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BackgroundWith an overarching goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in biomedical sciences, the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) developed a web-based national mentoring platform (MyNRMN) that seeks to connect mentors and mentees to support the persistence of underrepresented minorities in the biomedical sciences. As of May 15, 2024, the MyNRMN platform, which provides mentoring, networking, and professional development tools, has facilitated more than 12,100 unique mentoring connections between faculty, students, and researchers in the biomedical domain. ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the large-scale mentoring connections facilitated by our web-based platform between students (mentees) and faculty (mentors) across institutional and geographic boundaries. Using an innovative graph database, we analyzed diverse mentoring connections between mentors and mentees across demographic characteristics in the biomedical sciences. MethodsThrough the MyNRMN platform, we observed profile data and analyzed mentoring connections made between students and faculty across institutional boundaries by race, ethnicity, gender, institution type, and educational attainment between July 1, 2016, and May 31, 2021. ResultsIn total, there were 15,024 connections with 2222 mentees and 1652 mentors across 1625 institutions contributing data. Female mentees participated in the highest number of connections (3996/6108, 65%), whereas female mentors participated in 58% (5206/8916) of the connections. Black mentees made up 38% (2297/6108) of the connections, whereas White mentors participated in 56% (5036/8916) of the connections. Mentees were predominately from institutions classified as Research 1 (R1; doctoral universities—very high research activity) and historically Black colleges and universities (556/2222, 25% and 307/2222, 14%, respectively), whereas 31% (504/1652) of mentors were from R1 institutions. ConclusionsTo date, the utility of mentoring connections across institutions throughout the United States and how mentors and mentees are connected is unknown. This study examined these connections and the diversity of these connections using an extensive web-based mentoring network.

Sandia National Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory deployed state-of-the-art cybersecurity technologies within a virtualized, cyber-physical wind energy site to demonstrate their impact on security and resilience. This work was designed to better quantify cost-benefit tradeoffs and risk reductions when layering different security technologies on wind energy operational technology networks. Standardized step-by-step attack scenarios were drafted for adversaries with remote and local access to the wind network. Then, the team investigated the impact of encryption, access control, intrusion detection, security information and event management, and security, orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) tools on multiple metrics, including physical impacts to the power system and termination of the adversary kill chain. We found, once programmed, the intrusion detection systems could detect attacks and the SOAR system was able to effectively and autonomously quarantine the adversary, prior to power system impacts. Cyber and physical metrics indicated network and endpoint visibility were essential to provide human defenders situational awareness to maintain system resilience. Certain hardening technologies, like encryption, reduced adversary access, but recognition and response were also critical to maintain wind site operations. Lastly, a cost-benefit analysis was performed to estimate payback periods for deploying cybersecurity technologies based on projected breach costs.

Introduction: Intermittency is a property of turbulent astrophysical plasmas, such as the solar wind, that implies irregularity and fragmentation, leading to non-uniformity in the transfer rate of energy carried by nonlinear structures from large to small scales. We evaluated the intermittency level of the turbulent magnetic field measured by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) in the slow solar wind in the proximity of the Sun during the probe’s first close encounter.Methods: A quantitative measure of intermittency could be deduced from the normalized fourth-order moment of the probability distribution functions, the flatness parameter. We calculated the flatness of the magnetic field data collected by the PSP between 1 and 9 November 2018. We observed that when dividing the data into contiguous time intervals of various lengths, ranging from 3 to 24 hours, the flatness computed for individual intervals differed significantly, suggesting a variation in intermittency from “quieter” to more intermittent intervals. In order to quantify this variability, we applied an elaborate statistical test tailored to identify nonlinear dynamics in a time series. Our approach is based on evaluating the flatness of a set of surrogate data built from the original PSP data in such a way that all nonlinear correlations contained in the dynamics of the signal are eliminated. Nevertheless, the surrogate data are otherwise consistent with the “underlying” linear process, i.e., the null hypothesis that we want to falsify. If a discriminating statistic for the original signal, such as the flatness parameter, is found to be significantly different from that of the ensemble of surrogates, then the null hypothesis is not valid, and we can conclude that the computed flatness reliably reflects the intermittency level of the underlying nonlinear processes.Results and discussion: We determined that the non-stationarity of the time series strongly influences the flatness of both the data and the surrogates and that the null hypothesis cannot be falsified. A global fit of the structure functions revealed a decrease in flatness at scales smaller than a few seconds: intermittency is reduced in this scale range. This behavior was mirrored by the spectral analysis, which was suggestive of an acceleration of the energy cascade at the high-frequency end of the inertial regime.

