The results of a successful U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) funded two-year $2.9 MM program lead by GrafTech International Inc. (GrafTech) are reported and summarized. The program goal was to develop the next generation of high temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell bipolar plates for use in transportation fuel cell applications operating at temperatures up to 120 °C. The bipolar plate composite developed during the program is based on GrafTech’s GRAFCELL resin impregnated flexible graphite technology and makes use of a high temperature Huntsman Advanced Materials resin system which extends the upper use temperature of the composite to the DoE target. High temperature performance of the new composite is achieved with the added benefit of improvements in strength, modulus, and dimensional stability over the incumbent resin systems. Other physical properties, including thermal and electrical conductivity of the new composite are identical to or not adversely affected by the new resin system. Using the new bipolar plate composite system, machined plates were fabricated and tested in high temperature single-cell fuel cells operating at 120 °C for over 1100 hours by Case Western Reserve University. Final verification of performance was done on embossed full-size plates which were fabricated and glued into …

{sup 4}He accumulated in fluids is a well established geochemical tracer used to study crustal fluid dynamics. Direct fluid samples are not always collectable; therefore, a method to extract rare gases from matrix fluids of whole rocks by diffusion has been adapted. Helium was measured on matrix fluids extracted from sandstones and mudstones recovered during the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD) drilling in California, USA. Samples were typically collected as subcores or from drillcore fragments. Helium concentration and isotope ratios were measured 4-6 times on each sample, and indicate a bulk {sup 4}He diffusion coefficient of 3.5 {+-} 1.3 x 10{sup -8} cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} at 21 C, compared to previously published diffusion coefficients of 1.2 x 10{sup -18} cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} (21 C) to 3.0 x 10{sup -15} cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} (150 C) in the sands and clays. Correcting the diffusion coefficient of {sup 4}He{sub water} for matrix porosity ({approx}3%) and tortuosity ({approx}6-13) produces effective diffusion coefficients of 1 x 10{sup -8} cm{sup 2}s{sup -1} (21 C) and 1 x 10{sup -7} (120 C), effectively isolating pore fluid {sup 4}He from the {sup 4}He contained in the rock matrix. Model calculations indicate that <6% of helium initially …

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the universal code.

To better understand the contribution of cosmic ray muons to the CUORICINO background, ten plastic scintillator detectors were installed at the CUORICINO siteand operated during the final 3 months of the experiment. From these measurements, an upper limit of 0.0021 counts/(keV.kg.yr) (95percent c.l.) was obtained on the cosmicray induced background in the neutrinoless double beta decay region of interest. The measurements were also compared to Geant4 simulations.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on academic acculturation stress and first generation students.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on international policies on pollution.

This paper discusses a research project on the relationship between African American parent volunteer involvement and student reading scores.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the relationship between African American parent volunteer involvement and student reading scores.

Daily newspaper from Perry, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Canadian, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with some advertising.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

With poems that combine the self-scrutiny of Philip Larkin with the measure of Elizabeth Bishop, Amy M. Clark burnishes her first collection, Stray Home, with exquisite understatement and formal control. Sweeter than Larkin and more intimate than Bishop, these poems address the suppressed pain and shame of living as a childless woman in a world of mothers, the dissociation attendant on depression and fraught family relationships, and the search for a sense of belonging in the face of dislocation. Stray Home cuts deeply to discover the buried emotions and insights universal to all suffering and compassionate human beings. “Clark is able to imbue our small, usually overlooked moments with unexpected grandeur. A quiet humor is employed in service of her twin gifts, imagination and metaphor. This is an accomplished, deft, and important debut.”—Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Tender Hooks and judge

This paper discusses research on reading and a study on transition times in the classroom.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on reading.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing retreating glaciers of the Himalayas and a case study of the Gangotri Glacier using 1990-2009 satellite images.

This study examines mental illness in literature, with a focus on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper' and Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar', the primary texts of the research, and develops similarities and personal connections between the authors and their mentally unstable main characters.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on mental illness in literature and a case study of Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Paper on HIV/AIDS management and control in sub-Saharan Africa.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on stigma and recidivism.

Weekly newspaper from Sachse, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research the noble appeal and establishing truth in true reports from the early modern era.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas. This poster discusses research on the effects that the tragedies and illnesses of Frida Kahlo had on her artwork.

This report describes the FY2011 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Administration requested a net appropriation of $45.0 billion in budget authority for FY2011. This amounts to a $1.1 billion, or a 2.4% increase from the $43.9 billion enacted for FY2010. Total budget authority requested by the Administration for DHS for FY2011 amounts to $52.6 billion as compared to $51.7 billion enacted for FY2010.

The decay heat from radioactive waste that is to be disposed in the once proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM) will significantly influence the moisture conditions in the fractured rock near emplacement tunnels (drifts). Additionally, large-scale convective cells will form in the open-air drifts and will serve as an important mechanism for the transport of vaporized pore water from the fractured rock in the drift center to the drift end. Such convective processes would also impact drift seepage, as evaporation could reduce the build up of liquid water at the tunnel wall. Characterizing and understanding these liquid water and vapor transport processes is critical for evaluating the performance of the repository, in terms of water-induced canister corrosion and subsequent radionuclide containment. To study such processes, we previously developed and applied an enhanced version of TOUGH2 that solves for natural convection in the drift. We then used the results from this previous study as a time-dependent boundary condition in a high-resolution seepage model, allowing for a computationally efficient means for simulating these processes. The results from the seepage model show that cases with strong natural convection effects are expected to improve the performance of the repository, since smaller relative humidity …