fy15-lanl-annual-report 66bfa

Laboratory Directed Research and Development Los Alamos National Laboratory FY15 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT Disclaimer The Los Alamos National Laboratory strongly supports academic freedom and a researcher’s right to publish; therefore, the Laboratory as an institution does not endorse the viewpoint of a publication or guarantee its technical correctness. With respect to documents available from this server, neither the United States Government nor the Los Alamos National Security, LLC., nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the Los Alamos National Security, LLC. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the Los Alamos National Security, LLC., and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Unless otherwise indicated, this information has been authored by an employee or employees of the Los Alamos National Security, LLC. (LANS), operator of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Government has rights to use, reproduce, and distribute this information. The public may copy and use this information without charge, provided that this Notice and any statement of authorship are reproduced on all copies. Neither the Government nor LANS makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any liability or responsibility for the use of this information. Issued March 2016 LA-UR-16-21921 About the Cover Established in 2003, the Los Alamos Engineering Institute is an ongoing re- search and education collaboration between the Los Alamos National Labora- tory and the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. It promotes mission-relevant engineering research collaborations with UCSD faculty and students and provides the Laboratory with a proactive approach to recruiting, retention and revitalization of its technical staff. Several alumni of the Engineering Institute’s Dynamics Summer School were recruited to Los Alamos through LDRD Postdoctoral Research and Development projects; they continue on at the Laboratory today as engineering scientists, some leading LDRD Early Career projects of their own and some contributing to projects as co-Investigators. These early career researchers are featured on the cover. Structure of this Report In accordance with U.S. Department of Energy Order (DOE) 413.2B, the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) annual report for fiscal year 2015 (FY15) provides summaries of each LDRD-funded project for the fiscal year, as well as full final reports on completed projects. The report is organized as follows: Overview: An introduction to the LDRD Program at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the program’s structure and strategic value, the LDRD portfolio management process, and highlights of outstanding accomplishments by LDRD researchers. Project Summaries: The project summaries are organized first by Focus Areas: Complex Natural and Engineered Systems, Information Science and Technology, Materials for the Future, Nuclear and Particle Futures, and Science of Signatures. Within each category, summaries are organized by LDRD component in the following order: Directed Research (DR, Exploratory Research (ER), Early Career Research (ECR), and Postdoctoral Research and Development (PRD). Annual reports for ongoing projects appear first, followed by full final reports that ended in FY15. Projects are listed in numerical order according to their project identification number, which consists of three parts. The first is the fiscal year in which the project began; the second is a unique numerical identifier; and the third identifies the project component. At Los Alamos, postdocs are hired throughout the fiscal year, and at the time this report was published, some PRD projects did not have significant progress to report due to the fact that the postdoc had just been hired. In the first few weeks of a new PRD project, a postdoc will spend time in general employee training, as well as any additional training required for work in a specialized lab or facility. This was the case for the following PRD projects: Acknowledgements Technical Review William Priedhorsky Jeanne Robinson Publication Designer Andrea Maestas Team Contributors Lisa Lujan Debbie Martinez Stephen Schultz Epolito Ulibarri Susan Whittington Peter Haase 20140685PRD4 20150711PRD2 20150744PRD3 20150743PRD3 20150759PRD3 20150712PRD2 20150708PRD2 20150742PRD3 20150705PRD2 20150758PRD3 20150702PRD1 20150741PRD3 20150710PRD2 20150701PRD1 20150717PRD2 Table of Contents 12 Program Overview Complex Natural and Engineered Systems 25 Discovery Science of Hydraulic Fracturing: Innovative Working Fluids and Their Interactions with Rocks, Fractures, and High Value Hydro- carbons Hari S. Viswanathan 29 Comba ting Antibiotic Resistance: Targeting Efflux Pump Systems at Multiple Scales Sandrasegaram Gnanakaran 32 Quantitative Biology: From Molecules to Cellular Function Angel E. Garcia 37 SHIELDS: Space Haz ards Induced Near Earth by Large Dynamic Storms - Understanding, Modeling, Predicting Vania K. Jordanova 40 Critic al Watersheds: Climate Change, Tipping Points, and Water Security Impacts Richard S. Middleton 43 Using Microreactors for Efficient Plutonium Separations (U) Stephen L. Yarbro 46 Ma ximizing Flux through Engineered Metabolic Pathways Clifford J. Unkefer 53 Deciphering Na ture’s Chemical Toolbox: Decoding the Logic of Biosynthetic Assembly Lines Alexander Koglin 55 T oward a Coupled Multi-physics Modeling Framework for Induced Seismicity Satish Karra 57 The W orld’s First Drought and Insect Caused Global Tree Mortality Monitoring System Chonggang Xu 61 Fr om Troposphere to Ionosphere: How Much Do Thunderstorms Disturb the Total Electron Distribution? Erin H. Lay 66 Understanding The Catalytic Conversion of Oligosaccharides to Fuels and Chemical Feedstocks Andrew Sutton 71 Methane Coupling Chemistry Promoted by Catalysts Containing Inexpensive Metals John C. Gordon 73 Fundamental Actinium Science In Search of Radiotherapeutics Eva R. Birnbaum 76 Label-Free Measurement of Single Cells by Impedance Cytometry in a Microfluidic Device Babetta L. Marrone 80 A New Hypothesis to Explain the Variability of the Outer Radiation Belt: Can we Predict Post-storm Fluxes of Energetic Electrons Based only on Pre- storm Fluxes of the Lower-energy Population? Gregory S. Cunningham 82 Multidisciplinary Studies of Long Non-coding RNAs: Towards a Structural Basis for RNA in Epigenetics Karissa Y. Sanbonmatsu 85 Ho w Trees Die: Multi-scale Studies of Carbon Starvation and Hydraulic Failure during Drought Sanna A. Sevanto 92 P yrocumulus Collapse: Unpredicted Wildfire Dangers Young-Joon Kim 96 Bioc atalysts for Remediation of Uranium Wastes Francisca Rein Rocha 100 Structur e Determination of Large and Membrane- Bound Proteins by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy Ryszard Michalczyk 104 R edox active Catalysts for C-C Coupling Reactions Relevant to Renewable Energy John C. Gordon 106 No vel Chemical Architectures for Supercapacitor Electrolytes: Comparing In Situ Scattering Measurements to Theory and Simulation Cynthia F. Welch 110 One-step Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) and Separation of Rare Earths (RE) Stephen L. Yarbro 114 Low-Grade Thermal Energy Recovery Robert P. Currier 118 Building a Foundation for Understanding How Pathogens Subvert the Host Immune System Thomas C. Terwilliger 120 Ultrafast Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Complex Materials Dmitry A. Yarotski 123 Bayesian Information Gap Decision Analysis Velimir V. Vesselinov 125 Tracking Microbial Activity to Predict the Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystem Function Cheryl R. Kuske 127 Complexes Containing Redox-Active Ligands for the Synthesis of Fuels from Readily-Available Carbon Sources John C. Gordon 128 Bottom-up Chemical Synthesis of Large, Well- Defined, and Organo-Processable Nanographene- based Triarylamine for Optoelectronic Applications Hung-Ju Yen 130 P etabyte-Scale Computational Analyses of Genomic Data to Elucidate Aging Mechanisms William S. Hlavacek 132 Access t o Industrially Important Optically Active beta-X-alcohols via Direct Enantioselective Ester Hydrogenation Pavel Dub 133 Synthesis and X-ray Spectroscopy of Actinide Thiocyanates Stosh A. Kozimor 134 Anaer obic, Solvothermal Synthesis of Lanthanide and Actinide Kagomé Antiferromagnets Stosh A. Kozimor 135 A Ph ysics-Based Numerical Model for Next- Generation Laminar Flow Batteries Qinjun Kang 137 R esolving Kinetic Scales in 3D Global Magnetosphere Simulations William S. Daughton 139 Chemically Modifying the Uranyl Ion Jaqueline L. Kiplinger 143 Catalytic Mechanism and Inhibition of Metallo- beta-lactamases (MBL), the Ultimate Threat Against Antibiotics Ryszard Michalczyk 146 Stimuli Responsive, Functional Biopolymers: Quinic Acid-Based Polymers and Their Assemblies Hsing-Lin Wang 150 Single-Cell Genomics for Better Control of Plant Pathogens Shunsheng Han 152 Exploring Doubly Parasitic Radioisotope Production Via Secondary Neutron Fluence From the 100 Me V IPF Irradiations Eva R. Birnbaum 155 Hybrid Nanos tructures for Photoreduction of CO 2 to Hydrocarbons Hongwu Xu 159 Joint Inversions of Seismic and Gravity Data in Volcanic Areas to Advance Hazards Assessment: A Focus on the Alaskan Subduction Zone and Kilauea, Hawaii Monica Maceira 162 Discovery of Novel Bioactive Natural Products Alexander Koglin 165 Fr om Food to Fuel: Making Ammonia Synthesis Viable for Energy Storage Applications James M. Boncella 168 Genetically Encoded Tools for Light-controlled Molecular Assembly Geoffrey S. Waldo 173 Mesosc opic Lattice Boltzmann Modeling and Investigation of Boiling Multiphase Flows Qinjun Kang Information Science and Technology 177 Information-Driven Materials Discovery and Design Turab Lookman 180 Next Generation Quantum Molecular Dynamics Anders M. Niklasson 183 Optimization and Control of Dynamic Networks Angel E. Garcia 187 Scalable Codesign Performance Prediction for Computational Physics Stephan J. Eidenbenz 189 Cyberphysical Systems and Security Scott N. Backhaus 191 Disrup tive Innovation in Numerical Hydrodynamics Jacob I. Waltz 195 Empo wering the Expert: Machine Learning with User Intelligence Reid B. Porter; Gowri Srinivasan 204 Quan tum Methods for Fast Signal Processing and Metrology Rolando D. Somma 206 St ochastic Modeling of Phase Transitions in Strongly Interacting Quantum Systems Christopher Ticknor 236 A Computationally Efficient Model for Warm Dense Mixtures Didier Saumon 241 Softw are/Hardware Mapping for Data Locality Optimization Hristo N. Djidjev 247 Con textual Learning and Recognition Alexei N. Skurikhin 252 A New Approach to Multiscale Plasma Physics Simulations Gian L. Delzanno 258 Sparse, Distributed, and Robust Network Control Marian Anghel 263 In tegrated Photonics Pathfinder (IPP) Kevin P. Mccabe; Ivan Christov; Wojciech H. Zurek 270 A Quadrature Approach for Non-Gaussian Uncertainty Representation and Propagation David Palmer Materials for the Future 275 Photoactive Energetic Materials for Quantum Optical Initiation Robert J. Scharff 278 Multiferroic Response Engineering in Mesoscale Oxide Structures Dmitry A. Yarotski 283 Exploring Mechanisms of Catalysis on Plutonium Surfaces (U) Marianne P. Wilkerson 286 Mesoscale Materials Science of Ductile Damage in 4 Dimensions: Towards the Computational Design of Damage-Tolerant Materials Ricardo A. Lebensohn 289 Aging in Delta Plutonium Alloys: A Fundamental Approach Franz J. Freibert 292 A New Approach to Mesoscale Functionality: Emergent Tunable Superlattices Marc Janoschek 295 Meso-Photonic Materials for Tailored Light- Matter Interactions Houtong Chen 298 Fighting Carbon with Carbon: All-Carbon Nanomaterial Photovoltaics Stephen K. Doorn 305 Design Principles for Materials with Magnetic Functionality Joe D. Thompson 310 Non-Precious Metal Electrocatalysts for Clean Energy Piotr Zelenay 316 Phase Stability of Multi-Component Nanocomposites Under Irradiation Blas P. Uberuaga 323 Quantum Chemistry, Information, Materials and Metrology Angel E. Garcia 329 Non-Equilibrium Phenomena in Materials, Fluids, and Climate Angel E. Garcia 335 Attosecond Dynamics of Correlated Electrons in f-Electron Materials Steve M. Gilbertson 337 Controlling the Electronic Structure of Emerging Atomically Thin Materials Through Heterostructuring Jinkyoung Yoo 340 A No vel Crystal Plasticity Model that Explicitly Accounts for Energy Storage and Dissipation at Material Interfaces Jason R. Mayeur 342 R oom Temperature Oxidation and Corrosion of Plutonium Alison L. Pugmire 347 Novel Mesoscale Modeling Approach for Investigating Energetically Driven Nanoscale Defect/Interface Interactions Abigail Hunter 354 Magnetic Field Effects on Convection-Modified Solid-Liquid Interfaces Amy J. Clarke 359 Effects of Joining Processes on Bimetal Interface Content and Radiation Damage Resistance John S. Carpenter 365 Pr obing Interface Reactions of Calcite Nanocrystals at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures Rex P. Hjelm Jr 369 Spin-s tate Transitions as a Route to Multifunctionality Vivien Zapf 372 Be yond the Chemical Reaction Zone: Detonation Product Gases in the Warm Dense Regime Dana M. Dattelbaum 374 T opological Kondo Insulators Joe D. Thompson 376 Semiclassical Modeling of Non-adiabatic Processes in Molecular Materials Dima V. Mozyrsky 378 Making nano-Mg a reality Irene J. Beyerlein 382 T oward Tunable Functionalties Using Epitaxial Nanoscaffolding Films Quanxi Jia 385 Dir ect-gap Group-IV Nanocrystals:Cheap, Versatile Materials for Solar Cells Sergei A. Ivanov 387 Me tal and Semiconductor Nanocrystal Superlattices Under Pressure: Multiscale Tuning of Structure and Function Jennifer A. Hollingsworth 390 In teractions of Electrons with Quantum- Confined Systems Probed by Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy Victor I. Klimov 392 Unraveling Interfacial Charge and Energy Transfer Processes in Single Layer 2D Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Aditya Mohite 394 Microstructure Based Continuum Process Modeling of Weapons Metals Rodney J. Mccabe 397 Solut e and Microstructure Prediction during Processing (U) Amy J. Clarke 399 In situ X-ray Imaging and Diffraction to Understand the Mechanics of Initiation Mechanisms in Explosive Single Crystals Kyle J. Ramos 402 Enabling Mesosc ale Science: Nonlocal Dislocation-Flux Crystal Plasticity Under Shock Loading Conditions Darby J. Luscher 404 Embedded Fiber Sensor Appr oach for Dynamic Pressure and Temperature Measurements in Explosives George Rodriguez 407 Thin-Film Hea t Switch for Active Thermal Management of Cube Sat Payloads Alexander H. Mueller 409 Sub-Grid Meso-Sc ale Model for Twinning and Slip Processes Curt A. Bronkhorst 412 Higher Order Spin Noise Spectroscopy: From Foundation of Quantum Mechanics to Applications Nikolai Sinitsyn 414 Three-Dimensional Porous Nanographene for Highly Efficient Energy Storage Hsing-Lin Wang 416 Controlled Helium Release from Composite Plasma Facing Materials through Interface Design Yongqiang Wang 419 Precision ‘Bottom-Up’ Fabrication of Non-classical Photon Sources Jennifer A. Hollingsworth 422 Perovskite Solar Cells: The Next Frontier in Energy Harvesting Aditya Mohite 424 Defect-Induced Emergent Magnetism in (Nonmagnetic) Complex Oxides and their Interfaces Scott A. Crooker 426 Energetic Materials Cocrystal Engineering: Toward Superior Munitions Philip Leonard 429 Majorana Fermions for Quantum Information Filip Ronning 431 3-Dimensional Characterization of Nuclear Fuels: Microstructural Evolution under Representative Temperature and Thermal Gradients Donald W. Brown 435 V ery Low Temperature Scanning Point Contact Spectroscopy Investigation of Inhomogeneous States on the Nano-scale Roman Movshovich 442 Excited State Quantum Interactions in Carbon Nanotubes Stephen K. Doorn 447 Enhancing Thermoelectric Properties of Topological Insulators through Nanostructuring Nikolai Sinitsyn 449 “Upscaling” Nanoscale Thermoelectrics: The Meso-macroscale Design Challenge for Real- World Energy Needs Jennifer A. Hollingsworth 453 Giving Cold A toms Weight: Creating Heavy Fermions in Optical Lattices Cristian D. Batista 456 Topology in Superposition: Quantum Decoherence in Many-body Systems Wojciech H. Zurek 459 Accur ate Interfacial Structures for Atomistic Simulations: Minimizing the Grand-Canonical Free Energy Danny Perez 463 Understanding and Controlling Magneto-Electric Coupling in Multiferroic Materials Dmitry A. Yarotski 468 Under standing of Nanoscale Fracture and Its Application in Developing High Fracture Toughness Nanoscale Composites Nan Li 473 Additive Manufacturing of Mesoscale Energetic Materials: Tailoring Explosive Response through Controlled 3D Microstructure Alexander H. Mueller 477 Efficient Carbon Nanotube Growth on Graphene- Metal Surfaces Enkeleda Dervishi 479 Understanding