Division on Engineering and Physical Sci

Recent years have brought a renewed focus on the potential for nuclear energy to help meet the United States' growing demands for abundant, reliable, low-carbon energy. Trends such as the increased electrification of transportation and industrial processes, along with the rapid expansion of data centers over the past decade, have accelerated and amplified these demands. Advances in nuclear energy technologies, along with the recent completion of Plant Vogtle - the largest nuclear power plant in the United States comprised of four reactor units - are opening new opportunities to build next-generation nuclear reactors and sparking interest and dialogue among utilities, investors, policymakers, and communities. However, significant barriers to nuclear power deployment include technical challenges, regulatory hurdles, and investment risks that complicate decision-making timelines. To explore pathways for new nuclear power development in the United States, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted the workshop Pathways for New Nuclear Development on January 29-30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Building on recommendations from the National Academies' report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, the event facilitated in-depth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community leaders, and technical experts from industry, national laboratories, and academia. Participants examined the challenges of deploying more nuclear power and discussed potential opportunities to overcome some of those challenges, including strategies to facilitate decision making, public engagement, workforce development, financing, regulatory improvement, and construction. Attendees shared their experiences and perspectives regarding the real and perceived risks of new nuclear projects and projected timelines, the opportunities of co-locating nuclear plants with other facilities or in non-traditional locations, and the role different reactor designs could play in meeting growing electricity demand. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Quantum networks are at the center of recent advances in quantum information, communication, and computation. These networks can be used to simulate complex materials and study the emergence of order in many-body systems. To explore new capabilities on the frontiers of engineered coherent matter that these systems might provide, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Condensed Matter and Materials Research Committee held a hybrid in-person and online workshop in Washington, DC on October 3, 2024. The workshop reviewed the rapidly emerging implementations of these systems and their relation to fundamental problems and applications in condensed matter physics, materials science, and quantum information. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Elementary particle physics reflects the human quest to understand the basic building blocks of nature and the rules that govern the physical world. This quest has led not only to critical scientific advancements and technology breakthroughs, but also to the development of essential technologies enabling new medical treatments, productive techniques in manufacturing, and enhanced capabilities in quantum computing, as well as ancillary benefits such as the precursor to the World Wide Web, which was created to manage the enormous data flows at CERN. At the request of the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, this report explores long-term goals and future ambitions for particle physics. Elementary Particle Physics: The Higgs and Beyond presents a bold 40-year vision for the field and highlights critical actions necessary to make this vision reality. The recommendations of this report will guide support and investments to maintain U.S. leadership in particle physics and move the field forward.

Groundbreaking advances in solar and space physics have provided key insights into the dynamic physical processes on the Sun and its influence on Earth, the near-Earth space environment, other planets in our solar system, and beyond. As we look to the next decade, future discoveries in the field will expand our knowledge of the cosmos and better prepare us for the impact of space weather events on critical systems and humanity. The Next Decade of Discovery in Solar and Space Physics: Exploring and Safeguarding Humanity's Home in Space, a National Academies' decadal survey, presents a prioritized strategy for basic and applied research to advance scientific understanding of the heliosphere and the origins of space weather, the Sun's interactions with other bodies in the solar system, and the interplanetary and interstellar mediums.

When oil and gas production began in the 19th century in North America, standards and regulations for the drilling and plugging of wells had not yet been developed. Over time, many of these and other wells were abandoned - unplugged, or not plugged to modern standards, and have sat idle for an extended, possibly unknown, period of time. These wells might not have been originally operated and maintained in accordance with existing statutes and regulations and, due to degradation over time and potential improper prior operations, they can emit methane, contaminate groundwater, and impact ecosystems, creating risks for both the environment and the public. To explore and share the variety of existing procedures and standards for plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, including current best practices for well-plugging technologies, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on July 18-19, 2024. Sponsored by the Department of the Interior's Orphaned Wells Program Office, the workshop included members of the federal government, state leaders, tribal representatives, industry experts, and other affected parties. This proceedings summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

On June 11, 20, 26 and July 2, 2024, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a series of workshop sessions to consider human and organizational factors of artificial intelligence (AI) risk management. The first three sessions - which examined community participation, testing and evaluation, and organizational culture - were held virtually, and the final session - in which members of the planning committee and a set of invited respondents reflected on the earlier sessions - was held in person. This proceedings recounts the presentations and discussions that occurred throughout these workshop sessions.

