Statement of Dr. Martha Krebs

Director, Office of Science
U.S. Department of Energy

Before the

Subcommittee on Energy and Environment
Committee on Science
U.S. House of Representatives

March 3, 1999

This is the sixth time I have had the honor of testifying before this subcommittee on behalf of the budget for the newly renamed Office of Science (SC). The FY 2000 budget request for the Office of Science supports: Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Biological and Environmental Research, Computational and Technology Research, Energy Research Analyses, Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-Facilities Support, and supporting Science Program Direction. The Technical Information Management program budget is located within the Energy Supply R&D account. Continued leadership in science and technology is a cornerstone of the President’s and Vice President’s vision for America. During the past six years, the Administration and this committee have provided substantial growth for scientific research and enabling technology programs despite tight overall fiscal constraints. This budget request builds upon and strengthens those vital investments for the Twenty-first Century.

Scientific research and the knowledge and technologies that follow have been credited with about half of the productivity growth of the United States’ economy in the past fifty years. What growth it has been – millions of high-skill, high-wage jobs; the longest life expectancy in human history; agricultural output to confound Malthus; new means of working and communicating on a global basis; and exciting new frontiers to explore. The Department of Energy, and its predecessor agencies, have been a proud sponsor of science-driven growth through the combined efforts of the National Laboratories, 66 Nobel Laureates and thousands of other outstanding university and industry based researchers nationwide. As we begin the Twenty-first Century, we prepare for the next fifty years with focused investments in science and scientific tools for the future.

The Department of Energy (DOE) budget for FY 2000 plans for the next century by providing for a $138 million increase in the Office of Science, to invest in thousands of individual research projects at hundreds of research facilities across the U.S., primarily in our national laboratories and research universities. The FY 2000 request will allow for continued construction of the Spallation Neutron Source, the first world class neutron source built by the U.S. in over 30 years; the pursuit of a new Scientific Simulation Initiative that will revolutionize our ability to solve scientific problems of extraordinary complexity and enable us to apply these new resources toward advancing DOE missions; and participation in the Next Generation Internet effort with a focus on R&D and implementation of the technologies and tools that help meet mission requirements and contribute to the Scientific Simulation Initiative.

As the Office of Science, our mission remains to: produce the scientific and technical knowledge needed to develop energy technology options; understand the health and environmental implications of energy production and use; maintain U.S. leadership in understanding the fundamental nature of energy and matter; provide and operate the large-scale facilities required in the natural sciences; ensure U.S. leadership in the search for scientific knowledge; and support the availability of scientific talent for the next generation.

Achieving our mission contributes to the goals of the Department and the Administration while advancing science and contributing to U.S. economic growth. Our history of success continued in FY 1999 with the following:

• Hundreds of principal investigators, funded by SC, yearly win dozens of major prizes and awards sponsored by the President, the Department, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the major professional societies including: the 1997 Nobel Prize for Chemistry; National Medal of Science; Presidential Young Investigator Award; 1998 Fermi and Lawrence awards; National Science Foundation Career Award; eight 1998 R&D 100 awards; two 1998 Discover Awards; 1998 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award; Gordon Bell Prizes and Fernbach Award; IBM’s Supercomputer Award; and many other awards and honors from scientific societies.
• Researchers supported by the Office of Science showed that the universe is not only expanding but that the outward motion appears to be speeding up, not slowing down. The implication is that Einstein was right when he suggested that there is a mysterious energy that fills "empty" space and that most of the energy of the universe is in this form. The finding raises profound questions about the nature of space and the ultimate fate of the universe including fundamental new questions for physics. As a result, Science Magazine named The Accelerating Universe "the 1998 Breakthrough of the Year ".
• SC also provided support for the $100 million detector, Super-Kamiokande, operated by a collaboration of 120 physicists from 23 institutions headed by the University of Tokyo's Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR). This experiment demonstrated that the supposedly massless neutrino must, in fact, have a non-zero rest mass. Once verified, this discovery will force a revision in the Standard Model, which assumes a massless neutrino and may alter our estimates of the total mass of the universe, with implications for understanding its origin and eventual fate.
• Incredibly light synthetic metals with a potential electrical conductivity 50-100 times better than copper per weight are being made from carbon nanotubes doped with metals. First discovered in 1991, nanotubes are a new class of materials formed from graphite-like sheets of carbon rolled into exquisitely small cylinders (one-billionth of a meter).
• Microbial genomics, one of today’s most exciting and high profile fields in biology, was initiated by DOE in 1994. Science Magazine also identified microbial genomics as one of the top 10 fields of discovery in 1998. Two of the 1997 "11 hottest papers in biology" were for microbial genomic sequences funded by SC. For example, SC research on "Conan the Bacterium" - D. radiodurans R1, has shown extreme resistance to genotoxic chemicals, oxidative damage, high levels of ionizing and UV radiation, and desiccation. The ability to survive such extreme environments is attributed in part to a unique DNA repair system in combination with its chromosome copy number and structure. The remarkable capabilities of this microbe may enable scientists to engineer a form of D. Radiodurans that can help us clean up some of our most troublesome waste problems.
• The Human Genome Program was initiated by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1986 to map and determine the complete DNA sequence of the human genome. A Memorandum of Understanding was established with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1988 to coordinate the U.S. Genome Project. The latest joint five-year plan was published in Science Magazine in October 1998. This plan calls for determining the complete sequence of the human genome by the year 2003, two years ahead of the original target date. Recent successes include identifying the gene for kidney disease.
• SC has renewed our commitment to forging more effective partnerships that leverage our research investments and connect us more closely with other federal science programs and the direct beneficiaries of our research. We are fostering new kinds of partnerships among our national laboratory, university and industry based researchers to maximize the effectiveness and impact of research activities. In partnership with the Department’s applied programs, SC is also working to bridge the gap between basic research and application through: joint planning of critical long-term research; joint solicitations and funding of targeted research efforts; and annual integration workshops that bring together program managers and researchers from across DOE.
• New scientific research facilities coming on-line include: the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory; the Jefferson Lab’s Large Acceptance Spectrometer; SLAC’s B-Factory, the Oak Ridge Free-Air CO2 Enrichment Facility, the JGI Production (DNA) Sequencing Facility and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Initiation of RHIC operations in FY 2000 opens an exciting new era of nuclear physics studies: the behavior of hot, dense nuclear matter and an expected new state of matter, the quark-gluon plasma. Projects completed on time and budget include: Fermilab’s Main Injector, and the Combustion Research Facility Phase II.
• Bringing science to the researcher's desktop became a reality as over 30,000 technical reports (2 million full-text pages) of DOE's R&D results became accessible and searchable over the World Wide Web via the Information Bridge (www.osti.gov/bridge). Researchers are regularly downloading 4,000 reports per week from this web site.

The Department of Energy is a science agency because its mission and goals require technologies and scientific knowledge far beyond that which is currently available. From safeguarding the nuclear stockpile to ensuring our nation’s energy supply for the next century, DOE continues to challenge the frontiers of science and technology.

The DOE Strategic Plan outlines the vision, goals and strategic objectives that will, through leadership in science and technology, help the DOE to meet those challenges. In keeping with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the Office of Science FY 2000 budget request includes program specific goals, strategies, and measures that focus our research activities and ensure continuity with Departmental plans and national goals.

In the past year, the Department has begun to rethink how we characterize our R&D efforts across business lines to assemble the key information for improving our analysis and management of these investments. The result is a set of R&D Portfolios, scheduled for public release this month, that capture the spectrum of DOE R&D efforts in each Business Line.

The basic research of the Office of Science presses forward on the frontiers of fundamental understanding but also supports and enables the R&D of the other business lines. Thus, a Science Portfolio has been developed so as to clarify and improve the integration of our program results in the Department. As the Department R&D Portfolios evolve, the Office of Science will continue to integrate basic research with the applied R&D in the other business lines’ Portfolios to ensure strong linkages between technology needs and science.

A revised Strategic Plan of the Office of Science, also scheduled for release at the end of the month, will articulate the long-range vision, goals, objectives, and strategies for our programs. The Science Portfolio complements and supports the Strategic Plan by providing a near-term "snapshot" of our investments that dovetails with the new strategic framework.

The motivations behind this planning effort are to develop a shared long-term focus for SC programs, their scientific communities and performers; to describe our present scientific programs and position them for the future; to provide a framework for cooperation and risk taking; to illustrate the unique and coordinated role of SC programs within the DOE and the federal science investment; and to inform and inspire our sponsors and the general public.

The new SC Strategic Plan, and supporting Science Portfolio, is structured around five high-level goals with twelve strategic objectives, listed in Figure 1. These goals were developed through a series of planning activities and workshops that drew on the experience and knowledge of our research scientists and stakeholders to capture both what is necessary and what is possible for our science as we look to the next century.

