Award Data

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program aims at development and demonstration of an integrated theoretically/experimentally combinatorial method for the accurate prediction of rheological behaviors of special polymer solutions. In-depth understandings of dynamic responses of the polymer solutions under external shear are essential for development of the “smart” polymer-based add ...

The cost of high power RF sources exceeds available funding for several large accelerator systems. The ILC, for example, will require more than 700 multiple beam klystrons. The complexity of the klystron currently requires hundreds of individually machined parts, in addition to tens of bonding processes. The high cost is preventing construction of new accelerator systems. Calabazas Creek Research ...

Logistical shortages of ammonia, coupled with the high cost of new manufacturing plants, >$2BB, leads to lower agricultural output and lost revenue. The current Haber-Bosch process is also energy intensive and consumes ~1% of the total world energy output. Fulcrum Biosciences, FBS, with the University of Utah as subcontractor will develop a bio-electrochemical process that converts air into ammoni ...

Advanced methods in reservoir characterization are required to effectively harness geothermal energy from fractured high-temperature, high-pressure crystalline rock. It is critically important to determine sufficient fluid connection between injection and production wells to enhance sweep efficiency and optimize the lifetime of the reservoir. Measuring hydraulic pressure changes in offset wells in ...

Next generation reactor R&D aims to improve overall safety, efficiency, sustainability, and proliferation resistance for economically viable nuclear energy. New reactor design and fuel development rely on novel materials that are resistant to both radiation damage and corrosive environments. However, American nuclear fuel developers face a serious dilemma: there are no existing domestic fast react ...

One of the most exciting recent developments in superconducting RF technology has been the discovery of a nitrogen-doping process which can reliably increase the superconducting quality factor of niobium resonators well above 1010 at high frequency (>1 GHz). This process is now well demonstrated in particular for TESLA-style 9-cell cavities at 1.3 GHz. Nitrogen doping is part of the plan for the p ...

New fuel forms are needed to enable gas-cooled fast fission reactors to operate using a once-through deep burn fuel cycle. These small, modular reactors will have a core life of 30 years and will burn the plutonium-239 that is created in the core as well as other transuranics. Deep burn rapidly and effectively reduces the inventory of transuranics from spent fuel without the need for repeated recy ...

Low-temperature plasmas generated by nanosecond electrical pulses, also referred to as transient plasmas, can be used to significantly improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by enabling stable ignition in gasoline and natural gas engines in dilute conditions (e.g. applications such as methane capture, where methane is captured from landfills and burned to produce electricity) as well as thro ...

Radiation therapy is used to treat over 60% of cancer patients and is used in nearly half of the curative cases, however, in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), there is a large underserved population, with technology per capita 2 or more orders of magnitude lower than in the US. Many LMIC still utilize outdated Cobalt-60 machines, which result in excessive normal tissue dose, present safety ...

Nickel super alloys, such as Inconel®, are leading candidates for fossil energy-based power production components due to their resilience in extreme environments. A significant technical roadblock to the implementation of nickel-based power plant systems is the inability to produce large-scale components in a cost competitive manner. We will address the problem of manufacturing large, low-cost su ...