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The report offers preliminary recommendations for near-term actions to strengthen the U.S. effort to develop and deploy advanced energy technologies. The report comes as the Obama Administration and the 111th U.S. Congress face enormous challenges and opportunities in tackling the pressing security, economic, and environmental problems posed by the energy sector. Improving the technologies of energy supply and end-use is a prerequisite for surmounting these challenges in a timely and cost-effective way, and this report elaborates on how policy can support develop of these important energy technologies.

This proposal was to support a portion of the costs of Methods in Protein Structure Analysis 2004 (MPSA2004). MPSA2004 was the 15th in the series of MPSA international conferences on protein structure analysis that began in 1974. MPSA2004 was held on the campus of the University of Washington, Seattle, WA August 29 through September 2, 2004. Twenty-four internationally recognized speakers gave invited presentations; additional participants were chosen to present short talks in the 10 topics that were addressed. The aim of MPSA conferences is to communicate the latest, cutting-edge techniques in protein structure analysis and proteomics through science success stories as told by the scientific leaders who developed the technologies. Biotechnology vendors are present to explain currently available commercial technology through workshops and demonstrations booths. The overall aim is to provide a forum for exchanging the latest methods and ideas in protein structure analysis and proteomics to current and future practitioners. The conference supported the missions of the DOE Office of Science and the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) in at least two ways: by enabling the above forum, and by encouraging young researchers who might otherwise not attend to meet leading researchers and to learn about the …

The primary goal since inception of this DOE grant award in 1991 to Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, has been to support competitive research fellowships aimed at solving important medical problems, contributing significant new knowledge and/or technology. This approach was taken according to the original intent of the DOE program, to foster excellent centers for research and development of lasers and optics in medicine. Laser photomedicine broadly encompasses optical therapy and optical diagnostics, within any organ system. The research supported clearly reflects this breadth and depth.

The core of the MARIA high flux multipurpose research reactor is highly heterogeneous. It consists of beryllium blocks arranged in 6 x 8 matrix, tubular fuel assemblies, control rods and irradiation channels. The reflector is also heterogeneous and consists of graphite blocks clad with aluminum. Its structure is perturbed by the experimental beam tubes. This paper presents methods and codes used to calculate the MARIA reactor neutronics characteristics and experience gained thus far at IAE and ANL. At ANL the methods of MARIA calculations were developed in connection with the RERTR program. At IAE the package of programs was developed to help its operator in optimization of fuel utilization.

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Advancement of our polymerized crystalline colloidal array chemical sensing technology. They have dramatically advanced their polymerized crystalline colloidal array chemical sensing technology. They fabricated nonselective sensors for determining pH and ionic strength. They also developed selective sensors for glucose and organophosphorus mimics of nerve gas agents. They developed a trace sensor for cations in water which utilized a novel crosslinking sensing motif. In all of these cases they have been able to theoretically model their sensor response by extending hydrogel volume phase transition theory. They also developed transient sampling methods to allow their ion sensing methods to operate at high ionic strengths. They also developed a novel optrode to provide for simple sampling.

The Large Component Test Loop is a facility for ASCR providing experimental capacity for subjecting large components, such as moderator assemblies and control rods, to thermal gradients and transients at varying rates of sodium flow to simulate reactor operating conditions. Two separate loops are used for heating and cooling the sodium as the testing is performed. The 3-inch pump loop, modified to operate at 1200 deg F, was operated at a flow of 130 gpm and a head of 25 feet. The 6-inch pump loop, limited to 1000 deg F operation by materials of construction, was operated at a flow of 2000 gpm and head of 65 feet. The rest of the facility has operated satisfactorily at 1200 deg F. (auth)

This Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) provides direction for sampling of fuel canister and floor Sludge from the K East Basin to complete the inventory of samples needed for Sludge treatment process testing. Sample volumes and sources consider recent reviews made by the Sludge treatment subproject. The representative samples will be characterized to the extent needed for the material to be used effectively for testing. Sampling equipment used allows drawing of large volume sludge samples and consolidation of sample material from a number of basin locations into one container. Once filled, the containers will be placed in a cask and transported to Hanford laboratories for recovery and evaluation. Included in the present SAP are the logic for sample location selection, laboratory analysis procedures required, and reporting needed to meet the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) for this initiative.

The power consumption of Radio Frequency (RF) electronics is a significant issue for Wireless systems. Since most wireless systems are portable and thus battery operated, reductions in DC power consumption can significantly reduce the weight and/or increase the battery lifetime of the system. As transmission consumes significantly more power than reception for most Wireless applications, previous efforts have been focused on increasing the efficiency of RF power amplification. These efforts have resulted in large increases in transmit efficiencies with research-grade amplifier efficiencies approaching 100%. In this paper, they describe their efforts on reducing power consumption of reception and other small signal RF functions. Additionally, recent power efficiency measurements on InP HEMT devices for transmission are presented. This work focuses on the needs of today's typical portable Wireless systems, which operate at frequencies up to several GHz.