The first goal, Fueling the Future, is centered on science for affordable and clean energy options for the future. Some of the questions that motivate this goal are: How can we tap and harness affordable, clean fuels? What clean new electric power systems will fuel the future? and How can energy systems be made more efficient and environmentally sound? Development of this goal has been closely connected with the development of the Energy R&D portfolio and the objectives directly map onto the energy portfolio.

The second goal, Protecting our Living Planet, is centered on understanding energy impacts on people and the biosphere. Some of the questions that motivate this theme are: What are the sources and fate of energy-related by-products? What factors affect global climate and how can they be controlled? and How do complex biological and environmental systems respond to our energy use? This goal also contributes to both the Energy R&D portfolio and the Environmental R&D portfolio.

The third goal, Exploring Matter and Energy, is centered on discovering the building blocks of atoms and life. Some of the questions that motivate this theme are: What are the fundamental components of matter? How can the origin and fate of the Universe reveal the secrets of energy, matter and life? and How do atoms and molecules combine to form complex dynamic systems? This goal captures the most fundamental research in the Office of Science. The complex systems question links to R&D efforts in all of the DOE business lines.

The fourth goal, Extraordinary Tools for Extraordinary Science, is centered on the national assets that DOE provides for forefront, multidisciplinary research. This goal builds on the unique role of the Office of Science in providing the nation with forefront research facilities at our National Laboratories such as research accelerators, reactors, computational centers, and other unique instrumentation. In addition, the National Laboratories as a system of institutions is increasingly becoming an extraordinary tool beyond the set of specific facilities located on their sites. The Office of Science will continue to ensure that these critical research tools remain accessible to peer reviewed researchers from all across the nation and meet the technical challenges of forefront scientific investigation. This goal looks to the future and to training and educating the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Some of the questions that motivate this goal are: How can we explore the frontiers of the natural sciences? How can we predict the behavior of complex systems? and How can we strengthen the nation’s capacity for multidisciplinary science? This goal enables research in all of the DOE business lines. By organizing future facility needs, as identified by the scientific community, this theme ensures that America’s research capability will remain both accessible and state of the art.

The fifth goal, Enabling World Class Science, conveys the commitment of DOE and National Laboratory staff to continuously improve their operational processes. Of paramount importance is the selection and conduct of excellent, productive science that is carried out safely and with care for the environment and involvement of local communities.

IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGIES - INITIATIVES FOR FY 2000

The five goals provide a framework for current programs and a platform for future efforts. FY 2000 initiatives and priorities that support these goals include: utilizing the advances in computation that are flowing from the Accelerated Strategic Computation Initiative (ASCI) to aid scientific research in critical complex areas as part of The President’s Information Technology for the Twenty-first Century (IT²); continuing progress made toward returning U.S. International Leadership in Neutron Science; carefully managing our partnership in the Large Hadron Collider; ensuring wide utilization of our Scientific User Facilities; developing and applying DOE applications and technologies for the Next Generation Internet; providing the scientific basis for DOE’s Climate Change Technology Initiative; and providing unique services in the exploding field of Genome Research. Figure 2 depicts the cross-connection between the goals above and the priorities in the FY 2000 request.

Scientific Simulation Initiative - It is now possible to obtain computational capabilities 100 times faster than currently in common use through the application of technologies developed for the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI). Therefore the Department of Energy, in coordination with the National Science Foundation and other federal science programs, has developed a Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI) in support of the President’s Information Technology for the Twenty First Century (IT²) Initiative. The purpose of the SSI is to further develop and employ an emerging generation of very high performance computers as major tools for scientific inquiry. These resources will revolutionize our approach to solving complex problems in such areas as energy, the environment, and fundamental research. This initiative will require close collaboration between scientists in many disciplines: chemistry, fluid flow, global systems, mathematics, computer science, etc. However, it is important to remember that this is a research program and that even the operation of computing facilities at this scale presents significant research issues.

Within the Office of Science, the SSI will be an integrated effort with the Computational and Technology Research (CTR) program coordinating and overseeing competitive, peer reviewed selections of sites for computational centers and basic science applications. In addition, CTR will manage the leading edge research programs in computer science and enabling technologies which will be required to transform the SSI computing and communications facilities into tools for science. The element of the program that addresses enabling hardware and software will be directed by a joint SC/Defense Programs ASCI effort. The management of the research programs required to use these facilities for scientific discovery will be led by the appropriate programs within the Office of Science: Basic Energy Sciences for Combustion; Biological and Environmental Research for Global Systems; and the Offices responsible for the scientific disciplines selected in the basic science applications competition.

The first scientific applications to be run on these new massively parallel computers have been chosen carefully. Combustion and global systems are complex scientific problems for which terascale computing will provide a transformation in our level of understanding. The scientific communities in these areas are also experienced in using computational tools. Finally, these two problems are central to DOE's mission.

Combustion - Currently, eighty-five percent of U.S. energy use is derived from the combustion of fossil fuels and this dependence on combustion is not likely to change in the coming decades. Combustion remains one of the primary causes of lowered air quality in urban environments. At present, engineers have neither sufficient knowledge nor the computational tools to understand and predict the chemical outcome of combustion processes with any degree of practical reliability. Existing models that guide the design process are of very limited usefulness because of the extraordinary complexity of the combustion process. With very high end computing resources and a concerted research program in combustion modeling, we can develop the next generation of combustion modeling tools for accelerated design of combustion devices meeting national goals of emission reduction and energy conservation.

Global Systems - Unlike many disciplinary areas of research, the complex workings of the global environmental system cannot be studied in a laboratory setting. The integration of knowledge from the many disciplines that together describe the global system can only be performed in computer simulation models. It is only through such general circulation models that it is possible to understand current climate and climate variability and to predict future climate and climate variability, including prediction of the possible effects of human activities on the global system. Advances in scientific understanding are therefore predicated upon the successful development of modeling tools to keep pace with the rapid advances in the quality and quantity of data available. These tools will lead to the development of detailed fully coupled global system models that accurately reproduce, and ultimately predict, the behavior of the interacting components of the system, i.e. the global atmosphere, the world ocean, the terrestrial land surface and both glacial and sea ice.

Fundamental Research - Whereas the scientific accomplishments of this century have resulted in seeking and understanding the fundamental laws that govern our physical universe, the science of the coming century will be characterized by synthesis of this knowledge into predictive capabilities for understanding and solving a wide range of scientific problems, many with practical consequences. In this endeavor, the computer will be a primary instrument of scientific discovery. Many areas of scientific inquiry, critical to the Department’s mission, will be advanced dramatically with access to high-end computation - including, but not limited to, materials sciences, structural genomics, high energy and nuclear physics, subsurface flow, and fusion energy research.

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) - The importance of neutron science for fundamental discoveries and technological development has been enumerated in all of the major materials science studies over the past two decades, including a major study by the National Research Council entitled "Major Facilities for Materials Research and Related Disciplines" (Seitz-Eastman Report).

As the needs of our high-technology society have changed, so has the way in which we conduct the R&D that helps us to meet those needs. It has become increasingly important to develop new materials that perform under severe conditions and yet are stronger, lighter, and cheaper. Major research facilities are used to understand and "engineer" materials at the atomic level so that they have improved macroscopic properties and perform better in new, demanding applications.

The SNS is a next-generation facility for these types of applications. Neutron scattering will play a major role in all forms of materials design and understanding. This research will lead to the development of advances such as: smaller and faster electronic devices; lightweight alloys, plastics and polymers for transportation and other applications; magnetic materials for more efficient motors and for improved magnetic storage capacity; improved understanding of form and function in biological structures and the development of new drugs for medical care.

Upon completion, the SNS will be the world’s most powerful neutron source, accommodating more than 1,000 researchers and 30 to 40 special purpose instruments.

The SNS Total Project Cost (TPC) is estimated to be $1,360 million over a 7.25-year schedule. Throughout the life of the project, semi-annual reviews will track cost and management. FY 1999 funding provides for the start of Title I design activities, initiation of subcontracts and long-lead procurement, and continued R&D to reduce technical and schedule risks. The FY 2000 budget request of $214 million would support Title II (detailed) design for the technical components and control systems. Construction, on some of the conventional facilities, is scheduled to begin in FY 2000 along with the procurement of key technical equipment.

The SNS project is an example of DOE’s commitment to use the DOE laboratories as a system. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is responsible for the project with participation from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. The laboratories have been working together in an increasingly effective manner and R&D is proceeding smoothly with no technical barriers in sight.

In January 1999, an Office of Science construction management review of the SNS made recommendations with respect to the project director and staff experienced in the oversight and integration of all aspects of the large complex project. The Laboratory Director has hired a new Associate Laboratory Director for the project and is assembling the necessary senior management team. As a first step, I tasked the laboratory to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the project. The assessment is due to the Department in the first week in April. These construction management reviews have been a key tool for keeping SC projects on time and on budget. The prompt action in response to the review’s recommendations will allow us to deliver the SNS as well.

