Award Data

72808S03-I The conversion of cellulosic biomass to commodity products via biological processing could benefit society by improving energy security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting rural economies. However, commercial application is impeded by the current absence of low-cost technology to overcome the recalcitrance of cellulosic biomass. This project will develop a strain of Clo ...

73089S03-I Software Radio, needed for national security applications, drives wide bandwidths (40-100 MHz) and therefore requires super-computing I/O and signal processing capabilities. General-purpose processors do not provide enough performance density to effectively address these applications, while Application Specific Integrated Circuits are costly and difficult to update. Therefore, this p ...

70860 Current drilling systems (e.g., steerable systems and rotary steerable tools) have limitations when drilling deep wells, particularly in applying high torque to the drill bit. Hole tortuosity causes steerable systems to generate a high degree of drag; drag also reduces the drill-bit-torque in rotary steerable tools. Other systems (e.g., percussion) develop high vibrations that can damage ...

70860 Current drilling systems (e.g., steerable systems and rotary steerable tools) have limitations when drilling deep wells, particularly in applying high torque to the drill bit. Hole tortuosity causes steerable systems to generate a high degree of drag; drag also reduces the drill-bit-torque in rotary steerable tools. Other systems (e.g., percussion) develop high vibrations that can damage ...

72714S03-I The Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell uses an electrochemical process to generate electricity with zero emissions and high efficiency. Current state-of-the-art PEM fuel cells, operating at ambient pressure, have a power density of 100milliWatt/cm2 at 0.8V. However, power density enhancements greater than 200% would be required to meet the cost and performance targets for autom ...

70814B02-II Measurements of atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CO from aircraft and from remote sites play a central role in observational strategies intended to quantify the sources and sinks of carbon and to control global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. Improved measurement techniques that are highly sensitive, automated, and robust are needed to quantify changes in the carbon conte ...

70814B02-II Measurements of atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CO from aircraft and from remote sites play a central role in observational strategies intended to quantify the sources and sinks of carbon and to control global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. Improved measurement techniques that are highly sensitive, automated, and robust are needed to quantify changes in the carbon conte ...

70555S02-II DNA sequencing is currently not possible when starting from single bacterial cells because of the limited amount of DNA present. Typical medical and biological samples contain a heterogeneous mixture of species; therefore, obtaining a sufficient amount of DNA requires a time-consuming and labor-intensive approach involving the isolation and culture of bacterial cells. Since most ...

70555S02-II DNA sequencing is currently not possible when starting from single bacterial cells because of the limited amount of DNA present. Typical medical and biological samples contain a heterogeneous mixture of species; therefore, obtaining a sufficient amount of DNA requires a time-consuming and labor-intensive approach involving the isolation and culture of bacterial cells. Since most ...

70053S02-II Many nuclear physics experiments supported by the DOE use photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) for the detection of optical signals induced by nuclear particles in detectors. PMTs are the most sensitive light detectors available and are frequently utilized when single-photon and excellent- timing signal detection are necessary. However, hand-assembled PMTs are relatively bulky, expensiv ...