modification #4, plus no-cost extension modification #5, 2/22/2021 to 3/30/2025): Train and support Australian Department of Defence personnel to use NLR software for model-based estimation of Li-ion battery lifetime using accelerated battery aging data collected by the Australian Department of Defence. Under separate DOE funding from 2019 to 2021, NLR enhanced its battery life-prediction software using machine learning algorithms to automate portions of the model-fitting process, requiring significantly less labor and expert judgment and also adding uncertainty quantification, increasing statistical rigor. Under Phase 2, NLR will customize NLR Software and provide it to AuDoD. NLR will enhance its NLR Model to capture aging modes of AuDoD's multi-cell modules, including cell-balancing effects. NLR will develop example single-cell and multi-cell models based on one AuDoD battery aging dataset. NLR will train AuDoD personnel on NLR Software. By the conclusion of the project, NLR will have provided AuDoD the training materials, a user manual and software needed to perform their own analysis of additional and/or future battery aging datasets.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Inclusive electron scattering in the resonance region off a hydrogen target with CLAS12

Inclusive electron scattering cross sections off a hydrogen target at a beam energy of 10.6 GeV have been measured with data collected from the CLAS12 spectrometer at Jefferson Laboratory. These first absolute cross sections from CLAS12 cover a wide kinematic area in invariant mass 𝑊 of the final state hadrons from the pion threshold up to 2.5 GeV for each bin in virtual photon four-momentum transfer squared 𝑄 2 from 2.55 to 10.4GeV 2 owing to the large scattering angle acceptance of the CLAS12 detector. Comparison of the cross sections with the resonant contributions computed from the CLAS results on the nucleon resonance electroexcitation amplitudes has demonstrated a promising opportunity to extend the information on their 𝑄 2 evolution up to 10 GeV 2 . Together these results from CLAS and CLAS12 offer good prospects for probing the nucleon parton distributions at large fractional parton momenta 𝑥 for 𝑊<2.5 GeV, while covering the range of distances where the transition from the strongly coupled to the perturbative regimes is expected.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Advancing Urban Water Resilience: Coproducing Knowledge through Civic–Academic Global Partnerships on Water and Climate

As extreme weather events become more pronounced, the vulnerabilities associated with the urban water supply and wastewater systems in megacities are intensified in multiple interconnected dimensions. These multifaceted water challenges can benefit from enhanced cross-sectoral collaboration and sharing of critical knowledge, which are essential for sustainable and adaptive water governance frameworks. In this context, the Megacity Alliance for Water and Climate (MAWAC)–Europe and North America Region (ENAR) Working Group convened a workshop in March 2023, followed by a subsequent workshop in London, United Kingdom, from 11 to 13 September 2024. These workshops aimed to investigate and devise solutions for the cascading hazards with water systems. The solutions examined various aspects focused on climate adaptation and mitigation, stormwater management, and the governance of water and wastewater systems. Additionally, discussions highlighted the importance of community engagement, economic considerations, equity, and effective communication in addressing these pressing challenges. Over the course of 3 days, experts from academia, government agencies, and industry engaged in meaningful discussions on digital modeling for integrated water management, climate-informed urban planning, and public–private–academic partnerships (Fig. 1). Case studies from cities such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Chicago highlighted innovative governance strategies for managing water and wastewater systems, promoting water reuse, planning infrastructure, and fostering stakeholder-driven and stakeholder-informed adaptation. The workshop participants emphasized the need for data-driven decision-making, scalable governance models, and knowledge-sharing networks to enhance urban water governance for sustainability and resilience. This workshop report presents the key takeaways from the 3-day convening, providing a roadmap for integrating scientific research, policy frameworks, and emerging technologies to address water challenges faced by megacities.

Hydrologic models↗

DOE OSTI2025

Thermodynamics and transport in molten chloride salts and their mixtures

Relationship between thermophysical properties and phonon mean free path. Heat capacity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity in ionic liquids decrease as mean free path decreases and dynamics become less “solid-like” and collect motion diminishes.

Cockrell, C. [Nuclear Futures Institute, Bangor Un↗

DOE OSTI2025

Magnetic Switching in Monolayer 2D Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors via Spin‐to‐Spin Conversion

Abstract The integration of 2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets with topological insulators or heavy metals holds great potential for realizing next‐generation spintronic memory devices. However, achieving high‐efficiency spin–orbit torque (SOT) switching of monolayer vdW magnets at room temperature poses a significant challenge, particularly without an external magnetic field. Here, it is shown field‐free, deterministic, and nonvolatile SOT switching of perpendicular magnetization in the monolayer, diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS), Fe‐doped MoS 2 (Fe:MoS 2 ) at up to 380 K with a current density of ≈7 × 10 4 A cm −2 . The in situ doping of Fe into monolayer MoS 2 via chemical vapor deposition and the geometry‐induced strain in the crystal break the rotational switching symmetry in Fe:MoS 2 , promoting field‐free SOT switching by generating out‐of‐plane spins via spin‐to‐spin conversion. An apparent anomalous Hall effect (AHE) loop shift at a zero in‐plane magnetic field verifies the existence of z spins in Fe:MoS 2 , inducing an antidamping‐like torque that facilitates field‐free SOT switching. This field‐free SOT application using a 2D ferromagnetic monolayer provides a new pathway for developing highly power‐efficient spintronic memory devices.