Scientific Facilities Utilization - This FY 2000 budget request continues to strongly support Scientific Facilities Utilization in the following programs: Basic Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Fusion Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, and Computational and Technology Research. Each year, over 15,000 university, industry, and government sponsored scientists conduct cutting edge experiments at these particle accelerators, high-flux neutron sources, synchrotron radiation light sources, and other specialized facilities, such as the Combustion Research Facility (CRF) at Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California. The CRF is an internationally recognized facility for the study of combustion science and technology, which will begin its first year of operation after its Phase II development project.

The user community continues to be pleased with the results of the Science Facilities Initiative as evidenced by their many letters of support and by the positive results of surveys conducted at the facilities.

The Large Hadron Collider - The foremost high energy physics research facility of the next decade will be the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, the European Center for Particle Physics. The primary physics goals of the LHC will impact our understanding of the relation of mass, fundamental forces, and the structure and origin of the universe. U.S. participation in the LHC is required to provide U.S. access to the high energy frontier in order to maintain the U.S. as a world leader in this fundamental area of science.

The LHC is an outstanding example of international cooperation in large scientific projects, as well as interagency and inter-laboratory cooperation. An International Cooperation Agreement has been negotiated between CERN, DOE and NSF. The Agreement provides for U.S. participation in the construction of the accelerator, and of the two very large detectors, ATLAS and CMS. Carefully defined lists of deliverables and costs have been agreed upon for each of these areas of participation. U.S. costs are capped at $531 million ($450 million DOE and $81 million NSF), consistent with Congressional guidance. In return, participating U.S. universities and laboratories will join, as full partners, in LHC experiments. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been executed between DOE and NSF that defines the relationship between the agencies relative to programmatic coordination of U.S. LHC activities including joint oversight and execution of the U.S. LHC Construction Program.

Under the terms of this MOU, Fermilab is the Lead Laboratory for the accelerator portion of the program, which it will execute in cooperation with Brookhaven (BNL) and Lawrence Berkeley (LBNL) National Laboratories. BNL is the host laboratory for the ATLAS portion of the program, which also involves Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and LBNL along with 28 university groups. Similarly, Fermilab is the host laboratory for the CMS detector portion of the program, along with 33 university groups. Cost and schedule baselines have been reviewed and validated for each of the three programs and management systems are in place to monitor progress against baselines.

The Next Generation Internet (NGI) - The program is creating the foundation for more powerful and versatile networks of the Twenty-first century, just as previous federal investments in information technology R&D created the foundation for today's Internet. This program is critical to DOE’s science and technology missions because enhancements to today’s Internet from commercial R&D will not be sufficient to enable: effective use of petabyte/year (would fill the hard drives of millions of today’s desktop PCS) High Energy and Nuclear Physics facilities such as the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC); remote visualization of terabyte to petabye data sets from computational simulation; development of advanced collaboratories; and effective remote access to tomorrow's advanced scientific computers.

For example, typical RHIC experimental collaborations involve hundreds of scientists at dozens of institutions across the country and the world. Using the current Internet, it would take about 2,500 hours to transmit one day's data from RHIC to one remote site for analysis. Using NGI it would take 25 hours.

Thus, DOE's NGI research program is focused on discovering, understanding, developing, testing and validating the networking technologies needed to enable wide area, data intensive and collaborative computing. The DOE applications share two important characteristics. They all involve extremely large data sets and they all require that scientists be able to interact with the data in (nearly) real time. Current network technology limitations significantly limit our ability to address these characteristics.

The DOE program includes research in advanced protocols, special operating system services for very high speed, and very advanced network control, the components needed to enable wide area, data intensive and collaborative computing. In addition the DOE program addresses issues that result from the many different kinds of network devices, network-attached devices, and services that need to be integrated together. Examples of the components and services that need to be integrated include: network resources, data archives on tape, high performance disk caches, visualization and data analysis servers, authentication and security services, and the computer on a scientist's desk. This type of integration, as well as the issues of improving the performance of the individual components, all require significant research because the issues are currently not well understood. Indeed, the first identification of many of these issues is the result of previous work in collaboratories and visualization supported by DOE.

Thus, DOE's participation in the NGI builds on previous DOE research and its over two decades of success in using advanced networks as tools for science. Furthermore, the differences between the requirements of commercial networks and networks for scientific research require DOE to conduct this research because these tools and technologies will not be developed by commercial R&D. However, the results and "spinoffs" of this research, after testing and prototyping by the scientific community, will impact broad commercial use of networks. DOE’s FY 2000 NGI program will build on the results of the competitive research solicitations conducted in FY 1999.

Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI)- Eighty-five percent of our Nation’s energy results from the burning of fossil fuels, a process that adds carbon to the atmosphere. Because of the potential environmental impacts of increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, carbon management has become an international concern and is a focus of the CCTI.

The Office of Science is well positioned to make significant contributions to the many solutions needed to address this problem. SC can build on the fundamental discoveries of core research programs in carbon and non-carbon energy sources, carbon sequestration, and carbon recycling, extending them to the new discoveries needed to make carbon management practical and efficient.

Activities in both Basic Energy Sciences and Biological and Environmental Research support the DOE and Administration CCTI efforts in: science for efficient technologies; fundamental science underpinning advances in all low/no carbon energy source; and sequestration science.

The SC portion of the CCTI leverages the foundation of excellent research already underway. The additional SC effort will also have a major impact on many scientific disciplines by advancing the state of knowledge in such fields as genome science, molecular, cellular and structural biology, biochemistry, chemical dynamics, solid state chemistry, photochemistry, ecology, nano- and meso-phase materials science, condensed matter physics, engineering, theoretical chemistry and physics.

For example, the BER microbial genome program has made significant investments in the technology that enables genome sequencing at rates previously unattainable. Capitalizing on these investments, the genomes of microbes that produce methane and hydrogen from carbonaceous sources will be sequenced as part of the first awards under CCTI. This will enable identification of key genetic components of the organisms that regulate the production of these gases. The carbon sequestration research program will focus on understanding the natural terrestrial sequestration cycle and the natural oceanic sequestration cycle as part of the first awards under the CCTI. The ultimate goal is to enhance the natural carbon cycle in both the terrestrial and oceanic systems. The search for new fuel sources and carbon sequestration research are key elements of the carbon management science program.

CCTI research and related activities within the Office of Science will continue to be coordinated with the Office of Fossil Energy. FY 1999 integration efforts include the coordination of new CCTI proposal solicitations and preparation of a detailed carbon dioxide sequestration roadmap.

Genome - In its first full year of operation, the DOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI) became a leading producer of high quality human DNA among U.S. sequencing centers. The JGI is scaling up its sequencing capacity from 21 million finished bases in FY 1998 to 30 million finished bases and 40 million high quality draft bases in FY 1999. In total, SC will complete sequencing of 50 million finished and 70 million high quality draft subunits of human DNA to submit to publicly accessible databases in FY 2000. In addition, SC will complete the full genetic sequencing of more than 10 microbes that have significant potential for waste cleanup and energy production.

Improvements in high throughput human DNA sequencing technology and sequence data management are needed to complete the first human genome by 2003 and to efficiently and cost effectively use that sequence information for future medical diagnoses and scientific discovery. The Joint Genome Institute, in which the National Laboratories work as a system, are primarily focused on high throughput sequencing. FY 2000 is the third year of a major 3-5 year scale-up in DNA sequencing capability for this virtual institute. DOE will continue to work with the private sector, where appropriate, to accelerate progress and reduce cost in the Human Genome project.

The SC program is actively involved with other federal agencies funding, human, plant and microbial research to encourage effective and efficient management of the total federal genome research portfolio. Genomics is the foundation for future biological research and is the reason that the next century has been called "the century of biology."

Program Direction - The Science Program Direction budget funds the staff and related expenses that are necessary to develop, direct and administer a complex and broadly diversified program of mission-oriented basic and applied research. The Office of Science continues to achieve technical excellence in its programs despite managing one of the largest and most diversified and complex basic research portfolios in the Federal Government with a relatively small Federal and support contractor staff compared to other programs both within and outside the Department and will strive to meet staffing levels as outlined in its Workforce Management Plan. Enhanced business processes that are built from our Activity Based Management activities and Strategic Information Planning will enable the staff to carry out the mission and functions of the organization effectively and efficiently. Work will continue on piloting the transfer of management responsibility of newly generated wastes at SC sites from Environmental Management to the Office of Science. I am proud to recognize SC efforts that have resulted in: lower prior year uncosted balances; reduced unnecessary duplication through external peer review; support for new initiatives, such as the Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI); and more than six years of on-time, on-budget construction projects due to an effective SC construction management review program that has been recognized by both the Government Accounting Office (GAO) and the National Association of Public Administrators (NAPA).

