THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO FABRICATE AND ELECTROCHEMICALLY EVALUATE BUTTON CELLS AND 100 CM2 CELLS THAT MEET AND EXCEED DOE TARGETS (CURRENT DENSITIES IN EXCESS OF 1.2 A/CM2 AT CELL VOLTAGES OF 1.28 V AND OPERATING TEMPERATURE OF 750OC AND DEGRADATION RATE BELOW OF NO MORE THAN 0.5%/KHH) USING AN EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL APPROACH. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL: 1) BUILD NEXT GENERATION OXYGEN ELECTRODES WITH HIGH PERFORMANCE AND MINIMAL DEGRADATION FEATURING RARE-EARTH NICKELATE R-P PHASES, 2) IMPLEMENT OXYGEN AND FUEL ELECTRODE INFILTRATION STRATEGIES TO LOWER POLARIZATION RESISTANCE AND SUPPRESS CELL DEGRADATION, 3) IMPLEMENT STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE BARRIER-LESS CELLS THROUGH A COMBINATION OF ALTERNATE ELECTRODE SCAFFOLDINGS, INFILTRATION, AND MODIFIED PROCESS CONDITIONS 4) REVERSE CELL DEGRADATION BY OPERATING CELL FOR SHORT DURATIONS IN SOFC MODE, 5) APPLY BUTTON CELL ADVANCEMENTS TO 100 CM2 CELLS, AND TEST THEM, 6) BUILD AND TEST A SHORT STACK BASED ON THE 100 CM2 CELLS, AND 7) IMPLEMENT THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT PLANS, 8) PRESENT OUR RESEARCH RESULTS AT ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY AND TMS PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEETINGS.