diff --git a/.github/workflows/electron-build.yml b/.github/workflows/electron-build.yml
index c18adf0b..73ea0e70 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/electron-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/electron-build.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ name: App build
 on:
   push:
     branches:
-      - "0.11.0"
+      - "update-package-versions"
 
 defaults:
   run:
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@ jobs:
 
       # - name: Install Watertap locally
       #   working-directory: ../
-      #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all && git checkout 0.11.0 && pip install --progress-bar off .
+      #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all && git checkout update-pydantic && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
       - name: Install Watertap locally
         working-directory: ../
-        run: git clone https://github.com/watertap-org/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all --tags && git checkout 0.11.0 && pip install --progress-bar off .
+        run: git clone https://github.com/watertap-org/watertap.git && cd watertap && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
       - name: Transfer Entry points
         run: |
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Install Watertap locally
         working-directory: ../
-        run: git clone https://github.com/watertap-org/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all --tags && git checkout 0.9.0rc0 && pip install --progress-bar off .
+        run: git clone https://github.com/watertap-org/watertap.git && cd watertap && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
       - name: Transfer Entry points
         run: |
diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 53863cce..7e39ede9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -64,9 +64,9 @@ jobs:
       #   working-directory: ../
       #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all && git checkout build-options && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
-      - name: Install correct branch of watertap
-        working-directory: ../
-        run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && pip install --progress-bar off .
+      # - name: Install correct branch of watertap
+      #   working-directory: ../
+      #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
       - name: Display installed environment
         run: |
@@ -129,9 +129,13 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           pip install --progress-bar off .
 
+      - name: Install httpx
+        run: |
+          pip install httpx
+
       # - name: Install my fork of watertap
       #   working-directory: ../
-      #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all && git checkout build-options && pip install --progress-bar off .
+      #   run: git clone https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap.git && cd watertap && git fetch --all && git checkout update-pydantic && pip install --progress-bar off .
 
       - name: get idaes extensions
         run: idaes get-extensions
diff --git a/backend/app/internal/flowsheet_manager.py b/backend/app/internal/flowsheet_manager.py
index ded9e9ad..e831080a 100644
--- a/backend/app/internal/flowsheet_manager.py
+++ b/backend/app/internal/flowsheet_manager.py
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 import time
 from types import ModuleType
-from typing import Optional, Dict, List
+from typing import Optional, Dict, List, Union
 import app
 
 # third-party
 from fastapi import HTTPException
-from pydantic import BaseModel, validator
+from pydantic import BaseModel, validator, field_validator, ValidationInfo, Field
 import tinydb  # JSON single-file 'database'
 
 # package-local
@@ -40,18 +40,18 @@ class FlowsheetInfo(BaseModel):
     # static information
     id_: str
     name: str
-    description: str = ""
+    description: Union[None, str] = Field(default="", validate_default=True)
     module: str = ""
     build_options: dict = {}
     # current status of flowsheet
     built: bool = False
     ts: float = 0  # time last updated (including built)
-    last_run: str = ""
+    last_run: Union[str, float] = ""
     custom: bool = False
 
     # Make sure name is lowercase
-    @validator("name")
-    def normalize_name(cls, v: str, values):
+    @field_validator("name")
+    def normalize_name(cls, v: str, info: ValidationInfo):
         return v.lower()
 
     def updated(self, built: Optional[bool] = None):
diff --git a/backend/app/internal/settings.py b/backend/app/internal/settings.py
index fcbefba4..c2eab55c 100644
--- a/backend/app/internal/settings.py
+++ b/backend/app/internal/settings.py
@@ -3,28 +3,29 @@
 """
 from pathlib import Path
 import logging
-from typing import List
-from pydantic import (
-    BaseSettings,
-    validator
-)
+from typing import List, Union
+from pydantic import validator, field_validator
+from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings
+
 
 
 class AppSettings(BaseSettings):
     #: List of package names in which to look for flowsheets
     packages: List[str] = ["watertap"]
-    data_basedir: Path = None
-    log_dir: Path = None
-    custom_flowsheets_dir: Path = None
+    data_basedir: Union[Path, None] = None
+    log_dir: Union[Path, None] = None
+    custom_flowsheets_dir: Union[Path, None] = None
 
-    @validator("data_basedir", always=True)
+    # @validator("data_basedir", always=True)
+    @field_validator("data_basedir")
     def validate_data_basedir(cls, v):
         if v is None:
             v = Path.home() / ".watertap" / "flowsheets"
         v.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         return v
 
-    @validator("log_dir", always=True)
+    # @validator("log_dir", always=True)
+    @field_validator("log_dir")
     def validate_log_dir(cls, v):
         if v is None:
             v = Path.home() / ".watertap" / "logs"
@@ -35,7 +36,8 @@ def validate_log_dir(cls, v):
         logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format=loggingFormat, handlers=[loggingFileHandler])
         return v
     
