Sunday, June 11, 2017

Thursday, June 1, 2017

This unidentified attack is an attack to be remembered.

Subject: This unidentified attack is an attack to be remembered.
Date:
6/1/2017 9:07:40 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time

In addition to tyranny, the following from our National Science Foundation is infuriating:
Review #3
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/researchadmin/images/spacer.gif
https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/researchadmin/images/spacer.gif

Proposal Number:

1132890
NSF Program:

THERMAL TRANSPORT PROCESSES
Principal Investigator:

Leyse, Robert H
Proposal Title:

Proprietary Transformative Separations
Rating:

Fair

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REVIEW:
What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?

The most compelling portion of this proposal is that the PI has identified an anomalous boiling heat transfer regime from microscale wire surfaces. Unfortunately, the PI has not presented a convincing research plan that will lead to a fundamental understanding of the heat transfer process he has identified. Countless anomalous regimes have been identified in boiling heat transfer. While the PI believes that his discoveries are transformative, this Reviewer fails to see it. Truly transformative research will seek to explain the physical mechanisms driving the anomalous observations, and provide technologists with the understanding that may lead to technological advances. However, the PI fails to mention any of the various physical boiling phenomena at different length and time scale which may influence the process. For example, the PI claims his measurements are steady state. This completely ignores the time scales associated with ebullition. The PI claims the dispersive mechanism is turbulence without any evidence. It can just as easily be hypothesized that the dispersive mechanism is microbubble growth and collapse that has been observed in highly subcooled systems. It is unfortunate that the PI has expended so much effort to convince NSF to fund his proposed research. If the PI is convinced that his discoveries are transformative and can lead to revolutionary new technology, he should focus his efforts on developing that technology. For whatever it is worth, this Reviewer believes that the heat transfer behavior observed is confined to microscale wires, and attempts at scale-up would not be fruitful.

What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?

It is difficult to identify broader impact associated with the proposal.

Summary Statement

Past Reviewers have been too gentle in pointing out the weaknesses of the proposed study. The PI should not be encouraged to resubmit a proposal covering the core topic.