The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is the U.S. Army's sole fundamental research laboratory focused on cutting-edge scientific discovery and technological innovations that offer great potential to strengthen the U.S. Army. The mission of ARL is to operationalize science for transformational overmatch in support of persistent Army modernization. At the request of Army, this report examines the following four ARL competencies: biological and biotechnology sciences; network, cyber, and computational sciences; photonics, electronics, and quantum sciences; and sciences of extreme materials. The cross-cutting conclusions for the four competencies assessed in this report focus on encouraging a streamlined administrative approval process to enable conference attendance; creating bilateral forums with industry, academia, and government; continuing cross-pollination efforts through communication and collaboration; and increasing awareness of emerging computational methodologies.

Cybercrime poses serious threats and financial costs to individuals and businesses in the United States and worldwide. Reports of data breaches and ransomware attacks on governments and businesses have become common, as have incidents against individuals (e.g., identity theft, online stalking, and harassment). Concern over cybercrime has increased as the internet has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. However, comprehensive, consistent, and reliable data and metrics on cybercrime still do not exist - a consequence of a shortage of vital information resulting from the decentralized nature of relevant data collection at the national level. Cybercrime Classification and Measurement addresses the absence credible cybercrime data and metrics. This report provides a taxonomy for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice Statistics for the purpose of measuring different types of cybercrime, including both cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes faced by individuals and businesses, and considers the needs for its periodic revision. This report was mandated by the 2022 Better Cybercrime Metrics Act (BCMA).

2023 shattered global climate records as the warmest year in the modern record, bringing with it devastating impacts on human and natural systems. Methane emissions, about 60% of which come from human activities, are a major contributor to global warming, second only to carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane is relatively short-lived in the atmosphere but is 80 times more potent than CO2 at trapping heat over a 20-year period. Together with reducing CO2 emissions, rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are critical to limit both near- and long-term warming in future decades. But given the many barriers to achieving needed emissions reductions at scale, researchers are exploring the potential of technologies to remove methane from the atmosphere. A Research Agenda Toward Atmospheric Methane Removal is the first report of a two-phase study to assess the need and potential for atmospheric methane removal. This report identifies priority research that should be addressed within 3-5 years so that a second-phase assessment could more robustly assess the technical, economic, and social viability of technologies to remove atmospheric methane at climate-relevant scales. The research agenda presented in this report includes foundational research that would help us better understand atmospheric methane removal while also filling knowledge gaps in related fields, and systems research that seek to address what developing and/or deploying atmospheric methane removal at scale would entail. A Research Agenda Toward Atmospheric Methane Removal also assesses five atmospheric methane removal technologies that would accelerate the conversion of methane to a less radiatively potent form or physically remove methane from the atmosphere and store it elsewhere.

Since its formation more than 60 years ago, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has served as a global leader in science, aeronautics, and exploration, propelled technological innovation, and inspired youth to pursue careers in science and engineering, while often accomplishing the seemingly impossible. However, despite its critical and transformative role, NASA faces an uncertain future due to declining national investment as a percentage of gross domestic product and systemic issues that compromise its infrastructure, workforce, and capacity for technological innovation. As requested by Congress in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened an independent expert committee to evaluate whether NASA's current workforce, infrastructure, technological capabilities, and their interfaces can meet its strategic goals. NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades considers the critical facilities and emerging technologies necessary to fulfill NASA's mission, as well as the workforce skills and organizational structure required to perform and support the work of the mission directorates, both now and in the future.

National and international plans for halting and reversing climate change focus on reducing and eventually ending the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions: carbon dioxide (CO2) released by fossil fuel combustion. However, as the nation moves towards replacing many fossil CO2-emitting processes with zero- or low-carbon-emission alternatives, special attention is needed to eliminate net carbon emissions from the systems that cannot be fully "decarbonized", such as the production of aviation fuel, chemicals, plastics, and construction materials. For these systems, carbon will need to be managed and utilized effectively, in a way that either prevents CO2 from entering the atmosphere or reuses it through circular processes that do not contribute additional emissions. Carbon Utilization Infrastructure, Markets, and Research and Development: A Final Report is the second report of a two-part study. The study's first report assessed the state of infrastructure for CO2 transportation, use, and storage, highlighting priority opportunities for further investment. This second report identifies potential markets and commercialization opportunities for CO2- and coal waste-derived products, examines economic, environmental, and climate impacts of CO2 utilization infrastructure, and puts forward a comprehensive research agenda for carbon utilization technologies.