Many important products and technologies were developed in federal laboratories and were driven initially by national needs and for federal applications. For example, the clean room technology that enhanced the growth of the semiconductor industry was developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) decades ago. Similarly, advances in micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS)--an important set of process technologies vital for product miniaturization--are occurring at SNL. Each of the more than 500 federal laboratories in the US, are sources of R and D that contributes to America's economic vitality, productivity growth and, technological innovation. However, only a fraction of the science and technology available at the federal laboratories is being utilized by industry. Also, federal laboratories have not been applying all the business development processes necessary to work effectively with industry in technology commercialization. This paper addresses important factors that federal laboratories, federal agencies, and industry must address to translate these under utilized technologies into profitable products in the industrial sector.

This report summarizes H.R. 1283, 106th Congress, the Asbestos Compensation Act of 2000, as ordered to be reported with amendments by the House Committee on the Judiciary on March 16, 2000. The bill would create an administrative procedure for asbestos liability claims.

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It was found that atomically flat Co(110) film could be grown on Cu(110) using O as a surfactant. To obtain detailed knowledge on the effect of O on the growth, as well as on the magnetic properties of Co overlayer, we carried out an investigation on this system using Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED), Surface Magneto-Optic Kerr Effect (SMOKE), and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM). With O as a surfactant, the initial growth of Co (< 1 ML) results in a flat monolayer structure. When the Co is thicker than 1 ML, three-dimensional clusters begin to form. These clusters become ordered islands at 3 ML Co and coalesce at about 5 ML Co. Above 5 ML Co, layer-by-layer growth resumes. No Cu segregation is observed. SMOKE studies at room temperature show that the Co film is magnetic above about 5 ML Co, with the magnetization easy axis along the [001] direction. On the other hand, without using oxygen as a surfactant, Co grows three-dimensionally on Cu(110). The Co overlayer has its easy magnetization axis along the [001] direction, but the onset of the magnetization was observed at 11 ML Co at room temperature.

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This report is intended to guide the reader through U.S. global climate change policy from the passage of the National Climate Program Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-367) through the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was opened for signatures. It offers a summary of scientific research on global climate change and related U.S. policy and identifies what many consider to be important milestones in the international policy debate on global climate change.

Chemiresistors are fabricated from materials that change their electrical resistance when exposed to certain chemical species. Composites of soluble polymers with metallic particles have shown remarkable sensitivity to many volatile organic chemicals, depending on the ability of the analyte molecules to swell the polymer matrix. These sensors can be made extremely small (&lt; 100 square microns), operate at ambient temperatures, and require almost no power to read-out. However, the chemiresistor itself is only a part of a more complex sensor system that delivers chemical information to a user who can act on the information. The authors present the design, fabrication and performance of a chemiresistor array chip with four different chemiresistor materials, heaters and a temperature sensor. They also show the design and fabrication of an integrated chemiresistor array, where the electronics to read-out the chemiresistors is on the same chip with the electrodes for the chemiresistors. The circuit was designed to perform several functions to make the sensor data more useful. This low-power, integrated chemiresistor array is small enough to be deployed on a Sandia-developed microrobot platform.

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Defense's (DOD) anthrax vaccine immunization program, focusing on: (1) vaccine supply; (2) medical records; and (3) efforts to educate servicemembers about the program."

We are compiling a list of anticipated target spot sizes that are specified by the NIF users groups. This data will be used to anticipate demands for phase plates. The spot size also has an impact on the laser operation. Presently the phase plates are designed to sit in the leo section of the FOA (before the conversion crystals). Intensity modulations produced by the phase plates are nonlinearly proportional to the laser spot size. For spot sizes above 3 mm diameter, the intensity modulations are large enough that the damage threshold for the remainder of the FOA is exceeded. For experiments requiring spot diameters larger than 3 ram, it is suggested that the phase plates sit in the 3{omega} section of the FOA. For planning purposes, the cost of the 3{omega} phase plates is presently projected to be more than that of a le0 phase plate due to the use of inclusion-free fused silica as the substrate material, This report is a summary of a meeting that we had on February 16, 2000 in order to catalogue the possible range of requested NIF spot sizes. Copies of the viewgraphs which were presented are also included.

