Award Data

The variational two-electron reduced-density matrix (v2RDM) method provides an effective framework for computer modeling of the electronic structure of complex molecules and materials that exhibit strong correlation effects. In Phase I and Phase II of this STTR we have demonstrated that the GPU-accelerated implementation of the v2RDM-based complete active space self-consistent field (v2RDM-CASSCF) ...

Pulse voltammetry techniques, coupled with model-based analysis tools, provide a number of advantages for quantitative analysis of electrochemically active materials that govern the performance of batteries and fuel cells. In prior Phase I and II research, CFD Research developed and validated computational models in software that reads voltammogram data from laboratory instruments; predicts the re ...

Terrorist use of radioactive nuclear materials via nuclear and/or radiological dispersion devices (dirty bombs) is a serious threat. Therefore, it is crucial to detect proliferation of nuclear material. Critical challenges include: (a) high sensitivity detection of signature emissions from radioactive isotopes, and (b) cost-effectiveness for deployment of sensor networks across large storage facil ...

Illicit drug trafficking has increasingly been used to fund terrorist groups since the end of the Cold War. As illicit drugs increasingly finance terrorism, soldiers in the U.S. Army are increasingly playing an active role in identifying these drugs in difficult and demanding environments. Unfortunately, these devices have many shortcomings, such as being too expensive, bulky and heavy, being non- ...

Solid oxide fuel cells have long suffered from degradation due to impurities in the fuel and complexities associated with dissimilar materials and high operating temperatures.This degradation lowers the usable cell power output and requires ancillary equipment for fuel sulfur removal and reformation.A unique microstructure for the tubular anode will be produced using a novel freeze-casting techniq ...

A GPS receiver based system, with associated antenna array design, will provide continuous information for attitude determination. This system supports L1/L2 and SAASM functions under both GPS jamming, and spoofing attack, to maintain navigation in contested environments. The approach utilizes two orthogonal, beam steered arrays which point a minimum of four beams at a priori known satellite locat ...

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is vulnerable to radio-frequency (RF) sources of interference and must be defended through electronic protection (EP) measures such as anti-jam (AJ) and anti-spoof (AS). The Phase I effort investigated antenna, electronic, and algorithmic designs for systems capable of supporting direction-finding (DF) measurements while simultaneously performing anti-jam and an ...

As the warfighter is increasingly using more highly integrated instruments, e.g. a laser rangefinder (LRF) combined with a laser designator and an imager, the need to decrease the size of these components becomes more important.Compact small munition applications of rangefinders particularly place an emphasis on size of the optical front end.In order to make the transceiver more compact, special a ...

There is an unmet demand for ultra-low-power, ultra-compact and low-cost radios to address emerging sensing and communication needs for military and commercial applications such as IoT/IoE. To overcome the limitations in existing bulky and power hungry radios, we propose a disruptive solution by integration of a nano-scaled THz transceiver, on-chip antenna, and energy harvesting circuits in a form ...

The objective of this Phase II proposal is to continue the development of a Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch (PCSS) with an integrated optical trigger that can switch at least 30 kV, 1 kA, 20 ns pulses with jitter 108 shots. Ness Engineering, Inc. (NEI) and Texas Tech University (TTU) propose to utilize wide bandgap materials to demonstrate lock-on switching and allow much less optical trigger ...