The focus of the Phase 1 effort concerned further development of ZnO buffer layers. This work included further optimization of the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth process and investigations of the interaction of zinc and oxygen with the absorber layers. Although much of the work had been done with Siemens' CIS material prior to this reporting period, a process for growing ZnO buffer layers on Siemens' CIGSS absorber had not been developed. The authors determined that a two-step procedure involving raising the substrate temperature to 250 C in nitrogen and then growing the buffer layer at 100 C works well with CIGSS material. Through collaboration with the Institute of Energy Conversion (IEC), completed cells with efficiencies in the 11% to 12% range were fabricated with the following structure: RF n-ZnO/i-ZnO/CIGSS. Cells with this structure were included as part of the Transient team studies. Cells were subjected to dark storage at 80 C, followed by a light soak at 40 C at IEC. Illuminated I-V curves taken at each stage of the study determined that these cells do not degrade under dark-storage conditions, which had been observed for Siemens cells with CdS buffer layers. To understand the reaction of zinc …

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

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

After several years of consideration, on Friday, November 19, 1999, Congress gave final approval to a bill which makes major changes to the patent laws. On this day the Senate passed the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 as part of the Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999, attached by reference to the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000. This report summarizes major provisions of the patent reform bill.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Toxic organics in water and soil constitute an important environmental hazard. The objective of the research is the design of practical procedures for the removal of toxic organic pollutants by deep oxidation.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information for each state about the background checks it requires to be conducted on its regulated child care providers."

This Test Plan provides a test method to dedicate the leak detection relays used on the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skids. The new skids are fabricated on-site. The leak detection system is a safety class system per the Authorization Basis.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on fiscal years 1998 through 2000 appropriations and obligations for four major computer security initiatives, including: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC); (2) the Department of Defense's (DOD) Joint Task Force on Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND); (3) the General Services Administration's (GSA) Federal Computer Incident Response Capability (FedCIRC); and (4) GSA's Federal Intrusion Detection Network (FIDNet)."

A criticality safety analysis has been performed as part of the BN-350 spent fuel disposition project being conducted jointly by the DOE and Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan regulations are reasonably consistent with those of the DOE. The high enrichment and severe undermoderation of this fast reactor fuel has significant criticality safety consequences. A detailed modeling approach was used that showed some configurations to be safe that otherwise would be rejected. Reasonable requirements for design and operations were needed, and with them, all operations were found to be safe.

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the costs and funding of contingency operations in the Balkans and Southwest Asia during fiscal year (FY) 1999 and 2000."

The purpose of this program was to demonstrate the Caterpillar C-10 Dual-Fuel Natural Gas (DFNG) engine in an over-the-road bus application. Three new Motor Coach Industries (MCI) 102DL3 buses, equipped with Caterpillar C-10 DFNG engines, and one bus, equipped with a Caterpillar C-10 diesel engine, were operated side by side on similar fixed-route revenue service for a 12-month demonstration period (February 1998 to January 1999). The buses were used as part of the Clean Air Express Commuter Bus Program in Santa Barbara County, California. The performance and reliability of the DFNG engines were similar to that of the diesel engine, but the emissions results were mixed.

The potential need for auxiliary double-shell tank waste mixing and solids mobilization requires an evaluation of optional technologies. This document formalizes those operating and design requirements needed for further engineering evaluations.

This document describes the design, implementation, and testing of the Initial Validation Software (IVS) for meteorological tower data at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory/National Wind Technology Center. The document outlines all design issues relating to the IVS, including the design process, an outline of the software and testing procedures, and an evaluation of design results after further iterations of the design process.

The objective of the project was to develop a fast shutter mechanism to allow separation of a single pulse of x-rays out of the given time structure of the APS. Technological challenges in developing this device range from engineering of ultra high strength alloys, mechanical shape development for optimal strength, coupling such materials to motorized shafts, magnetic suspension of high velocity rotors in combination with phase pick up and excursion monitoring, resonance control and jitter-free electronics. The pulse selector was delivered, integrated into the x-ray diffraction environment and tested. The researchers developed an acoustic delay line as protection against air inrushes and associated failure of the rotor and thin diamond windows for maximum x-ray transparency. Design goals were reached or exceeded and practical experience with the device began in March 2000.

This report summarizes the work done under this subcontract in the areas of System Design, System Fabrication, and Experimental Program. The report contains the details of the engine development process for achieving throttleless stratified charge spark ignition (SI) engine operation as well as advanced turbocharging strategies. Engine test results showing the potential of the direct-injection stratified charge combustion strategy for increasing part-load engine efficiency on a John Deere 8.1-liter natural gas engine are also included in this report. In addition, steady state and step transient engine data are presented that quantify the performance of a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT) as well as a modified waste-gated turbocharger on the engine. The benefits of the technologies investigated during this project will be realized in the form of increased drive-cycle efficiency to diesel-like levels, while retaining the low emissions characteristics of a lean-burn natural gas engine.

OAK-B135 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION FISSION REACTOR FOR THE PERIOD DECEMBER 1,2000 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28,2001

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effectiveness of federal early childhood education and care programs in regard to school readiness, focusing on: (1) developing a categorization of federal early childhood education and care programs for a better understanding of the federal involvement in achieving school readiness; and (2) what is known about the effectiveness of selected programs in contributing to school readiness."

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.

Concert performed at the UNT College of Music.

The threat of terrorist vehicle bombs has become evident in the past few years. The explosive power that can be generated by a ''home made'' bomb carried by a standard van or moderate size truck can generate sufficient blast overpressures to cause major damage or catastrophic collapse to building structures. There are a number of means available to help prevent a successful terrorist attack on a facility. One measure consists of the gathering of intelligence that can be used to thwart an attack before it takes place. The design and retrofit of structures and structural systems which can resist blast loadings and protect occupants is another area which is currently receiving a great deal of attention by the security community. Another measure, which can be used to protect many existing facilities, is to restrict access to the facility. This option consists of keeping unauthorized vehicles as far as possible from the facility so that if a vehicle bomb does approach the facility, the distance at which the bomb is detonated will result in significant reduction in the overpressures by the time the blast wave reaches the protected structure. This paper describes a simple and efficient vehicle barrier concept that can …

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its recent reports on export controls for high performance computers, focusing on how the executive branch: (1) assesses the national security risks associated with the export of high performance computers going to countries of concern; and (2) determines when the exports of computers at existing performance levels can no longer be controlled."

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

A significant amount of effort has been devoted to determining the properties and understanding the behavior of the alloy MA957 to define its potential usefulness as a cladding material in the fast breeder reactor program. The numerous characterization and fabrication studies that were conducted are documented in this report.