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Educational objectives of capstone courses such as critical-thinking and problem-solving skills are among the most cited needs in curriculum revitalization efforts. Sponsored competitions present an important vehicle for achieving these educational objectives. Opportunities such as the Greenhouse of the Future Competition provide students a diverse range of critical experiences not easily simulated in traditional classroom settings. The objective of the competition was to provide an opportunity for US university students to conceptualize, design, integrate, fabricate, and demonstrate innovative greenhouse or controlled environment ideas. The students achieved a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction by converting their ideas into proposals, developing proposals into experiments, tracking the data generated by the experiments and translating that data into a meaningful communication locally and to the scientific community at large. Most of these important learning experiences would have remained as components of the project even if the team had not advanced as the winning entry.

We have developed a novel method for patterning surface chemistry: Photocatalytic Lithography. This technique relies on inexpensive stamp materials and light; it does not necessitate mass transport or specified substrates, and the wavelength of light should not limit feature resolution. We have demonstrated the utility of this technique through the patterning of proteins, single cells and bacteria.

Dynamic fracture is a material failure process at high strain-rates. Here, we limit our discussion to spallation fracture during shock wave loading. When a compressive shock wave reflects from a free surface, internal states of tension are created. If this tension exceeds the rupture strength of the material, it fails by nucleating and growing microscopic voids in ductile metals and cracks in brittle solids. This effect, known as spallation, was reported by Hopkinson in 1872 [1]. Rinehart and Pierson [2] give an historical introduction to spallation and other aspects of high strain-rate deformation. This phenomenology of the nucleation and growth of microscopic voids is common to all fracture in ductile metals, including dynamic fracture. The importance of pulse duration was not fully appreciated until the 1960's through the work of Butcher and colleagues [3, 4], leading to the concept of cumulative damage. This concept of damage accumulation was put on a strong experimental foundation by Barbee et al. [5], who performed gas gun recovery experiments and tediously measured the size and distribution of microscopic flaws using 2D microscopy. The resulting continuum material model of dynamic fracture is known as the SRI-NAG model [6, 7], for Nucleation And Growth. In a …

This paper presents the latest information on one of the Accelerated Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) Disposition initiatives that resulted from the May 2002 Summit meeting between Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir V. Putin. These initiatives are meant to strengthen nuclear nonproliferation objectives by accelerating the disposition of nuclear weapons-useable materials. The HEU Transparency Implementation Program (TIP), within the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is working to implement one of the selected initiatives that would purchase excess Russian HEU (93% 235U) for use as fuel in U.S. research reactors over the next ten years. This will parallel efforts to convert the reactors' fuel core from HEU to low enriched uranium (LEU) material, where feasible. The paper will examine important aspects associated with the U.S. research reactor HEU purchase. In particular: (1) the establishment of specifications for the Russian HEU, and (2) transportation safeguard considerations for moving the HEU from the Mayak Production Facility in Ozersk, Russia, to the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, TN.

We provide in this report a methodology to estimate bounds on the changes in fracture permeability due to thermal-mechanical processes associated with excavation of drifts and emplacement of waste. This report is the first milestone associated with Task A of the LLNL initiative to evaluate available methods for estimating chamges in fracture permeability surrounding drifts in the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) and the potential repository at Yucca Mountain in response to (1) construction-induced stress changes and (2) subsequent thermal pulse effects due to waste emplacement. These results are needed for modeling changes in repository-level moisture movement and seepage.

Unlike other fuels, hydrogen (H{sub 2}) can be generated and consumed without generating carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). This creates both significant engineering challenges and unsurpassed ecological advantages for H{sub 2} as a fuel, while enabling an inexhaustible (closed) global fuel cycle based on the cleanest, most abundant, natural, and elementary substances: H{sub 2}, O{sub 2}, and H{sub 2}O. If generated using light, heat, and/or electrical energy from solar, wind, fission, or (future) fusion power sources, H{sub 2} becomes a versatile, storable, and universal carbonless energy carrier, a necessary element for future global energy system(s) aimed at being free of air and water pollution, CO{sub 2}, and other greenhouse gases. The case for hydrogen rests fundamentally on the need to eliminate pollution and stabilize Earth's atmosphere and climate system.

The Nuclear Physics group at UTK is involved in heavy-ion physics including both nuclear structure and reaction mechanisms. During the last year experimental work has been in 3 broad areas: structure of nuclei at high angular momentum, structure of nuclei far from stability, and ultra-relativistic heavy-ion physics. Results in these areas are described in this document under: properties of high-spin states, study of low-energy levels of nuclei far from stability, and high-energy heavy-ion physics (PHENIX, etc.). Another important component of the work is theoretical interpretation of experimental results (Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research).