and Controlling Magnetism in Multiferroics with THz Pulses Rohit P. Prasankumar 481 Design Principles f or High Performance Organic Photovoltaics Aditya Mohite 484 Synthesis of Novel Energetic Materials David E. Chavez 486 In vestigating Structure-Directing Agents in Nonconventional Nanowire Synthesis Using a Transmission-Electron-Microscope Flow-Cell Holder Jennifer A. Hollingsworth 488 Quantum Control of Tailor-designed Photoactive Energetic Materials Tammie R. Nelson 490 Ultrafast Carrier Dynamics in Novel Two- Dimensional Nanomaterials Victor I. Klimov 492 New Room Temperature Multiferroic Thin Films Enabled by Strain Engineering Quanxi Jia 494 Search for the Topological States in F-electron Systems Tomasz Durakiewicz 496 Ra tional Design of Multiferroics and Influence of Cationic Disorder on Multiferroicity in Perovskites Blas P. Uberuaga 499 Studies on Functional Ma terials: Design and Optimization Turab Lookman 501 Pr obing and Controlling the Surface States of Topological Insulators Scott A. Crooker 503 Thr ee-Dimensional Nitrogen-Doped Porous Nanographene for High-Performance Supercapacitor Hsing-Lin Wang 505 Photophysical Properties of Self-Assembled Nanoclusters Jennifer Martinez 508 Dynamic Strength and Phase Transition Kinetics in Geophysical Materials Cynthia A. Bolme 510 In-situ, 3D Characterization of Solidification in Metals Amy J. Clarke 512 Dendritic Microstructure Selection in Cast Metallic Alloys Amy J. Clarke 514 Frustrated Materials Cristian D. Batista 517 Designing and Probing Novel Materials by Pressure Tuning of Nanocrystals Hongwu Xu 523 NMR Study of Quan tum States of Matter Joe D. Thompson 526 Electronic and Photonic Transport in Chiral Materials and Nanostructures Diego A. Dalvit 528 Alt ernating Positive-Negative Charge Systems: New Compounds and Synthetic Routes David E. Chavez 532 Microstructured Biohybrid Synthesis of Photosynthetic Assemblies Gabriel A. Montano 536 Broken Symmetries in Superconductors Albert Migliori 538 Hybrid Me tal-Semiconductor Nanostructures for Optimized Photosynthetic Algal Growth Jennifer A. Hollingsworth 541 Ultr afast Measurements of Emergent Magnetism in New Complex Oxide Materials Scott A. Crooker 543 Shock -Driven Material Dynamics Investigated by Ultrafast X-ray Diffraction Cynthia A. Bolme Nuclear and Particle Futures 546 Illuminating the Origin of the Nucleon Spin Ivan M. Vitev 550 Probing New Sources of Time-Reversal Violation with Neutron EDM Takeyasu Ito 553 The Role of Short-lived Actinide Isomers in High Fluence Environments (U) Marian Jandel 556 Research Enabling a Next Generation Neutron Lifetime Measurement Steven Clayton 559 k_effective: First Measurement of a Nanosecond- Pulsed Neutron Diagnosed Subcritical Assembly Anemarie Deyoung 562 Multi-Scale Kinetics of Self-Regulating Nuclear Reactors Venkateswara R. Dasari 565 Next-Generation Double Beta Decay Experiment Steven R. Elliott 567 Cold Ca thodes for Next Generation Electron Accelerators: Methodologies for Radically Improving Performance and Robustness Nathan A. Moody 570 Nuclear Science for Signatures, Energy, Security, Environment Albert Migliori 575 Peta-scale Studies of Cosmic Explosions and Supernova Shock Breakout with Palomar Transient Factory Przemyslaw R. Wozniak 592 First Principle Study of Relativistic Beam and Plasma Physics Enabled by Enhanced Particle-In- Cell Capability Chengkun Huang 596 Ans wer to Heavy Element Production Puzzle by Measuring Neutron-induced Charged Particles at LANSCE Hye Young Lee 600 Effects and Mitigation of Hot Electrons in Direct Drive Implosions Natalia S. Vinyard 603 Hybrid Shock Ignition as an Alt ernate Concept for Fusion Energy Eric N. Loomis 606 Quan tum Kinetics of Neutrinos in the Early Universe and Supernovae Vincenzo Cirigliano 608 Designing the Next Generation Compton Light Source Nikolai Yampolsky 610 Combined Klystron and Linac (Klynac) Bruce E. Carlsten 611 Multi-Ge V Electron Radiography Frank E. Merrill 612 Photocathodes in Extremes: Understanding and Mitigating High Gradient Effects on Semiconductor Cathodes in X-FELs Nathan A. Moody 615 Superconducting Nuclear Recoil Sensor for Directional Dark Matter Detection Markus P. Hehlen 618 Neutrinos and Fundamen tal Symmetries in Nuclei Stefano Gandolfi 620 Assessing the Quan tum Physics Impacts on Future X-ray Free-electron lasers Mark J. Schmitt 622 T ransport Properties of Magnetized High-Energy Density Plasmas Jerome O. Daligault 624 Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor Instability Daniel Livescu 627 Enhancing the Long-Baseline Neutrino Experimen t Oscillation Sensitivities with Neutron Measurements Keith R. Rielage 629 Dir ect Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Rayleigh-Taylor Instability Daniel Livescu 631 Extreme-Scale Kinetic Plasma Modeling of Turbulence and Mix Using VPIC Brian J. Albright 633 Ultr a-Bright Electron Beam Acceleration in Dielectric Wake Accelerators Evgenya I. Simakov 636 Be yond the Standard Halo Michael S. Warren 638 Coher ent Diffractive Imaging of Ultrafast Ejecta Processes Cynthia A. Bolme 641 In Sear ch of Light WIMPs Alexander Friedland 644 Emitt ance-Reduction System for Future Accelerator Solutions Kip A. Bishofberger 646 R eactor Power for Large Displacement Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Patrick R. Mcclure 650 T owards Generating Laboratory Gigagauss Magnetic Fields and Their Impact on ICF Dynamics Kirk A. Flippo 668 3D T urbulent Magnetic Reconnection Experiments and Simulations Scott C. Hsu 672 Boos ting New Physics Discoveries with Jet Substructure Christopher Lee Science of Signatures 678 Optical and Laser Spectroscopy of Th-229 Electronic and Nuclear Transitions for the Development of Solid State Nuclear Quantum Sensors Xinxin Zhao 681 Remote Raman-LIBS Spectroscopy (RLS) Signature Integration Samuel M. Clegg 683 Explosives Signatures for Detection: Nonlinear GHz to THz Responses David S. Moore 686 Chemic al Signatures of Detonation Born From Extreme Conditions (U) David Podlesak 689 Integrated Biosurveillance Benjamin H. Mcmahon 692 Signatures of Change - Habitat Earth Reinhard H. Friedel 694 High Performance Atom-Based Sensors for Fields and Rotations Malcolm G. Boshier 699 Battlefield MRI Michelle A. Espy 705 Laser -Driven Neutron Source for Detection of Nuclear Material Andrea Favalli 708 Deployment and Installation Technologies for Distributed Measurement Systems in Inconvenient/Hazardous Environments David D. Mascarenas 711 T rojan Horse Drug Development Approach: Targeting Gene Dosage Control to Induce Bacterial Suicide Sofiya N. Micheva-Viteva 713 Hand-held Laser -Ultrasound Two-Dimensional Scanner Eric B. Flynn 715 R emote Whispering Applying Time Reversal Brian E. Anderson 719 Time Resolved Phonon Spectroscopy for Cryogenic Bolometer Readout John J. Goett III 721 Measuring Winds in the Str atosphere Using Passive Acoustic Sensors Omar E. Marcillo 723 Ma tter Wave Circuits Changhyun Ryu 725 Chemic al Shift Signatures of Nuclear Material: 235U and 239Pu NMR Spectroscopy Michael T. Janicke 728 Solid-St ate Gamma-Ray Detectors Based on Quantum Dots Jeffrey M. Pietryga 731 Signa tures of Reactor Operations from Plutonium Production samples (U) Anna C. Hayes-Sterbenz 733 Mapping R elativistic Electron Precipitation: Where and When? Steven K. Morley 735 Exploiting Cr oss-sensitivity by Bayesian Decoding of Mixed Potential Sensor Arrays Rangachary Mukundan 738 Measur ement of Extinct Radionuclides in Historic Nuclear Debris (U) Warren J. Oldham 741 Ultr a-sensitive Parallel Micro-imaging with Atomic Magnetometer Igor M. Savukov 743 Segr egated Fuel-Oxidizer Propulsion for Cube Sat Deployment Bryce C. Tappan 745 Pr actical Antennas from Disruptive Technology John Singleton 748 Ne xt Generation Earth Models Monica Maceira 753 Wide Field-of-View Plasma Spectrometer Ruth M. Skoug 758 Phase Transitions at Extremes: Emergence of Topological Defects Vivien Zapf 764 Magnetic Nanomarker Detection and Imaging with SQUIDs Andrei N. Matlashov 770 Electron Capture Spectroscopy for Neutrino Mass: Isotopes, Science, and Technology Development Michael W. Rabin 775 Micro-Mirror Full-Frame Programmable Spectral Filters for the Long-wave Infrared Steven P. Love 780 Cryogenic Laser Refrigerator for Infrared Imaging Markus P. Hehlen 785 Agile P ersistent SSA Surveillance Networks Using Mobile Platforms W T. Vestrand 788 Ultr afast Nanocomposite Scintillators: Decay Rate Enhancement by Electromagnetic Coupling to