SBIR-STTR Award

The U.S. and International nuclear data networks have identified a critical need for new technologies for nuclear data evaluators. Out-of-date methods are currently used with the networks, which has been identified as a possible barrier to attracting young scientists. Tools are need to determine the consistency of data, to aid in the processing of information, and to graphically display the information in the format of interactive level schemes. This project addresses the broader issue of the electronic publication of nuclear data. Tools will be developed that support both the researcher who publishes articles containing nuclear data and the evaluator who can electronically extract the nuclear data for further processing. Phase I will examine the process of data entry that an author or evaluator will use to define level schemes. Software will be designed to support textual and interactive methods for defining level schemes.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
There is a significant need for publication tools that take the electronic document beyond a simple hypertext model. These technologies should have use throughout physics and can be extended to chemistry and other sciences.

The U.S. and International nuclear data networks have identified a critical need for new technologies for nuclear data evaluators. Out-of-date methods are currently used within the networks, and this has been identified as a possible barrier for attracting young scientists. This project will develop advanced methods for data entry, define an extensible markup language (XML) data transmission format for nuclear data, and develop a model for a server-based data checking and physics checking code. Also an interactive-level scheme will be developed to both display nuclear data in an electronic document and allow evaluators to extract that data. Phase I produced prototypes for data entry and level scheme software. Data parsing tools were developed to aid in the study of data formats. A model was developed for an advanced data checking system, and tests were performed on the feasibility of converting data checking and physics checking code into the Java programming language. The intent of Phase II is to produce comprehensive data entry and level scheme software. A suite of data checking and physics checking codes will be converted to Java and a server-based data checking system for Web services will be constructed.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee:
In addition to their application to the National Nuclear Data Center, the data parsing and XML technologies have direct applications in Web services, providing important methods and formats for data transfer. Data entry and data checking technologies will support advanced Web and application user interfaces.