-    @validator("custom_flowsheets_dir", always=True)
+    # @validator("custom_flowsheets_dir", always=True)
+    @field_validator("custom_flowsheets_dir")
     def validate_custom_flowsheets_dir(cls, v):
         if v is None:
             v = Path.home() / ".watertap" / "custom_flowsheets"
diff --git a/backend/app/main-hooks/hook-watertap.py b/backend/app/main-hooks/hook-watertap.py
index 7fdbffa7..ffda61a0 100644
--- a/backend/app/main-hooks/hook-watertap.py
+++ b/backend/app/main-hooks/hook-watertap.py
@@ -102,21 +102,20 @@
     'pyomo.contrib.mcpp.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib.mindtpy.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib.multistart.plugins',
     'pyomo.contrib.preprocessing.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib.pynumero.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib.trustregion.plugins',
     'pyomo.repn.util', 'pyomo.contrib.gdpbb', 'pyomo.contrib.gdpbb.plugins', 'pint', 'numbers', 
-    'pyutilib', 'pyomo', 'pyomo.environ', 'pyomo.age', 'pyomo.bilevel', 'pyomo.bilevel.plugins', 
-    'pyomo.core', 'pyomo.core.plugins', 'pyomo.dae', 'pyomo.dae.plugins', 'pyomo.gdp', 'pyomo.gdp.plugins', 
-    'pyomo.neos', 'pyomo.neos.plugins', 'pyomo.opt', 'pyomo.opt.plugins', 'pyomo.pysp', 'pyomo.pysp.plugins', 
-    'pyomo.solvers.plugins', 'pyomo.solvers', 'pyomo.checker', 'pyomo.checker.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib', 
-    'pyomo.contrib.plugins', 'pyomo.dataportal', 'pyomo.dataportal.plugins', 'pyomo.duality', 
-    'pyomo.duality.plugins', 'pyomo.kernel', 'pyomo.kernel.plugins', 'pyomo.mpec', 'pyomo.mpec.plugins', 
+    'pyutilib', 'pyomo', 'pyomo.environ', 'pyomo.core', 'pyomo.core.plugins', 'pyomo.dae', 'pyomo.dae.plugins', 
+    'pyomo.gdp', 'pyomo.gdp.plugins', 'pyomo.neos', 'pyomo.neos.plugins', 'pyomo.opt', 'pyomo.opt.plugins', 
+    'pyomo.pysp', 'pyomo.pysp.plugins', 'pyomo.solvers.plugins', 'pyomo.solvers', 'pyomo.contrib', 
+    'pyomo.dataportal', 'pyomo.dataportal.plugins', 'pyomo.duality', 'pyomo.contrib.solver.plugins',
+    'pyomo.duality.plugins', 'pyomo.kernel', 'pyomo.mpec', 'pyomo.mpec.plugins', 'pyomo.contrib.solver',
     'pyomo.network', 'pyomo.network.plugins', 'pyomo.repn', 'pyomo.repn.plugins', 'pyomo.scripting', 
-    'pyomo.scripting.plugins', 'pyomo.util', 'pyomo.util.plugins', 'pyomo.common', 'pyomo.common.plugins', 
+    'pyomo.scripting.plugins', 'pyomo.util', 'pyomo.common', 'pyomo.common.plugins', 
     'sys', 'logging', 're', 'sys', 'pyomo.core.expr.numvalue', 'pyomo.core.expr.numvalue', 
     'pyomo.solvers.plugins.solvers.direct_solver', 'pyomo.solvers.plugins.solvers.direct_or_persistent_solver', 
     'pyomo.core.kernel.component_set', 'pyomo.core.kernel.component_map', 'pyomo.opt.results.results_', 
     'pyomo.opt.results.solution', 'pyomo.opt.results.solver', 'pyomo.opt.base', 'pyomo.core.base.suffix', 
     'pyomo.core.base.var', 'pyomo.core.base.PyomoModel', 'pyomo.solvers.plugins.solvers.persistent_solver', 
     'pyomo.opt.base.problem', 'pyomo.opt.base.convert', 'pyomo.opt.base.formats', 'pyomo.opt.base.results', 
-    'pyomo.core.base.block', 'pyomo.core.kernel.block', 'pyomo.core.kernel.suffix','pyomo.contrib.cp.plugins'
+    'pyomo.core.base.block', 'pyomo.core.kernel.block', 'pyomo.core.kernel.suffix','pyomo.contrib.cp.plugins', 
 ]
 
 hiddenimports.extend(pyomo_imports)
diff --git a/backend/app/routers/flowsheets.py b/backend/app/routers/flowsheets.py
index 7588e1b4..cf00bb7e 100644
--- a/backend/app/routers/flowsheets.py
+++ b/backend/app/routers/flowsheets.py
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@
 from fastapi.responses import StreamingResponse
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
 import pandas as pd
-from pydantic import BaseModel
-from pydantic.error_wrappers import ValidationError
+from pydantic import ValidationError
 import re
 
