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Radiation Hardened Foam Cold Test Plan - Phase II: Foam Characterization Testing and Environmental Chamber Testing of FoamBag Fixative Foam

This document outlines the Phase II test objectives and implementation plan for a down-select foam fixative technology intended to facilitate activities in support of the Savannah River Site (SRS) F/H labs deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) efforts. It is a collaborative effort between Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Florida International University (FIU), and the SRS F/H labs team intended to test and evaluate the potential of a polyurethane resin foam in mitigating the release of contamination during dismantling operations on radioactively contaminated piping in legacy facilities. The cold test plan addresses specific requirements highlighted by site and safety personnel and will be executed at FIU and SRNL test and lab facilities. Results from the cold tests will inform the hot test at F/H labs, which will use the foam fixative to confine and/or isolate residual contamination within a 3-dimensional void space of Hastelloy C-22 piping designated for removal from the area and transported to a designated disposal facility. Phase I testing was previously conducted using Hilti CP620 fixative foam. Results from Phase I testing indicate Hilti CP-620 fixative foam is incompatible with SRS site hot taps as an effective foam delivery method into Hastelloy C-22 piping. Phase II testing will be conducted using FoamBag TM fixative foam as an alternative fixative foam option. Phase II testing will address eight test objectives: (1) evaluation of the adhesion and bonding properties of FoamBag TM in Hastelloy C-22 piping, (2) evaluation of the adhesion of FoamBag TM in piping under various moisture conditions, (3) determination of the heat profile of FoamBag TM during curing, (4) determination of the internal pipe pressure after FoamBag TM deployment and curing, (5) conduct a leak test to determine if FoamBag TM is effective at creating a full seal within piping, (6) headspace testing of FoamBag TM to determine if there are any associated off-gas hazards during FoamBag TM curing, (7) conduct environmental chamber testing of FoamBag TM to understand how environmental parameters impacts FoamBag TM curing, and (8) conduct fire testing to evaluate FoamBag TM fire retardant characteristics.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

35 years of CEBAF - Historic Review

Jefferson Lab, the youngest of the DOE Science laboratories, is now more than thirty years old, time to look back and understand how the lab has become a pillar of nuclear physics research in the world. Initially, a 2GeV conventional linac and stretcher ring was foreseen, but as soon as Hermann Grunder was nominated as Lab Director, he changed the design to a superconducting, recirculating linac. It is this accelerator, CEBAF, which has become the workhorse at Jefferson Lab, first at 4 GeV, then 6 GeV, and then an upgrade to 12GeV. The talk will follow this evolution of the accelerator complex.

Hutton, Andrew↗

Poster commemorates the Laboratory’s 80th anniversary

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Laboratory, award-winning artist and graphic designer Paul Ziomek (CEA-MP) created an original commemorative poster for Lab staff. The two-sided poster includes a montage of iconic images from the Lab’s collections in the National Security Research Center. The front showcases historic photographs of the secret laboratory and personnel from 1943 and then today’s National Security Sciences Building headquarters building. The back side includes explanations of the Lab’s earliest scientific achievements and Manhattan Project leader General Leslie Groves and Lab Director J. Robert Oppenheimer.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Ice Dusty Plasma (Final Report)

The NSF/DOE funding described in this final report was for constructing a substantial upgrade that would enable operation at variable and much lower cryogenic temperatures than was available in a previous experiment that operated from 2013 to 2019. Components for the upgraded experiment were designed and ordered from August to December 2019 and assembly began in early 2020. However, COVID-19 halted all lab work for much of 2020 and then when lab work resumed, numerous restrictions on lab access and in-lab time further impeded progress. Because of these delays, first plasma was obtained in late 2021 and a normal work pace resumed only in mid-2022. A no-cost extension was requested because the COVID-19 delays prevented work from being done at the anticipated rate. Constructing a water-ice experiment was a significant gamble because the parameter regime differs substantially from conventional laboratory plasmas and injecting water vapor into a plasma goes very much against convention as one normally goes to great lengths to avoid water vapor. This experiment opens a new frontier, namely the study of how charged ice grains form, grow, and interact with a plasma environment. The just-completed upgrade was a further gamble because it combines technology never previously used together (cryocoolers, plasma, and ice).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Multi-Source Machine Learning and Thermoplastics Enhanced Aerostructure Manufacturing (mTEAM)

RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC), together with Collins Aerospace (Collins) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) guided solution to advance the manufacturing and assembly of high performance and lightweight thermoplastic composite (TPC) aerospace products. The solution aims to lower risk, cost and lead time for induction heating based welding and consolidation processes for TPC structure. The cost and lead time of part and material specific process development for induction welding (IW) and induction consolidation will be reduced by replacing traditional empirical methods with optimization methods that merge AI/ML and physics-based process simulations and process experiments with sensing and controls. TPC-IW process development is empirical in nature, and uncertainties in material & process behavior exist near & far from the induction coil. Physics-based simulations can be leveraged directly for process optimization but can be too computationally expensive to run in high fidelity and real time to do robust process optimization. The key impact of successful TPC induction consolidation and welding is cost & lead time reduction for part & material specific consolidation and welding recipes. This is an enabler for more rapid deployment of TPC structures via joining assembly, which can reduce energy & cost intensive usage of autoclaves & ovens. The solution aimed to advance the U.S. Department of Energy’s interests in using thermoplastics and automation in composite manufacturing for improvement of products for existing markets via increased production speeds, reduced costs, and lowered use of energy. Welded TPC structures can offer significant weight & energy savings for high-value commercial aerospace & industrial applications compared to metal & thermoset composite structures assembled by mechanical fastening and/or adhesive bonding. The project was organized into two Budget Periods. Budget Period 1 (BP1) was 15 months and its goal was to perform ML process optimization framework development & deployment on lab-coupon aerostructure components. A Go/No-Go Review was performed at the end of BP1 to verify fulfilment of key tasks & milestones to justify a Go Decision to move into the next Budget Period. Budget Period 2 (BP2) was 12 months and its goal was the deployment of the ML framework for ML process optimization of pilot industrial scale aerostructure components. The overall project aim was to develop & demonstrate ML-enhanced modeling framework that learns process-property mapping from multiple data sources at different fidelities. During BP1, the team accomplished key tasks & milestones to demonstrate the concept of multi-source ML for TPC aerostructure consolidation and assembly. First, the team completed documentation of induction based TPC heating requirements including baseline metrics to compare measured results against. Next the team completed demonstration of data generation from physics-based simulations for ML surrogate model generation and demonstrated the integration of physics-based simulation data into multi-source AI/ML algorithms. In parallel, the team established the lab-coupon scale induction welding system and completed a process to label and reduce generated data from physics-based simulation and experiments for ML surrogate models to enable multi-source ML model training & testing. To complete BP1, the team integrated physics-based simulation data and experimental data into multi-source ML algorithms. This was based on the team completing ML deployment of the induction welding on a lab system at RTRC and AI/ML deployment on existing induction welding line at Collins. ORNL visited both Collins and RTRC sites to witness the TPC induction welding process. Then, ORNL designed and constructed a new version of their vision-based sensing system better adapted to acquire process signals of the TPC induction welding process for process anomaly and defect detection. In BP2, the team accomplished key tasks & milestones to scale up multi-source ML for TPC aerostructure consolidation and assembly from the lab-coupon scale to the pilot-industrial scale. In BP2, the team demonstrated real time anomaly & defect detection via experiments performed by ORNL & RTRC. The team completed ML-optimization heating trials for TPC induction consolidation at Collins, and the team confirmed pilot industrial scale experimental data from Collins was compatible with the developed ML pipeline from RTRC. The team completed sub-element scale ML process optimization demonstration at RTRC, where the team leveraged RTRC’s robotic TPC welding setup to de-risk the ML process optimization by performing ML analysis of recorded temperatures to account for complex part features. Then, the team applied its ML-derived control strategies and ML process optimization framework at Collins to the pilot-industrial scale on a demo skin-stiffener part representative of a nacelle aerostructure fan cowl section. The key innovation is the AI/ML framework enabling effective process development of high performance, lightweight, energy efficient TPCs for composite aircraft structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Managing changes in peak demand from building and transportation electrification with energy efficiency [Slides]

