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THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis as a means of conducting market research or as a market survey to determine the availability of potential qualified... THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC) is issuing this Sources Sought Synopsis as a means of conducting market research or as a market survey to determine the availability of potential qualified vendors with the technical capability to provide all management, supervision, administration, and labor for the Office of Research requirement for the development of an Autonomous Control Algorithm that is capable of automatically approximating equilibrium cycle solutions for operating Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), subject to certain economic and safety constraints. The Office of Research has a need for the development of steady state models of boiling water reactors (BWRs) with “representative” core designs with modern fuel types. Specific activities include: an automated method to generate a BWR equilibrium cycle (an equilibrium cycle is a theoretical concept used to evaluate the implications from operating a plant in a “typical” or “representative” manner with a given fuel design over a long time). Given a BWR core’s complexity, the NRC seeks to develop an autonomous control algorithm (ACA) that would be capable of designing NRC-equivalent, “representative,” generic BWR core designs that would serve as the basis for PARCS/PATHS nominal, steady-state models. This algorithm would interface through the PARCS/PATHS input decks by predicting exposure-dependent rod patterns, exposure-dependent flow rate, and the end-of-cycle bundle shuffle sequence. Services are to be provided to the NRC in Rockville, Maryland. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 541690. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for sources and vendor information does not constitute a request for proposal; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. The purpose of this announcement is to provide potential sources the opportunity to submit information regarding their capabilities to perform work for the NRC free of conflict of interest (COI). For information on NRC COI regulations, visit NRC Acquisition Regulation Subpart 2009.5 (http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/contracting/48cfr-ch20.html). BACKGROUND The BWR models to be developed are not associated with any specific licensing action, and therefore would not contain proprietary core design information. BWR cores are complex in that modern fuel cycles utilize a combination of burnable poisons, control blades, and flow control windows to control excess reactivity during cycle also to maintain power distributions within acceptable limits. BWR bundles are also loaded with bundles with variations in enrichment and burnable poison loadings that aim to balance the reactivity changes with depletion. Additionally, there are competing goals of meeting desired cycle energy, maintaining safety margins, and minimizing duty related fuel failures. The ACA could be achieved by any number or combination of advanced computer decision-making methodologies, collectively binned as artificial intelligence-AI, machine learning-ML here (AI/ML) that are currently being researched and applied to other engineering problems (discrete neural networks, simulated annealing, Bayesian networks, dynamic probabilistic assessment. ACA could also make use of the solution of simplified cores through surrogates or through established reactor physics approximation methods such as perturbation theory to speed up the core diffusion solution and cycle depletions. By applying these AI/ML/surrogate methods to the approximation of a BWR “representative” core design, the NRC seeks to have an automated capability to build out PARCS/PATHS core models without relying on proprietary applicant and licensee information. This ACA would rely on the definition of an evaluation scheme to determine if an alternative state is preferable to the current state in terms of the selected figures of merit (economic or safety constraints). The ACA would employ an algorithmic decision-making capability that makes trade-offs between design objectives that seek to optimize some aspect of the nuclear system or core design (economics, safety, etc.). REQUIRED CAPABILITIES NRC is looking for a company that can adapt and apply advanced computer decision-making methods (AI, ML, neural networks, Bayesian networks, dynamic probabilistic risk assessment, etc.) to the development of software that will be capable of automating core design decisions. To that end, the vendor shall have distributed amongst their staff expertise in advanced computer decision-making methods, software development, reactor core analysis (with nodal diffusion codes), fuel cycle design, and have some knowledge of nuclear and thermal-hydraulic fuel safety limits. The requirement requires engineers/physical-scientists with most of the following specific skill sets: General knowledge of nuclear core nodal diffusion analysis methods and the application of these methods to nuclear core simulation Specific experience with performing fuel-cycle, core simulation calculations with a nodal diffusion core simulator (examples include PARCS/PATHS, SIMULATE, ANC, PANACEA, or any other comparable academic or industry core simulator) General knowledge of fuel performance and steady-state core thermal hydraulics such that the vendor can infer fuel licensing limits as applied to core analysis with new fuel designs General knowledge of fuel re-load schemes and nuclear fuel management Advanced knowledge of a type of computer programming language or simulation package: examples include one of several compiled computer languages such as Fortran or C; one of several scripting languages such as Perl, Bash, Python, or awk; or, one of several higher-level engineering computer language such as MATLAB, Mathematica, Maxima/Lisp, Mathcad, Maple, or Jupyter Experience with