Rapid Access Ice Drill is a new drilling technology capable of quickly accessing the glacial bed of Antarctic ice sheets, retrieving ice core and rock core samples, and providing boreholes for downhole logging of physical properties. Scientific goals include searching for old ice near the glacial bed and sampling subglacial bedrock. During field trials near McMurdo Station on a piedmont glacier at Minna Bluff in the 2019–20 austral summer, we successfully completed a ‘top-to-bottom’ operational sequence in three boreholes by (1) augering through firn, (2) creating a borehole packer seal in non-porous ice, (3) establishing fluid circulation, (4) quickly drilling a borehole in ice at penetration rates up to 1.2 m min−1, (5) acquiring a short ice core at depth, (6) penetrating the glacial bed at a depth of ~677 m, (7) recovering a 3.2 m core of ice, basal till and subglacial bedrock, (8) optically logging the borehole on wireline, (9) testing hydrofracture potential by overpressuring the borehole fluid and (10) operating in an environmentally benign yet rapid field mode. Minna Bluff testing, therefore, demonstrates the effectiveness of this integrated system to drill rapidly through thick ice and penetrate across the glacial bed to take cores of bedrock.

ABSTRACT Aims Increasing the diversity of the biomedical sciences workforce is a national priority. Having a mentor, and more crucially, a personal network of mentors, improves the likelihood that an individual will pursue an advanced degree and career in the biomedical sciences. The chief mission of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the biosciences workforce through the mentoring of historically underrepresented individuals. Methods To address this need, we created MyNRMN, an online mentoring platform that connects mentors and mentees nationwide. The platform enables multiple forms of mentoring and recommends connections to mentees that will help them build their personal networks. Results The MyNRMN online platform has registered more than 13,500 active mentors and mentees across all 50 states and from more than 2100 institutions. Black and Hispanic mentees are highly represented. Discussion MyNRMN has expanded opportunities for mentorship in the biomedical sciences, particularly among those not from a culture or institution that historically supports mentorship. The platform's robust search and recommendation capabilities and graph database technology enable members to grow their personal network of mentors. Conclusion The MyNRMN online platform has proven successful in connecting mentees and mentors nationwide, expanding the pipeline in biomedical science careers to attract a more diverse workforce.

A new drilling system was developed by the US Ice Drilling Program (IDP) to rapidly drill through overlying ice to collect subglacial rock cores. The Agile Sub-Ice Geological (ASIG) Drill system is capable of drilling up to 700 m of ice in a continuous manner. Intermittent ice core samples can be taken as needed. Ten-plus meters of subglacial bedrock and unconsolidated, frozen sediment cores can be drilled with wireline core retrieval. The functionality of the drill system was demonstrated in 2016–17 at the Pirrit Hills, Antarctica where 8 m of high-quality, continuous granite core was retrieved beneath 150 m of ice. The particulars of the drill system development, features and performance are discussed.

Significant upgrades to the Rapid Air Movement (RAM) Drill were developed and tested by the US Ice Drilling Program in 2016 through 2020 for the U.S. National Science Foundation. The design of the system leverages the existing infrastructure of the RAM Drill with the goal of greatly reducing the logistical burden of deploying the drill while maintaining the ability to drill an access hole in firn and ice to 100 m in 40 min or less. In this paper, characteristics of the drill are described, along with a description of the drill performance during the testing at Raven Camp in Greenland and at WAIS Divide Camp in Antarctica.

The American distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection standard, IEEE Std. 1547, was updated in 2018 to include standardized interoperability functionality. As state regulators begin ratifying these requirements, all DER—such as photovoltaic (PV) inverters, energy storage systems (ESSs), and synchronous generators—in those jurisdictions must include a standardized SunSpec Modbus, IEEE 2030.5, or IEEE 1815 (DNP3) communication interface. Utilities and authorized third parties will interact with these DER interfaces to read nameplate information, power measurements, and alarms as well as configure the DER settings and grid-support functionality. In 2020, the certification standard IEEE 1547.1 was revised with test procedures for evaluating the IEEE 1547-2018 interoperability requirements. In this work, we present an open-source framework to evaluate DER interoperability. To demonstrate this capability, we used four test devices: a SunSpec DER Simulator with a SunSpec Modbus interface, an EPRI-developed DER simulator with an IEEE 1815 interface, a Kitu Systems DER simulator with an IEEE 2030.5 interface, and an EPRI IEEE 2030.5-to-Modbus converter. By making this test platform openly available, DER vendors can validate their implementations, utilities can spot check communications to DER equipment, certification laboratories can conduct type testing, and research institutions can more easily research DER interoperability and cybersecurity. We indicate several limitations and ambiguities in the communication protocols, information models, and the IEEE 1547.1-2020 test protocol which were exposed in these evaluations in anticipation that the standards-development organizations will address these issues in the future.