Chen, Siwei [Department of Mechanical Engineering ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Data for "Land-based Resources for Engineered Carbon Dioxide Removal in the United States Exceed the Expected Needs"

Gigatonne-scale atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR), alongside deep emission cuts, is critical to stabilizing the climate. However, some of the most scalable CDR technologies are also the most land intensive. Here, we examine whether adequate land resources exist in the contiguous United States to meet CDR targets when prioritizing grid emissions reduction, food production, and the protection of sensitive ecosystems. We focus on biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) and direct air capture and storage (DACS) and show that suitable lands exceed the expected needs: 37.6 million hectares of land are available for BiCRS, resulting in 0.26 GtCO2 of CDR/year, and 34 million hectares are suitable for wind- and solar-powered DACS, resulting in 4.8 GtCO2 of CDR/year if facilities are co-located with geologic CO2 storage. We identify biomass and energy supply hotspots to meet CDR targets while ensuring land protection and minimizing land competition.

carbon↗

DOE OSTI2021

Federal Resilience Resources for State Energy Offices

The Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office, through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, has compiled federally funded and publicly available qualitative and quantitative resources that support energy resilience and disaster mitigation planning. This handout is accompanied by the downloadable Resilience Valuation Tools Table that offers more detailed specifications on each quantitative tool.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Performance analysis and data reduction for exascale scientific workflows

Chimbuko is the first in situ, scalable, workflow-level performance analysis tool for trace-level analysis and visualization of application performance. This tool was developed by the Co-design Center for Online Data Analysis and Reduction and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Exascale Computing Project. We provide a detailed description of Chimbuko’s architecture and illustrate our online and offline visualization with multiple use cases. We also present results for the deployment and scalability of the tool as applied to a high-energy physics workflow running at large scale on the Frontier supercomputer.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Data for Microbiome Differences in Sugarcane and Metabolically Engineered Oilcane Accessions and Their Implications for Bioenergy Production

This project aims to study the microbial structure and potential functions of bacterial and fungal microbiomes in leaves, stems, roots, rhizospheres, and bulk soils of energy crops (oilcane) grown in greenhouses.

Biomass Analytics↗

DOE OSTI2025

Rhizosphere Microbiome Diversity Potentially Supports Robust Nature of Field Pennycress ( Thlaspi arvense L.) in Dryland Cropping Systems of Eastern Washington

ABSTRACT Field pennycress ( Thlaspi arvense L.) is an annual in the Brassicaceae family and is currently being developed as an oilseed intermediate crop suitable for renewable biodiesel and jet fuel. It displays many desirable characteristics for this role including cold tolerance, a rapid life cycle, and a seed fatty acid profile conducive to bioenergy generation. These traits make field pennycress favorable for winter oilseed cultivation in the inland Pacific Northwest (iPNW). Simultaneously, intermediate crops are an increasingly recognized component of both agronomic sustainability and soil health management. Intermediate crops enhance soil microbial diversity, which benefits both soil and plant health. To understand the impact of field pennycress on soil microbial diversity, two natural accessions and seven experimental accessions were grown at three sites in Eastern Washington. Aboveground biomass and rhizosphere soil were then collected. Soil genomic DNA was extracted from rhizosphere samples and used to generate an amplicon library for bacterial (16S) and fungal (ITS) rRNA sequences. The resulting libraries were analyzed in QIIME2, which revealed that not only did the fad2 deficient line from the Spring32‐10 background have significantly increased aboveground biomass production compared to other pennycress genotypes, but also displayed significantly higher β‐diversity in the rhizosphere community specifically at the site experiencing the driest conditions. ANCOM analysis showed that multiple sequences similar to beneficial plant and soil health enhancing organisms such as Trichoderma spirale , Pseudomonas spp., and Methylobacterium goesingense were found to be enriched in the microbiome of the fad2 Spring32‐10 background also at that site. To add additional context to rhizosphere community data, root exudates from two pennycress genotypes were captured in magenta boxes and analyzed using HPLC. Future work will expand our understanding of the mechanisms by which field pennycress creates diversity in the rhizosphere, thus expanding our ability to cultivate this crop in the iPNW.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Validation and Mechanistic Studies of the Headspace Effect in MOF Synthesis

