How will the United States satisfy energy demand in a tightening global energy marketplace while, at the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Exascale computing -- expected to be available within the next eight to ten years ? may play a crucial role in answering that question by enabling a paradigm shift from test-based to science-based design and engineering. Computational modeling of complete power generation systems and engines, based on scientific first principles, will accelerate the improvement of existing energy technologies and the development of new transformational technologies by pre-selecting the designs most likely to be successful for experimental validation, rather than relying on trial and error. The predictive understanding of complex engineered systems made possible by computational modeling will also reduce the construction and operations costs, optimize performance, and improve safety. Exascale computing will make possible fundamentally new approaches to quantifying the uncertainty of safety and performance engineering. This report discusses potential contributions of exa-scale modeling in four areas of energy production and distribution: nuclear power, combustion, the electrical grid, and renewable sources of energy, which include hydrogen fuel, bioenergy conversion, photovoltaic solar energy, and wind turbines. Examples of current research are taken from projects funded by the U.S. …

This report discusses the continuing conflict in Syria including recent regime losses in confrontations with forces of the Islamic State (IS, aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or ISIL/ISIS) in northeastern Syria. The report also covers U.S. policy responses to the conflict.

This report responds to a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) identified to address some of the major updates included in the proposed rule. The FAQs summarize provisions such as the introduction of a minimum medical loss ratio (MLR), guidance on enrolling the long-term services and supports (LTSS) population in managed care, and network adequacy.

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This report explains the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (also referred to as PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 111th Congress, all nominations to full-time positions requiring Senate confirmation in the 15 executive departments.

This Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study addresses the Sludge Treatment Project (STP) Engineered Container Retrieval and Transfer System (ECRTS) preliminary design for retrieving sludge from underwater engineered containers located in the 105-K West (KW) Basin, transferring the sludge as a sludge-water slurry (hereafter referred to as 'slurry') to a Sludge Transport and Storage Container (STSC) located in a Modified KW Basin Annex, and preparing the STSC for transport to T Plant using the Sludge Transport System (STS). There are six, underwater engineered containers located in the KW Basin that, at the time of sludge retrieval, will contain an estimated volume of 5.2 m{sup 3} of KW Basin floor and pit sludge, 18.4 m{sup 3} of 105-K East (KE) Basin floor, pit, and canister sludge, and 3.5 m{sup 3} of settler tank sludge. The KE and KW Basin sludge consists of fuel corrosion products (including metallic uranium, and fission and activation products), small fuel fragments, iron and aluminum oxide, sand, dirt, operational debris, and biological debris. The settler tank sludge consists of sludge generated by the washing of KE and KW Basin fuel in the Primary Clean Machine. A detailed description of the origin of sludge and its chemical and physical …

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This report discusses the 2002 rule, focusing on how it changes which material and types of activities are regulated under Section 404 and the significance of these issues, especially for the mining industry.

This report provides an overview of the six grant types with criteria for defining a block grant and a list of current block grants. It also examines competing perspectives concerning the use of block grants versus other grant mechanisms to achieve national goals, provides an historical overview of the role of block grants in American federalism, and discusses recent changes to existing block grants and proposals to create new ones.

This report has three major sections. The first section answers some basic questions about Bitcoin and the operation of the Bitcoin network and its interaction with the current dollar-based monetary system. The second section summarizes likely reasons for and against widespread Bitcoin adoption. The third section discusses legal and regulatory matters that have been raised by Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

This report discusses Special Operations Forces (SOFs), which are elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified.

This report discusses Special Operations Forces (SOFs), which are elite military units with special training and equipment that can infiltrate hostile territory through land, sea, or air to conduct a variety of operations, many of them classified.