A global transition to power grids with high penetrations of renewable energy generation is being driven in part by rapid installations of distributed energy resources (DER). New DER equipment includes standardized IEEE 1547-2018 communication interfaces and proprietary communications capabilities. Interoperable DER provides new monitoring and control capabilities. The existence of multiple entities with different roles and responsibilities within the DER ecosystem makes the Access Control (AC) mechanism necessary. In this paper, we introduce and compare two novel architectures, which provide a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) service to the DER ecosystem’s entities. Selecting an appropriate RBAC technology is important for the RBAC administrator and users who request DER access authorization. The first architecture is centralized, based on the OpenLDAP, an open source implementation of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). The second approach is decentralized, based on a private Ethereum blockchain test network, where the RBAC model is stored and efficiently retrieved via the utilization of a single Smart Contract. We have implemented two end-to-end Proofs-of-Concept (PoC), respectively, to offer the RBAC service to the DER entities as web applications. Finally, an evaluation of the two approaches is presented, highlighting the key speed, cost, usability, and security features.

In the near future, grid operators are expected to regularly use advanced distributed energy resource (DER) functions, defined in IEEE 1547-2018, to perform a range of grid-support operations. Many of these functions adjust the active and reactive power of the device through commanded or autonomous operating modes which induce new stresses on the power electronics components. In this work, an experimental and theoretical framework is introduced which couples laboratory-measured component stress with advanced inverter functionality and derives a reduction in useful lifetime based on an applicable reliability model. Multiple DER devices were instrumented to calculate the additional component stress under multiple reactive power setpoints to estimate associated DER lifetime reductions. A clear increase in switch loss was demonstrated as a function of irradiance level and power factor. This is replicated in the system-level efficiency measurements, although magnitudes were different—suggesting other loss mechanisms exist. Using an approximate Arrhenius thermal model for the switches, the experimental data indicate a lifetime reduction of 1.5% when operating the inverter at 0.85 PF—compared to unity PF—assuming the DER failure mechanism thermally driven within the H-bridge. If other failure mechanisms are discovered for a set of power electronics devices, this testing and calculation framework can easily be tailored to those failure mechanisms.

Worldwide growth in electric vehicle use is prompting new installations of private and public electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). EVSE devices support the electrification of the transportation industry but also represent a linchpin for power systems and transportation infrastructures. Cybersecurity researchers have recently identified several vulnerabilities that exist in EVSE devices, communications to electric vehicles (EVs), and upstream services, such as EVSE vendor cloud services, third party systems, and grid operators. The potential impact of attacks on these systems stretches from localized, relatively minor effects to long-term national disruptions. Fortunately, there is a strong and expanding collection of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) cybersecurity best practices that may be applied to the EVSE environment to secure this equipment. In this paper, we survey publicly disclosed EVSE vulnerabilities, the impact of EV charger cyberattacks, and proposed security protections for EV charging technologies.

Increasing penetrations of interoperable distributed energy resources (DER) in the electric power system are expanding the power system attack surface. Maloperation or malicious control of DER equipment can now cause substantial disturbances to grid operations. Fortunately, many options exist to defend and limit adversary impact on these newly-created DER communication networks, which typically traverse the public internet. However, implementing these security features will increase communication latency, thereby adversely impacting real-time DER grid support service effectiveness. In this work, a collection of software tools called SCEPTRE was used to create a co-simulation environment where SunSpec-compliant photovoltaic inverters were deployed as virtual machines and interconnected to simulated communication network equipment. Network segmentation, encryption, and moving target defence security features were deployed on the control network to evaluate their influence on cybersecurity metrics and power system performance. The results indicated that adding these security features did not impact DER-based grid control systems but improved the cybersecurity posture of the network when implemented appropriately.