Plasmon Resonances Richard C. Schirato 792 W -Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Bruce E. Carlsten 796 Feasibility Study of Novel Fabrication of Dielectric Structures for W-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar for Satellite Deployment Bruce E. Carlsten 12 The U.S. Department of Energy has charged the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program with supporting high-risk, potentially high-value research at the national laboratories. That LDRD is a proving ground for new concepts in research and development makes its many successes that much more remarkable. Investing in high-risk science and engineering means we may not succeed every time, and yet for more than 25 years, LDRD has supported some of the most impactful technologies to come out of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) laboratories. Currently, LDRD is the largest single source of capability investment at Los Alamos, and many key NNSA programs, as well as leading R&D scientists and engineers, trace their roots to research that began under LDRD sponsorship. For example, proton radiography (p Rad), whose foundations were developed by LDRD over a decade ago, has made contributions to the nuclear weapons program through more than 500 dynamic experiments. Today p Rad influences decisions regarding the reuse of pits from one weapon system to another, and it provides data to help the U.S. Army improve the penetration resistance of armor for our troops on the battlefield. In the words of Los Alamos Muon Tomography Team Leader Chris Morris, “Early on, LDRD provided the resources to develop the proof of principle that is foundational to p Rad. Now a key capability for maintaining the nation’s nuclear stockpile, p Rad is the direct result of the synergy between the Laboratory’s defense mission and basic R&D scientists.” To be sure, there are many technical staff members at the Laboratory who credit LDRD for creating a pathway for their innovative ideas to impact national security missions. In fact, LDRD is a major vehicle for attracting, training, and retaining new technical staff, thus filling the talent pipeline to support the broad generational turnover of national security staff currently underway. From reducing global nuclear dangers, to improving our energy security, to protecting our service men and women in the field, to assuring the security of our most precious cyber assets, LDRD has made seminal contributions to every facet of national security. A Message From William Priedhorsky, Los Alamos LDRD Program Director 13 Overview Laboratory Directed Research and Development is the most prestigious source of research and development funding at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. It follows a strategic guidance derived from the missions of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Nuclear Security Ad- ministration, and the Laboratory. To execute that strategy, the Los Alamos LDRD program creates a free market for ideas that draws upon the bottom-up creativity of the Laboratory’s best and brightest researchers. The combina- tion of strategic guidance and free-market competition provides a continual stream of capabilities that position the Laboratory to accomplish its missions. The LDRD program provides the Laboratory Director with the opportunity to strategically invest in forward-thinking, potentially high-payoff research that strengthens the Labo- ratory’s capabilities for national problems. Funded in FY15 with approximately 5.5 percent of the Laboratory’s overall budget, the LDRD program makes it possible for research- ers to pursue cutting-edge research and development. This in turn enables the Laboratory to anticipate, innovate, and deliver world-class science, technology, and engineering. Program Structure The Los Alamos LDRD program is organized into four program components with distinct institutional objectives: Directed Research (DR), flagship investments in mission solutions; Exploratory Research (ER), smaller projects that invest in people and skills that underpin key Laboratory capabilities; Early Career Research (ECR), supporting the development of early-career researchers; and Postdoc- toral Research and Development (PRD), recruiting bright, qualified, early-career scientists and engineers. In FY15, the LDRD program funded 278 projects with total costs of $121.5 million. These projects were selected through a rigorous and highly competitive peer review process and are reviewed formally and informally throughout the fiscal year. The LDRD Program Office holds a reserve each year to make modest investments that address new opportunities. In FY15, the reserve budget was approximately $1.0M. Directed Research The DR component makes long-range investments in multidisciplinary scientific projects in key competency or technology-development areas vital to LDRD’s long-term ability to execute Laboratory missions. In FY15, LDRD funded 46 DR projects, which represents approximately 54% of the program’s research funds. Directed Research projects are typically funded up to a maximum of $1.8M per year for three years. Directed Research is organized around Focus Areas that define key areas of science, technology, and engineering in support of Los Alamos missions and that map directly to the four Los Alamos science pillars, plus an additional multi-disciplinary Focus Area that is not captured by the pillars. Between them, they capture the capabilities that are essential to our Laboratory missions in the long term (3-15 years). For each Focus Area, coordinators led a process to engage broadly with the Lab to set investment priorities for the FY15 Strategic Investment Plan, published labwide. Exploratory Research The ER component is focused on developing and maintain- ing technical staff competencies in key strategic disciplines that form the foundation of the Laboratory’s readiness for future national missions. Largely focused on a single discipline, ER projects explore highly innovative ideas that underpin Laboratory programs. In FY15, LDRD funded 127 ER projects, which represents approximately 34% of the program’s research funds. Exploratory Research projects are funded up to an average maximum of $350K per year for three years. Unlike DR proposals, division endorsements are not required for ER proposals; instead, this component of the LDRD program is operated as an open and competitive path for every staff member to pursue funding for his/ her great idea. The ER component is a critical channel for purely bottom-up creativity at the Laboratory. Nonethe- less, it is strongly driven by mission needs via the definition of the 12 ER research categories, and the assignment of investment between them. 14 Exploratory Research Technical Categories Capability Biological, Biochemical, and Cognitive Sciences Biosciences Chemistry and Chemical Sciences Chemistry Computational and Numerical Methods Information and knowledge sciences, computer and computational sciences Computer Science, Mathematics, and Data Science High-performance computing, data analysis, and data-driven science Defects and Interfaces in Materials Theoretical, computation and modeling, and experimental methods to understand defects and interfaces in materials Earth and Environmental Sciences and Space Physics Earth and space sciences Engineering Applications Weapons science and engineering, advanced manufacturing, sensors, and remote sensing Emergent Phenomena in Materials Functionality Theory, computation and modelling, and experimental methods to understand behavior of materials High-energy Density, Plasma, and Fluid Physics High-energy density plasmas and fluids and beams Measurement Science, Instrumentation, and Diagnostics Measurement methods that enable new scientific discovery Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Nuclear physics, astrophysics, and cosmology Quantum and Optical Science Fundamental interactions and excitations in atomic, optical, and molecular systems Directed Research Focus Areas Mission Impact Information Science and Technology Advance theory, algorithms, and high-performance computing to accelerate the integrative and predictive capability of the scientific method. Materials for the Future Rapidly meet mission needs based on a thorough knowledge of materials properties and interactions in relation to composition, structure, and scale. Science of Signatures Apply science and technology tools to extremely complex problems in signature, identification, and characterization, understanding, control or mitigation. Nuclear and Particle Futures Advance fundamental and applied nuclear science, including accelerator science and technology, in support of all Laboratory missions. Complex Natural and Engineered Systems Understand, predict, integrate, design, engineer, and/or control complex systems that significantly impact national security, particularly those involving energy, infrastructure, or societal stainability. 