This report summarizes research conducted by ITI to evaluate the commercialization potential of EG G Mound Applied Technologies' heat treatment process of high strength materials. The remainder of the report describes the nature of demand for maraging steel, extent of demand, competitors, environmental trends, technology life cycle, industry structure, and conclusion. (JL)

Our general objective is to further the development of efficient continuous mild coal gasification processes. Our efforts this year have been in four main areas. A new thrust has been to identify and develop efficient processes to separate the vapor product stream into particulate-free liquid and mist-free gas. We continued work aimed at predicting heat transfer rates (hence throughput) in externally-heated twin-screw pyrolyzers. We sought to provide technical support for the design, installation, startup, and operation of the DOE-sponsored 500 kg/hr twin-screw mild gasification unit at Coal Technology Corporation (CTC). A smaller laboratory effort had the objective of identifying and testing the reaction mechanisms of sulfur species during coal pyrolysis. Detailed subproject objectives are given in their respective sections. 20 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

The current focus of the research is low-energy (collision v<<bound v{sub e}) inelastic collisions for selected systems that possess the characteristic that many intermediate states are strongly coupled, such as can occur in classes of excited-atom (including Rydberg atom) collisions with atoms, molecules and positive and negative ions: (1) We are interested in the dependence of various differential and total cross sections on the angular momentum of the initial excited state and on the alignment of the initial electron charge distribution (for non-spherical initially excited states). (2) We wish to understand how characteristics of the classical trajectories (in CTMC calculations), e.g. multiple encounters, quasi-periodicity, chaos, relate to characteristics of the probability (scattering) amplitudes obtained from semiclassical (quantum mechanical) treatments. (3) In particular, in order to investigate a range of interaction regimes,'' we have proposed to study low-Rydberg-atom collisions with: ions and polar molecules (long range interaction); non-polar molecules and atoms (short-range interaction); as well as electron-attaching atoms/molecules (transient electron capture possible). (4) We plan to look for observable signatures of possibly novel intracollisional interference effects and quasi-vibrational resonance effects that may occur in low-Rydberg collisions.

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the certification requirements of federal agencies, focusing on: (1) the extent and variety of certification activities in the federal government; (2) the extent to which any policies, procedures, or guidance exist governing these activities, either governmentwide or within selected agencies; and (3) an agency certification practice that could serve as an example or best practice for other agencies."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new rule on reducing interstate ozone transport of nitrogen oxides. GAO noted that: (1) in accordance with section 126 of the Clean Air Act, the rule contains EPA's final action on petitions filed by eight northeastern states seeking to mitigate significant transport of nitrogen oxides, one of the main precursors of ground-level ozone, across state lines; (2) in the rule, EPA determines that portions of six of the petitions are technically meritorious; (3) those portions will be automatically deemed granted or denied at certain later dates pending actions by the states and EPA regarding state submittals in response to the final nitrogen oxides state implementation plan call; and (4) EPA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO examined the type and extent of consumer education that occurred since the revised children's sleepwear safety standard went into effect in January 1997, focusing on three voluntary point-of-sale practices that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and others recognize as important for informing consumers about the new standard."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Transportation's (DOT) new rule on credit assistance for surface transportation projects. GAO noted that: (1) the final rule would implement the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 to provide credit assistance to surface transportation projects; (2) the Act authorizes DOT to provide secured loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public and private project sponsors of eligible surface transportation projects; and (3) DOT complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the National Park Service's Gettysburg National Military Park and two of its partners--the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission and the Friends of the National Parks of Gettysburg, Inc."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a thorough and complete investigation of possible misconduct by management of the Los Angeles District Attorney's Bureau of Family Support Operations (BFSO)."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed money laundering in relation to private banking and highlighted some regulatory issues related to the vulnerability of selected offshore jurisdictions to money laundering, focusing on: (1) regulators' oversight of private banking in general; (2) regulators' oversight of private banking in selected offshore jurisdictions; (3) barriers that have hampered regulators' oversight of offshore banking; and (4) future challenges that confront regulators' efforts to combat money laundering in offshore jurisdictions."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO responded to congressional questions regarding its June 24, 1999, testimony on the need for stronger information security management, focusing on: (1) the effectiveness of federal agencies' implementation of the 1987 Computer Security Act; (2) what gaps the Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) No. 63 will fill within existing federal programs that would improve the security of federal computer systems; (3) how GAO's Information Security Management guide differ from existing National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) issued guidelines and bulletins, and how agencies responded to the guidelines; and (4) whether the 1992 information security audits conducted by NIST and National Security Agency (NSA) were effective and useful and whether NIST and NSA should perform these audits on a regular basis."

A statement of record issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed its 1998 investigation of alleged illegalities involving Raul Salinas de Gotari, brother of the former President of Mexico, Carlos Salinas de Gotari, and a U.S. bank, Citibank."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on how the Antiquities Act of 1906 has been used since its passage, focusing on: (1) the monuments that have been established under the act; and (2) a comparison of the requirements, if any, for environmental documentation and public participation, and of the processes, if any, for facilitating congressional oversight found in the act and in three other pieces of legislation--the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA)."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed research on the effectiveness of various welfare-to-work approaches, focusing on: (1) the effectiveness of a rapid employment approach, an education-based approach, and a combination of these two approaches in improving employment-related outcomes for welfare recipients and other low-income women with children; and (2) the effect of welfare recipients' educational attainment, including postsecondary education, on the educational attainment of their children."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO determined the potential cost of equipping and maintaining the capability of cities to respond to a terrorist incident involving a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear device (CBRN), focusing on the: (1) views of federal, state, and local officials on equipment they believed would provide various levels of capability to respond to a CBRN incident; and (2) potential procurement and sustainment costs of these items."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the level of enrollment in the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program and the Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) program, focusing on: (1) the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of: (a) Medicare beneficiaries who enroll as a QMB or SLMB; and (b) Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for QMB or SLMB but do not enroll; (2) reasons why eligible beneficiaries are not enrolled; and (3) strategies to increase enrollment."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed states' efforts to implement welfare reform, focusing on: (1) what is known about the effectiveness of various approaches for moving welfare recipients into jobs; (2) how states are implementing welfare reform; (3) the status of those leaving welfare; and (4) the challenges that lie ahead as welfare reform continues to evolve."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the wildfire hazards faced by communities located adjacent to national forests in the dry, inland portion of the Western United States, focusing on: (1) the extent and seriousness of threats posed by national forest wildfires to nearby communities in the interior West; (2) agency efforts to address them; and (3) barriers to successfully implementing these efforts."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "GAO followed up on its report on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) fiscal year (FY) 1998 financial statements."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the District of Columbia's compliance with Public Law 105-100, focusing on whether: (1) any District employees were authorized, as of September 1998, to take home official vehicles; and (2) these employees were aware of the statutory restriction on using District government vehicles for other than official business, including home-to-work transportation."

Other written product issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new rule on the lowering of reporting thresholds for certain persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals. GAO noted that: (1) the rule would lower the reporting thresholds for certain PBTs that are subject to reporting under section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and section 6607 of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990; (2) among other actions, the final rule adds other chemicals to the EPCRA section 313 list of toxic chemicals; and (3) EPA complied with applicable requirements in promulgating the rule."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Postal Service's acceptance controls for business mail, focusing on whether the Service had made the changes GAO recommended previously and whether those changes were working."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS), focusing on: (1) whether NAIS is an effective mechanism for disseminating procurement information to industry, including small businesses; and (2) the status of efforts to develop a governmentwide electronic procurement information system similar to NAIS."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Reserve System's (FRS) efforts to remedy the year 2000 problem for its internal computer systems."