This report will be revised upon completion of current testing investigating the radiolytic stability of additional energetic materials and the analysis of tank farm samples for volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds.

The remarkable prosperity and standard of living enjoyed in the US is in large part linked to the use of energy. While high-energy use brings many benefits, it also causes environmental degradation. In the last decade, the potentially devastating effects of degradation of greenhouse gases have received worldwide attention. The tradeoff between sustaining a healthy environment and sustaining a healthy economy is a major challenge of the 21st century. In this paper, the authors explore some of the issues and focus particularly on the option of enhancing nuclear energy as a way to help sustain economic prosperity while decreasing pollution of the atmosphere.

The Tank Waste Characterization Program has taken many core samples, grab samples, and auger samples from the single-shell and double-shell tanks during the past 10 years. Consequently, the amount of sample data available has increased, both in terms of quantity of sample results and the number of tanks characterized. More and better data is available than when the current radiological and toxicological source terms used in the Basis for Interim Operation (BIO) (FDH 1999a) and the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) (FDH 1999b) were developed. The Nuclear Safety and Licensing (NS and L) organization wants to use the new data to upgrade the radiological and toxicological source terms used in the BIO and FSAR. The NS and L organization requested assistance in producing a statistically based process for developing the source terms. This report describes the statistical techniques used and the assumptions made to support the development of a new radiological source term for liquid and solid wastes stored in single-shell and double-shell tanks. The results given in this report are a revision to similar results given in an earlier version of the document (Jensen and Wilmarth 1999). The main difference between the results in this document and the earlier …

The authors have constructed a quasi-analytic model of the dynamic hohlraum. Solutions only require a numerical root solve, which can be done very quickly. Results of the model are compared to both experiments and full numerical simulations with good agreement. The computational simplicity of the model allows one to find the behavior of the hohlraum temperature as a function the various parameters of the system and thus find optimum parameters as a function of the driving current. The model is used to investigate the benefits of ablative standoff and axial convergence.

The K-Basin Cask and Transportation System will be used for safely packaging and transporting approximately 2,100 metric tons of unprocessed, spent nuclear fuel from the 105 K East and K West Basins to the 200 E Area Canister Storage Building (CSB). Portions of the system will also be used for drying the spent fuel under cold vacuum conditions prior to placement in interim storage. The spent nuclear fuel is currently stored underwater in the two K-Basins. The K-Basins loadout pit is the area selected for loading spent nuclear fuel into the Multi-Canister Overpack (MCO) which in turn is located within the transportation cask. This Cask/MCO unit is secured.in the pit with a pail load out structure whose primary function is lo suspend and support the Cask/MCO unit at.the desired elevations and to protect the unit from the contaminated K-Basin water. The fuel elements will be placed in special baskets and stacked in the MCO that have been previously placed in the cask. The casks will be removed from the K Basin load out areas and taken to the cold vacuum drying station. Then the cask will be prepared for transportation to the CSB. The shipments will occur exclusively on the …

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This paper reports on a recent comparison made between the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) gallium arsenide, optically-triggered switch test configuration and the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) gallium arsenide, optically-triggered switch test configuration. The purpose of these measurements was to compare the temporal switch jitter times. It is found that the optical trigger laser characteristics are dominant in determining the PCSS jitter.

The UZ Colloid Transport model development plan states that the objective of this Analysis/Model Report (AMR) is to document the development of a model for simulating unsaturated colloid transport. This objective includes the following: (1) use of a process level model to evaluate the potential mechanisms for colloid transport at Yucca Mountain; (2) Provide ranges of parameters for significant colloid transport processes to Performance Assessment (PA) for the unsaturated zone (UZ); (3) Provide a basis for development of an abstracted model for use in PA calculations.

