Franklin Regional High School, located in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, claimed victory at the 30th annual Western Pennsylvania Regional Science Bowl (WPASB) high school competition, organized and sponsored by NETL. The event was held Feb. 27, 2021, in a virtual format. Thirty-seven teams from 23 school districts throughout the state participated in the competition. The WPASB tested students’ knowledge of math and science with preliminary and elimination competition rounds. The middle school competition will be held Saturday, March 6. Coming in at second, third and fourth place were North Allegheny Cyber Academy (Wexford), Sewickley Academy (Sewickley) and Winchester Thurston School (Pittsburgh), respectively. This year, teams did not play head-to-head matches and instead competed against all other teams in the virtual competition. Each regional competition had at least two preliminary rounds, in which each individual team was read the same sets of questions during each round. The teams with the highest combined point totals from all preliminary rounds advanced to the Elimination Tournament.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) have awarded five grants totaling $1 million to support training programs that will teach workers new welding techniques and other advanced manufacturing skills. The majority of the funding, $750,000, will be allocated by DOE’s High-Performance Materials program to support the Advanced Welding Workforce Initiative (AWWI) and prepare a new generation of welders to manufacture and service high-temperature alloy components in electric generating stations. Such plants operate at significantly higher temperatures and pressures, which increases efficiency and lowers emissions of carbon dioxide but requires the use of superalloys that can withstand conditions much harsher than those in the older, less efficient facilities.

Data Science leadership from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of the Chief information Officer (OCIO) and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) researchers continue to work together to bolster the Department’s geo-data science capabilities through strategic interagency connections and participation in valuable workforce development programs. These efforts support the U.S. Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA) as well as the Federal Data Strategy and help to spark innovation and advance scientific research, catalyze economic opportunity, improve the nation’s public health and protect the environment. Geospatial data enables critical DOE research, and this location-based information is integral to the greater policy development, evaluation and decision-making that underpin DOE’s mission. For example, awareness of environmental conditions, energy planning and production, hazard mitigation, emergency response and decision support all benefit from carefully curated geospatial data. Supporting the Geospatial Data Act of 2018

NETL’s STEM Education & Outreach Team supports all types of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning — even if that learning takes place through a screen. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and into 2021, team members have stayed busy by preparing virtual activities and participating in online events that continue to bring STEM education, information on science career paths and more to students and science professionals during a time of great uncertainty. In the last year, NETL developed the first in a series of virtual Meet A Scientist events to increase the accessibility of the Lab’s research and directly engage with K-12 students in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and rural Oregon. Interested participants submitted questions through NETL’s social media accounts, with researchers addressing selected questions through a live virtual event. Researchers were able to speak about their career pathways and exciting research roles during the event. Future Meet a Scientist events are slated to occur, so check NETL’s social media to learn about future dates and topics.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) are working with data science leadership and experts from DOE’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to develop powerful new cloud computing capabilities that are harnessing the power of big data to advance energy research and data computing across the Department.

As NETL turns its attention to inspiring the next generation of energy researchers this month, the Lab is presenting four fun and engaging engineering activities that parents can enjoy with their children. These classic educational experiences will help build critical thinking skills that can spur an early interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Blanket Fort Build a childhood memory! This is fun activity for both parents and children that also helps with learning about engineering through play. Is this a fort that can fit the whole family? Is this a jungle hideout or a mad scientist’s lair? Suggested supplies:

The West Virginia Science Bowl tested students’ knowledge of math and science topics. Middle school teams competed Friday, followed by high school students on Saturday. With the shift to a virtual setting, this year’s Science Bowl followed a slightly altered format; teams competed individually instead of head-to-head with the highest scoring teams moving up. The final winning teams in the two events will compete in the National Science Bowl. Coming in at second, third and fourth place were Morgantown High School teams 1 and 2, of Monongalia County, and Williamstown High School, of Wood County, respectively. In the middle school division, second, third and fourth place were awarded to Triadelphia Middle School Team 1, of Ohio County, Williamstown Middle School, of Wood County, and Triadelphia Middle School Team 2 respectively.

As one of NETL’s most prolific researchers, Ranjani Siriwardane is listed as co-inventor of 25 U.S. patents and has earned numerous scientific awards for discoveries that have had a profound impact on the production of clean and affordable electricity. None of those accomplishments, however, would have been possible without the support of family members, teachers and others who recognized Siriwardane’s early interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and encouraged her to pursue her dreams and overcome obstacles she faced growing up in Sri Lanka, an island nation in South Asia.

NETL’s water-energy research and development (R&D) activities are now the focus of a new quarterly newsletter set for release later this month. Additionally, the recent launch of the Lab’s Water-Energy Research homepage further highlights NETL’s capabilities and competencies across a broad spectrum of water-energy topics directed at enhancing the nation’s fossil energy infrastructure while protecting the environment. The newsletter will feature water-energy project highlights, spotlights of the Lab’s researchers, upcoming water-energy conferences and more. It will cover the width and breadth of the Lab’s in-house and extramural water-related activities across NETL’s crosscutting, carbon capture and storage, oil and gas, critical minerals and rare earth element recovery, modeling and analysis, coal byproduct and other programs. The inaugural January 2021 edition highlights funding opportunities and recently awarded research projects, journal publications and work being carried out in support of the National Alliance for Water Innovation.

NETL and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) have announced five finalists for the Advanced Welding Workforce Initiative (AWWI), a partnership to invest approximately $1 million in education and training for advanced technical workers in Appalachia. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy High Performance Materials Program provided $750,000 to AWWI to prepare a new generation of welders to manufacture and service high-temperature alloy components in advanced coal- and natural gas-fueled electric generating stations. Such plants operate at significantly higher temperatures and pressures, which increases efficiency and lowers emissions of carbon dioxide and requires the use of superalloys that can withstand the harsh conditions. Skills to be acquired through AWWI training will also be broadly applicable for positions in Appalachia’s emerging aerospace, aviation, automotive and petrochemical industries, which will require welders and other technicians with expertise in working with high-performance materials.