A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "During a hearing in 2004 on the financial services industry, congressional members and witnesses expressed concern about the industry's lack of workforce diversity, particularly in key management-level positions. Witnesses stated that financial services firms (e.g., banks and securities firms) had not made sufficient progress in recruiting and promoting minority and women candidates for management-level positions. Concerns were also raised about the ability of minority-owned businesses to raise capital (i.e., debt or equity capital). GAO was asked to provide an overview on the status of diversity in the financial services industry. This report discusses (1) what available data show regarding diversity at the management level in the financial services industry from 1993 through 2004, (2) the types of initiatives that financial firms and related organizations have taken to promote workforce diversity and the challenges involved, and (3) the ability of minority- and women-owned businesses to obtain access to capital in financial markets and initiatives financial institutions have taken to make capital available to these businesses."

Qualification of microsystems for weapon applications is critically dependent on our ability to build confidence in their performance, by predicting the evolution of their behavior over time in the stockpile. The objective of this work was to accelerate aging mechanisms operative in surface micromachined silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) with contacting surfaces that are stored for many years prior to use, to determine the effects of aging on reliability, and relate those effects to changes in the behavior of interfaces. Hence the main focus was on 'dormant' storage effects on the reliability of devices having mechanical contacts, the first time they must move. A large number ({approx}1000) of modules containing prototype devices and diagnostic structures were packaged using the best available processes for simple electromechanical devices. The packaging processes evolved during the project to better protect surfaces from exposure to contaminants and water vapor. Packages were subjected to accelerated aging and stress tests to explore dormancy and operational environment effects on reliability and performance. Functional tests and quantitative measurements of adhesion and friction demonstrated that the main failure mechanism during dormant storage is change in adhesion and friction, precipitated by loss of the fluorinated monolayer applied after fabrication. The data indicate …

The Berkeley UXO discriminator (BUD) (Figure 1) is a portable Active Electromagnetic (AEM) system for UXO detection and characterization that quickly determines the location, size, and symmetry properties of a suspected UXO. The BUD comprises of three orthogonal transmitters that 'illuminate' a target with fields in three independent directions in order to stimulate the three polarization modes that, in general, characterize the target EM response. In addition, the BUD uses eight pairs of differenced receivers for response recording. Eight receiver coils are placed horizontally along the two diagonals of the upper and lower planes of the two horizontal transmitter loops. These receiver coil pairs are located on symmetry lines through the center of the system and each pair sees identical fields during the on-time of the pulse in all of the transmitter coils. They are wired in opposition to produce zero output during the on-time of the pulses in three orthogonal transmitters. Moreover, this configuration dramatically reduces noise in the measurements by canceling the background electromagnetic fields (these fields are uniform over the scale of the receiver array and are consequently nulled by the differencing operation), and by canceling the noise contributed by the tilt of the receivers in the …

A prototype active electromagnetic system has been developedfor detecting and characterizing UXO. The system employs two orthogonalvertical loop transmitters and a pair of horizontal loop transmittersspaced apart vertically by 0.7 m. Eight vertical field detectors aredeployed in the plane of each of the horizontal loops and are arranged tomeasure offset vertical gradients of the fields. The location andorientation of the three principal polarizabilities of a target can berecovered from a single position of the transmitter-receiver system.Further characterization of the target is obtained from the broadbandresponse. The system employs a bipolar half sine pulse train currentwaveform and the detectors are dB/dt induction coils designed to minimizethe transient response of the primary field pulse. The target transientis recovered in a 40 mu-sec to 1.0 msec window. The ground responseimposes an early time limit on the time window and system/ambient noiselimits the late time response. Nevertheless for practical transmittermoments and optimum receivers the size and the ratio of conductivity topermeability canbe accurately recovered. The prototype system hassuccessfully recovered the depths and polarizabilities of ellipsoidaltest targets.