This report provides an examination of historical proposals to add a victim's rights amendment to the United States Constitution in the context of debate over issues associated with such amendments and n light of existing state and federal victims right laws.

This engineering study establishes the detailed retrieval strategy, equipment requirements, and key parameters for preparing detailed process flowsheets; evaluates the technical and programmatic risks associated with processing, certifying, transferring, and delivering waste from Tanks 241-AN-102 and 241-AN-107 to BNFL; and provides a list of necessary follow-on actions so that program direction from ORP can be successfully implemented.

This fact sheet contains a description of the wind energy resources in the state of Texas and the state's efforts to develop wind energy production, green power, and net metering programs. The fact sheet also includes a list of contacts for those interested in obtaining more information.

We discuss concurrent multiscale simulations of dynamic and temperature-dependent processes found in nanomechanical systems coupled to larger scale surroundings. We focus on the behavior of sub-micron Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), especially micro-resonators. The coupling of length scales methodology we have developed for MEMS employs an atomistic description of small but key regions of the system, consisting of millions of atoms, coupled concurrently to a finite element model of the periphery. The result is a model that accurately describes the behavior of the mechanical components of MEMS down to the atomic scale. This paper reviews some of the general issues involved in concurrent multiscale simulation, extends the methodology to metallic systems and describes how it has been used to identify atomistic effects in sub-micron resonators.

The non-destructive determination of isotope ratios (NDA) present in plutonium- and uranium-bearing materials is best accomplished with a MultiGroup Analysis methodology on spectral data obtained with high-resolution germanium detector systems. This methodology is currently employed in codes such as MGA, MGAU or U235. The MGA code, for example, works well on Pu samples and employs a number of isolated spectral lines in the analysis. The algorithm uses Gaussian and Lorentzian peak shapes that are empirically modified to account for various physical and instrumental effects. Additional effects due to external absorbers, sample self-attenuation and detector relative efficiency are also included. Uranium samples are analyzed with MGAU and U235 using a simpler but similar algorithm in the narrow energy range between 85- and 100-keV. Although the details can be complex, the problem described above is ultimately reduced to evaluating a simple ratio. Applied to uranium, for example, one evaluates where the subscripts A and B refer to quantities associated with {sup 235}U and {sup 238}U, respectively. Specifically, N{sub 235U}/N{sub 238U} is the isotope ratio {sup 235}U/{sup 238}U, I is the measured gamma-ray peak intensity, and E is the counting efficiency, BR is the appropriate branching ratio, t is the appropriate half-life, {alpha}{sup …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Federal agencies have created ombudsmen offices to expedite the resolution of employees' complaints about workplace issues. An ombudsman provides an informal alternative to more formal administrative processes in the workplace, using various techniques and often working "outside the box" to deal with conflicts and other organizational disputes. GAO found that the number of ombudsman offices handling workplace issues in federal agencies is small but is expected to grow. These offices deal with a wide range of workplace issues, from helping employees get answers to questions about agency policies and cutting through "red tape" to more serious situations, such as allegations about employment discrimination. In studying the ombudsmen offices at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), and the U.S. Secret Service, GAO found some common approaches as well as some differences in their operations. Common to all three offices was their broad responsibility and authority to deal with almost any workplace issue, their ability to bring systemic issues to management's attention, and the way in which they worked with other agency offices in providing assistance to employees. But how they were structured …

Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) is used as a key decision-making tool for the potential geologic repository for high level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA. Because of the complexity and uncertainty involved in a post-closure performance assessment, an important goal is to produce a transparent document describing the assumptions, the intermediate steps, the results, and the conclusions of the analyses. An important objective for a TSPA analysis is to illustrate confidence in performance projections of the potential repository given a complex system of interconnected process models, data, and abstractions. The methods and techniques used for the recent TSPA analyses demonstrate an effective process to portray complex models and results with transparency and credibility.