The project was centered on developing new ceramic materials to improve efficiency of solar energy capture for photovoltaic cells and for catalysts to split water to make hydrogen. The work has led to one possible breakthrough material, a nanoscale photocatalyst that can be used to assemble nanocomposite catalysts. Another important result of the work is the development of synthesis methods to create nanostructured and mesoporous oxides for use in solar energy harvesting. Specifically, we have developed two new methods potentially useful for preparing high performance electrodes for PV cells.

Detectors based on Gas Electron Multiplication (GEM) technology are becoming more and more widely used in nuclear and high energy physics and are being applied in astronomy, medical physics, industry, and homeland security. GEM detectors are thin, low mass, insensitive to magnetic fields, and can currently provide position resolutions down to {approx}50 microns. However, the designs for reconstructing the position, in two dimensions (2D), of the charged particles striking a GEM detector are often complicated to fabricate and expensive. The objective of this proposal is to investigate a simpler procedure for producing the two dimensional readout layer of GEM detectors using readily available printed circuit board technology which can be tailored to the detector requirements. We will use the established GEM laboratory and facilities at M.I.T. currently employed in developing GEM detectors for the STAR forward tracking upgrade to simplify the testing and evaluation of the new 2D readout designs. If this new design proves successful it will benefit future nuclear and high energy physics experiments already being planned and will similarly extend and simplify the application of GEM technology to other branches of science, medicine, and industry. These benefits would be not only in lower costs for fabrication but …

This report summarizes the progress toward development of International Standards for Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy, as funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee 114. The project has three main objectives: 1. Provide funding to support participation of key U.S. industry technical experts in 6 (originally 4) international working groups and/or project teams (the primary standards-making committees) and to attend technical meetings to ensure greater U.S. involvement in the development of these standards. 2. Provide a report to DOE and industry stakeholders summarizing the IEC standards development process for marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy, new international standards and their justifications, and provide standards guidance to industry members. 3. Provide a semi-annual (web-based) newsletter to the marine renewable energy community. The newsletter will educate industry members and stakeholders about the processes, progress, and needs of the US efforts to support the international standards development effort. The newsletter is available at www.TC114.us

Officer Reports for the Texas Society, Sons of the Revolution, compiled October 29 - 30, 2011.

Committee Reports for the Texas Society, Sons of the American Revolution October 29 - 30, 2011 Board of Managers meeting.