The Sun's connection with the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere is carried out through the exchange of electromagnetic and mass flux and is regulated by a complex interconnection of processes. During space weather events, solar flares, or fast streams of solar atmosphere strongly disturb the Earth's environment. Often the electric currents that connect the different parts of the Sun-Earth system become unstable and explosively release the stored electromagnetic energy in one of the more dramatic expressions of space weather—the geomagnetic storm and substorm. Some aspects of the magnetosphere-ionosphere connection that generates auroral arcs during space weather events are well-known. However, several fundamental problems remain unsolved because of the lack of unambiguous identification of the magnetic field connection between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. The correct mapping between different regions of the magnetosphere and their foot-points in the ionosphere, coupled with appropriate distributed measurements of plasma and fields in focused regions of the magnetosphere, is necessary to establish unambiguously that a given magnetospheric process is the generator of an observed arc. We present a new paradigm that should enable the resolution of the mapping ambiguities. The paradigm calls for the application of energetic electron beams as magnetic field tracers. The three most important problems for which the correct magnetic field mapping would provide closure to are the substorm growth phase arcs, the expansion phase onset arcs and the system of arcs that emerge from the magnetosphere-ionosphere connection during the development of the early substorm expansion phase phenomenon known as substorm current wedge (SCW). In this communication we describe how beam tracers, in combination with distributed measurements in the magnetosphere, can be used to disentangle the mechanisms that generate these critical substorm phenomena. Since the application of beams as tracers require demonstration that the beams can be injected into the loss cone, that the spacecraft potentials induced by the beam emission are manageable, and that sufficient electron flux reaches the atmosphere to be detectable by optical or radio means after the beam has propagated thousands of kilometers under competing effects of beam spread and constriction as well as effects of beam-induced instabilities, in this communication we review how these challenges are currently being addressed and discuss the next steps toward the realization of active experiments in space using relativistic electron beams.

Tracing magnetic field-lines of the Earth's magnetosphere using beams of relativistic electrons will open up new insights into space weather and magnetospheric physics. Analytic models and a single-particle-motion code were used to explore the dynamics of an electron beam emitted from an orbiting satellite and propagating until impact with the Earth. The impact location of the beam on the upper atmosphere is strongly influenced by magnetospheric conditions, shifting up to several degrees in latitude between different phases of a simulated storm. The beam density cross-section evolves due to cyclotron motion of the beam centroid and oscillations of the beam envelope. The impact density profile is ring shaped, with major radius ~22 m, given by the final cyclotron radius of the beam centroid, and ring thickness ~2 m given by the final beam envelope. Motion of the satellite may also act to spread the beam, however it will remain sufficiently focused for detection by ground-based optical and radio detectors. An array of such ground stations will be able to detect shifts in impact location of the beam, and thereby infer information regarding magnetospheric conditions.

As more countries seek solutions to their de-carbonization targets using renewable energy (RE) technologies, interconnection standards and national grid codes for distributed energy resources (DER) are being updated to support higher penetrations of RE and improve grid stability. Common grid-code revisions mandate DER devices, such as solar inverters and energy storage systems, ride-through (RT) voltage and frequency disturbances. This is necessary because as the percentage of generation from DER increases, there is a greater risk power system faults will cause many or all DER to trip, triggering a substantial load-generation imbalance and possible cascading blackout. This paper demonstrates for the first time a methodology to verify commercial DER devices are compliant to new voltage, frequency, and rate of change of frequency (ROCOF) RT requirements established in IEEE Std. 1547-2018. The methodology incorporates a software automation tool, called the SunSpec System Validation Platform (SVP), in combination with a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system to execute the IEEE Std. 1547.1-2020 RT test protocols. In this paper, the approach is validated with two commercial photovoltaic inverters, the test results are analyzed for compliance, and improvements to the test procedure are suggested.

Extensive deployment of interoperable distributed energy resources (DER) is increasing the power system cyber security attack surface. National and jurisdictional interconnection standards require DER to include a range of autonomous and commanded grid-support functions, which can drastically influence power quality, voltage, and bulk system frequency. Here, the authors investigate the impact to the cyber-physical power system in scenarios where communications and operations of DER are controlled by an adversary. The findings show that each grid-support function exposes the power system to distinct types and magnitudes of risk. The physical impact from cyber actions was analysed in cases of DER providing distribution system voltage regulation and transmission system support. Finally, recommendations are presented for minimising the risk using engineered parameter limits and segmenting the control network to minimise common-mode vulnerabilities.

Real-time state estimation using a digital twin can overcome the lack of in-field measurements inside an electric feeder to optimize grid services provided by distributed energy resources (DERs). Optimal reactive power control of DERs can be used to mitigate distribution system voltage violations caused by increased penetrations of photovoltaic (PV) systems. In this work, a new technology called the Programmable Distribution Resource Open Management Optimization System (ProDROMOS) issued optimized DER reactive power setpoints based-on results from a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm wrapped around OpenDSS time-series feeder simulations. This paper demonstrates the use of the ProDROMOS in a RT simulated environment using a power hardware-in-the-loop PV inverter and in a field demonstration, using a 678 kW PV system in Grafton (MA, USA). The primary contribution of the work is demonstrating a RT digital twin effectively provides state estimation pseudo-measurements that can be used to optimize DER operations for distribution voltage regulation.