The Nuclear Physics group at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is involved in several aspects of heavy-ion physics including both nuclear structure and reaction mechanisms. While the main emphasis is on experimental problems, the authors have maintained a strong collaboration with several theorists in order to best pursue the physics of their measurements. During the last year they have had several experiments at the ATLAS at Argonne National Laboratory, the GAMMASPHERE at the LBL 88 Cyclotron, and with the NORDBALL at the Niels Bohr Institute Tandem. Also, they continue to be very active in the WA93/98 collaboration studying ultra-relativistic heavy ion physics utilizing the SPS accelerator at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland and in the PHENIX Collaboration at the RHIC accelerator under construction at Brookhaven National Laboratory. During the last year their experimental work has been in three broad areas: (1) the structure of nuclei at high angular momentum, (2) the structure of nuclei far from stability, and (3) ultra-relativistic heavy-ion physics. The results of studies in these particular areas are described in this document. These studies concentrate on the structure of nuclear matter in extreme conditions of rotational motion, imbalance of neutrons and protons, or very high temperature and …

Environmental surveillance of the Hanford Site and surrounding areas is conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Sampling is conducted to evaluate levels of radioactive and nonradioactive pollutants in the Hanford environs. This document contains the calendar year 2004 schedules for the routine and non-routine collection of samples for the Surface Environmental Surveillance Project (SESP) and Drinking Water Monitoring Project.

The objective of this project was to develop a method, at the pilot scale, for the economical production of hydrogen from peanut shells. During the project period a pilot scale process, based on the bench scale process developed at NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab), was developed and successfully operated to produce hydrogen from peanut shells. The technoeconomic analysis of the process suggests that the production of hydrogen via this method is cost-competitive with conventional means of hydrogen production.

We report on an LDRD seed program of novel technology development (started by an FY98 Engineering Tech-base project) that will enable extremely high-fidelity analog-to-digital converters for a variety of national security missions. High speed (l0+ GS/s ), high precision (l0+ bits) ADC technology requires extremely short aperture times ({approx}1ps ) with very low jitter requirements (sub 10fs ). These fundamental requirements, along with other technological barriers, are difficult to realize with electronics: However, we outline here, a way to achieve these timing apertures using a novel multi-wavelength optoelectronic short-pulse optical source. Our approach uses an optoelectronic feedback scheme with high optical Q to produce an optical pulse train with ultra-low jitter ( sub 5fs) and high amplitude stability (<10{sup 10}). This approach requires low power and can be integrated into an optoelectronic integrated circuit to minimize the size. Under this seed program we have demonstrated that the optical feedback mechanism can be used to generate a high Q resonator. This has reduced the technical risk for further development, making it an attractive candidate for outside funding.

The morphological and electrical properties of yttrium (Y) and indium (In) doped barium cerate perovskites of the form BaIn{sub 0.3-x}Y{sub x}Ce{sub 0.7}O{sub 3-{delta}} (with x=0-0.3) prepared by a modified Pechini method were investigated as potential high temperature proton conductors with improved chemical stability. The sinterability increased with the increase of In-doping, and the perovskite phase was found in the BaIn{sub 0.3-x}Y{sub x}Ce{sub 0.7}O{sub 3-{delta}} solid solutions over the range 0 {le} x {le} 0.3. The conductivities decreased (from x to x, insert quantitative values) while the tolerance to wet CO{sub 2} improved for BaIn{sub 0.3-x}Y{sub x}Ce{sub 0.7}O{sub 3-{delta}} samples with an increase of In-doping.

Radiometric methods of analysis for magnesium and calcium have been developed as part of a program for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Office of Isotopes Development, which are applicable to the determination of these elements in portland cement Both methods employ, as a precipitant, a standard solution of (NH/sub 4/)/sub 2/HPO/sub 4/ labeled with phosphorus-32. In the presence of NH/ sub 4/OH, this reagent precipitate; MgNH/sub 4/PO/sub 4/ or Ca/sub 3/(PO/sub 4/)/ sub 2/ from a solution of magnesium or calcium ions. The reduction in the radioactivity level of the labeled phosphate solution after precipitation serves as a measure of the phosphate reacted and thus a measure of the quantity of magnesium or calcium present. Studies have been made of the effects of reagent concentration, NH/sub 4/OH concentration, and other experimental variables. The interference of other elements present normally in portland cement and its raw materials has been determined. The concentration ranges for highest accuracy have been found to be 5 to 15 mg of MgO per 100 ml and 15 to 30 mg of CaO per 50 ml. (auth)