The scientific and technological challenges of the Department’s missions demand an adequate supply of scientists, engineers and technicians. For over 50 years, DOE and its predecessor agencies have supported science and engineering education programs involving university faculty as well as pre-college teachers and students. Tapping the significant human and physical resources of the DOE National Laboratories is perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the agency’s contribution to science education. Within the FY 2000 request for Program Direction is SC’s core program for science education, supporting such activities as: the Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, the National Science Bowl, and the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship. In addition, two new initiatives, developed in partnership with NSF, will be supported through the five SC scientific programs. The first initiative will be focused on providing pre-college science and math teachers with research opportunities that will improve their knowledge and skills of scientific discovery and enhance their ability to apply them in their classrooms. The second initiative will allow university faculty and undergraduate student teams to participate in long-term research projects at DOE Laboratories. Historically, over two-thirds of undergraduates who have participated in DOE programs have gone on to graduate school in disciplines directly related to DOE missions. These activities will help to fulfill SC’s responsibilities in developing the next generation of scientists and engineers and to address the daunting demographic trends that suggest these new scientists will have to come from the ranks of women and minorities, two groups traditionally under-represented in scientific fields.

BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES

FY 1999 Appropriation - $799.5 M; FY 2000 Request - $888.1 M

The Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program is one of the Nation's primary sponsors of fundamental research in materials sciences, chemical sciences, geosciences, plant and microbial sciences, and engineering sciences. Performance measurement helps determine the distribution of activities supported within BES. All BES research programs undergo rigorous peer evaluation through competitive grant proposals, program reviews, and advisory panels. The program funds more than 2,400 researchers at 200 institutions nationwide. BES-supported research also underpins the Department of Energy missions in energy, the environment, and national security. Strategic directions are set through working relationships with other DOE programs, research workshops with public and private scientific communities nationwide, and policy directives.

Within the base research effort in FY 2000, a program in Complex and Collective Phenomena will continue to support work at the frontiers of basic research that hold the promise of delivering revolutionary breakthroughs. This effort is designed to obtain fundamental knowledge of increasingly complex systems in order to help bridge the gap in our understanding between the atomic and molecular properties and the bulk structural and mechanical properties of materials, for example. In addition, BES will continue its Partnership for Academic-Industrial Research (PAIR) program to facilitate research partnerships between academic researchers, their students, and industrial researchers.

In FY 2000, BES also plays a major part in the Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI) and the Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI). The BES research under CCTI will primarily focus on carbon recycling, improved efficiency in the use of fossil carbon energy sources, and new and improved non-carbon energy sources. Examples of the types of research areas in each of the four BES subprograms are: high-temperature materials for more efficient combustion; electrochemical energy storage; mechanical stability of porous and fractured reservoirs/aquifers; and the biological process of photosynthesis. The BES research under SSI includes Combustion Systems Integrated Applications, an integrated effort bringing together computational and communication resources, focused research in scientific disciplines, and research in computer science and other enabling technologies to solve the complex problems that characterize DOE’s scientific research needs.

In addition to directly supporting research performers, BES is also the steward of 17 major national user facilities. Included among these facilities are the four major synchrotron radiation light sources, four high-flux neutron sources, and a number of specialized facilities for electron beam microcharacterization, materials synthesis and processing, combustion research, pulsed radiolysis, and ion beam studies. The facilities are planned in collaboration with the scientific community and permit scientists to carry out forefront experiments that cannot be done in any other way. A major part of the FY 2000 BES budget request is for the continuation of the Spallation Neutron Source project to provide the Nation with a next-generation short-pulse spallation neutron source for neutron scattering and related research in broad areas of the physical, chemical, materials, biological, and medical sciences.

BES scientific user facilities enable researchers to gain the new knowledge necessary to achieve the Department's missions and, more broadly, to advance the Nation's entire scientific enterprise. The number of scientists conducting research at the BES user facilities has grown dramatically in recent years. BES user facilities are open to all qualified investigators in academia, industry, and government laboratories on a no-charge basis to all qualified researchers whose intention is to publish in the open literature. Over 6,000 users were accommodated at the BES scientific user facilities in FY 1998. These facilities have an enormous impact on science and technology, ranging from determinations of the structure of superconductors and biological molecules to the development of wear-resistant prostheses, from atomic-scale characterization of environmental samples to elucidation of geological processes, and from the production of unique isotopes for cancer therapy to the development of new medical imaging technologies.

Materials Sciences - The Materials Sciences subprogram supports basic research in condensed matter physics, metals and ceramics sciences, and materials chemistry. This basic research seeks to understand the atomistic basis of materials properties and behavior and how to make materials perform better at acceptable cost through new methods of synthesis and processing. Basic research is supported in corrosion, metals, ceramics, alloys, semiconductors, superconductors, polymers, metallic glasses, ceramic matrix composites, catalytic materials, non-destructive evaluation, magnetic materials, surface science, neutron and x-ray scattering, chemical and physical properties, and new instrumentation. Ultimately the research leads to the development of materials that improve the efficiency, economy, environmental acceptability, and safety in energy generation, conversion, transmission, and use. These material studies affect developments in numerous areas, such as the efficiency of electric motors and generators; solar energy conversion; batteries and fuel cells; stronger, lighter materials for vehicles; welding and joining of materials; plastics; and petroleum refining.

Chemical Sciences - The Chemical Sciences subprogram has two major components. The disciplinary areas within each component are connected to and address needs of the principal DOE and BES mission goals and objectives. One major component is comprised of atomic, molecular and optical physics; chemical physics; photochemistry; and radiation chemistry. This research provides a foundation for understanding fundamental interactions of atoms, molecules, and ions with photons and electrons. This work also underpins our fundamental understanding of chemical reactivity. This, in turn, enables the production of more efficient combustion systems with reduced emissions of pollutants. It also increases knowledge of solar photoconversion processes resulting in new, improved systems and production methods. The other major component of the research program is comprised of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, separations science, heavy element chemistry, and aspects of chemical engineering sciences. The research supported provides a better molecular level understanding of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions occurring at surfaces, interfaces, and in bulk media. This has resulted in improvements to known heterogeneous and homogeneous catalytic systems and to new catalysts for the production of fuels and chemicals, better analytical methods in a wide variety of applications in energy processes and environmental sciences, new knowledge of actinide elements and separations important for environmental remediation and waste management, and better methods for describing turbulent combustion and predicting thermophysical properties of multicomponent systems.

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Engineering and Geosciences - The Engineering and Geosciences subprogram conducts research in two disciplinary areas, engineering and geosciences. In Engineering Research, the goals are to extend the body of knowledge underlying current engineering practice to create new options for improving energy efficiency and to broaden the technical and conceptual knowledge base for solving the engineering problems of energy technologies. In Geosciences Research, the goal is on fundamental knowledge of the processes that transport, concentrate, emplace, and modify the energy and mineral resources and the byproducts of energy production. The research supports existing energy technologies and strengthens the foundation for the development of future energy technologies. Ultimately the research impacts control of industrial processes: to improve efficiency and reduce pollution; to increase energy supplies; and to lower cost and increase the effectiveness of environmental remediation of polluted sites.

Energy Biosciences - The Energy Biosciences subprogram supports mechanistic research on fundamental biological processes related to capture, transformation, storage and utilization of energy. The research focuses on plants and non-medical microorganisms to form a broad scientific foundation for support of Department of Energy's goals and objectives in energy production, environmental management, and energy conservation. Basic research on plants includes photosynthetic mechanisms and bioenergetics in algae, higher plants, and photosynthetic bacteria; control mechanisms that regulate plant growth and development; fundamental aspects of gene structure, function, and expression; plant cell wall structure, function and synthesis; and mechanisms of transport across membranes. Research supported in these areas seeks to define and understand the biological mechanisms that effectively transduce light energy into chemical energy, to identify the biochemical pathways and genetic regulatory mechanisms that can lead to the efficient biosynthesis of potential fuels and petroleum-replacing compounds, and to elucidate the capacity of plants to remediate contaminated environments by transporting and detoxifying toxic substances. The research focus in the microbiological sciences includes the degradation of biopolymers such as lignin and cellulose, anaerobic fermentations, genetic regulation of microbial growth and development, thermophily, e.g., bacterial growth under high temperature, and other phenomena with the potential to impact biological energy production, conversion and conservation. Organisms and processes that offer unique possibilities for research at the interface of biology and the physical, earth and engineering sciences are also studied.

BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

FY 1999 Appropriation - $436.7 M; FY 2000 Request - $411.2 M

For over 50 years, the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program has been bringing revolutionary solutions to energy-related biological and environmental challenges. Through its support of peer-reviewed research at the Department’s national laboratories, universities, and private institutions, the program develops the fundamental knowledge needed to identify, understand, and anticipate the long-term health and environmental consequences of energy production, development, and use. The BER program contributes to a healthy citizenry, cleanup of the environment, and understanding global environmental change, and operates the world class facilities essential to the scientific breakthroughs of the future.