 # package-local
@@ -37,7 +36,7 @@
 flowsheet_manager = FlowsheetManager()
 
 
-@router.get("/", response_model=Dict[str, Union[List[FlowsheetInfo], int]])
+@router.get("/", response_model=Dict[str, Union[List, int]])
 async def get_all():
     """Get basic information about all available flowsheets.
 
@@ -77,8 +76,12 @@ async def get_config(id_: str, build: str = "0") -> FlowsheetExport:
     flowsheet = flowsheet_manager.get_obj(id_)
     if build == "1":
         info = flowsheet_manager.get_info(id_)
+        _log.info(f"build param is 1, got info")
         flowsheet.build(build_options=flowsheet.fs_exp.build_options)
+        _log.info(f"BUILT FLOWSHEET CHUZ")
         info.updated(built=True)
+        _log.info(f"updated has been confirmed")
+    _log.info(f"returning flowsheett .fs_exp")
     return flowsheet.fs_exp
 
 
diff --git a/backend/requirements-dev.txt b/backend/requirements-dev.txt
index 90a461b0..a40539d6 100644
--- a/backend/requirements-dev.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements-dev.txt
@@ -5,18 +5,18 @@ certifi==2021.10.8
 click==8.1.3
 fastapi==0.78.0
 h11==0.12.0
+httpx==0.27.0
 idna==3.3
-pydantic==1.9.1
+pydantic==2.6.4
+pydantic-settings==2.2.1
 pyinstaller==5.3
-pyinstaller-hooks-contrib==2022.9
 python-multipart==0.0.5
 chardet
 pyyaml
 sniffio==1.2.0
-starlette==0.19.1
 tinydb
 requests
-typing_extensions==4.2.0
+typing_extensions==4.9.0
 uvicorn==0.17.6
 importlib_resources==5.9.0 ; python_version < "3.10"
 # install watertap from main
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
index e080adb3..012c18f0 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -3,21 +3,21 @@ anyio==3.6.1
 asgiref==3.5.2
 certifi==2021.10.8
 click==8.1.3
-fastapi==0.78.0
+fastapi==0.110.0
 h11==0.13.0
 idna==3.3
-pydantic==1.9.1
+pydantic==2.6.4
+pydantic-settings==2.2.1
 pyinstaller==5.3
-pyinstaller-hooks-contrib==2022.9
 python-multipart==0.0.5
 chardet
 pyyaml
 requests
 tinydb
 sniffio==1.2.0
-starlette==0.19.1
-typing_extensions==4.2.0
+typing_extensions==4.9.0
 uvicorn==0.17.6
 importlib_resources==5.9.0 ; python_version < "3.10"
 git+https://github.com/watertap-org/watertap.git
+# watertap @ git+https://github.com/MichaelPesce/watertap@update-pydantic
 
diff --git a/backend/tests/app/routers/test_flowsheets.py b/backend/tests/app/routers/test_flowsheets.py
index c4e2ad9c..cf0c36b0 100644
--- a/backend/tests/app/routers/test_flowsheets.py
+++ b/backend/tests/app/routers/test_flowsheets.py
@@ -268,9 +268,7 @@ def test_download(client, flowsheet_id):
         client, flowsheet_id, "download", compare_data, get_body=False
     )
     assert response.status_code == 200
-    csv_data = ""
-    for chunk in response.iter_content(65536):
-        csv_data += str(chunk, encoding="utf-8")
+    csv_data = str(response.content, encoding="utf-8")
     if "\r\n" in csv_data:
         sep = "\r\n"
     else:
diff --git a/electron/ui/src/components/FlowsheetsListTable/FlowsheetsListTable.js b/electron/ui/src/components/FlowsheetsListTable/FlowsheetsListTable.js
index ab673351..a41ee588 100644
--- a/electron/ui/src/components/FlowsheetsListTable/FlowsheetsListTable.js
+++ b/electron/ui/src/components/FlowsheetsListTable/FlowsheetsListTable.js
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ export default function FlowsheetsListTable(props) {
 
     const formatLastRun = (time) => {
         try {
-            if (time && time.length >= 11) {
+            if (time) {
                 let full_date = new Date(parseFloat(time) * 1000)
                 return full_date.toLocaleString().split(',')[0];
             }