15 Early Career Research The ECR component of the LDRD program is designed to strengthen the Laboratory’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional staff members during their crucial early career years. The intent is to aid in the sometimes challenging transition from postdoc to full-time staff member, and to stimulate research in disciplines supported by the LDRD program. In FY15, the LDRD program funded 29 ECR projects, which represents approximately 3% of the program’s research funds. Early Career Research projects are funded up to $225K per year for two years, and only up to 60% of their overall funding can be from the LDRD program. Postdoc Research and Development The PRD component ensures the vitality of the Laboratory by recruiting outstanding researchers. Through this invest- ment, the LDRD program funds postdoctoral fellows to work under the mentorship of PIs on high-quality projects. The primary criterion for selection of LDRD-supported postdocs is the raw scientific and technical talent of the candidate, with his or her specialty a secondary factor. In FY15, LDRD funded 76 PRD projects, which represents 7% of the program’s research funds. These postdocs are sup- ported full-time for two years. In addition to approximately 62 Director’s Postdocs, the LDRD program supported 14 distinguished postdoctoral fellows at a higher salary and for a three-year term. Dis- tinguished postdoctoral fellow candidates typically show evidence of solving a major problem or providing a new approach or insight to a major problem and show evidence of having a major impact in their research field. To recog- nize their role as future science and technology leaders, these appointments are named after some of the greatest leaders of the Laboratory’s past. More postdocs are hired through DR and ER projects than directly through PRD appointments. Counting both ave- nues, in FY15 the LDRD program supported 55% of the 488 postdocs at the Laboratory. Christopher Lee 2015 Early Career Research Program Award Department of Energy Office of Science • Joined the Lab in 2012 as a scientist • 2012 Early Career Researcher project (PI) • 2014, 2016 Postdoc R&D project (PI) • Served as chair of the Exploratory Research NPAC review team in FY15 Sarah Hernandez 2015 Best Poster on Plutonium Materials American Nuclear Society’s Plutonium Futures • Graduate research assistant and Ph D candidate at the University of Texas at Arlington • Co-investigator on 2014 Directed Research project • Lead author of article published in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter 16 Project Selection The LDRD program is the vehicle by which the Labora- tory harvests the ideas of some of our best and brightest scientists and engineers to execute DOE/NNSA missions. This bottom-up approach is balanced by a program man- agement strategy in which Senior Laboratory leadership sets science and technology priorities, then opens an LDRD competition for ideas across the breadth of the Laboratory. Panels formed from the Laboratory’s intellectual leaders rigorously review proposals. Conflict of interest is carefully regulated, and evaluation criteria include innovation and creativity, potential scientific impact, viability of the re- search approach, qualifications of the team and leadership, and potential impact on Laboratory missions. The selection processes are modeled on best practices established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Insti- tutes of Health (NIH). To guarantee fairness and transparency, and to ensure that the strongest proposals are funded, the selection panels include managers and technical staff drawn from the full range of technical divisions. Serving on an LDRD selection panel is often a starting point on the path to leadership roles in the scientific community. Past LDRD panelists have gone on to be Laboratory Fellows, division leaders, pro- gram directors, association Fellows, and chief scientists, while others have become leaders in academia. Benefits of Serving on LDRD Panels The mission of the Laboratory is to solve the nation’s most difficult national security problems. By their nature, these problems lack a well-defined path to solution. In fact, the path is often completely unknown. It is rare that such creative work is done alone; the ideas and results from many colleagues are needed, often drawn out in confer- ences, hallway conversations, journals, and seminars. LDRD is an internal arena in which Laboratory staff serve as peer reviewers and play a key role of interaction in the scientific process. Proposal selection panelists are chosen for their subject-matter expertise, and the discussions in which they engage are not only critical to the LDRD process, but they also provide an opportunity for panelists to educate themselves on the latest results and practices, and expose themselves to opportunities for collaboration. As noted in an evaluation of peer review conducted by the UK House of Commons, “Peer review is regarded as an integral part of a researcher’s professional activity; it helps them be- come part of the research community.” Annual Project Appraisals In FY15, the LDRD Program Office conducted an appraisal of every ongoing project it intended to fund in the next fiscal year. The primary objective of a project appraisal is to assess progress and provide peer input to help PIs maintain the highest quality of work. The appraisals also help the LDRD Program Office monitor and manage the program portfolio. Continuing DR projects are appraised every year of the life of the project, with external reviewers playing an impor- tant role in the review that takes place in the project’s second year. The internal-external review is open to all Laboratory staff and leaders. Four project appraisers – two internal and two external – are nominated by the PI and approved by the LDRD Program Director. When possible, the appraisal is held as part of a broader workshop hosted by the Laboratory. The Chair of the project appraisal panel is responsible for writing a formal report a formal report of the review that details how well a project is addressing and meeting its goals, as well as documenting any weaknesses the panel may have observed. The PI is then required to respond to the concerns documented in the report with a revised project plan. Written appraisals, held in the LDRD archives, address: (1) Brief summary of accomplishments; (2) Assessment of quality of science and technology, relevance to Labo- ratory and national missions, progress toward goals and milestones, project leadership, and the degree to which the project may establish or sustain a position of scientific leadership for the Laboratory; and (3) Recommendations by the committee for changes in the scope or approach of the project. The criteria for the most important point – number (2) above – are derived from criteria developed by the National Academy of Science to assess all federally sponsored research. In addition to formal project appraisals, which are con- ducted annually, the LDRD Program Director and Deputy Program Director meet informally with PIs in their labs at least once a year to discuss their projects. The purpose of these one-on-one meetings is to give PIs individualized assistance and to determine what the LDRD Program Of- fice can do to positively impact the success of the project. Every DR project has also been assigned a Program Devel- opment Mentor to assist the transition of LDRD successes to mission. Continuing ER and ECR projects are appraised in their first and second years. The LDRD Deputy Program Director col- laborates with the technical divisions to conduct project appraisals. Like DRs, the projects are appraised according to the Federal criteria of quality, performance, leadership, and relevance. 