Results for “information gain”

DOE OSTI2024

Maximized Information Gain of Next Generation Pulsed Power Using Optimized Design of Z-Machine Experiments

This project develops a Bayesian optimization approach to extracting insights from Z Machine experimental data to determine if and how these insights can be used to extrapolate to a larger facility. The primary goal is to address the scientific challenge of informing how confidently experimental conditions can be predicted on a next generation facility, the design of which requires the reliable extrapolation of current high energy density technologies to regimes yet unobserved, except by costly high-fidelity computational models. Maximizing the use of presently available data and understanding how it informs future endeavors is critically important to enable transformative pulsed power and the science of extreme conditions. We explore a Bayesian optimization approach to experimental design which combines information theory, experimental data, and computational modeling to explore how information gain can be maximized.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Security Analysis of a Class of Spread Spectrum Systems Presentation

A method of adding physical layer security to a class of spread spectrum systems has been recently proposed. In this paper, we look into the rate at which an eavesdropper may gain information about the system to decipher the data symbols. The Shannon mutual information is used to measure the rate of information that may be gained by an eavesdropper. The k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) method is used to obtain estimates of relevant entropy values, which will then be used to quantify the rate of information recovery as more data is transmitted. It turns out that such information recovery requires the adoption of special methods that avoid any destructive bias in the estimates. Details of these methods are also presented.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Security Analysis of a Class of Secured Spread Spectrum Systems

Abstract—A method of adding physical layer security to a class of spread spectrum systems has been recently proposed. In this paper, we look into the rate at which an eavesdropper may gain information about the system to decipher the data symbols. The Shannon mutual information is used to measure the rate of information that may be gained by an eavesdropper. The k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) method is used to obtain the estimates of relevant entropy values which will be then used to quantify the rate of information recovery as more data are being transmitted. It turns out that such information recovery requires adoption of special methods that avoid any destructive bias in the estimates. Details of these methods are also presented.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys

# 2019 and 2022 Twin Cities Travel Behavior Inventory Surveys To help local and regional planning agencies understand shifting demographics and travel patterns, surveys were conducted in Minnesota’s greater Twin Cities region in 2019 and 2022. Survey results aided the Metropolitan Council in proposing practical transportation investments, preparing competitive grant applications, and prioritizing improvements to best fit regional needs. ## Data Collection Agency RSG conducted the surveys for the Metropolitan Council. ## Survey Methodology These mixed-mode surveys focused on bus, rail, car, micromobility, ride-hailing, and walking. Designed as household travel surveys, they were carried out in English, Spanish, Karen, Oromo, Somali, and Hmong during two timeframes: Oct. 1, 2018—Sept. 30, 2019 and June 22, 2021—Feb. 5, 2022. Participants accessed the surveys using a smartphone-based app, website, or call center. A questionnaire captured data about demographics, daily travel activities, and typical transportation patterns to inform model updates and gain information about emerging behavioral changes such as electric vehicle adoption and teleworking frequency. It also addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on participants’ typical travel behavior. ## Survey Records, Data, and Documentation Survey records include a total of 31,251 participants—16,152 participants from 7,837 households during the 2019 survey and 15,099 participants from 7,952 households during the 2022 survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic and Responsive Distributed Energy Resource Education Solutions for Building, Fire, and Safety Department Officials (Final Technical Report)

From April 2021 through March 2024, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) led a collaborative project to develop a free online clearinghouse of educational resources about solar photovoltaics (PV), energy storage systems (ESS), electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), and grid-interactive efficient building (GEB) technologies. Two websites—the Clean Energy Clearinghouse and CleanEnergyTraining.org—housed over 70 educational resources. Over the course of the three-year project, 154,272 unique visitors accessed the learning materials. Learner feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Even through the end of the project, there was sustained demand for education and communication. A primary innovation of the project was to drive multiple complementary audiences to the same place. Building owners, designers, installation contractors and developers, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and fire service personnel all benefit from a shared understanding of clean energy technologies, including safety and code-related requirements. When considering the impact on the target audience, the project team worked with partners and advisors to inform resource creation and delivery in such a way as to address key motivational factors of the target audience and compel each user to seek additional information on the topic and return to the Clean Energy Clearinghouse website as their central location for more information. Resources were intentionally developed to be concise—five to 15 minutes—and accessible, meaning not overly technical. Providing basic information demystified the technologies and invited the professional to explore additional learning opportunities. Awardee and partner collaboration was key to project success. IREC facilitated collaboration among the other Topic 2 awardees, Southface and New Buildings Institute (NBI). The three awardees shared relevant information gained through discovery and validation questionnaires that informed product development and reduced duplication of effort by coordinating the development of complementary, and not competing, educational resources. Inspired by this collaboration, IREC brought on additional partners even in the final year of the project. Five regional energy efficiency organizations were part of the project, which expanded the connection between efficiency and distributed energy resources. We also included resources on the Clearinghouse that were developed through other federally funded projects, such as the Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) program. The website was developed with the learner in mind, and not solely the funding source. Feedback from stakeholders throughout the project, and especially in its final year, indicated the need for continued education and facilitated communication among stakeholders to further the safe and widespread adoption of clean energy.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Entropy-Assisted Quality Pattern Identification in Finance