The Nevada Test Site (NTS) is operated by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO). From 1951 through 1992, the NTS was operated as the nation’s site for nuclear weapons testing. The release of man-made radionuclides from the NTS as a result of testing activities has been monitored since the first decade of atmospheric testing. After 1962, when nuclear tests were conducted only underground, the radiation exposure to the public surrounding the NTS was greatly reduced. After the 1992 moratorium on nuclear testing, radiation monitoring on the NTS focused on detecting airborne radionuclides that are resuspended into the air (e.g., by winds, dust-devils) along with historically-contaminated soils on the NTS. To protect the public from harmful levels of man-made radiation, the Clean Air Act, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) (40 Code of Federal Regulations 61 Subpart H) limits the release of radioactivity from a U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility (e.g., the NTS) to 10 millirem per year (mrem/yr) effective dose equivalent (EDE) to any member of the public. This is the dose limit established for someone living off of the NTS for inhaling radioactive particles that may be carried …

Between 1955 and 1973, an estimated 750,000 kg of carbon tetrachloride were discharged to the soil in the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site as part of the plutonium production process. Of this amount, some carbon tetrachloride reached the groundwater more than 70 m below the ground surface and formed a plume of 10 km2. Recent information has shown that the carbon tetrachloride plume extends to a depth of at least 60 m below the water table. Some carbon tetrachloride has been degraded either by the original process or subsequent transformations in the subsurface to form a co-existing chloroform plume. Although current characterization efforts are improving the conceptual model of the source area, more information is needed to effectively assess the fate and transport of carbon tetrachloride and chloroform to support upcoming remediation decisions for the plume. As noted in a simulation study by Truex et al. (2001), parameters describing porosity, sorption, and abiotic degradation have the largest influence on predicted plume behavior. The work proposed herein will improve the ability to predict future plume movement by better quantifying abiotic degradation mechanisms and rates. This effort will help define how much active remediation may be needed and estimate where …

The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office manages two low-level Radioactive Waste Management Sites at the Nevada Test Site. The Area 5 RWMS uses engineered shallow-land burial cells to dispose of packaged waste. This report summarizes characterization and monitoring work pertinent to the 92-Acre Area in the southeast part of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites. The decades of characterization and assessment work at the Area 5 RWMS indicate that the access controls, waste operation practices, site design, final cover design, site setting, and arid natural environment contribute to a containment system that meets regulatory requirements and performance objectives for the short- and long-term protection of the environment and public. The available characterization and Performance Assessment information is adequate to support design of the final cover and development of closure plans. No further characterization is warranted to demonstrate regulatory compliance. U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office is proceeding with the development of closure plans for the six closure units of the 92-Acre Area.

The Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 25 is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget Formulation, and Analysis, under the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program in the Department of Energy (DOE). Designed for use as a desk-top reference, the data book represents an assembly and display of statistics and information that characterize transportation activity, and presents data on other factors that influence transportation energy use. The purpose of this document is to present relevant statistical data in the form of tables and graphs. The latest editions of the Data Book are available to a larger audience via the Internet (cta.ornl.gov/data). This edition of the Data Book has 12 chapters which focus on various aspects of the transportation industry. Chapter 1 focuses on petroleum; Chapter 2 - energy; Chapter 3 - highway vehicles; Chapter 4 - light vehicles; Chapter 5 - heavy vehicles; Chapter 6 - alternative fuel vehicles; Chapter 7 - fleet vehicles; Chapter 8 - household vehicles; and Chapter 9- nonhighway modes; Chapter 10 - transportation and the economy; Chapter 11 - greenhouse gas emissions; and Chapter 12 - criteria pollutant emissions. The sources …

This brochure describes the key high-performance building features of the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. The brochure was paid for by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative as part of their Green Schools Initiative. High-performance features described are daylighting and energy-efficient lighting, indoor air quality, solar and wind energy, building envelope, heating and cooling systems, water conservation, and acoustics. Energy cost savings are also discussed.

This fact sheet describes NREL's subcontract with Native American Technologies to develop a new method of metal plate forming to produce wind turbine towers.