Abstract The influence of headspace volume and composition on metal–organic framework (MOF) synthesis has been largely overlooked with no mechanisms currently invoking these factors. Herein, we reveal that an increased volume of oxygen in the headspace during the synthesis of zinc carboxylate‐based MOFs (MOF‐5, MOF‐177, and IRMOF‐8) as well as UiO‐66 and ZJU‐28 accelerates crystal formation. Investigation into the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon elucidates the critical roles played by all reagents, and some of their byproducts, in MOF synthesis. These insights are the key to developing more efficient and sustainable synthetic strategies for MOF production.

Donovan, Julia C. [Department of Chemistry Institu↗

DOE OSTI2025

Validation and Mechanistic Studies of the Headspace Effect in MOF Synthesis

Donovan, Julia C. [Department of Chemistry Institu↗

DOE OSTI2026

Predictive analytics to direct clinical attention to complex patients with elevated suicide risk: enhancement of the Veterans Health Administration REACH VET model

Suicide is a major public health concern, particularly among Veterans. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employs the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health–Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) model to prioritise high-risk patients for targeted clinical attention. REACH VET 1.0 (RV 1.0) was developed on 2008–2011 data. To reflect changes in clinical practice and populations, VHA updated it to REACH VET 2.0 (RV 2.0). This study describes its development and validation. RV 2.0 used longitudinal data from 7,248,170 VHA patients (4,967 suicide deaths) in 2018–2019, with 650 time-varying demographic, clinical and area-level predictors derived from a 2-year lookback (2016–2019). An ensemble of Elastic-Net logistic regression models was trained on 2018 data and evaluated monthly at the population level in 2019, focusing on the top 0.1% intervention risk tier. Analyses assessed model discrimination, suicide detection, risk concentration, subgroup consistency (sex, age and race/ethnicity) and performance relative to RV 1.0 using the same percentile-based risk strata. RV 2.0 outperformed RV 1.0 across all risk strata, with better discrimination (C-statistic 0.76 vs 0.69) and consistent performance across demographic subgroups. Within the top 0.1% of predicted risk, RV 2.0 identified more deaths, higher suicide rates and greater mortality risk concentration both when averaged across the 12 monthly 2019 test sets (5.6 vs 3.6; 83.6 vs 53.7 per 100,000 person-years; 21.0 vs 14.1) and when annualised for 2019 (67 vs 43; 2.7% vs 1.7%; 1,003 vs 644 per 100,000 person-years; 26.7 vs 17.1). RV 2.0 improves suicide risk stratification among Veterans, demonstrating better performance and consistent prediction across subgroups and highlighting the need for regular model updates and evaluation.

Peluso, Alina [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL↗

DOE OSTI2025

Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change

Ecological responses to climate change occur across vastly different time-scales, from minutes for physiological plasticity to decades or centuries for community turnover and evolutionary adaptation. Accurately predicting the range of ecosystem trajectories will require models that incorporate both fast processes that may keep pace with climate change and slower ones likely to lag behind and generate disequilibrium dynamics. However, the knowledge necessary for this integration is currently fragmented across disciplines. We develop ‘ecological acclimation’ as a unifying framework to emphasize the similarity of dynamics driven by processes operating on dramatically different time-scales and levels of biological organization. The framework focuses on ecoclimate sensitivities, measured as the change in an ecological response variable per unit of climate change. Acclimation processes acting at different time-scales cause these sensitivities to shift in magnitude and even direction over time. We highlight shifting ecoclimate sensitivities in case studies from diverse ecosystems, including terrestrial plant communities, coral reefs and soil microbiomes. Models predicting future ecosystem states inevitably make assumptions about acclimation processes; these assumptions must be explicit for users to evaluate whether a model is appropriate for a given forecast horizon. Similarly, decision frameworks that clearly account for multiple acclimation processes and their distinct time-scales will help natural resource managers plan for ecological impacts of climate change from years to many decades into the future. We outline a synthetic research programme focused on the time-scales of ecological acclimation to reduce uncertainty in ecological forecasts.