The Department of Energy funded Berkeley Lab to provide technical assistance to two municipal utilities on how energy efficiency and demand flexibility can mitigate the peak demand impacts of building and transportation electrification. Berkeley Lab worked with these utilities, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and Fort Collins Utilities, to identify research questions that supported their planning needs. For both utilities, Berkeley Lab developed scenario-based load forecasts that considered baseline and high-efficiency building electrification. For SMUD, the forecast also explored the sensitivity of peak demand to extreme weather (a winter cold snap) at the system-level. For Fort Collins Utilities, the forecast addressed the impacts of low, medium, and high levels of building and transportation technology adoption on select distribution feeders. Berkeley Lab is also developing a guidance document for utilities that will draw on lessons learned from the technical assistance and provide a framework for conducting similar analyses.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Organisation of Diverse Mechanisms of Secondary Ice Production among Basic Convective and Stratiform Cloud-types

This 3-year DoE-funded joint project had the over-arching aim of understanding how ice is initiated in clouds of various types. Focus was given to processes of fragmentation of pre-existing ice, which can occur in positive feedback loops (‘ice multiplication’). A basic question to address was which fragmentation processes prevail in which basic cloud-types. The approach was to use cloud models and field observations, while pioneering our own lab observations of ice initiation to break the deadlock from the past lack of lab observations. Historically, the tendency of the cloud physics community to avoid doing lab observations has allowed a vast gap in knowledge about ice initiation to persist for decades. During the first part of the project, new formulations were created to treat two overlooked types of fragmentation of ice. First, sublimational breakup of ice was treated based on a theoretical formula that we fitted to a pooled dataset of lab observations published previously in the literature. Second, a new mode of fragmentation of freezing raindrops was treated, which involves a supercooled drop being hit by a more massive ice particle. Some of the secondary droplets from the impact freeze. This work was done at Manchester University by Co-I Connolly. Then during the second part, both formulations were implemented in our ‘aerosol-cloud model’ (AC). AC has a hybrid bin/bulk microphysics scheme, and now represents four processes of SIP. The accuracy of AC was evaluated for four cases typifying four basic cloud-types: slightly cold-based stratiform cloud and cold-, warm- and very warm-based convective clouds. We discovered that the warmth of cloud-base, especially in the tropics, promotes SIP processes of raindrop-freezing fragmentation and rime-splintering, and surprisingly, sublimational breakup too. It was found that breakup in ice-ice collisions is ubiquitous. Finally, a portable laboratory chamber was constructed at Lund and deployed in northern Sweden to observe breakup in graupel-snow collisions outdoors. This was seen to be even more prolific than treated in our 2018 formulation. Papers describing results are either published or soon to be published.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

PACT Center: Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies (Final Technical Report)

The Perovskite PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies (PACT) center was established in July 2021 as a national resource to accelerate the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaic (PV) technology in the United States. Since its inception, PACT has been led by Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) in partnership with the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), formerly known as NREL. From FY20-FY23, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), CFV Labs, Black & Veatch (B&V), and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) were part of the project team. LANL brought expertise in perovskite PV device designs and processing, CFV Labs (now GroundWork Renewables) provided initial indoor and outdoor measurement hardware technology, B&V led the initial effort on perovskite PV bankability, and EPRI worked on reviewing testing standards, identifying commercialization gaps, and helping to run PACT’s Industry Advisory Board, a group including representatives from commercial testing labs, independent engineering firms, insurance companies, state regulators, and electric utilities. To source perovskite PV module samples, PACT contracted with the University of North Carolina (UNC), the University of Toledo, the University of Washington, and SLAC/Stanford University to provide a steady stream of research-grade perovskite mini modules, enabling protocol development in advance of commercial module availability. The project period ran from July 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025, including a No Cost Extension. Starting in FY25, the project was continued as a Core Capability in the Lab Call portfolio and continues at a reduced budget with only Sandia and NLR as funded recipients. Notably, starting in FY25 PACT expanded its scope beyond MHP modules to accept all emerging PV mini module technologies for testing, including organic PV (OPV) and all-thin-film tandems, with the aim of supporting commercialization across the broader emerging PV ecosystem. With this change in scope the program was renamed the PV Accelerator for Commercializing Technologies, dropping perovskite from the name.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis: insights from round-robin testing