As part of the President’s Scientific Simulation Initiative, the BER request includes funding to accelerate the development of advanced global climate models with the high regional resolution needed for definitive predictions. This fundamental research will support the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

The BER request also includes funding for the President’s Climate Change Technology Initiative. The BER contribution to the initiative includes research to sequence microbes for alternative fuel production (methane and hydrogen production) and to develop natural carbon sequestration processes in terrestrial and ocean systems.

Life Sciences - The Human Genome Program continues to be the centerpiece of our Life Sciences Research program, both in terms of its contribution to the international effort to sequence the human genome, and in terms of the spin-off technologies. Through efforts at the Joint Genome Institute and its Production Sequencing Facility, DOE does its share of high-throughput human DNA sequencing and develops, validates, and integrates new DNA sequencing technologies into the production of DNA sequencing. FY 2000 is the third year of a 3-5 year scale-up in DNA sequencing capacity for the Joint Genome Institute. The DOE’s share of the funding for the U.S. Human Genome Program is about 25 percent of the national effort.

The field of microbial genomics continues to be one of the most exciting and high profile fields in biology today. Initiated by DOE in 1994, microbial genomics and microbial genomic sequencing were identified by Science Magazine as one of the top 10 fields of discovery each of the past two years. The broad impacts of this research emphasizes a central principle of the BER genome programs - complete genomic sequences yield answers to fundamental questions in biology. Microbes are being sequenced and characterized in several parts of the BER program because of potential impacts across several DOE missions. These include the Climate Change Technology Initiative (sequencing methane or hydrogen producing microbes or microbes involved in carbon dioxide sequestration), environmental cleanup (microbes for bioremediation), alternative fuel sources (methane production or energy from biomass), industrial processes (industrial useful enzymes), and biological nonproliferation (understanding and detecting biowarfare agents). The FY 2000 request includes funds for determining the DNA sequence of 10 microbes with significant potential for waste cleanup, energy production, or carbon sequestration.

The FY 2000 request provides continuing support for both the national user facilities for scientists and the research support needed to determine the molecular structure and function of enzymes, antibodies, and other important biological molecules. Computational structural biology research combines computer science, structural biology, and genome research to predict the functions of biological molecules. This information will enable the design or more efficient use of biological molecules for drugs to control or treat a great variety of diseases, environmental cleanup, or energy-production and use.

The low dose radiation research program uses molecular level knowledge gained from the Department’s human genome and structural biology research to determine the human health impacts, all the way from effects on single molecules to people, of exposures to low doses of energy and defense-related radiation. This information will provide an improved scientific basis for remediating contaminated DOE sites and achieving acceptable levels of human health protection, both for cleanup workers and the public, in a more cost-effective manner that could save billions of dollars. A key aspect of this program is the regular communication between scientists who propose and conduct the research and regulators who develop and implement risk policy.

Environmental Processes - The Environmental Processes subprogram conducts research on a range of issues related to the mission of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). Activities are focused on understanding and predicting the potential consequences on climate and ecological systems and resources of the emissions of aerosols and trace gases, especially carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion. Additional efforts support the Climate Change Technology Initiative (CCTI).

As the major federal agency supporting research into climate predictions on the decade-to-century time scale, the DOE continues an integrated observational and modeling program focused on predicting climate variability and climate change 10 to 100 years in the future. The BER Climate Change Prediction Program will continue to extend its modeling breakthrough in ocean simulation to develop a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean model useful for climate prediction. Because of the limited high-end computational resources, computer-intensive climate modeling at regional spatial resolution has been difficult to perform. To address this need, BER will support a Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI) in collaboration with other agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration to accelerate the development of advanced global climate change models with higher spatial resolution than currently available. The SSI will make high-end computational resources more available to the climate modeling community than at present, improve climate models capable of simulating the principal components of a coupled atmosphere-ocean climate system, and increase the availability and usability of climate change projections to the broader climate change research and assessment communities.

The BER request includes funding to operate three Atmospheric Radiation Measurement sites and eighteen AmeriFlux sites to provide data to improve climate models and understand the magnitude and variation in carbon sequestration in major terrestrial ecosystems in North and Central America. The BER Environmental Processes subprogram will also continue to support major experimental studies to develop data to improve understanding of the ecological effects of climate and atmospheric changes.

As part of the CCTI, BER will support research to better understand the biophysical processes controlling carbon sequestration in terrestrial and ocean systems, with the long term objective of both developing approaches to manipulate these processes to enhance carbon sequestration on land and in the ocean and understand the environmental and economic implications of implementing such approaches. These studies will complement previously noted efforts to sequence the microbial genomes as part of the BER CCTI program.

The Environmental Processes subprograms provide a scientific basis for assessing both the effects of human activities on the Earth’s climate and the need for action to mitigate any adverse effects. They also provide information needed to determine the potential of natural processes in terrestrial and ocean systems to help mitigate the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion. The Environmental Processes subprograms are coordinated with other agencies through the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

Environmental Remediation - Research in the Environmental Remediation subprogram is focused on understanding the fundamental physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes that must be marshaled for the development and advancement of new, effective, and efficient processes for the remediation and restoration of the Nation’s nuclear weapons production sites. The two highest priorities of this subprogram are bioremediation research and operation of the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) as a national scientific user facility to investigate fundamental molecular processes and properties that affect the environmental transformation, mobility, and biological availability of contaminants. The EMSL focuses on molecular-level collaborative research in the environmental sciences, and provides support to over 600 users, with over half of those from academia. The subprogram also addresses both natural bioremediation, which relies on naturally occurring microbial and plant processes, and accelerated bioremediation, which seeks to accelerate desirable processes through, for example, environmental modifications or the addition of amendments to contaminated environments.

The Environmental Remediation subprogram request also includes the infrastructure funding for BER program activities. The funding enables minor construction activities associated with upkeep of buildings and building systems at these research facilities. It includes such items as new roofs and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning upgrades and replacements.

Medical Applications and Measurement Science -The Medical Applications program fosters research to enable beneficial applications of nuclear and other energy-related technologies for medical diagnosis and treatment. The program promotes a fertile partnership among the sciences, advanced technologies and medicine in three major research areas: nuclear medicine; boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT); and instrumentation. Research in radiopharmaceutical chemistry and imaging techniques and investigation of a broad range of potential diagnostic and therapeutic applications provide the scientific and technological foundation for the expansion of nuclear medicine as a major medical specialty and for the continued vitality of the national industries for radiopharmaceutical development and production and medical imaging instrumentation. The technologies developed under this program are directed at solving major problems in medicine, such as the non-invasive detection and localization of small malignant lesions in the body, the quantitative measurement of dynamic organ function, and the treatment of cancers that resist conventional therapies. Nuclear medicine at the Department has accelerated with many recent contributions in areas as diverse as medical imaging technologies for improved diagnostic accuracy and radiopharmaceuticals for the study and treatment of substance abuse. Medical Applications research, in partnership with the Department’s human genome and life sciences research, is forging new technologies to find not only where disease-causing processes take place, but to locate and study the action of genes involved in still-mysterious normal functions such as learning and memory.

Our measurement science program focuses on research and development of new instrumentation to meet the needs of our environmental and life sciences programs for better ways of characterizing samples ranging from living cells to subsurface contaminants. The FY 2000 request provides for a variety of activities, with particular emphasis on using the advanced technologies developed in the Department’s National Laboratories for environmental and biomedical research.

HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS

FY 1999 Appropriation - $695.5 M; FY 2000 Request - $697.1 M

High energy physics research seeks to understand the nature of matter and energy at the most fundamental level, as well as the basic forces which govern all processes in nature. The Department of Energy provides more than 90 percent of the Federal support for the Nation’s high energy physics (also called elementary particle physics) research program. The balance is provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Our knowledge of the universe, the fundamental constituents of matter, and the laws of nature that underlie all physical processes continues to grow as a result of this research.

High energy physics research not only helps us learn how the world works, it also contributes to the Nation’s economic competitiveness in the high-technology marketplace. High energy physics research requires accelerators and detectors utilizing state-of-the-art technologies in many areas, including fast electronics, particle detectors, high speed computing, superconducting magnets, and high power radiofrequency devices. In these areas, high energy physics research frequently drives the technology, which not only contributes to other scientific disciplines, but also has led to many practical applications having major economic and social impacts. Who could have predicted that research that went into the building of accelerators and particle detectors and the subsequent technology would contribute so much to today’s medical imaging capabilities. And who could have predicted that particle physicists seeking new ways of communicating and sharing large amounts of data would change the way in which the world communicates--yet that is just what the World Wide Web has done.