This final report describes research on the response of ductile materials to extreme loading conditions and high strain rates during impact combined with sliding friction. The work has involved a collaboration among two groups at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a tribology research grouup at The Ohio State University. The project involved experimental work and computer simulations at both laboratories and continuum mechanics analysis at OSU, supplemented by testing at AWE, Harwell, UK. Results demonstrated the importance of vorticity and mechanical mixing near the sliding interface in the development of nanocrystalline tribomaterial that is far from equilibrium. The work also revealed that strain rate sensitivity is an important materials property for determining the development of the velocity profile during sliding. As such, it is a property that is key to understanding the evolution of sliding behavior.

To support the nuclear fusion program at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), a consistent and verifiable method to determine fusion ion temperatures needs to be developed. Since the fusion temperature directly affects the width in the spread of neutron energies produced, a measurement of the neutron energy width can yield the fusion temperature. Traditionally, the spread in neutron energies is measured by using time-of-flight to convert a spread in neutron energies at the source to a spread in time at detector. One potential obstacle to using this technique at the Z facility at SNL is the need to shield the neutron detectors from the intense bremsstrahlung produced. The shielding consists of eight inches of lead and the concern is that neutrons will scatter in the lead, artificially broaden the neutron pulse width and lead to an erroneous measurement. To address this issue, experiments were performed at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics, which demonstrated that a reliable ion temperature measurement can be achieved behind eight inches of lead shielding. To further expand upon this finding, Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) was used to simulate the experimental geometric conditions and perform the neutron transport. MCNPX was able to confidently estimate …

One of the main Phase I objectives of this subcontract was for EPV to demonstrate 14%-efficient CIGS devices using a hybrid process. The processing was also required to have good control ability. These goals were successfully accomplished. It will be seen that during Phase I, we successfully developed a new, simplified hybrid process. A highlight of intensive work was the achievement of a 14.0% NREL-verified device at a CIGS thickness of 1.13 ..mu..m. The simplified hybrid process considerably reduces CIGS film formation time and offers the promise of being a truly cost-effective and manufacturable one. It is considered to be one of the more attractive CIGS processes in the industry.

The research was intended to lead to a better fundamental understanding of the effect of ultrasonic energy on the degassing of liquid metals and to develop practical approaches for the ultrasonic degassing of alloys. The goals of the project described here were to evaluate core principles, establish a quantitative basis for the ultrasonic degassing of aluminum alloy melts, and demonstrate the application of ultrsaonic processing during ingot casting and foundry shape casting.

This document details progress on the project entitled ''Effective Conveyor Belt Inspection for Improved Mining Productivity'' during the period from November 15, 2004 to May 14, 2004. Highlights include fabrication of low-cost prototype hardware, acquisition of infrared thermal data, and initial design of a Smart-Camera based system.

The Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium (GOM-HRC) was established in 1999 to assemble leaders in gas hydrates research. The Consortium is administered by the Center for Marine Resources and Environmental Technology, CMRET, at the University of Mississippi. The primary objective of the group is to design and emplace a remote monitoring station or sea floor observatory (MS/SFO) on the sea floor in the northern Gulf of Mexico by the year 2007, in an area where gas hydrates are known to be present at, or just below, the sea floor. This mission, although unavoidably delayed by hurricanes and other disturbances, necessitates assembling a station that will monitor physical and chemical parameters of the marine environment, including sea water and sea-floor sediments, on a more-or-less continuous basis over an extended period of time. In 2005, biological monitoring, as a means of assessing environmental health was added to the mission of the MS/SFO. Establishment of the Consortium has succeeded in fulfilling the critical need to coordinate activities, avoid redundancies and communicate effectively among researchers in the arena of gas hydrates research. Complementary expertise, both scientific and technical, has been assembled to promote innovative research methods and construct necessary instrumentation. The observatory has …