The objectives are: (1) develop advanced materials and coatings for hydrogen pipeline compressors; (2) achieve greater reliability, greater efficiency, and lower capital in vestment and maintenance costs in hydrogen pipeline compressors; and (3) research existing and novel hydrogen compression technologies that can improve reliability, eliminate contamination, and reduce cost. Compressors are critical components used in the production and delivery of hydrogen. Current reciprocating compressors used for pipeline delivery of hydrogen are costly, are subject to excessive wear, have poor reliability, and often require the use of lubricants that can contaminate the hydrogen (used in fuel cells). Duplicate compressors may be required to assure availability. The primary objective of this project is to identify, and develop as required, advanced materials and coatings that can achieve the friction, wear, and reliability requirements for dynamically loaded components (seal and bearings) in high-temperature, high-pressure hydrogen environments prototypical of pipeline and forecourt compressor systems. The DOE Strategic Directions for Hydrogen Delivery Workshop identified critical needs in the development of advanced hydrogen compressors - notably, the need to minimize moving parts and to address wear through new designs (centrifugal, linear, guided rotor, and electrochemical) and improved compressor materials. The DOE is supporting several compressor design studies …

This proposal requested ADR funds for two years to make measurements and detector proto-types in the context of planning a program in conjunction with Argonne National Laboratory to develop very large-area planar photodetectors. The proposed detectors have integrated transmission-line readout and sampling electronics able to achieve timing and position resolutions in the range of 1-50 psec and 1-10 mm, respectively. The capability for very precise time measurements is inherent in the design, and provides a �third� coordinate, orthogonal to the two in the plane, for the point of origin of photons or charged particles, allowing �tomographic� reconstruction in 3-dimensions inside a volume.

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Experiments in a number of conventional aspect ratio tokamaks have been successful in pacing edge localized modes (ELMs) by rapid vertical jogging of the plasma. This paper demonstrates the first pacing of ELMs in a spherical torus plasma. Applied 30 Hz vertical jogs synchronized the ELMs with the upward motion of the plasma. 45 Hz jogs also lead to an increase in the ELM frequency, though the synchronization of the ELMs and jogs was unclear. A reduction in the ELM energy was observed at the higher driven ELM frequencies. __________________________________________________

This report discusses issues for Congress in FY2011, which are whether to approve, reject, or modify DOD's new KC-X competition strategy, and whether to approve, reject, or modify the Air Force's request for FY2011 research and development funding for the new KC-X program.

This report focuses on the transition of employees from National Security Personnel System (NSPS) to non-NSPS pay systems. It does not address the operation of NSPS or other pay schedules. The report discusses how the transition is scheduled to occur and analyzes congressional options for oversight or legislative action.

This report discusses the Project BioShield Act (P.L. 108-276). In 2004 Congress passed the law to encourage the private sector to develop medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism agents and to provide a novel mechanism for federal acquisition of those newly developed countermeasures. This law provides three main authorities: (1) relaxing regulatory requirements for some CBRN terrorism-related spending, including hiring personnel and awarding research grants; (2) guaranteeing a federal market for new CBRN medical countermeasures; and (3) permitting emergency use of unapproved countermeasures.

This report considers the Constitutionality of states and localities enacting their own sanctions on foreign countries, particularly Iran and Sudan.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. This resulted in 11 worker fatalities, a massive oil release, and a national response effort in the Gulf of Mexico region by the federal and state governments as well as BP. Based on estimates from the Flow Rate Technical Group, which is led by the U.S. Geological Survey, the 2010 Gulf spill has become the largest oil spill in U.S. waters. The oil spill has damaged natural resources and has had regional economic impacts. In addition, questions have been raised as to whether offshore regulation of oil exploration has kept pace with the increasingly complex technologies needed to explore and develop deeper waters. This report provides an initial overview of Deepwater Horizon-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to in-depth CRS reports on specific issues.

An other transaction (OT) is a special vehicle used by federal agencies for obtaining or advancing research and development (R&D) or prototypes. An OT is not a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, and there is no statutory or regulatory definition of "other transaction." Only those agencies that have been provided OT authority may engage in other transactions.

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) has reviewed the project documentation and data for the Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor (BGRR) Engineered Cap at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, New York. The Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) have completed removal of affected soils and performed as-left surveys by BSA associated with the BGRR Engineered Cap. Sample results have been submitted, as required, to demonstrate that remediation efforts comply with the cleanup goal of {approx}15 mrem/yr above background to a resident in 50 years (BNL 2011a).