applying one of several methodologies of simulated computer decision making such as machine learning, dynamic risk assessment, neural networks, simulated-annealing, or other comparable decision-making methodology to nuclear core or power plant simulation Experience with applying surrogate methods (such as perturbational or variational theory) to the simplification of reactor physics problems Experience with applying a type of computer programming language or simulation package to decision making simulations in nuclear power plants: examples include one of several compiled computer languages such as Fortran or C; one of several scripting languages such as Perl, Bash, Python, or awk; or, one of several higher-level engineering computer language such as MATLAB, Mathematica, Maxima/Lisp, Mathcad, Maple, or Jupyter All interested parties, including all categories of small businesses (small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, 8(a) firms, women-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and HUBZone small businesses) are invited to submit a response. The capabilities package submitted by a vendor should demonstrate the firm's ability, capability, and responsibility to perform the principal components of work listed below. The package should also include past performance/experience regarding projects of similar scope listing the project title, general description, the dollar value of the contract, and name of the company, agency, or government entity for which the work was performed. Organizations responding to this market survey should keep in mind that only focused and pertinent information is requested. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. Submission of additional materials such as glossy brochures or videos is discouraged. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE If your organization has the capability and capacity to perform, as a prime contractor, one or more of the services described in this notice, then please respond to this notice and provide written responses to the following information. Please do not include any proprietary or otherwise sensitive information in the response, and do not submit a proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this notice will not be considered. Organization name, address, emails address, Web site address and telephone number. What size is your organization with respect to NAICS code identified in this notice (i.e., "small" or "other than small")? If your organization is a small business under the aforementioned NAICS code, what type of small business (i.e., small disadvantaged business, woman-owned small business, economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, 8(a), or HUBZone small business)? Specify all that apply. Although no geographic restriction is anticipated, if responding organizations are located outside the Washington Metropolitan area (Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia), indicate how the organization would coordinate with the NRC program office located in Rockville, Maryland to provide the support services. Separately and distinctly describe your organization’s ability to meet the capabilities indicated in the above section, Capability Sought. Separately and distinctly describe which of the required capabilities listed above that your organization possesses and indicate your organization's role (prime contractor, first tier subcontractor, and/or supplier) in related contracts. Please also provide the contract number, contract type, customer name, address and point of contact phone number and email address, contract value, thorough description of supplies and services included in the scope of that contract, indication of how they differ from the required capabilities described in this notice, period of performance (for services) or delivery date (for products), and any other relevant information. For any federal customers that your agency has for the required capabilities, indicate how your company complies with applicable environmental laws and Federal regulations (See NRC’s Green Purchasing Plan at: http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1219/ML12191A130.pdf). Indicate whether your organization offers any of the required capabilities described in this notice on one or more of your company's own Federal Government contracts (i.e., GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract or Government wide Acquisition Contracts) that the NRC could order from and, if so, which services are offered. Also, provide the contract number(s) and indicate what is currently available for ordering from each of those contract(s). Provide a standard, non-proprietary commercial price list or similar standard non-proprietary commercial pricing information for how your company sells, as a prime contractor, required capabilities described in this notice that your organization has experience providing. Also, indicate what is included in that pricing. Is your organization currently performing or have in the past performed same or similar services as those listed above for any of the licensees regulated by the NRC? If so, which licensees? See http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/licensing.html for more information on NRC licensing. Has your organization previously faced organizational conflict of interest issues with NRC? If so, what were they and how were they mitigated or resolved? Interested organizations responding to this Sources Sought Synopsis are encouraged to structure capability statements in the order of the area of consideration noted above. All capability statements sent in response to this notice must be submitted electronically, via e-mail, to Emarsha Whitt at Emarsha.Whitt@nrc.gov, either MS Word or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), no later than 5:00 PM Eastern on May 6, 2022. DISCLAIMER AND NOTES: Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s potential capability and capacity to perform the subject work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.