Join Our Next Lab All-Hands Meeting Tuesday, April 2 from 10 – 11 a.m. CT Building 402 Auditorium or via Vimeo Our next Lab All-Hands Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 2 from 10 to 11 a.m. CT. During the meeting, Sean Jones, deputy laboratory director for science and chief research officer, and Rae Sharp-Geiger, deputy laboratory director for operations and chief operations officer, will join Laboratory Director Paul Kearns to talk about science and operations updates from across the laboratory. We’ll take a deep dive into microelectronics research including the program’s strategic goals as well as projects that grew out of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program. To kick off Earth Month, we’ll take a closer look at sustainability research and development at Argonne, as well as sustainability programs on the Lemont campus. AET speakers presenting at the meeting include:  Seth Darling, AET chief science and technology officer, who will be discussing the lab’s work at the energy-water nexus. Sungjoon Kim, AMD postdoctoral appointee, who will be presenting work on atomic layer deposition for microelectronics. You can join the meeting in several ways: In person in the Building 402 Auditorium (with American Sign Language interpretation) Via livestream on your computer or mobile phone (with optional captions) At one of these satellite viewing locations: Building 203 Auditorium Building 362 Auditorium  On one of the video screens in building lobbies across campus Prior to the All-Hands Meeting, take a moment to connect with colleagues, sip some coffee, and have a donut at the spring mix-and-mingle from 9:30 to 10 a.m. in Building 402, Rooms E1100-1200. LEARN MORE

Back by Popular Demand: Postdoc Research Slam

The Postdoc Research Slam is a chance for postdocs and Argonne Scholars to showcase their science communication skills by sharing their research in three minutes or less. The final competition is targeted for the last week of July. Preliminary rounds and coaching for competitors will take place in the May-July timeframe.

Postdocs are encouraged to compete and all staff is invited to attend the final competition and cheer on their colleagues! See highlights from last year’s competition on the Postdoc Program Office MyArgonne page.

SEE HIGHLIGHTS

New Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) In-Depth Partnerships Proposals Start April 1

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program is preparing to open requests for proposals (RFPs) for its next round of in-depth partnerships starting Monday, April 1.

Partnerships include up to $500,000 in subcontracting funding and $3,500,000 in technical assistance from one or more national laboratories to develop secure, reliable, resilient, equitable, and affordable clean energy systems. Proposals are welcome from communities of all types, and applying teams must consist of at least one local government, a local community-based organization, and an eligible electric utility. 

Previously, Argonne has received funding through C2C to assist in efforts to reduce carbon emissions and facilitate the transition to electric transportation.

Proposals are due by June 14. Read the presolicitation notice or visit the in-depth partnerships page for more information.

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Last Day to Register for the Carbon Management R&D Workshop

Wednesday, April 3 from 9 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. CT

Updated Location: Building 240, Room 1416

Achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 will require carbon management at the industrial scale, both to reduce annual emissions not yet abated by decarbonization efforts and to address legacy emissions. To promote conversation around this effort, Argonne will host a one-day Carbon Management R&D Workshop on Wednesday, April 3 from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CT in Building 240, Room 1416. 

Through this workshop and subsequent conversations, we will identify promising scientific research directions and strengthen our internal collaboration as we elevate this topic to a major priority for the laboratory.

All interested members of the Argonne community are invited to participate and are asked to register by today, March 27.

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Participate in Spark Tank: “Big” Idea Pitching Forum  Presentation ideas due Friday, March 29 All Argonne science and technology (S&T) staff are invited to participate in Spark Tank, a forum designed to identify the next generation of “big” ideas in S&T for possible support or investment.  If you have a “big” idea to pitch to the Spark Tank committee, please fill out this online questionnaire by end of day Friday, March 29. New, collaborative, cross-directorate ideas will be prioritized.  The Spark Tank committee will review presentation ideas submitted and select a set of presentations to be featured at the first Spark Tank event held Thursday, April 11 from 1 to 5 p.m. CT in Building 240, Room 1501. LEARN MORE

Cournot Model: Cournot Competition in an Integer-Constrained Electricity Market Model

Today, March 27 at 12 p.m. CT

Building 362 Room B332 or via Teams

Speaker: Dr. Muireann Lynch, Senior Research Officer, Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland

The costs associated with electricity generation include costs that are independent
of their marginal output, including the cost of starting their units, and constraints such as
minimum generation levels. Modelling these costs and constraints requires integer
formulation of the units, and so they have typically been ignored in electricity market
modelling and simulation to date. We develop a stochastic equilibrium model to include these
costs and constraints in a Cournot model and solve it using the Gauss-Seidel diagonalization
algorithm. We apply the model to the power system of the island of Ireland with varying levels
of variable renewable power generation. We find that the impacts of integer modelling are
non-trivial, and are heterogeneous across firms and wind levels. Furthermore, excluding
integer modelling exaggerates the impact of price-making behaviour. We conclude that
neglecting integer constraints in power system market models leads to inaccurate results
particularly at high penetrations of renewable energy sources.

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What Does Your Success Look Like? Argonne Women Leaders Share How They Chose That Fork in the Road

During Women’s History Month, women leaders at Argonne talk about listening to mentors, staying persistent and ignoring naysayers when shaping a career path.

As the nation celebrates Women’s History Month during March, some women leaders at Argonne, including AMD's Jessica Durham Macholz, shared their passions and pitfalls as well as mentors and advice that changed their career trajectories. Most of all, they learned the power of teamwork, ignored the naysayers and used persistence to accomplish their goals.

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Argonne’s New Dual-Armed Telerobotic System for Hazardous Waste Clean-up Successfully Demonstrated; Has Potential for Other Applications

Argonne’s dual-armed telerobotic system could revolutionize hazardous waste clean-up.

Because they can go where humans can’t, robots are especially suited for safely working with hazardous nuclear waste. But first, those robots need to become like the humans they are replacing, with arms and fingers that can closely mimic the movements of a person.

Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have designed and tested a remote-controlled, dual-arm telerobotics system with human-like capabilities that has the potential to revolutionize hazardous waste clean-up and holds potential for broader applications.

The telerobotics technology marks an important step in improving the safe and effective cleanup of hazardous materials at nuclear sites, said the system’s designer, Young Soo Park, who leads Argonne’s Robotics and Remote Systems Program in the Applied Materials division.

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Visit InsideAET (VPN needed to access offsite) or join the AET Teams Channel for updates and more information within AET. If you have any questions, email aetinfo@anl.gov.