As research and industrial interest in anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) grows, there is an increasing need for reliable baselines and cross-lab validation of results. The wide variety of material sets and operating conditions under consideration for AEMWE has thus far limited efforts for standardization. In this study, round-robin testing was conducted in deionized water and KOH-based supporting electrolyte by 5 institutions from academia, national laboratories, and industry to provide baseline performance data and identify sources of cross-lab variability. Baseline membrane electrode assemblies were fabricated with commercial catalysts, membranes, and transport layers using standard techniques and tested using reagent-grade electrolytes, aiming for accessibility rather than state-of-the-art performance. From all tests, the average voltage at 1 A/cm 2 was 2.72 ± 0.17 V and 1.87 ± 0.03 V in deionized water and 0.1 M KOH, respectively. The maximum in-house and cross-lab variations at this current density were 118 mV and 476 mV in water and 60 and 88 mV in 0.1 M KOH. The KOH purity, station contamination, and temperature control were identified as possible factors affecting performance between labs, with in-house specific variation attributed to sample-to-sample differences in fabrication, cell assembly, and station contamination. This work provides a commercial baseline for the field and highlights the need for improved standardization and reproducibility in AEMWE research.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Valorisation of Wasted Immature Tomato to Innovative Fermented Functional Foods

In this study, the lactic fermentation of immature tomatoes as a tool for food ingredient production was evaluated as a circular economy-oriented alternative for valorising industrial tomatoes that are unsuitable for processing and which have wasted away in large quantities in the field. Two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were assessed as starter cultures in an immature tomato pulp fermentation to produce functional food ingredients with probiotic potential. The first trial evaluated the probiotic character of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LAB97, isolated from immature tomato microbiota) and Weissella paramesenteroides (C1090, from the INIAV collection) through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion simulation. The results showed that LAB97 and C1090 met the probiotic potential viability criterion by maintaining 6 log10 CFU/mL counts after in vitro simulation. The second trial assessed the LAB starters’ fermentative ability. Partially decontaminated (110 °C/2 min) immature tomato pulp was used to prepare the individually inoculated samples (Id: LAB97 and C1090). Non-inoculated samples, both with and without thermal treatment (Id: CTR-TT and CTR-NTT, respectively), were prepared as the controls. Fermentation was undertaken (25 °C, 100 rpm) for 14 days. Throughout storage (0, 24, 48, 72 h, 7, and 14 days), all the samples were tested for LAB and Y&M counts, titratable acidity (TA), solid soluble content (SSC), total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity (AOx), as well as for organic acids and phenolic profiles, and CIELab colour and sensory evaluation (14th day). The LAB growth reached ca. 9 log10 CFU/mL for all samples after 72 h. The LAB97 samples had an earlier and higher acidification rate than the remaining ones, and they were highly correlated to lactic acid increments. The inoculated samples showed a faster and higher decrease rate in their SSC levels when compared to the controls. A nearly two-fold increase (p < 0.05) during the fermentation, over time, was observed in all samples’ AOx and TPC (p < 0.05, r = 0.93; similar pattern). The LAB97 samples obtained the best sensory acceptance for flavour and overall appreciation scores when compared to the others. In conclusion, the L. plantarum LAB97 starter culture was selected as a novel probiotic candidate to obtain a potential probiotic ingredient from immature tomato fruits.

