TY - BOOK AU - Transportation Research Board AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Jim Redeker A2 - Scott Baker A2 - Viktor Zhong A2 - Susan Binder A2 - Sherri LeBas A2 - Eric Peterson A2 - Sarah Siwek TI - Federal Funding Flexibility: Use of Federal-Aid Highway Fund Transfers by State DOTs DO - 10.17226/26696 PY - 2022 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26696/federal-funding-flexibility-use-of-federal-aid-highway-fund-transfers-by-state-dots PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Transportation and Infrastructure AB - The Federal-Aid Highway Program (FAHP) represents one of the largest grant programs in the federal domestic budget and is a combination of individual categorical and discretionary grant programs.The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Research Report 1023: Federal Funding Flexibility: Use of Federal-Aid Highway Fund Transfers by State DOTs investigates recent experience with statutory features that allow recipients of formula grants to shift the authority to use federal funds from one FAHP category to another, and even into other modes.Supplemental to the report are a related webinar video, slides from the webinar, and notes from the webinar. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Transportation Research Board AU - National Research Council TI - Polar Icebreakers in a Changing World: An Assessment of U.S. Needs SN - DO - 10.17226/11753 PY - 2007 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11753/polar-icebreakers-in-a-changing-world-an-assessment-of-us PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Transportation and Infrastructure KW - Earth Sciences AB - The United States has enduring national and strategic interests in the polar regions, including citizens living above the Arctic circle and three year-round scientific stations in the Antarctic. Polar icebreaking ships are needed to access both regions. Over the past several decades, the U.S. government has supported a fleet of four icebreakers—three multi-mission U.S. Coast Guard ships (the POLAR SEA, POLAR STAR, and HEALY) and the National Science Foundation's PALMER, which is dedicated solely to scientific research. Today, the POLAR STAR and the POLAR SEA are at the end of their service lives, and a lack of funds and no plans for an extension of the program has put U.S. icebreaking capability at risk. This report concludes that the United States should continue to support its interests in the Arctic and Antarctic for multiple missions, including maintaining leadership in polar science. The report recommends that the United States immediately program, budget, design, and construct two new polar icebreakers to be operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The POLAR SEA should remain mission capable and the POLAR STAR should remain available for reactivation until the new polar icebreakers enter service. The U.S. Coast Guard should be provided sufficient operations and maintenance budget to support an increased, regular, and influential presence in the Arctic, with support from other agencies. The report also calls for a Presidential Decision Directive to clearly align agency responsibilities and budgetary authorities. ER - TY - BOOK AU - Transportation Research Board AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - John D. Zegeer A2 - Brandon Nevers A2 - Wayne Kittelson TI - A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability DO - 10.17226/22532 PY - 2013 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/22532/a-framework-for-improving-travel-time-reliability PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Transportation and Infrastructure AB - TRB’s second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2) Report S2-L17-RW-1: A Framework for Improving Travel Time Reliability describes the results of a project designed to identify and enhance the dissemination of transportation systems management and operations (TSM&O) information.A major component of Reliability Project L17 was development of a Knowledge Transfer System (KTS), a web-based tool designed to provide convenient one-stop access to the complete range of TSM&O information. The KTS tool is currently available.Reliability Project L17 also produced the following six items to fill in gaps in knowledge about transportation systems management and operations:Gap-Filling Project 1: CEO Briefing Book on Effective Operations Improvement StrategiesGap-Filling Project 2: Deployment Guidance for TSM&O StrategiesGap-Filling Project 3: Best Practices for TSM&O Program and Budget DevelopmentGap-Filling Project 4: A Guidebook for Standard Reporting and Evaluation Procedures for TSM&O StrategiesGap-Filling Project 5: Guidebook: Placing a Value on Time ReliabilityGap-Filling Project 6: Business Case Primer Communicating the Value of Transportation Systems Management and Operations ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Charles W. Wessner TI - SBIR and the Phase III Challenge of Commercialization: Report of a Symposium SN - DO - 10.17226/11851 PY - 2007 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11851/sbir-and-the-phase-iii-challenge-of-commercialization-report-of PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Industry and Labor AB - In response to a Congressional mandate, the National Research Council conducted a review of the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) at the five federal agencies with SBIR programs with budgets in excess of $100 million (DOD, NIH, NASA, DOE, and NSF). The project was designed to answer questions of program operation and effectiveness, including the quality of the research projects being conducted under the SBIR program, the commercialization of the research, and the program's contribution to accomplishing agency missions. This report summarizes the presentations at a symposium exploring the effectiveness of Phase III of the SBIR program (the commercialization phase), during which innovations funded by Phase II awards move from the laboratory into the marketplace. No SBIR funds support Phase III; instead, to commercialize their products, small businesses are expected to garner additional funds from private investors, the capital markets, or from the agency that made the initial award. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council A2 - Charles W. Wessner TI - SBIR Program Diversity and Assessment Challenges: Report of a Symposium SN - DO - 10.17226/11082 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11082/sbir-program-diversity-and-assessment-challenges-report-of-a-symposium PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Industry and Labor AB - In response to a Congressional mandate, the National Research Council conducted a review of the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) at the five federal agencies with SBIR programs with budgets in excess of $100 million (DOD, NIH, NASA, DOE, and NSF). The project was designed to answer questions of program operation and effectiveness, including the quality of the research projects being conducted under the SBIR program, the commercialization of the research, and the program's contribution to accomplishing agency missions. The first in a series to be published in response to the Congressional request, this report summarizes the presentations at a symposium convened at the beginning of the project. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the SBIR program’s operations at the five agencies responsible for 96 percent of the program’s operations. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Evaluation of the National Aerospace Initiative SN - DO - 10.17226/10980 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10980/evaluation-of-the-national-aerospace-initiative PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - The National Aerospace Initiative (NAI) was conceived as a joint effort between the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to sustain the aerospace leadership of the United States through the acceleration of selected aerospace technologies: hypersonic flight, access to space, and space technologies. The Air Force became concerned about the NAI’s possible consequences on Air Force programs and budget if NAI program decisions differed from Air Force priorities. To examine this issue, it asked the NRC for an independent review of the NAI. This report presents the results of that assessment. It focuses on three questions asked by the Air Force: is NAI technically feasible in the time frame laid out; is it financially feasible over that period; and is it operationally relevant. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council AU - National Academy of Engineering TI - The Hydrogen Economy: Opportunities, Costs, Barriers, and R&D Needs SN - DO - 10.17226/10922 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10922/the-hydrogen-economy-opportunities-costs-barriers-and-rd-needs PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Energy and Energy Conservation AB - The announcement of a hydrogen fuel initiative in the President’s 2003 State of the Union speech substantially increased interest in the potential for hydrogen to play a major role in the nation’s long-term energy future. Prior to that event, DOE asked the National Research Council to examine key technical issues about the hydrogen economy to assist in the development of its hydrogen R&D program. Included in the assessment were the current state of technology; future cost estimates; CO2 emissions; distribution, storage, and end use considerations; and the DOE RD&D program. The report provides an assessment of hydrogen as a fuel in the nation’s future energy economy and describes a number of important challenges that must be overcome if it is to make a major energy contribution. Topics covered include the hydrogen end-use technologies, transportation, hydrogen production technologies, and transition issues for hydrogen in vehicles. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - An Assessment of the Small Business Innovation Research Program: Project Methodology SN - DO - 10.17226/11097 PY - 2004 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11097/an-assessment-of-the-small-business-innovation-research-program-project PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Industry and Labor AB - In response to a Congressional mandate, the National Research Council conducted a review of the SBIR program at the five federal agencies with SBIR programs with budgets in excess of $100 million (DOD, NIH, NASA, DOE, and NSF). The project was designed to answer questions of program operation and effectiveness, including the quality of the research projects being conducted under the SBIR program, the commercialization of the research, and the program's contribution to accomplishing agency missions. This report describes the proposed methodology for the project, identifying how the following tasks will be carried out: 1) collecting and analyzing agency databases and studies; 2) surveying firms and agencies; 3) conducting case studies organized around a common template; and 4) reviewing and analyzing survey and case study results and program accomplishments. Given the heterogeneity of goals and procedures across the five agencies involved, a broad spectrum of evaluative approaches is recommended. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Learning from Our Buildings: A State-of-the-Practice Summary of Post-Occupancy Evaluation SN - DO - 10.17226/10288 PY - 2001 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10288/learning-from-our-buildings-a-state-of-the-practice-summary PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Engineering and Technology KW - Space and Aeronautics KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - In 1986, the FFC requested that the NRC appoint a committee to examine the field and propose ways by which the POE process could be improved to better serve public and private sector organizations. The resulting report, Post-Occupancy Evaluation Practices in the Building Process: Opportunities for Improvement, proposed a broader view of POEs—from being simply the end phase of a building project to being an integral part of the entire building process. The authoring committee recommended a series of actions related to policy, procedures, and innovative technologies and techniques to achieve that broader view. In 2000, the FFC funded a second study to look at the state of the practice of POEs and lessons-learned programs among federal agencies and in private, public, and academic organizations both here and abroad. The sponsor agencies specifically wanted to determine whether and how information gathered during POE processes could be used to help inform decisions made in the programming, budgeting, design, construction, and operation phases of facility acquisition in a useful and timely way. To complete this study, the FFC commissioned a set of papers by recognized experts in this field, conducted a survey of selected federal agencies with POE programs, and held a forum at the National Academy of Sciences on March 13, 2001, to address these issues. This report is the result of those efforts. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine A2 - Susan J. Debad TI - Facilities Staffing Requirements for the Veterans Health Administration–Resourcing, Workforce Modeling, and Staffing: Proceedings of a Workshop SN - DO - 10.17226/25456 PY - 2019 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25456/facilities-staffing-requirements-for-the-veterans-health-administration-resourcing-workforce-modeling-and-staffing PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences KW - Health and Medicine AB - In January 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened the 2-day Workshop on Resourcing, Workforce Modeling, and Staffing. This workshop is one of several data-gathering sessions to support the committee’s iterative study. The overarching goal of the study is to help the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) assess the overall resource needs of its Facilities Management Program and to develop budget and staffing methodologies. Such methodologies can provide better justification for ensuring that local VHA programs are adequately and consistently staffed to accomplish the mission and meet all requirements. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support U.S. Science and Engineering in 2017-2020: Interim Report SN - DO - 10.17226/18972 PY - 2014 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18972/future-directions-for-nsf-advanced-computing-infrastructure-to-support-us-science-and-engineering-in-2017-2020 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Computers and Information Technology AB - Advanced computing capabilities are used to tackle a rapidly growing range of challenging science and engineering problems, many of which are compute- and data-intensive as well. Demand for advanced computing has been growing for all types and capabilities of systems, from large numbers of single commodity nodes to jobs requiring thousands of cores; for systems with fast interconnects; for systems with excellent data handling and management; and for an increasingly diverse set of applications that includes data analytics as well as modeling and simulation. Since the advent of its supercomputing centers, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has provided its researchers with state-of-the-art computing systems. The growth of new models of computing, including cloud computing and publically available by privately held data repositories, opens up new possibilities for NSF. In order to better understand the expanding and diverse requirements of the science and engineering community and the importance of a new broader range of advanced computing infrastructure, the NSF requested that the National Research Council carry out a study examining anticipated priorities and associated tradeoffs for advanced computing. This interim report identifies key issues and discusses potential options. Future Directions for NSF Advanced Computing Infrastructure to Support U.S. Science and Engineering in 2017-2020 examines priorities and associated tradeoffs for advanced computing in support of NSF-sponsored science and engineering research. This report is an initial compilation of issues to be considered as future NSF strategy, budgets, and programs for advanced computing are developed. Included in the report are questions on which the authoring committee invites comment. We invite your feedback on this report, and more generally, your comments on the future of advanced computing at NSF. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Space Studies Board Annual Report 2007 DO - 10.17226/12096 PY - 2008 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12096/space-studies-board-annual-report-2007 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics ER - TY - BOOK AU - Institute of Medicine A2 - Stanley M. Lemon A2 - Susan Thaul A2 - Salem Fisseha A2 - Heather C. O'Maonaigh TI - Protecting Our Forces: Improving Vaccine Acquisition and Availability in the U.S. Military SN - DO - 10.17226/10483 PY - 2002 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10483/protecting-our-forces-improving-vaccine-acquisition-and-availability-in-the PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Health and Medicine KW - Conflict and Security Issues AB - Infectious diseases continue to pose a substantial threat to the operational capacity of military forces. Protecting Our Forces reviews the process by which the U.S. military acquires vaccines to protect its warfighters from natural infectious disease threats. The committee found that poorly aligned acquisition processes and an inadequate commitment of financial resources within the Department of Defense vaccine acquisition process – rather than uncleared scientific or technological hurdles – contribute to the unavailability of some vaccines that could protect military personnel and, implicitly, the welfare and security of the nation. Protecting Our Forces outlines ways in which DoD might strengthen its acquisition process and improve vaccine availability. Recommendations, which include combining all DoD vaccine acquisition responsibilities under a single DoD authority, cover four broad aspects of the acquisition process: (1) organization, authority, and responsibility; (2) program and budget; (3)manufacturing; (4) and the regulatory status of special-use vaccines. ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - An Assessment of Naval Hydromechanics Science and Technology SN - DO - 10.17226/9820 PY - 2000 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9820/an-assessment-of-naval-hydromechanics-science-and-technology PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Math, Chemistry, and Physics KW - Engineering and Technology AB - The Department of the Navy maintains a vigorous science and technology (S&T) research program in those areas that are critically important to ensuring U.S. naval superiority in the maritime environment. A number of these areas depend largely on sustained Navy Department investments for their health, strength, and growth. One such area is naval hydromechanics, that is, the study of the hydrodynamic and hydroacoustic performance of Navy ships, submarines, underwater vehicles, and weapons. A fundamental understanding of naval hydromechanics provides direct benefits to naval warfighting capabilities through improvements in the speed, maneuverability, and stealth of naval platforms and weapons. An Assessment of Naval Hydromechanics Science and Technology is an assessment of S&T research in the area of naval hydromechanics. This report assesses the Navy's research effort in the area of hydromechanics, identifies non-Navy-sponsored research and development efforts that might facilitate progress in the area, and provides recommendations on how the scope of the Navy's research program should be focused to meet future objectives. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Space Studies Board Annual Report 2006 DO - 10.17226/12082 PY - 2007 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12082/space-studies-board-annual-report-2006 PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Space and Aeronautics ER - TY - BOOK AU - National Research Council TI - Assessing the TMDL Approach to Water Quality Management SN - DO - 10.17226/10146 PY - 2001 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10146/assessing-the-tmdl-approach-to-water-quality-management PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - Environment and Environmental Studies AB - Over the last 30 years, water quality management in the United States has been driven by the control of point sources of pollution and the use of effluent-based water quality standards. Under this paradigm, the quality of the nation's lakes, rivers, reservoirs, groundwater, and coastal waters has generally improved as wastewater treatment plants and industrial dischargers (point sources) have responded to regulations promulgated under authority of the 1972 Clean Water Act. These regulations have required dischargers to comply with effluent-based standards for criteria pollutants, as specified in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the states and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Although successful, the NPDES program has not achieved the nation's water quality goals of "fishable and swimmable" waters largely because discharges from other unregulated nonpoint sources of pollution have not been as successfully controlled. Today, pollutants such as nutrients and sediment, which are often associated with nonpoint sources and were not considered criteria pollutants in the Clean Water Act, are jeopardizing water quality, as are habitat destruction, changes in flow regimes, and introduction of exotic species. This array of challenges has shifted the focus of water quality management from effluent-based to ambient- based water quality standards. Given the most recent lists of impaired waters submitted to EPA, there are about 21,000 polluted river segments, lakes, and estuaries making up over 300,000 river and shore miles and 5 million lake acres. The number of TMDLs required for these impaired waters is greater than 40,000. Under the 1992 EPA guidance or the terms of lawsuit settlements, most states are required to meet an 8- to 13-year deadline for completion of TMDLs. Budget requirements for the program are staggering as well, with most states claiming that they do not have the personnel and financial resources necessary to assess the condition of their waters, to list waters on 303d, and to develop TMDLs. A March 2000 report of the General Accounting Office (GAO) highlighted the pervasive lack of data at the state level available to set water quality standards, to determine what waters are impaired, and to develop TMDLs. This report represents the consensus opinion of the eight-member NRC committee assembled to complete this task. The committee met three times during a three-month period and heard the testimony of over 40 interested organizations and stakeholder groups. The NRC committee feels that the data and science have progressed sufficiently over the past 35 years to support the nation's return to ambient-based water quality management. Given reasonable expectations for data availability and the inevitable limits on our conceptual understanding of complex systems, statements about the science behind water quality management must be made with acknowledgment of uncertainties. This report explains that there are creative ways to accommodate this uncertainty while moving forward in addressing the nation's water quality challenges. ER - TY - BOOK TI - Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research : a Report DO - 10.17226/18703 PY - 1988 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18703/our-changing-planet-a-us-strategy-for-global-change-research PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - KW - Space and Aeronautics ER - TY - BOOK TI - The 1978 Budgets: Ford, Carter, Congress, Health DO - 10.17226/21362 PY - 1977 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21362/the-1978-budgets-ford-carter-congress-health PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - KW - Behavioral and Social Sciences ER - TY - BOOK TI - Health Care for American Veterans DO - 10.17226/21446 PY - 1977 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21446/health-care-for-american-veterans PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - KW - Health and Medicine ER - TY - BOOK TI - Achieving Designs to Budget for Federal Facilities DO - 10.17226/20986 PY - 1990 UR - https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20986/achieving-designs-to-budget-for-federal-facilities PB - The National Academies Press CY - Washington, DC LA - English KW - KW - Engineering and Technology ER -