Award Data

The rate of climate change in the Arctic is larger than elsewhere on Earth. The Arctic has unique and complex couplings and feedbacks between the surface and the atmosphere that in turn modify the radiative balance there differently than elsewhere. Current understanding holds that an increase in downwelling long wave radiative flux, driven by increased water vapor and clouds, may be accelerating c ...

We propose to develop a high-resolution soft x-ray nanoscope based on Fourier Transform Holography which has the very important advantage for real time visualization: 3D images are nearly instantaneously retrieved with a simple 2D Fast Fourier Transform operation. The table-top soft x-ray nanoscope will use for illumination a compact high average power soft x-ray laser that generates high e ...

It has long been known that analog computers can be faster and more power efficient than digital processors by many orders of magnitude. Until the 1970s analog computers were the dominant controllers in most industrial and military applications. Even today digital processors are still slower and more power consumptive than analog, but offer much more flexibility (programmability) and precision. ...

Replacement of petroleum based vehicles with fuel cell electric vehicles operating on hydrogen produced from domestically available resources would dramatically decrease emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well as reduce dependence on oil from politically volatile regions of the world. One major inhibitor to a hydrogen society is the lack of infrastructure, which requires hydroge ...

The Department of Energy needs improved radiation resistant electrical insulation materials for the superconducting magnet coils in fusion reactors. To achieve safe, reliable, economic and environmentally benign fusion energy system, DOE is seeking organic/inorganic insulation-capable materials that are wrappable. These materials under irradiation will enable magnet coils to: (1) operate reliably ...

Density functional theory is used by many researchers funded by the Department of Energy as a method for predicting the behavior of chemicals and materials used in energy applications. However, results of these calculations are often not standardized and, even when they are, expert-level understand of the methods is needed in order to properly perform a simulation. The energy research community a ...

Renewable sources of energy including solar and wind are fast gaining ground on fossil fuels, in part because of their sustainability and environmental benefits. A major issue, however, has been finding efficient ways to store the energy that renewables generate for use when the demand for energy is high. Lithium-­‐sulfur batteries, which store electrical energy by transferring electrons to or ...

There is a continuing need for high power circulators to protect the next generation of high power RF sources from waveguide reflections that can destroy the device. Currently, the power level of circulators is limited by the materials, specifically ferrites that provide the required non-reciprocal operation. New approaches are required that use materials capable of very high power operation. Stat ...

The Brayton cycle for power generation offers significant advantages over the Rankin cycle typically used. Unfortunately, the Brayton cycle uses very high pressure and high temperature, supercritical CO2 (sCO2) as the heat transfer fluid. New materials that can handle the harsh environment of sCO2 are required to enable power generation and prevent issues with corrosion and erosion or efficiency d ...

The Department of Energy has a mission to ensure America's prosperity and security by addressing energy and environmental challenges. This Phase I project aims to produce domestic, economic and environmentally responsible biodiesel fuel from brown grease, a waste that is currently disposed in landfills or incinerated. The conversion of "brown grease" from wastewater treatment plant’s fats oils a ...