Award Data

Improving the performance of existing superconducting radiofrequency cavities is one approach to improving the capabilities of existing accelerator facilities. By coating existing SRF cavities with Mo3Re, one could realize reduced coat of cryogenics and/or higher accelerating gradients. Alameda Applied Sciences Corp proposes to develop a thin film coating method to produce Mo3Re thin film superco ...

Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) has been an extremely productive materials science probe for several decades and is used extensively by researchers studying a wide range of subjects, including polymers, ceramics, metals and biological macromolecules and functions. However, it is limited to length scales from 1 to 100 nm and requires highly collimated and relatively monochromatic neutron beam ...

The value of the electric dipole moment of the neutron (nEDM) represents a test of the theories that describe the origin and evolution of the universe. Photomultiplier tubes (PMT) with 50mm diameter used as detectors for the nEDM experiment have two recognized limitations: low quantum efficiency and degraded performance due to secondary pulses.A solid-state Visible Light Photon Counter (VLPC) inve ...

There is a growing demand for power electronics that can operate under the high temperature and high power conditions that will be encountered in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV). As the coolant temperature used to dissipate heat from electronics increases, the operation of power semiconductor devices such as Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) becomes severely limited in order that the safe ...

Electrical power generation consumes a large fraction of the nations fossil fuel, notably coal, and produces significant CO2 emissions. Gas turbine based cycles such as IGCC are constrained by turbine component temperature limits, and consequently have potential for lower fuel consumption and emissions. A novel, highly effective technology for cooling rotating turbine components has been under exp ...

Aerosol particles have important impacts on visibility, acid deposition, climate, and human health, although large uncertainties remain in quantifying their chemical composition and atmospheric transformations. A large fraction of the anthropogenic aerosol is generated from energy-related activities, and organic compounds are known to constitute a significant fraction of ambient aerosol mass. Re ...

SO2 is an important ubiquitous aerosol precursor with anthropogenic, biogenic and geogenic sources. The sulfate aerosol produced from atmospheric oxidation of SO2 has a negative radiative forcing component that is highly uncertain due to its direct and indirect effects. Due to its potency as a remote clean atmosphere aerosol precursor and its capability to modify cloud properties, SO2 is a `short ...

Methane is the second most important atmospheric greenhouse gas after CO2 yet its global sources and sinks are still inadequately characterized. Monitoring the isotopic composition of atmospheric methane is one of the most promising approaches to closing the methane budget. Detailed process studies of isotopic fractionation associated with methane sinks and sources are also crucial. For both p ...

Atmospheric aerosols influence the global radiation balance through direct scattering, and perhaps more importantly, through modification of the earth

Semi-volatile organic compounds play an important role in the atmosphere. These constituents are involved atmospheric transformation processes, and are an important source of secondary organic aerosols and may play a significant role in the formation of cloud condensation nuclei. Unanswered questions include the relative importance of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic emissions to seco ...