Pereira, Nelson (ORCID:0000000345745615)↗

Round-Robin Interlaboratory Study on Rare-Earth Elements in U.S.-Based Geologic Materials

In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the University of North Dakota (UND) Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) performed a first-of-its-kind round-robin interlaboratory study (RRIS) to determine lab-to-lab and method-to-method variability in analyzing the rare earth element (REE) content of domestic resources. Analyses of REEs on eleven different materials were accomplished by the laboratories using four different procedures: ASTM D6357 (Procedure A), ASTM D4503 (Procedure B), an alternate in-house procedure for digestion and REE analysis (Procedure C), and neutron activation analysis (NAA). The results of the RRIS suggest that NAA is the most accurate and reliable method for many of the REEs in these types of materials; however, the method is limited in that it is able to determining only ten of the sixteen REEs. Five of the seven labs reporting data for Procedure A and three of the five labs reporting for Procedure B showed excellent performance in terms of repeatability, reproducibility, agreement with NAA, and SRM recoveries based on AOAC International guidelines on method performance. This indicates that when strictly followed these methods are suitable for REE determination in most materials, although are subject to the overall capabilities and experience of individual laboratories.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Every apple has a voice: using stable isotopes to teach about food sourcing and the water cycle

Abstract. Agricultural crops such as fruits take up irrigation and meteoric water and incorporate it into their tissue ( fruit water ) during growth, and the geographic origin of a fruit may be traced by comparing the H and O stable isotope composition ( δ 2 H and δ 18 O values) of fruit water to the global geospatial distribution of H and O stable isotopes in precipitation. This connection between common fruits and the global water cycle provides an access point to connect with a variety of demographic groups to educate about isotope hydrology and the water cycle. Within the context of a 1-day outreach activity designed for a wide spectrum of participants (high school students, undergraduate students, high school science teachers) we developed introductory lecture materials, in-class participatory demonstrations of fruit water isotopic measurement in real time, and a computer lab exercise to couple actual fruit water isotope data with open-source online geospatial analysis software. We assessed learning outcomes with pre- and post-tests tied to learning objectives, as well as participant feedback surveys. Results indicate that this outreach activity provided effective lessons on the basics of stable isotope hydrology and the water cycle. However, the computer lab exercise needs to be more specifically tailored to the abilities of each participant group. This pilot study provides a foundation for further development of outreach materials that can effectively engage a range of participant groups in learning about the water cycle and the ways in which humans modify the water cycle through agricultural activity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NREL Quickens its Tech Transfer Efforts

Innovations and 'aha' movements in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while exciting in the lab, only truly live up to their promise once they find a place in homes or business. Late last year President Obama issued a directive to all federal agencies to increase their efforts to transfer technologies to the private sector in order to achieve greater societal and economic impacts of federal research investments. The president's call to action includes efforts to establish technology transfer goals and to measure progress, to engage in efforts to increase the speed of technology transfer and to enhance local and regional innovation partnerships. But, even before the White House began its initiative to restructure the commercialization process, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory had a major effort underway designed to increase the speed and impact of technology transfer activities and had already made sure its innovations had a streamlined path to the private sector. For the last three years, NREL has been actively setting commercialization goals and tracking progress against those goals. For example, NREL sought to triple the number of innovations over a five-year period that began in 2009. Through best practices associated with inventor engagement, education and collaboration, NREL quadrupled the number of innovations in just three years. Similar progress has been made in patenting, licensing transactions, income generation and rewards to inventors. 'NREL is known nationally for our cutting-edge research and companies know to call us when they are ready to collaborate,' William Farris, vice president for commercialization and technology transfer, said. 'Once a team is ready to dive in, they don't want be mired in paperwork. We've worked to make our process for licensing NREL technology faster; it now takes less than 60 days for us to come to an agreement and start work with a company interested in our research.' While NREL maintains a robust patent portfolio, often companies are looking to do more than just license a technology. These relationships are invaluable in successfully moving technologies from NREL to the marketplace. 'We may generate new and potentially valuable innovations, but our commercialization partners do the heavy work of building a successful business around our technology,' Farris said. Tools such as CRADAs (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) allow NREL to continue working with companies to refine and develop technologies. And, working with businesses is an area where NREL excels. NREL is responsible for one quarter of the CRADAs in the DOE system. 'When you look at the results of our CRADA program, you can demonstrate that we are actively engaged with companies in collaborating on research and moving technologies to market,' Farris said. NREL is first among DOE labs with 186 active CRADAs. And last year, NREL also was first with the number of new CRADAs signed. 'Part of the success in our working with industry goes back to NREL's mission to grow and support new industries,' Farris added. 'NREL has basic research capabilities, but we are never going to be the ultimate producer of a commercial product. That is the role of the private sector.' Farris also credits the advocacy and support that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE provides for these technology transfer activities. 'EERE's support is critical to our success,' Farris said. To assist the private sector in moving a technology from the lab to the manufacturing line, NREL has a number of programs in place to give that first, or even final, nudge toward commercialization. For instance, the Commercialization Assistance Program helps startups overcome technical barriers by granting free access to 40 hours of work at the lab. Through the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, NREL also helps clean energy businesses develop strong links with the financial community, as well as other key stakeholders in the commercialization process. In March, NREL formally opened the Colorado Center for Renewable Energy and Economic Development a cooperative program with the state of Colorado designed to bring together stakeholders and service providers that support the growth of cleantech companies. CREED currently is working with more than 25 stakeholders - governmental partners, universities, industry associations, venture capital organizations and small businesses - to improve the access these groups have to technologies developed at NREL and to provide services such as classes and workshops for entrepreneurs. When it comes to bringing together cleantech stakeholders, NREL's Industry Growth Forum is the marquee event. At the forum, clean energy entrepreneurs have the opportunity to present their business cases to an expert panel of investors and energy executives. Companies that have presented have raised $3.4 billion in funding to date.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