Short-term patterns in financial time series form the cornerstone of many algorithmic trading strategies, yet extracting these patterns reliably from noisy market data remains a formidable challenge. In this paper, we propose an entropy-assisted framework for identifying high-quality, non-overlapping patterns that exhibit consistent behavior over time. We ground our approach in the premise that historical patterns, when accurately clustered and pruned, can yield substantial predictive power for short-term price movements. To achieve this, we incorporate an entropy-based measure as a proxy for information gain: patterns that lead to high one-sided movements in historical data yet retain low local entropy are more “informative” in signaling future market direction. Compared to conventional clustering techniques such as K-means and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs), which often yield biased or unbalanced groupings, our approach emphasizes balance over a forced visual boundary, ensuring that quality patterns are not lost due to over-segmentation. By emphasizing both predictive purity (low local entropy) and historical profitability, our method achieves a balanced representation of Buy and Sell patterns, making it better suited for short-term algorithmic trading strategies. This paper offers an in-depth illustration of our entropy-assisted framework through two case studies on Gold vs. USD and GBPUSD. While these examples demonstrate the method’s potential for extracting high-quality patterns, they do not constitute an exhaustive survey of all possible asset classes.

Physics↗

DOE OSTI2026

Adaptive X-ray imaging with reinforcement learning

X-ray imaging is a powerful technique to scan samples in a variety of contexts including biological, environmental and materials science, but commonly requires a synchrotron light source to produce X-rays at sufficient intensity. As these facilities are expensive to operate, the available beam time is limited and always in high demand. Particularly if the illuminated samples are sparse, standard raster scanning methods can be time-consuming, with a majority of that time being spent on areas of the image that carry little information. To increase the efficiency and maximize the information gain for a given time budget, we split the scanning process into a series of steps where previous measurements are used to inform the decision making and adapt the exposure distribution at later stages of the sequence. We formulate this task as a reinforcement learning problem where the goal is to produce a sequence of exposure maps that maximize a predefined scalar metric. We demonstrate the potential of this approach in simulations where the adaptive illumination can accelerate the measurement process by up to an order of magnitude compared with standard raster scanning. Finally, we present the first results from deploying the trained agents on an X-ray fluorescence beamline at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource.

Reinforcement Learning↗

DOE OSTI2024

Decomposing causality into its synergistic, unique, and redundant components

Causality lies at the heart of scientific inquiry, serving as the fundamental basis for understanding interactions among variables in physical systems. Despite its central role, current methods for causal inference face significant challenges due to nonlinear dependencies, stochastic interactions, self-causation, collider effects, and influences from exogenous factors, among others. While existing methods can effectively address some of these challenges, no single approach has successfully integrated all these aspects. Here, we address these challenges with SURD: Synergistic-Unique-Redundant Decomposition of causality. SURD quantifies causality as the increments of redundant, unique, and synergistic information gained about future events from past observations. The formulation is non-intrusive and applicable to both computational and experimental investigations, even when samples are scarce. We benchmark SURD in scenarios that pose significant challenges for causal inference and demonstrate that it offers a more reliable quantification of causality compared to previous methods.

applied mathematics↗

DOE OSTI2026

UCB-GLOBES: An open-access mass spectral database of identified and unidentified atmospheric organic compounds

Chemical characterization of atmospheric organic aerosols using gas chromatography with 70 eV electron ionization mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS) has been used for decades in advancing molecular marker detection and identification, though primarily through suspect screening and/or targeted analyses. To advance non-targeted analyses of environmental samples, we have catalogued approximately 27 000 mass spectra (MS) of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of semi-volatile organic aerosol (OA) analytes in the open-access University of California Berkeley Goldstein Library of Organic Biogenic Environmental Spectra (UCB-GLOBES). Analytes were observed in ambient samples from the U.S. and the Central Amazon and/or laboratory simulations of secondary OA (SOA) formation. These samples are representative of OA under urban and biomass burning influences as well as SOA derived from biogenic precursors (e.g., isoprene, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes) and biomass burning intermediates. MS are documented in UCB-GLOBES without regard to known chemical identity, annotated with extensive metadata such as sample source/experimental conditions, any structural information gained from MS analyses, and predicted chemical properties such as average carbon oxidation state and carbon number. UCB-GLOBES MS are compatible for importing into the NIST MS Search program, and we have also provided a Jupyter Notebook for MS visualization and comparisons. We demonstrate the utility of UCB-GLOBES through MS reanalyses of prior analytes observed in ambient data, finding a 20 % reduction in the number of analytes assigned to OA source categories reliant solely on time series correlation and an overall 11 % increase in new MS-based OA source categorization for the Southeast U.S. For 1513 analytes observed previously in the Central Amazon, we found 375 MS matches using UCB-GLOBES vs. 136 MS matches during prior analyses, representing a 14 % gain in newly confirmed or newly categorized OA species. While OA from laboratory oxidation experiments in UCB-GLOBES are highly diverse chemically, on average only 29 % of UCB-GLOBES MS have a mass spectral match to another MS entry in UCB-GLOBES and/or in databases of known compounds (i.e. NIST MS Database, Adams Essential Oil, MANE Flavor and Fragrance Company). This indicates that roughly 70 % of UCB-GLOBES MS are unique thus far, not observed more than once among the laboratory oxidation samples and ambient data in UCB-GLOBES MS. Further, only 18 % can be positively identified using these databases or known authentic standards. This points to a large gap between these laboratory simulations and ambient OA. Overall, the UCB-GLOBES database can be utilized for improving confidence in OA source categorization and/or identification, novel chemical marker discovery, tracking chemical diversity, de novo structure and properties prediction, and improving MS search and matching algorithms. This can ultimately inform future research priorities for the chemical characterization of atmospheric organic samples.

Mass spectrometry↗