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Portland District engaged the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to evaluate fish passage at The Dalles Dam powerhouse in 2005. The goal of the study was to provide information on smolt passage that will inform decisions on long-term measures and operations to enhance sluiceway passage and reduce turbine passage to improve smolt survival at the dam. The study addressed one of the main programs dedicated to improving juvenile salmonid survival at The Dalles Dam: Surface Flow Bypass. The study objectives (see below) were met using a combination of hydroacoustic and hydraulic data. The study incorporated fixed-location hydroacoustic methods across the entire powerhouse, with especially intense sampling using multiple split-beam transducers at all sluiceway portals. We did not sample fish passage at the spillway in 2005. In the sluiceway nearfield, we used an acoustic camera to track fish movements. The fish data were interpreted with hydraulic data from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Fish passage data were collected in the framework of an “experiment” using a randomized block design (3-day treatments; two treatments) to compare two sluiceway operational configurations: Sluice 2+5 and Sluice 2+19 (six gates open for each configuration). Total project outflow was 76% …

Forging is a manufacturing process in which metal is pressed, pounded or squeezed under great pressure and, often, under high strain rates into high-strength parts known as forgings. The process is typically performed hot by preheating the metal to a desired temperature before it is worked. The forging process can create parts that are stronger than those manufactured by any other metal working process. Forgings are almost always used where reliability and human safety are critical. Forgings are normally component parts contained inside assembled items such airplanes, automobiles, tractors, ships, oil drilling equipment, engines missiles, and all kinds of capital equipment Forgings are stronger than castings and surpass them in predictable strength properties, producing superior strength that is assured, part to part.

In this project, one of our goals is to develop atmospheric models, in which innovative ideas on improving the quality of moisture predictions can be tested. Our other goal is to develop an explicit time integration scheme based on the multi-point differencing (MED) that does the same job as an implicit trapezoidal scheme but uses information only from limited number of grid points. Below we discuss the work performed at Colorado State University toward these goals during the funding period indicated above.

The purpose of this closure report is to document that the closure of CAU 322 complied with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection-approved Corrective Action Plan closure requirements. The closure activities specified in the Corrective Action Plan were based on the approved corrective action alternatives presented in the CAU 322 Corrective Action Decision Document.

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The objective of this study is to measure the molecular species that lead to the growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and microcrystalline silicon (..mu..c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) devices from RF discharges. Neutral radicals produce most of the film growth during this PV-device production, and, by implication, radicals primarily determine the device structure and electrical characteristics. The most important feature of the present experiment is thus the measurement of neutral-radical fluxes to the substrate. Additional depositing species that can influence film properties are positive ions and silicon-based particles produced by the discharge; we also measure these positive-ion species here. Some studies have already measured some of these radical and positive-ion species in silane and silane/argon discharges, but not for discharge conditions similar to those used to produce most photovoltaic devices. Our objective is to measure all of these species for conditions typically used for device production. In particular, we have studied 13.6 MHz-excited discharges in pure silane and silane/hydrogen vapors.

The Pahute Mesa groundwater flow model supports the FFACO UGTA corrective action strategy objective of providing an estimate of the vertical and horizontal extent of contaminant migration for each CAU in order to predict contaminant boundaries. A contaminant boundary is the model-predicted perimeter that defines the extent of radionuclide-contaminated groundwater from underground nuclear testing above background conditions exceeding Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) standards. The contaminant boundary will be composed of both a perimeter boundary and a lower hydrostratigraphic unit (HSU) boundary. Additional results showing contaminant concentrations and the location of the contaminant boundary at selected times will also be presented. These times may include the verification period, the end of the five-year proof-of-concept period, as well as other times that are of specific interest. The FFACO (1996) requires that the contaminant transport model predict the contaminant boundary at 1,000 years and “at a 95% level of confidence.” The Pahute Mesa Phase I flow model described in this report provides, through the flow fields derived from alternative hydrostratigraphic framework models (HFMs) and recharge models, one part of the data required to compute the contaminant boundary. Other components include the simplified source term model, which incorporates uncertainty and variability in the …

This report begins by providing an overview of Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) benefits, including premium and cost-sharing liabilities for the general Medicare population. The overview is followed by a discussion of the subsidy benefits available for low-income individuals. The report then highlights some of the key implementation issues.