A Really Good Hammer: Quantification of Mass Transfer Using Perfluorocarbon Tracers (475th Brookhaven Lecture)

Brookhaven Lab’s perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) technology can be viewed as a hammer looking for nails. But, according to Tom Watson, leader of the Lab’s Tracer Technology Group in the Environmental Research and Technology Division (ERTD), “It’s a really good hammer!” The colorless, odorless and safe gases have a number of research uses, from modeling how airborne contaminants might move through urban canyons to help first responders plan their response to potential terrorist attacks and accidents to locating leaks in underground gas pipes. Their extremely low background level — detectable at one part per quadrillion — allows their transport to be easily tracked. Lab researchers used PFTs during the 2005 Urban Dispersion Program field studies in New York City, gathering data to help improve models of how a gas or chemical release might move around Manhattan’s tall buildings and canyons. Closer to home, scientists also used PFTs to make ventilation measurements in Bldg. 400 on the Lab site to provide data to test air flow models used in determining the effects of passive and active air exchange on the levels of indoor and outdoor air pollution, and to determine the effects of an accidental or intentional release of hazardous substances in or around buildings.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Ingot Niobium Summary

CBMM North America (formerly Reference Metals Company, a subsidiary of CBMM ~ Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Minera~ao, Brazil) and Jefferson Lab entered into a Cooperative Research And Development Agreement (CRADA) in August 2004 to carry out mutually beneficial R&D on Pyrochlore based niobium for Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) accelerator applications. They jointly invented and patented the large grain niobium cavities built directly from the ingot niobium slices. During October 30 - November I, 2006, in collaboration with Jefferson Lab, CBMM hosted the first international workshop on single crystal ~ large grain niobium technology near the world's largest niobium mine in Araxa, Brazil. The deliberations of this workshop were published as American institute of Physics (AlP) Conference Proc~edings (CP) AlP CP 927. In 201 0, in collaboration with the industrial partner CBMM, Jefferson Lab hosted the first International Symposium on Superconducting Science and Technology of Ingot Niobium in Newport News Virginia, USA, from September 22 to 24. At this forum, university, industrial, and national research institution experts from around the world exchanged information and views on the status of ingot niobium science and technology and on the technology's advantages in obtaining high~ performance superconducting radio frequency (SRF) accelerator structures with reduced processing at lower cost. The international collaborators discussions on the ingot niobium technology were published as AlP CP 1352. On December 4th 2015 Jefferson Lab hosted Ingot Niobium Summary Workshop in collaboration with CBMM. At this workshop the ingot niobium technology collaborators from around the world presented reviews of their exciting work carried out during the past 11 years. The invited presenters are from Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Japan and USA. A new book entitled, "Science and Technology of Ingot Niobium for Superconducting Radio Frequency Applications" with 16 invited chapters divided into three sections was released on the 3rd of December 2015. The projected applications of this high efficiency~low cost ingot niobium technology include medical/industrial radioisotopes, accelerator driven subcritical systems, energy recovery linacs, future circular colliders, FEL's and other technologies based on these ingot niobium SRF accelerators in stead of the present high purity polycrystalline niobium based high cost accelerators.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2015 Annual Financial Report

