Award Data

We propose a high-impact innovation for weather forecasting that integrates global ensemble weather forecasts with an AI-driven post-processing model of extreme weather indices. This innovation will provide the basis for skillful probabilistic forecasts of compound extreme weather events at extended lead times. Extreme weather/climate events of relevance to electric utilities focused on in Phase I ...

A novel screen-accelerator grid pair is offered for ion thrusters for electric space propulsion. They will be flat and highly tensioned and fastened to ceramic frames. The frames provide extreme rigidity. The tensioning of the masks virtually eliminates relative movement of grid apertures, even at high vibration levels and large temperature excursions. This technology was proven in the manufacture ...

Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have matured to the point where they are being used throughout many modern applications. nbsp;Explainable AI (XAI) ndash; AI in which humans can understand the decisions or predictions made by the AI system ndash; is becoming critical for many applications, including Air Traffic Management (ATM). In contrast, ML-enabled and AI-enabled systems ...

To address the need for smaller, lighter, and less expensive optics for NASA instruments, a novel optical technology platform based on using additive manufacturing (AM) of custom-engineered nanocomposite materials will be demonstrated. It will be shown that custom optical materials with precise index and dispersion values that can be used to fabricate aberration-free freeform gradient index (GRIN) ...

Whether in industry, at home, or in the lab, most fluids handing operations and equipment would fail immediately when directly employed in the microgravity environments of orbiting or coast spacecraft. This is due to the innate assumption of gravity in nearly everything we do, make, and think. Thus, special engineering considerations must be made to account for the large length scale inertial-visc ...

The agricultural sector must adopt available technological advances to decrease its significant contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Its high levels of energy and water consumption are two of the main sources of inefficiencies. At the same time, many rural communities lack access to reliable electricity, specifically under-utilizing clean energy sources. An opportunity exi ...

Renewable energy sources are experiencing a surge of growth due to rising power demand but suffer asynchronous production relative to societal needs. To balance the overproduction during low demand and underproduction during high demand, proton exchange membrane (PEM) based electrolyzers (capable of producing zero-carbon, green hydrogen) and fuel cells (for clean electricity generation and zero em ...

Plastics (polymers) are used widely in energy, industry, and defense sectors due to their low cost and weight, processibility, and electrical insulation properties. Unfortunately, this class of materials is also thermally insulating, which restricts their usefulness in applications where heat is generated and has a direct effect on the performance (e.g. electronics and computing, LED lighting, hea ...

C56-14d-273410Aquaculture has been identified as essential for feeding the world as the population increases towards nine billion by 2050. While aquaculture often comes with environmental challenges, future growth must be done sustainably and equitably. Marine renewable energy (MRE) to power aquaculture is one of the key strategies to meet this growth responsibly. Marine hydrokinetic energy offers ...

Aggressive decarbonization and electrification scenarios require a 3000-fold increase in grid-tied storage assets. Grid-tied batteries can only contribute to this challenge if control methods and technology improve dramatically. While grid-scale and residential battery markets are growing rapidly, deployment in small commercial buildings lags significantly. Current projects in this market segment ...