The High Energy Physics program also has a history of attracting and training some of the best and brightest young minds. The training they receive prepares them for careers not just in high energy physics, but also in other disciplines as well, including computer sciences, teaching, industrial research. It is the unique problem solving abilities learned from this scientific discipline that make them attractive. More than half of the Ph.D.’s trained for high energy physics find permanent employment outside the field.

Carrying out high energy physics research effectively depends on many elements including the availability of forefront experimental capabilities, effective use of specialized facilities, and the availability of new and upgraded facilities to take advantage of new technologies and research opportunities. The Department supports two major high energy physics accelerator centers--the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Each of these laboratories provides unique capabilities and is operated as a national facility available to qualified experimenters around the Nation and abroad on the basis of the scientific merit of their research proposals. In addition, the high energy physics program makes limited use of the AGS at BNL. (The AGS will be transferred to the nuclear physics program, at the end of FY 1999, to be operated as an integral part of the RHIC facility). Approximately 2,000 U.S. scientists and 200-300 foreign scientists work at these facilities at any given time.

Experimental and theoretical researchers from more than 100 universities conduct about three fourths of the research, with the remainder being done by national laboratory staff. In general, the laboratories and universities perform different, but complementary, activities. University scientists provide the primary intellectual base for the program, performing experimental research at accelerators and non-accelerator facilities, technology R&D, and theoretical research. University grantees are selected and retained based on the quality, appropriateness, and performance of their research activities. All research proposals received are subjected to a rigorous multi-stage review, especially including peer review by technical experts from the high energy physics community.

National laboratories primarily provide major accelerator facilities at which university scientists perform their research. In addition, the laboratories provide the related technical and scientific expertise, as well as day-to-day liaison between university researchers and laboratory experts and management. Responsibility and authority for setting the program at a national laboratory and for determining which experiments are awarded running time rest primarily with the laboratory directorate within the general guidelines provided by the Department. Research requiring the use of a facility at one of the laboratories is reviewed extensively by the laboratory including by the laboratory’s Program Advisory Committee (PAC), another form of peer review. The Department carries out its oversight responsibilities by conducting annual reviews of the laboratories’ scientific programs. In addition, the Department tracks project progress against budget and schedule milestones using semiannual project reviews.

The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) is home to the world’s highest energy superconducting accelerator, the Tevatron, which provides both fixed target and colliding beam research programs. The colliding beam research program has two major detector facilities, the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) and the D-Zero Detector, which complement each other in their different technical capabilities. Fermilab completed a very successful fixed target run this past year prior to shutting the Tevatron down to bring the Main Injector on line. These two collaborations continued to produce new scientific knowledge during this run. The CDF collaboration of university and laboratory scientists from around the world observed the predicted B meson which contains a charm quark; this discovery completes the theoretically predicted family of B mesons. In addition, the KTeV experimental collaboration of university and laboratory scientists made the first observation of the decay of a kaon into two charged pions plus an electron-positron pair. This collaboration also made the first observation of violation of time-reversal invariance (T-violation), by making precise measurements of these decays. T-violation had been predicted on the basis of other results, but had never been directly observed.

Construction of the Fermilab Main Injector project was completed on schedule and within budget. Commissioning is proceeding very well, and the first physics run is expected later in FY 1999. The CDF and D-Zero upgrades are progressing well; and the upgraded detectors will be moved back into position on the Tevatron beam line and commissioning will begin with them late in FY 2000. This project will provide a fivefold increase in collider luminosity and a doubling of intensity for the fixed target program, as well as allowing simultaneous operation of the collider and fixed target programs, a capability previously not possible. The Main Injector will greatly enhance the physics capabilities of the Tevatron accelerator and its detector facilities and increase the likelihood for major new scientific developments early in the next century.

Also at Fermilab, the NuMI/MINOS (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) project design got underway in FY 1998. The experiment will study the possible oscillations between different types of neutrinos to determine if neutrinos have mass. The beam of neutrinos for the project will be produced at Fermilab and aimed at two detectors--one on site and the other at the Soudan Underground Laboratory in northern Minnesota. The project baselines for cost, scope, schedule, and management were established in November 1998. Detailed design for the NuMI underground enclosure and technical components will be developed in 1999, and excavation of the cavern in Minnesota for the MINOS detector is also expected to begin later this year.

In addition, Fermilab continues to play an active role in the Large Hadron Collider. Fermilab is the host and center of the U.S. CMS detector effort of university and laboratory scientists, and host and center of the U.S. LHC accelerator collaboration, with specialized expertise in the design and fabrication of superconducting magnets.

At the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), the Stanford Linear Collider (SLC), the world’s only high energy linear collider, continued during FY 1998 to achieve record high luminosities in positron-electron collisions, and the SLD detector reached more than 20,000 Z^o events per week. Researchers from universities and laboratories conducting research at SLAC are in the process of analyzing the large amounts of data collected. In FY 1999, the SLC was shut down to allow for the B-factory to be brought on line. Construction of the B-factory PEP-II storage rings was completed in FY 1998 on schedule and within budget. Commissioning began in mid-May 1998, resulting in first electron-positron collisions in July 1998. Commissioning has continued to go very well, and substantial progress toward achieving design luminosity has already been made. Data-taking with the BaBar detector will begin later in FY 1999, and about 39 weeks of operation is planned for FY 2000. The B-factory will provide a high luminosity, asymmetric electron-positron colliding beam facility to study the preponderance of matter over anti-matter in our universe. It will also provide opportunities for university and laboratory scientists to pursue a rich program of experiments in a large number of other areas of intense interest in high energy physics. In addition to all-out running of the B-factory in FY 2000, emphasis will continue on R&D in support of a future linear collider. Participation with NASA and university scientists in a non-accelerator-based experiment, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is also planned.

The Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) will be transferred later in FY 1999 to the Nuclear Physics program to be operated as the injector for RHIC. Operation of the AGS for the high energy physics program in FY 2000 and beyond will be on an incremental cost basis. Recently, U.S. university and laboratory researchers working at the AGS recorded a first observed decay of a charged kaon to a pion and two neutrinos, first observation of the decay of a neutral kaon to an electron-positron pair, as well as evidence for the existence of an unusual meson. AGS operation for high energy physics in FY 2000 will be for the high precision measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. Brookhaven is also a key participant in the LHC project as host and center of the U.S. ATLAS detector collaboration of university and laboratory scientists, as well as a participant in the U.S. accelerator collaboration. BNL’s Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), a small, low energy electron linac, has achieved one of the brightest electron beams in the world. It is used by universities, national laboratory groups, and industry for testing new advanced accelerator concepts.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a machine that will be about seven times the energy of the Fermilab Tevatron, is in the process of being built at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. and CERN have signed an agreement that provides for U.S. support and participation in the project. The LHC will become the foremost high energy physics facility in the world around the middle of the next decade. With the LHC at the energy frontier, American scientific research on the frontier depends on participation in the LHC. It will ensure continued world class excellence of our university and national laboratory scientists and will provide training to many students in leading edge science and technology.

The Department will provide a total contribution of $450 million for the specifically agreed to components of the two detectors and the LHC accelerator over the period FY 1996 through FY 2004. Of the $450 million, $250 million will support U.S. activities on the LHC detectors, while $200 million will support U.S. activities working on the LHC accelerator. NSF will provide approximately $81 million for U.S. work on the detectors. Almost all of this funding will be spent in the U.S. for in-kind contributions from U.S. laboratories, universities, and industry. Funding in the amount of $70 million is being requested by the Department in FY 2000.

During the past year, progress continued to be made on the technical components for the LHC and many management details were finalized. Technical, cost, and schedule baselines for the three subprograms--ATLAS detector, CMS detector, and the accelerator--were reviewed and approved; a Memorandum of Understanding between DOE and NSF on U.S. participation in the LHC project was negotiated and signed; and Project Management Plans were finalized and put in place for the accelerator, ATLAS detector, and the CMS detector, as well as the overall U.S. LHC Project Execution Plan. In FY 2000, the fabrication of components for the LHC continues. The U.S. LHC project continues to be on schedule and within budget.

NUCLEAR PHYSICS

FY 1999 Appropriation $334.6 M, FY 2000 Request $342.9 M

The primary goal of nuclear physics research is to understand the structure and properties of atomic nuclei and the fundamental forces between the constituents that form the nucleus. Nuclear processes determine essential physical characteristics of our universe and the composition of the matter that forms it.

Beyond maintaining world leadership in basic research, the Nuclear Physics program develops and transfers knowledge to enhance the Nation’s technological and economic competitiveness in such fields as nuclear medicine. The Nuclear Physics program continues to be a vital source of trained people for fundamental research and for these applied technology areas. The program supports the graduate training of approximately 450 students per year, and typically 100 Doctorates in nuclear physics are awarded each year in DOE-supported nuclear physics programs. A majority of these highly trained researchers will take positions in high-technology private industry.