FY2015 financial results reflect a year of significant scientific, operational and financial achievement for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Complementing many scientific accomplishments, Berkeley Lab completed construction of four new research facilities: the General Purpose Laboratory, Chu Hall, Wang Hall and the Flexlab Building Efficiency Testbed. These state-of-the-art facilities allow for program growth and enhanced collaboration, in part by enabling programs to return to the Lab’s Hill Campus from offsite locations. Detailed planning began for the new Integrative Genomics Building (IGB) that will house another major program currently located offsite. Existing site infrastructure was another key focus area. The Lab prioritized and increased investments in deferred maintenance in alignment with the Berkeley Lab Infrastructure Plan, which was developed under the leadership of the DOE Office of Science. With the expiration of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, we completed the close-out of all of our 134 ARRA projects, recording total costs of $331M over the FY2009-2015 period. Download the report to read more.

Source record↗

It Takes a Village: Documenting the Contributions of Non-Scientific Staff to Scientific Research

Documenting the Contributions of Non-Scientific Staff to Scientific Research Science, especially large-scale basic research, is a collaborative endeavor, often drawing on the skills of people from a wide variety of disciplines. These people include not just scientists, but also administrators, engineers, and many others. Fermilab, a Department of Energy National Laboratory and the United States’ premier particle physics laboratory, exemplifies this kind of research; many of its high-energy physics experiments involve hundreds of collaborators from all over the world. The Fermilab Archives seeks to document the history of the lab and the unique scientific research its staff and visitors perform. Adequately documenting the lab’s work often requires us to go far beyond things like the writings and correspondence of scientists to also capture the administrative and social histories of the experiments and the context in which they were performed. At Fermilab, we have sought to capture these elements of the lab’s activities through an oral history program that focuses on support staff as well as physicists and collection development choices that recognize the importance of records documenting the cultural life of the lab. These materials are not merely supplementary, but rather essential documentation of the many types of labor that go into the planning and execution of an experiment or the construction of an accelerator and the context in which this work is performed. Any picture of these experiments and accelerators that did not include this type of information would be incomplete. While the importance and richness of this material is especially pronounced at Fermilab due to the massive size of its experiments and accelerator facilities and its vibrant cultural life, the fruitfulness of these collecting efforts at Fermilab suggests that other archives documenting modern STEM research should also make sure the contributions of non-technical and non-scientific staff are preserved and that researchers interested in this subject should not neglect such sources.

Higgins, Valerie↗

Toward a New Light: ALS Upgrade Project Moves Forward

This video highlights the next step toward realization of an upgrade at Berkeley Lab's scientific centerpiece, the Advanced Light Source. This 2-minute video provides a historical context of pioneering discoveries and innovations in accelerator science that have been a Berkeley Lab hallmark since its inception. The video also details the technology that will transform the ALS –producing beams of light 100 times brighter than today that also have a more ordered ("coherent") structure, like regularly spaced ripples in a pond – and the science that this upgrade will enable. The video features interviews with: Michael Witherell, Berkeley Lab Director David Robin, ALS Upgrade (ALS-U) Project Director Elke Arenholz, Senior Staff Scientist, ALS (Video Credit: Marilyn Chung/Berkeley Lab)

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