Grid operators are now considering using distributed energy resources (DERs) to provide distribution voltage regulation rather than installing costly voltage regulation hardware. DER devices include multiple adjustable reactive power control functions, so grid operators have the difficult decision of selecting the best operating mode and settings for the DER. In this work, we develop a novel state estimation-based particle swarm optimization (PSO) for distribution voltage regulation using DER-reactive power setpoints and establish a methodology to validate and compare it against alternative DER control technologies (volt–VAR (VV), extremum seeking control (ESC)) in increasingly higher fidelity environments. Distribution system real-time simulations with virtualized and power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL)-interfaced DER equipment were run to evaluate the implementations and select the best voltage regulation technique. Each method improved the distribution system voltage profile; VV did not reach the global optimum but the PSO and ESC methods optimized the reactive power contributions of multiple DER devices to approach the optimal solution.

The integration of smart grid technologies in interconnected power system networks presents multiple challenges for the power industry and the scientific community. To address these challenges, researchers are creating new methods for the validation of: control, interoperability, reliability of Internet of Things systems, distributed energy resources, modern power equipment for applications covering power system stability, operation, control, and cybersecurity. Novel methods for laboratory testing of electrical power systems incorporate novel simulation techniques spanning real-time simulation, Power Hardware-in-the-Loop, Controller Hardware-in-the-Loop, Power System-in-the-Loop, and co-simulation technologies. These methods directly support the acceleration of electrical systems and power electronics component research by validating technological solutions in high-fidelity environments. In this paper, members of the Survey of Smart Grid International Research Facility Network task on Advanced Laboratory Testing Methods present a review of methods, test procedures, studies, and experiences employing advanced laboratory techniques for validation of range of research and development prototypes and novel power system solutions.

Traditionally, children’s “voices” have been underrepresented in the field of cultural geography. Rather, “adultist views” dominate. In this article, we describe the methodological process of undertaking a comprehensive, participatory action visual methodologies project known as the Hamilton Photovoice Project (HPP) with children from low socioeconomic status neighborhoods in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We also discuss the lessons that we have learned along the way. The purpose of the HPP was to investigate how children in downtown Hamilton experience their metropolitan landscape. Specifically, we examined walking routes for the purposes of identifying desired environmental changes that may increase the use and enjoyment of community walking routes and spaces along routes. In doing so, we discuss what was learned from the methodological process of collecting and working with children’s visual productions, including how children appear to use visual methods. Although children’s visual productions appear to convey complex emotional, social, and political sentiments about their spatial experiences and desired environmental changes, the methodological process is invariably constrained by the institutions that govern and police children today during the research process. Thus, this study contributes toward the ongoing dialogue about the merits and tensions inherent to using children’s visual productions as a way to capture perceptions toward place.

A balanced omega-6/omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio has been linked to health benefits and the prevention of many chronic diseases. Current dietary intervention studies with different sources of omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3) lack appropriate control diets and carry many other confounding factors derived from genetic and environmental variability. In our study, we used the fat-1 transgenic mouse model as a proxy for long-term omega-3 supplementation to determine, in a well-controlled manner, the molecular phenotype associated with a balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio. The fat-1 mouse can convert omega-6 to omega-3 PUFAs, which protect against a wide variety of diseases including chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. Both wild-type (WT) and fat-1 mice were subjected to an identical diet containing 10% corn oil, which has a high omega-6 content similar to that of the Western diet, for a six-month duration. We used a multi-platform lipidomic approach to compare the plasma lipidome between fat-1 and WT mice. In fat-1 mice, an unbiased profiling showed a significant increase in the levels of unesterified eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), EPA-containing cholesteryl ester, and omega-3 lysophosphospholipids. The increase in omega-3 lipids is accompanied by a significant reduction in omega-6 unesterified docosapentaenoic acid (omega-6 DPA) and DPA-containing cholesteryl ester as well as omega-6 phospholipids and triacylglycerides. Targeted lipidomics profiling highlighted a remarkable increase in EPA-derived diols and epoxides formed via the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) pathway in the plasma of fat-1 mice compared with WT mice. Integration of the results of untargeted and targeted analyses has identified a lipidomic biosignature that may underlie the healthful phenotype associated with a balanced omega-6/omega-3 ratio, and can potentially be used as a circulating biomarker for monitoring the health status and the efficacy of omega-3 intervention in humans.