June 1st, 2010
Is the DOE Hydrogen Merit Review Process Rigged?
Less than one week from the start of the DOE Hydrogen Merit Review Process, we at the ebTDesign Forum have to ask “Do you think that the process is rigged?” There were new hydrogen innovations announced almost every day. Yet the hydrogen research funding was once again cut and research on fossil fuel alternatives for use in fuel cells was increased.
This past year has clearly been extraordinary for the advancement of hydrogen convergence. Secretary Chu from the Depart of Energy wrote funding for hydrogen research out of the budget. However, like the mythical bird called the Phoenix the hydrogen convergence movement arose from the ashes and has taken flight.
As loyal readers and social media followers, we at the ebTDesign Forum have to ask “Do you still have faith in the merit review process as it is performed by the confounders at the DOE?” At the ebTDesign Forum, it appears to us that the DOE has chosen to ignore the obvious benefits of hydrogen convergence in order to pursue their dreams of a nuclear power renaissance.
Fortunately, the American people still have a say in how our energy security will be achieved. While the confounders want to turn the page on the Catastrophe on the Gulf Coast by saying accidents happen, the reality is that there are some economic risks that we can’t afford to take. Allowing the jobs that will be created by hydrogen convergence to move offshore is one of them. With your help, the days of playing catch up are over.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: confounders, DOE, hydrogen, merit reviewMarch 28th, 2010
Durability versus Maintainability of Hydrogen Convergence
Confounders would have you believe that hydrogen convergence has to arrive fully optimized. They want to talk about performance even though they know that performance improvements are a function of time. These industry experts and so-called gurus know that all disruptive innovations generally start life as simple sub-optimized applications targeted at niche markets.
We at the ebTDesign Forum would advise readers and social media followers to concentrate their design efforts on insuring maintainability in their initial offerings. Both the Model T and personal computers were helped by large communities of enthusiasts who capable of maintaining their own equipment. It fact, the rise of Linux was spurred on by social gathers were users could talk about how best to maintain systems.
On a visit to Netscape after AOL bought them, a developer said his team was not sure what enhancements were needed until they talked with their users. They weren’t even sure how their applications were going to be used until they spent sometime in the field with those building new infrastructure assets. Netscape would convene conferences with their user community so that they could showcase the community’s work. Hopefully, the DOE will take note and evolve the DOE Hydrogen Merit Review process into this kind of gathering.
Maintainability worked for Netscape because it encouraged users to find new applications for core technology. Hydrogen Convergence applications would benefit from this kind of unstructured time with non-scientists. Simply providing a non-polluting ride may not be enough to seal the deal. We at the ebTDesign Forum would advise automakers that the most likely path to success is through maintainability and self-directed investigations.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: DOE, hydrogen, maintainability, merit review, non-scientistsMarch 18th, 2010
Hydrogen Convergence continues despite DOE Best Efforts
The Department of Energy released a report from its Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee that showed robust growth for fuel cell products and deployment of hydrogen infrastructure. This report goes on to say that hydrogen convergence continued in spite of the budget concerns instigated by the DOE.
Faced with outright hostility on the part of the DOE, milestones continued to be achieved. This should bode well for hydrogen projects in the upcoming DOE Hydrogen Merit Review Process. However, DOE has shown a propensity to act on outdated information. So, we at the ebTDesign Forum would advise readers and social media followers to be prepared for a rematch over proposed budget cuts.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Advisory Committee, DOE, hydrogen, merit reviewMarch 5th, 2010
Announcing: Shine a Light on DOE Hydrogen Review YouTube Contest
We at the ebTDesign Forum are proud to announce the “Shine a Light on the DOE Hydrogen Merit Review Contest.” This YouTube contest will attempt to democratize the DOE Hydrogen Merit Review process by showing advances in worldwide hydrogen convergence. Submissions will be evaluated for inclusion in a subsequent YouTube playlist. We at the ebTDesign Forum propose that the act of opening up the Merit Review process to more citizen involvement will trigger additional investments in all facets of hydrogen convergence.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: hydrogen, merit review, Shine a Light, YouTubeJanuary 22nd, 2010
Colonizing the US DOE via the Merit Review Process
The Department of Energy (DOE) is holding a workshop on merit based peer review best practices on January 26, 2010. This workshop will define how the success standards will be arrived at for hydrogen convergence programs. At the ebTDesign Forum, we propose that the best way to grow the hydrogen convergence colony within the DOE is to support their successes.
Further, we reason that the best way to ensure that the DOE successes meet the needs of the hydrogen convergence community is to actively participate in the merit review process. We will contact the DOE and request that the reference material be placed on the internet for continued study and devote space to publishing explanatory content.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: colony, DOE, hydrogen, merit review