climate adaptation↗

DOE OSTI2021

Grid Value Proposition of Marine Energy

Marine energy technologies convert the energy of ocean waves, and tidal, river, and ocean currents into electricity and other forms of usable energy. The marine energy resource potential in the United States is significant and geographically diverse, with a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy estimating that the nation’s annual marine energy potential is approximately 2,300 TWh/year across the 50 states, or greater than 57 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2019. However, the marine energy industry still faces hurdles to commercialization. While high costs relative to wind and solar remain a key challenge, other hurdles relate to marine energy’s value streams not being well characterized and not captured by traditional energy comparison metrics like the levelized cost of energy. To address this challenge, this project undertakes several types of analyses to identify and illustrate value propositions for marine energy resources. It provides a fresh framework for considering electric system benefits based on unique marine energy attributes, and provides analyses illustrating and quantifying those benefits. The authors find many opportunities for the deployment of marine energy technologies both in the near term and within typical utility planning timeframes (i.e. up to 20 years). From a resource and technology perspective, marine energy resources can deliver distinct and valuable benefits to different configurations of the grid, whether the bulk system, isolated distribution systems, or remote communities, islands, and microgrids. Marine energy resources can be valuable in increasing technology diversity in a generation portfolio, providing energy where it is otherwise difficult to come by, supporting local resiliency, complementing and being complemented by other resources including solar, wind, and energy storage, and avoiding land constraints.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2026

FY26 Progress on Demonstration of a Multiphysics Steady State Capability for Modeling Core Radial Expansion in SFRs

Under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program, an integrated multiphysics approach is being developed to model the core bowing phenomena important to liquid metal-cooled fast reactors. Core bowing is an important passive safety mechanism in liquid metal-cooled fast reactors and involves multiphysics effects including radiation transport, fluid flow, heat transfer, and mechanical response to temperature and flux gradients. This report summarizes recent progress on developing a multiphysics, MOOSE-based workflow to predict core bowing and associated reactivity feedback. Significant new capabilities in the reactor physics code Griffin - sodium backfill and pin power reconstruction for deformed geometries - were applied in this effort. This year’s work included verification, code comparisons, sensitivity studies, and coupled demonstrations that advance the state of MOOSE-based core bowing workflow. Griffin’s sodium backfill capability was verified by demonstrating that its automated treatment of geometry expansion and material-density updates reproduces manual calculations exactly, confirming solid mass conservation and proper coolant backfilling in expanded geometries. Reconstructed pin powers were compared for Griffin’s ductheterogeneous and ring-heterogeneous treatments in single-, seven-, and nineteen-assembly cases, with best agreement observed in lower-leakage configurations and the duct-heterogeneous approach offering substantially lower computational cost. Thermal-hydraulic sensitivity sensitivities showed that MOOSE SCM, SAM, and CFD are expected to produce similar deformation predictions despite variances in their temperature predictions, and that explicit treatment of inter-assembly flow becomes increasingly important as gap flow rate increases. Finally, coupled demonstrations on small multi-assembly configurations using Griffin, MOOSE Solid Mechanics, MOOSE SCM, and Heat Conduction produced physically consistent reactivity feedback from thermal expansion and bowing. The coupled demonstrations simulated grid plate expansion as well as resultant core bowing at full power conditions. Simplifications were made in current workflow, namely the assumption of instantaneous full power conditions following hot zero power, and pre-expanding the Griffin geometry axially due to lack of an axial fuel pin expansion model and temperature feedback to Griffin.

Wozniak, Nicholas↗

DOE OSTI2026

DESI DR2 Galaxy luminosity functions

We present galaxy luminosity functions (LFs) for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) DR2 Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) in the g, r, z, and $w1$ bands over $0.002\lt z\lt 0.6$. Our analysis uses updated k-corrections and evolutionary corrections, including new polynomial kcorrection fits derived from BGS Year 1 data that supersede earlier GAMA-based prescriptions. Exploiting the statistical power of DESI, we measure LFs to very faint magnitudes, reaching $^{0.1}M_r-5\log h\sim -10$. Independent measurements from the North and South survey regions show excellent agreement around the LF knee, but the very small statistical uncertainties reveal that simple analytic forms fail to capture the full LF shape. The bright end departs from a pure exponential decline, while the faint end exhibits complex, non-powerlaw behaviour, including a pronounced upturn at $^{0.1}M_r-5\log h\gtrsim -15$, which is stronger for red galaxies than for blue. We show that our LFs are largely complete for galaxies with surface brightness $\mu _{50}\lt 25$, and that an apparent steepening fainter than $-13$ is driven primarily by local overdensity and fragmentation of large galaxies. A systematic North–South offset at the brightest magnitudes is traced to red galaxies and may reflect shallower North photometry underestimating extended earlytype profiles, although this remains inconclusive. We therefore also provide LFs based on model Petrosian magnitudes. Redshift splitting reveals small but significant residuals, indicating limitations of a simple global evolutionary model. Using the redshift limits of J. Loveday et al. (2012), we find excellent agreement with GAMA, with substantially reduced statistical errors. These measurements provide a precise reference for studies of environmental and population-dependent LFs and for testing galaxy formation models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