Award Data

Although carbon dioxide is monitored worldwide at hundreds of monitoring stations, existing monitoring methods, which rely on the use of high pressure calibration gas cylinders, are both labor intensive and expensive. Thus, there is a pressing need for an affordable, highly-accurate (1 part in 3000) carbon dioxide monitor for the ambient atmosphere. In addition to being extremely accurate, the r ...

National security interests related to the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction require the remote detection of trace gases associated with the nuclear fuel cycle. Newly developed, mid-infrared, quantum cascade lasers have the potential to contribute to this application. These small solid state lasers produce relatively high power in the infrared band of light where many gases can be ...

The preservation of experimental data gathered by the nuclear physics community is being compromised by the dramatic increase in the rate of data generation. Physicists need to be able to easily archive the data, along with its experimental context and their current analysis procedures, in order to prepare for future breakthroughs in analysis technology and/or potential changes of the group perfo ...

This project will develop technolgy for integrating a high-temperature (400 to 700ºC), high-efficiency (greater than 90%) secondary battery with a 3 to 10 kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The battery will be based on an alkali-metal-ion-conducting, highly refractory, beta alumina solid electrolyte (BASE) and a non corrosive metal salt. The battery is expected not only to meet or exceed w ...

As reported by Internet security threat reports, Bot networks are becoming the focal point for cybercriminals. Milcord and the University of Wisconsin, responds to this challenge with our proposal ¿ a ¿Bayesian Activity Monitor for Botnet Defense¿ (BAM-BD). In this proposal, we will research, design, and develop a botnet detection and mitigation tool that automatically classifies botnet behavio ...

Future progress in understanding particle physics will require higher energy collisions, which in turn will require more energy and luminosity. More luminosity means larger apertures and bigger magnets, which in turn will require higher-performance lower-cost superconductors. This project will develop and demonstrate a low cost powder-in-tube (PIT) multifilament Bi2212 process with improved fila ...

79252 As environmental regulations become increasingly stringent, there is mounting pressure on automobile manufacturers to substantially lower unburnt hydrocarbon emissions. This will require monitoring the hydrocarbon content in the exhaust with more accuracy than currently possible using the two oxygen sensor system. This requirement is especially important during start-up conditions, which a ...

79817 Although U.S. coal reserves are large enough to ensure energy security for the U.S. for several centuries, dependence on foreign natural gas and oil continues to grow because technologies for producing power with these fuels have an economic advantage over coal-based integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology. Yet, IGCC technology is a highly efficient and environmentally frie ...

78524 Durable, ultra-high productivity, low-cost hydrogen membranes for water-gas shift membrane reactors have been identified by the DOE as critical for low cost hydrogen production from coal or other fuels. The DOE has set aggressive membrane cost and performance targets, which, if met, promise to revolutionize hydrogen production. This project will develop a novel process for producing high q ...

79737B Only half of the estimated carbon delivered to the atmosphere by human activities in the 1990s remains there. The "missing" carbon was absorbed by terrestrial ecosystems and oceans, thus mitigating human perturbations to the carbon cycle. Carbon isotopes play a central role in understanding this terrestrial carbon sink at a variety of scales, but instrumentation to directly measure carbon ...