Many future nuclear physics investigations will study questions related to the quark presence in composite nuclei. Until the last few years, the fundamental understanding of nuclear properties has been based on the idea of a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons that interact through a combination of weak, strong, and electromagnetic forces. It became clear that achieving a real knowledge of many nuclear properties depends on understanding nuclear structure based on quarks, and particles called gluons that bind the quarks together. Quarks and gluons are the building blocks of protons and neutrons (nucleons). The Long Range Plan for the U.S. Nuclear Physics Program, prepared by the nuclear physics community every five years, provides the definition of the pressing issues in nuclear science and the priorities for pursuing important scientific problems in various budget scenarios.

Studies of nuclear structure require ultra-high resolution "microscopes", accelerators that produce particle beams of various energies, depending on the problems to be studied. The request is designed to provide the sufficient hours for these facilities, so that researchers may take advantage of their unique capabilities.

Research programs at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), formerly CEBAF, are studying effects due to the presence of quarks in nucleons in the nucleus. Two principal focuses of these studies are to continue to develop an understanding of how the "spin" of a nucleus originates in the quarks, and how the size of a quark cluster in a nucleus affects the strength of the interaction of that cluster with other nucleons in the nucleus. It is interesting to note that no one has ever observed a single free quark; they always travel in closely knit groups of threes within nucleons and twos within mesons. In FY 2000, TJNAF will operate for 4,500 hours to allow several high priority experiments to study the quark presence in nuclei. The laboratory is fully operational, and all three experimental halls are being utilized for experiments.

In FY 2000, the new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a second major facility for the study of new "quark-based" nuclear physics, will be searching for a predicted quark-gluon plasma. Construction of RHIC will be complete in the third quarter of FY 1999, and the new facility will be fully operational in FY 2000. It is predicted that if a collection of nucleons could be compressed and heated to a very high temperature by collisions of high energy heavy nuclei, there would be a phase transition to a new state of nuclear matter in the collision region where the quarks are "freed" from their nucleon boundaries to form a so-called quark-gluon plasma.

RHIC will be a unique, world-class facility with colliding relativistic heavy ion beams that will permit exploration of this hot, dense nuclear matter and recreate the transition from quarks to nucleons which characterized the early evolution of the universe. Studies with colliding heavy ion beams will provide researchers with their first laboratory opportunity to explore this new region of nuclear matter and nuclear interactions which up to now has only been studied theoretically. In FY 2000, RHIC will begin its first full year of operations with a 33 week running schedule and a goal of 22 weeks (3,300 hours) for research and 11 weeks for accelerator studies.

Some of the most critical nuclear reactions in stellar burning processes involve nuclei which, because of their short lifetimes, have not been available for laboratory studies. Three Nuclear Physics facilities will be investigating these reactions by generating radioactive beams as new probes of nuclear structure.

Another new generation facility, the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now producing some of the previously unavailable nuclear beams so that these important stellar processes can be studied in the laboratory. Beams for experiments became available in FY 1998 and it is possible for the first time to study many processes which are crucial to our understanding of how nuclei were synthesized in the Big Bang. In FY 2000, the HRIBF will operate for 2,400 hours for studies of these processes and for studies of very proton rich nuclei far from stability. Radioactive ion beams, in addition to the stable beams normally provided, are also being produced at the ATLAS accelerator at Argonne National Laboratory and the 88-inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. These laboratories are pursuing research as well as developing new techniques for the generation of radioactive beams. The experience gained and ideas generated at all three laboratories will provide important input to the design of a proposed new Isotope Separator On Line (ISOL) radioactive beam facility presently being studied by the Nuclear Physics Program.

Subsequent to submission of the FY 2000 budget request, the Department has determined that the MIT/Bates accelerator will continue to operate. The Department will work with the Administration to submit a budget amendment and an amended budget request.

The solar neutrino problem remains one of the great challenges in astrophysics. The predicted rate of neutrino production by the sun is significantly higher than the observed rate. There are two possible explanations for the discrepancy. Either our understanding of solar burning is very wrong, or the neutrino has a small mass, in contradiction to the long-held belief that it is massless. Construction of a third major new facility to study this problem, the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO), 7000 feet below the surface of the earth in Canada, was completed in FY 1998. In FY 1999, preliminary data is being accumulated as the detector is being filled with "heavy water". SNO, which will be fully operational in FY 2000, is designed to sort out this long standing solar neutrino problem. The project involves an international collaboration among the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES

FY 1999 Appropriation - $222.6 M, FY 2000 Request - $222.6 M

The FY 2000 budget request for the Fusion Energy Sciences program continues a broad-based, fundamental research effort to acquire the knowledge base needed for an economically and environmentally attractive fusion energy source.

Fusion research provides two major benefits--in the near term there are advances in plasma science and technology spinoffs and in the long term there is the basis for development of a new energy source. Advances in plasma science have contributed to numerous other areas of science. In astrophysics, it has allowed an understanding of the behavior of plasma and magnetic fields in the earth’s magnetosphere, in the sun and other stars and the galaxies. Plasma physics is integral to our understanding of magnetic storms, solar flares, shock waves in space, magnetic fields, black holes, and star formation. In the area of large-scale scientific computing, fusion research pioneered the use of supercomputers to solve complex problems. Novel optical and magnetic diagnostics have been created to provide access to the extreme temperature, density, and magnetic fields prevalent in fusion experiments. In addition, fusion and other plasma based research has provided a stimulus to the development of large superconducting magnets, development of advanced materials, advancement in pulsed-power technology, and plasma aided manufacturing processes such as those used in semiconductor device fabrication.

Although there is no schedule for developing and deploying fusion energy systems, the availability of fusion, as an option for large central station power plants, would be valuable insurance against possible environmental concerns about fossil and nuclear energy. As fusion is one of the few potential sources capable of providing an appropriate energy intensity for urbanized society in an environmentally sustainable fashion, development of fusion as a practical energy source may be essential for the longer term. In addition, there may also be non-electric applications of fusion in the transmutation of wastes and isotope production.

The quality of the research in this program is continuously evaluated through the use of merit based peer review and scientific advisory committees. In addition, the Department has requested the National Academy of Sciences to review the quality of science in the fusion program in

FY 1999. We will also be carrying out a review of fusion energy technologies using the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. The Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee has also been asked to assess program restructuring and the overall balance of research efforts. A program plan/roadmap for fusion, including both magnetic and inertial and based on the above reviews, will be completed by the end of 1999.

As a part of the ongoing restructuring of the program, the major U.S. experimental facilities – the DIII-D at General Atomics, the Alcator C-Mod at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the new National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) – are being managed as national resources with multi-institutional topical teams addressing the scientific issues and coordinating efforts on relevant facilities. The FY 2000 budget request provides for substantial operation of all three facilities, along with modest upgrades.

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) located at PPPL was closed down in FY 1997 after 13 years of pioneering experiments yielding significant scientific results from producing actual fusion power in a laboratory. In FY 2000 we will begin a 3-year program to decontaminate and decommission the TFTR facility. This will provide for the removal of the TFTR tokamak and activated components from the experimental test cell and basement.

Fabrication of the NSTX, a vital new device of a much smaller scale than TFTR, will be completed in April 1999. This proof-of-principle facility will provide the scientific basis for an innovative magnetic confinement concept that has indicated the potential for reactor-scale plasma performance in earlier very small experiments.

In FY 2000 a conceptual design will be completed for a novel compact stellarator-tokamak experiment that combines the best features of the two leading magnetic fusion concepts. Critical computing codes will be modernized to take full advantage of the President’s Information Technology Initiative. In addition, three new innovative concept exploration experiments will become fully operational.

In accordance with congressional direction and with the cooperation of our International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) partners, the Department will complete an orderly closeout of our ITER activities in FY 1999. The R&D activities to complete the U.S. Model Coil and to be involved in its test in Japan are proceeding through FY 1999 consistent with congressional direction. The Model Coil is part of the largest superconducting magnet ever built to operate with a changing magnetic field. It was recently completed and is now en route to Japan where the testing will be done.

The European Union, Japan, and the Russian Federation are proceeding with a 3-year extension of the ITER program to complete the design of a reduced cost and reduced objectives facility, and to decide in 2-3 years whether and where to construct ITER. We will be involved only on the periphery of the project consistent with traditional exchange of scientific information. If the other Parties decide to construct a burning plasma facility like ITER, the United States will then consider whether to propose to be involved.