17 The DOE Order (413.2b, CRD) regarding LDRD requires careful evaluation of ongoing LDRD projects in order to assess their scientific quality and mission relevance. The Los Alamos LDRD program doesn’t just meet this requirement, it turns the evaluation process into an opportunity to steer its R&D towards ever-increasing excellence and mission impact. For this reason, flagship investments in DR undergo especially rigorous evaluations. Directed Research Project Appraisals in Depth High-quality Reviewers Ensure a Technically Sound DR Project Appraisal When selecting members of an appraisal panel, a Principal Investigator must seek out individuals with independence, expertise, and stature. All panel members must be independent of the project, without management or financial con- nections, in adherence with the published LDRD Conflict of Interest Policy. Between them, the panelists must have the technical expertise required to span the breadth of the project with sound technical review. And finally, while panels often contain members with a mix of seniority, there must be one or two members with stature. In the context of a DR appraisal panel, stature is recognized leadership in their field, evidenced by strong professional credentials such as an institute leader, named professorship, society fellowships, and national and/or international prizes. The LDRD Program Director approves all panels well in advance of the appraisal. 18 Mission Relevance Mission relevance is one of the most important criteria in the evaluation of a potential LDRD project; it is care- fully considered in project selection and tracked annually through the data sheet process. Many of the technologies that put Los Alamos on the map have deep roots in LDRD and are valuable to DOE/NNSA mission areas of nuclear security, energy security, environmental remediation, and scientific discovery and innovation. LDRD work also ben- efits the national security missions of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and Other Federal Agencies. As a result, the scientific advances and technology innovations from LDRD provide multiple ben- efits to all Los Alamos stakeholders, consistent with Con- gressional intent and the Laboratory’s scientific strategy. Enduring Impact on Stockpile Stewardship A key responsibility of the Stockpile Stewardship program is to assess aging of the nation’s stockpile. A 1997 LDRD project established the scientific foundation for acceler- ated aging of plutonium with experiments that allowed Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to produce the equivalent of 60-year-old plutonium in a period of only four years. The resulting data were used as a foundation for the 2006 Pit Lifetime Assessment for the nation. The fundamental understanding of plutonium aging continues as a priority for our LDRD portfolio. “Over the years LDRD helped develop resonant ultrasound spectroscopy from a lab curiosity into a powerful tool for important measurements in condensed matter physics,” said Albert Migliori, director of the Los Alamos Seaborg Institute. “In fact, it is the only tool that can track and mea- sure the aging of plutonium in real time.” Today this capability enables new studies of aging in delta- plutonium alloys; advanced experiments to watch aging on a daily basis will form the basis for pit lifetime estimates that are physically sound and advance the understanding of fundamental radiogenic processes in delta-plutonium. Mission Impact of FY15 LDRD Portfolio ($M) First and foremost, Los Alamos LDRD projects are required to address one or more DOE/NNSA mission areas. Due to the nature of basic R&D, the work may also benefit the mission challenges of other federal agencies. The multi-mission impact of LDRD projects is captured in the chart above, which is why the total expected benefit is approximately double actual costs of the program in FY15. 19 Investments in Engineering Research and Development: Capabilities for Mission, Winning Technologies, and Top Talent Established in 2003, the Engineering Institute is an ongoing research and education collaboration between the Los Ala- mos National Laboratory and the University of California San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering. It promotes mission- relevant engineering research collaborations with UCSD faculty and students and provides the Laboratory with a proac- tive approach to recruiting, retention and revitalization of its technical staff. The Los Alamos Dynamics Summer School is a very selective summer school in which upper-level US-citizen undergradu- ate students from universities around the nation attend lectures and work in teams of three with a Los Alamos mentor on research projects related to the Engineering Institute’s technology focus. David Mascarenas, Stuart Taylor, and Eric Flynn are examples of top-notch alumni who were recruited to the Laboratory with support from LDRD (through Post- doctoral Research and Development projects) and converted to staff. Their accomplishments are remarkable. In partnership with the LDRD program, the Los Alamos Engineering Institute makes investments in multidisciplinary engineering research that integrates advanced modeling and simulations, novel sensing systems, and new developments in information technology. Mascarenas became an R&D Engineer at Los Alamos in 2012 after a Director’s Funded fel- lowship. He currently co- directs the Dy- namic Summer School and focuses his research on investigating the applica- tion of compressive sensing techniques to structural health monitoring, the de- ployment of wireless sensor networks from aerial robots, standoff experimen- tal mechanics, and the development of techniques to interface humans to data using vibro-tactile interfaces. He led a 2015 Early Career Research project, and recently received a Presidential Early Career Award. Taylor joined Los Alamos as an R&D Engineer in 2013. As a postdoc he designed and field- tested sen- sor nodes for structural health monitoring (SHM) on wind turbine rotor blades as part of a 2010 LDRD Directed Research project. Today he applies his expertise in SHM on a project that resulted in a 2015 R&D 100 Award. The award- winning technology, SHMTools, is software that facilitates continuous embedded monitoring and damage detection for new and aging infra- structure. It has aerospace, civil, and mechanical infrastructure applica- tions. Flynn was converted to an R&D Engineer at Los Alamos in 2013 after joining the Lab as Director’s Funded postdoc in 2011. His research focuses on nondestructive testing, signal pro- cessing, ultrasonics, applied statistics, optimization and structural dynamics. Flynn won a 2014 R&D 100 Award for the Acoustic Wavenumber Spectrom- eter (supported by LDRD), leads a 2015 Early Career Project, was re- cently honored with the Achenbach medal for his contributions in the field of SHM, and was on the team that developed SHMTools. 20 Performance Metrics The LDRD program is a key resource for addressing the long-term science and technology goals of the Laboratory, as well as enhancing the scientific capabilities of Laboratory staff. Through careful investment of LDRD funds, the Labora- tory builds its reputation, recruits and retains excellent scientists and engineers, and prepares to meet evolving national needs. The impacts of the LDRD program are particularly evident in the number of publications and citations resulting from LDRD-funded research, the number of postdoctoral candidates supported and converted by the program, and the number of awards LDRD researchers received. The following performance metrics are updated annually to reflect the most current data available as more complete information often becomes available well into the next fiscal year. Publications FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Pubs 2119 20822215 1872 LDRD Supported 458 534 475 392 % due to LDRD22% 24% 21%21% Citations FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Citations3332122021 99143243 LDRD Supported8146762021821175 % due to LDRD24%35%22%36% U.S. Patents Issued FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Patents72775150 LDRD Supported11321410 % due to LDRD 15%42%27%20% Invention Disclosures FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Disclosures129103 71 71 LDRD Supported28 34 12 16 % due to LDRD22%33% 17% 23% Postdoc Support FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Postdocs 581596 508 488 LDRD Supported349 367 266 266 % due to LDRD60% 61%52% 55% Postdoc Conversions FY12FY13FY14FY15 LANL Conversions41 5750 55 LDRD Supported 2126 2924 % due to LDRD51% 46%58%44% University of California New Mexico Universities International All 4830214902 Science and Engineering Talent Pipeline External Collaborations (FY15) Peer-reviewed Publications and Citations Intellectual Property 21 The cover of the first issue of the Journal of Dynamic Behavior of Materials featured a series of proton radiographs of disks taken by the Los Alamos Proton Radiography Team. The images reveal the internal structure of explosively shocked aluminum, copper, tantalum, and tin. Los Alamos is an international center of excellence for research on the dynamic behavior of materials and materials in extremes. Proton radiography, and much of the R&D that grows out of enduring capability, has roots in the Los Alamos LDRD program. An article by Los Alamos scientists and collaborators in the journal Applied Spectroscopy describes the feasibility of adding Raman spectrometry to the Chem Cam Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrom- eter (LIBS) instrument used with such great efficacy on NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover. Raman spectroscopy and LIBS are highly synergistic analytical techniques. Raman spectroscopy is sen- sitive to the sample’s molecular structure from which mineralogy is directly determined, and LIBS is an elemental analysis technique that can detect all elements above the detection limit independent of the elemental mass. The new work shows that an integrated Raman spectros- copy and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument would be a valuable geoanalyti- cal tool for future planetary missions to Mars, Venus, and elsewhere. The cover highlights the many Chem Cam LIBS analyses around the “Windjana” drill hole created by the NASA Mars rover, Curiosity. LIBS was developed with support from the Los Alamos LDRD program and has multiple applications, including detecting nuclear and other hazard materials, verifying construction materials, and studying cave environ- ments. In its “backpack” format, LIBS inexpensively takes atomic emission analysis from a traditional laboratory setting into the field. Los Alamos researchers Carolos Tomé and Ricardo Lebensohn (pictured left to right) recently saw their viscoplastic self-consistent code (in background) research reach 1,000 citations in Google Scholar. Their co-authored 1993 Acta Metallurgica et Materialia paper, “A self-consis- tent anisotropic approach for the simulation of plastic deformation and texture development of polycrystals: Application to zirconium alloys” was based on their joint work on a computational code to reliably simulate materials behavior. Their viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) code has been distributed free of charge to more than 300 external users. Lebensohn currently leads an LDRD Directed Research project titled “Mesoscale Materials Science of Ductile Damage in 4 Dimensions: Towards the Computational Design of Damage-Tolerant Materials.” The project addresses one of the most difficult outstanding problems in materials science: the development of a predictive, microstructure-sensitive ductile failure model. Lebensohn has also contributed to the LDRD peer-review processes for DR and ER proposals. The numerous publications made possible with LDRD funding help Los Alamos maintain a strong presence and scientific reputation in the broader scientific community. Not only does the program support a significant fraction of the Laboratory’s publications, it also supports much of the research featured on the covers of peer-reviewed journals. These are just a few examples of the highly visible research and development by LDRD researchers in 2015. On the Cover and Beyond 22 ASME Fellow In its more than 25 years of existence, the Los Alamos LDRD program has made many significant impacts on national security missions, steadily helping the Laboratory anticipate, innovate, and deliver solutions to some of the nation’s toughest challenges. The driving force behind each accomplishment has been the focused initiative of many talented scientists and engineers who choose to apply their knowledge and expertise in service to the nation. The LDRD program is proud to support the work of some of the Laboratory’s most accomplished researchers, who in FY15 received many prestigious awards, honors, and recognitions. Awards and Recognitions Marc Janoschek received the 2014 Wolfram-Prandl Prize during the German Confer- ence for Research with Synchrotron Radiation, Neutrons and Ion Beams at Large Facilities in Bonn, Germany. He was honored for “his pioneering studies of the spin dynamics in chiral helimagnets and the development of a cryogen-free apparatus for spherical neutron polarimetry.” Janoschek’s work on helical magnets has potential for novel memory, computing, and sensing applications continues in a 2015 LDRD Directed Research project. He also serves as co-chair of the Defects and Interfaces in Materials panel for the Exploratory Research peer-review process. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) named Daniel Livescu a Fellow. The ASME Committee of Past Presidents confers the Fellow grade of mem- bership on worthy candidates to recognize their outstanding engineering achieve- ments. Livescu is an authority in the field of fluid mechanics and has made significant contributions to the LANL/DOE stewardship mission as a Principal Investigator for the NNSA Defense Science Programs. His research focuses on direct-numerical simulation of turbulence and large-scale flow computations is supported by a 2015 LDRD Explor- atory Research project. He has also served on the Computational Co-design panel for the Exploratory Research peer-review process. The American Physical Society (APS) named Kathy Prestridge as the Woman Physicist of the Month for July 2015. Prestridge studies the behavior of materials under high strain conditions, shock-driven instabilities, mixing and turbulence at high resolu- tion. She and her team’s research has been highlighted on the cover of Journal of Fluid Mechanics. She leads the Professional Skills Development Workshop sessions at various APS meetings, as is serving her second term as Chair of the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics. Prestridge has been co-investigator on LDRD projects and currently serves as Chair of the High-Energy Density, Plasma, and Fluid Physics panel for the Exploratory Research peer-review process. Wolfram-Prandl Prize APS Woman Physicist of the Month Awards and Recognitions 23 GSA Vice President/President Elect Two Los Alamos LDRD researchers received Ernest Orlando Lawrence awards from the Department of Energy. The honor is conferred for their contributions in research and development that supports DOE’s science, energy and national security missions. Since 1959, the Lawrence Award has recognized mid-career scientists and engineers in the United States who have advanced new research and scientific discovery in the chemical, biological, environmental and computer sciences; condensed matter and materials; fusion and plasma sciences; high energy and nuclear physics; and national security and nonproliferation. E.O. Lawrence Award Eric Dors was recognized for his technical leadership and systems engineering inte- gration of next generation satellite-based nuclear explosion sensing and detection systems, and for its impact to the nonproliferation mission. His research focuses on the development of a new generation of exo-atmospheric radiation sensors used to fulfill a critical mission need for satellite-based nuclear explosion monitoring crucial to DOE’s nonproliferation mission of global nuclear detonation monitoring and verifica- tion of the Limited Test Ban Treaty. Dors received support from LDRD through a 2001 Exploratory Research project. He also serves on the Engineering Applications panel for the Exploratory Research peer-review process. Currently, Dors is program manager for Department of Defense and Intelligence Community space programs within the Lab’s Emerging Threats Program Office. Christopher Fryer was recognized for making seminal advances in theory and modeling answering fundamental questions in astrophysics, for achievement in computational mul- tiphysics, and for contributions impacting high-energy density science. He was honored specifically for his major advances addressing fundamental questions in astrophysics, computational multiphysics, and high-energy density science, and more specifically, for supernova core collapse work using 3-dimensional modeling assimilation to model, explain, and predict astrophysical observations (e.g. from NASA’s Swift mission) and phe- nomena. Fryer’s work has deep roots in the LDRD program, most recently through a 2011 Directed Research project focused on building detailed models of supernova. Fryer is an American Physical Society fellow, a former Feynman fellow, and a Los Alamos National Laboratory fellow. The Geological Society of America (GSA) elected Claudia Mora as vice president/presi- dent elect. Mora is a stable-isotope geochemist whose research spans the traditional fields of geology, soil science and climate science. At Los Alamos, she heads the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division’s (EES) largest group, Earth System Observations. This group’s research is broad and far-reaching, intersecting geology, ecology and atmospheric sciences. Mora received support from LDRD through a 2009 Postdoctoral Research and Development project, and most recently, an Exploratory Research project. Her LDRD work has been published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatol- ogy, and in the International Journal of Wildland Fire. Complex Natural & Engineered Systems Directed Research Continuing Project 25 Complex Natural & Engineered Systems Discovery Science of Hydraulic Fracturing: Innovative Working Fluids and Their Interactions with Rocks, Fractures, and High Value Hydro-carbons Hari S. Viswanathan 20140002DR Introduction Shale gas is an unconventional fossil energy resource that is already having a profound impact on US energy independence and is projected to last for at least 100 years. Production of methane and other hydrocarbons from low permeability shale involves hydrofracturing of rock, establishing fracture connectivity, and multiphase fluid-flow and reaction processes all of which are poorly understood. The result is inefficient extraction with many environmental concerns. These phenomena are part of a broader class of problems involving coupled fluid flow and fractures that are critical to other energy security areas such as shale oil, geothermal, carbon se- questration, and nuclear waste disposal as well as crack propagation in weapons applications. A science-based capability is required to quantify the governing meso- scale fluid-solid interactions, including microstructural control of fracture patterns and the interaction of engi- neered fluids with hydrocarbon flow. These interactions depend on coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes over scales from microns to tens of meters. Determining the key mechanisms in subsurface THMC systems has been impeded due to the lack of sophisticated experimental methods to measure frac- ture aperture and connectivity, multiphase permeability, and chemical exchange capacities at the high tempera- ture, pressure, and stresses present in the subsurface. Our goal is to use unique LANL microfluidic and triaxial core flood experiments integrated with state-of-the-art numerical simulation to reveal the fundamental dynam- ics of fracture-fluid interactions to transform fracking from ad hoc to safe and predictable approaches that are based on solid scientific understanding. We will develop CO2-based fracturing fluids and fracturing techniques to enhance production, greatly reduce waste water, while simultaneously sequestering CO2. Benefit to National Security Missions Significant R&D is required to increase shale gas produc- tion while reducing environmental impacts associated with aqueous hydraulic fracturing. The proposed work could shift the momentum toward greater large scale industry interest in “greener” fracturing fluids leading to greater public acceptance of fracking. Discoveries in fluid properties, rock properties, and their integrated interac- tions will be required. The proposed study brings togeth- er leading scientists from C, EES, MPA and T divisions to develop and apply new experimental methods in observ- ing rock fracturing to efficiently extract hydrocarbons in combination with novel, benchmarked models that will enhance US national and energy security. Success in the proposed work will position LANL at the fore- front of shale-gas technology, creating opportunities for significant industrial partnerships, and a leadership role in DOE programs in shale gas. This work also maintains capability for test containment and leakage prediction in the unlikely case of a future US nuclear test, or the more likely case of foreign testing. If the need for resumed testing should ever arise, the capability for understand- ing underground transport will just as critical as it once was. Progress The project received a combination of outstanding and excellent during the midterm review. A summary of the metrics includes: • 18 publication in high impact peer-reviewed jour- nals, five submitted, and more in preparation • Organized session/conferences including AGU ses- sions December 2014, ARMA session June 2015, and a CNLS conference in September 2015 • More than 10 invited talks given by the DR team • Several follow on projects have been funded includ- ing $1.4M representing three successful proposals for unconventional fossil fuels, $200K for a project with Apache and Texas tech to maximize liquid oil production from shale oil and gas, and $600K from UNESE to simulate gas migration from fractures from clandestine nuclear tests (UNESE) 26 Numerous key capabilities became fully operational in the last year, including: • T riaxial coreflood with in situ tomagraphy capable of shear, compressive and hydraulic fractures • Microfluidics with real rock and high temperature and pressure • Fracture propagation simulation with fluid capability in two dimensions • High performance computing implementation of dis- crete fracture network model to simulate hydrocarbon production • Pore scale models of shale matrix The midterm review resulted in the DR team coming up with a detailed plan of the remaining 18 months that ex- ists in the form of a presentation. This presentation was submitted to Q. A quick summar y of the overall project is given by: 1) 18 publications in high impact journals, 2) 5 follow on projects funded by DOE, 3) unique LANL experimental and model- ing capability aligned with the DOE big ideas Sub TER which is focusing controlling fracture propagation and fluid flow in the subsurface and is expected to fully roll out in FY17. Future Work Task 1: We will continue to conduct triaxial coreflood ex- periments to characterize fracture patterns and apertures under different stress conditions as well as using different working fluids (e.g. water and CO2). Have move the triaxial apparatus to AET and have successfully measurement fracture properties under in situ conditions. We have also modified our apparatus to create hydraulic fractures in addition to shear fractures. In FY16, we plan a systematic study of fracture-permeability in shale using these newly developed capabilities. Task 2: We will continue to develop models of fracture propagation modeling work that are validated by task 1. The focus of fy16 work will be to test our new 3d simula- tion capability against experiments. We will also continue to develop our integrated solid-fluid solver so that frac- ture propagation due to fluid pressure can be accurately simulated. The end goal is quantitative simulation of the hydraulic fracture experiments of Task 1. Task 3: We will continue to conduct microfluidic experi- ments of sweep efficiency. We have succeeded in conduct- ing microfluidic experiments with real rock (e.g. shale and cement) at high pressure. In the next FY, we will demon- strate how matrix-fracture interactions change simplistic models of hydrocarbon extraction using these new micro- fluidic capabilities and comparing them to standard glass microfluidic experiments. Task 4: In the next FY, we focus on 1) comparing lattice Boltzmann simulations to the microfluidics experiments of task 3. In addition, we will continue to study flow and transport in the shale matrix that is not currently observ- able with our experimental program. Task 5: We plan to study multiple sites in the next FY. In addition, since we can run larger fracture networks with our high performance computing implementation, we will study infracture variability and reactive transport in a discrete fracture network.