With the closeout of the ITER activities, we are restructuring the fusion technology development activities to focus on our domestic needs in advancing the science of fusion. Emphasis will be placed upon R&D that will enable existing and near-term U.S. fusion facilities to achieve their ultimate performance capability. New methods of modeling and predicting the behavior of fusion materials will be investigated. R&D will continue on novel methods of enabling the new, innovative U.S. fusion concepts to achieve their full performance. This will include applied scientific research on issues such as the use of flowing liquid walls to handle heat and particle flux in magnetic or inertial systems and the study of advanced heating and fueling techniques. Some international R&D collaboration will continue at foreign facilities that have scientific research capabilities beyond those in the United States. Also, as part of the restructuring of this element of the fusion program, a Virtual Laboratory for Technology has been established to improve the governance of the various, diverse enabling R&D elements through improved advocacy, coordination, and communication.

In conclusion, the U.S. Fusion Energy Sciences program has made excellent scientific progress and has been responsive to the congressional request to restructure the program. Fusion and plasma science make a unique contribution to the nation’s scientific infrastructure in the near-term and provide a vital energy option for the future. Europe and Japan are making large investments in this area. The challenge to the United States is to continue a strong scientific base program, including making effective use of existing facilities, and to sustain a meaningful participation in the world program.

COMPUTATIONAL AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

FY 1999 Appropriation - $157.5 M; FY 2000 Request - $198.9 M

Some of the pioneering accomplishments of the Computational and Technology Research (CTR) program are: development of the technologies to enable remote, interactive access to supercomputers; research and development leading to the High Performance Parallel Interface (HiPPI) standard; and research leading to the development of the slow start algorithm for the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which enabled the Internet to scale to today’s worldwide communications infrastructure. This long history of accomplishments in the CTR program continued in FY 1999 including: the 1998 Gordon Bell Prize for Best Performance of a Supercomputing Application, the 1998 IEEE Fernbach Award for outstanding contribution in the application of high performance computers using innovative approaches and four R&D 100 Awards to CTR researchers in areas ranging from parallel numerical libraries to near frictionless coatings.

The CTR program supports advanced computing research – applied mathematics, high performance computing, networking, and operates supercomputer and associated facilities that are available to researchers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The combination of support for fundamental research, computational and networking tools development, and high-performance computing facilities provides scientists with the capabilities to analyze, model, simulate, and – most importantly – predict complex phenomena of importance to the Office of Science and the Department of Energy.

Experiments at Office of Science facilities may generate millions of gigabytes (petabytes) of data per year (which would fill the disk drives of millions of today’s personal computers) presenting significant computational and communications challenges in analyzing and extracting information from the data. The wide-area, data-intensive collaborations of the Department are the focus of DOE’s efforts in the Next Generation Internet (NGI) Initiative. CTR is responsible for DOE participation in the NGI program to create the foundation for more powerful and versatile networks of the Twenty-first century.

CTR also heads the Department’s Scientific Simulation Initiative (SSI) as a competitive, peer-reviewed program with the other program offices in SC. CTR’s role in the SSI includes management of the selection process for the two basic science application efforts initiated in FY 2000, management of the SSI Advanced Computing and Communications Facilities, and management of the Computer Science and Enabling Technology component.

In addition to these computing related activities CTR also manages the Laboratory Technology Research (LTR) program for the Office of Science. The mission of this program is to support high risk, energy related research that advances science and technology to enable applications that could significantly impact the Nation's energy economy. LTR fosters the production of research results motivated by a practical energy payoff through cost-shared collaborations between Office of Science laboratories and industry.

MULTI PROGRAM ENERGY LABORATORIES - FACILITIES SUPPORT

FY 1999 Appropriations - $21.3 M; FY 2000 Request $21.3 M

Fulfillment of the DOE's science and technology goals depends heavily on the existence and operating efficiency of the five multiprogram SC laboratories. The five multiprogram energy laboratories are: Argonne National Laboratory-East, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These laboratories have over 1000 buildings with 14.7 million gross square feet an average age of 35 years. Their estimated replacement value is over $8.7 billion. All facilities at these laboratories are government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO). Total operating funding for these laboratories including work-for-others is over $3 billion a year.

Portions of the infrastructure of these laboratories are old, deteriorating, and, in some cases, obsolete. Improvements are needed to comply fully with the environment, safety and health requirements in effect today as well as to meet everyday operational needs.

The Office of Science established the Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-Facilities Support

(MEL-FS) program in 1981 to provide a systematic approach to its stewardship responsibility for the general purpose support infrastructure of these laboratories. The MEL-FS program helps to preserve the government's investment in infrastructure and to maintain infrastructure integrity in a reasonable and economic manner at these laboratories.

The program supports line item construction projects to refurbish and replace inadequate general purpose facilities and infrastructure. This budget request provides for continuation of six on-going projects and for two new projects. Projects are selected based on the Life Cycle Asset Management the Cost-Risk-Impact Scoring Matrix. The new starts are:

Fire Safety Improvements - Phase IV, (ANL-E) - This project will bring 30 major facilities into compliance with the Life Safety Code and the National Fire Alarm Code. It will significantly

improve the fire detection, suppression, and reporting capabilities at the lab, thereby reducing the possibility and magnitude of personnel or property loss during a fire.

Electrical Systems Upgrade, (ORNL) - This project will upgrade the 30-50 year-old electrical system to include: replacing overhead feeders; installing advanced protective relaying capabilities at major substations; and replacing major switchgear and transformers. This project will increase system reliability and capacity, while reducing the possibility of personnel injury or lost productivity due to system failures.

The program also provides funding for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) as authorized by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. These discretionary payments are made to state or local governments where the Department or its predecessor agencies have acquired property previously subject to state or local taxation.

ENERGY RESEARCH ANALYSES

FY 1999 Appropriation - $1.0 M; FY 2000 Request - $1.0 M

The mission of the Energy Research Analyses (ERA) program is to conduct technical assessments of the Department's civilian research and development programs and to provide direction to future research and development activities. Energy Research Analyses also conducts science policy analyses, and coordinates the development of the Office of Science Strategic Plan and the DOE Science Portfolio.

The FY 2000 budget request will provide funding for peer reviews of projects in the Office of Science, Fossil Energy, and Energy Efficiency to continue to improve the quality and relevance of DOE research and development. Other activities will include evaluation of critical planning and policy issues of DOE science and technology using expert groups at the National Academy of Sciences, the JASON group, etc., as appropriate.

SCIENCE PROGRAM DIRECTION

FY 1999 Appropriation - $49.8 M; FY 2000 Request - $52.3 M

Science Program Direction provides the Federal staffing resources and associated costs required to provide overall direction of activities carried out under the Office of Science. This program supports staff in the High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Biological and Environmental Research, Basic Energy Sciences, Fusion Energy Sciences, Computational and Technology Research, Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-Facilities Support, and Energy Research Analyses programs, including management and technical support staff.

Science Program Direction also supports staff at the Chicago, Oakland, and Oak Ridge Operations Offices directly involved in program execution. The management and technical support staff includes scientific and technical personnel and program management support in the areas of budget and finance, general administration, grants and contracts, information resource management, policy review and coordination, infrastructure management and construction management.

At the direction of Congress in FY 1999, funds were also provided in Science Program Direction for Science Education. These funds will support the Undergraduate Laboratory Fellowship, National Science Bowl and the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship programs. These programs utilize the Department’s scientific and technical resources to enhance the development of a diverse, well-educated and scientifically literate workforce.

SCIENCE EDUCATION

For FY 2000, DOE proposes new science education activities focusing on assets at our laboratories to build a partnership with universities and educational institutions. These proposed science education activities will allow university faculty and student teams, at the undergraduate level, to participate on long term research projects at DOE laboratories. In addition, pre-college science and math teachers will be provided with laboratory research experience to improve their knowledge and skills of scientific discovery and to enhance their ability to apply them in a classroom environment. Funds for these activities are included in the line program budgets.

There is a national need to maintain worldwide leadership in science and technology and to stay competitive in critical research areas such as high energy and nuclear physics, computational science, and renewable energy technologies. Our outstanding National Laboratories help to drive the progress of science and technology development in the United States. To replenish our stocks of scientists and engineers for the next century, we must invest in our nation’s youth to encourage interest in science and scientific careers. A proven method to achieve this is by introducing students to the excitement of scientific research through exposure to the National Laboratories. Historically, over two-thirds of undergraduates who have participated in DOE programs have gone on to graduate school in disciplines directly related to DOE missions.

According to the latest research, trends show a declining number of graduates in the natural sciences and engineering from the early eighties to 1996. This trend is especially true among women, even those who have displayed a natural aptitude for science and math on standardized test scores. By instituting a program that effectively promotes proficiency and inspires students, we can help to ensure our future in science to develop the technologies that help us meet our mission and contribute to economic growth.

The proposed science education activities will provide hands-on experience to both students and faculty. Working with laboratory researchers links this work to real world, mission driven challenges while improving communications and connections between Academe and the National Laboratories. Undergraduate students and college faculty will be able to participate in and contribute to long-term research projects at the National Laboratories, providing unique opportunities for hands on experience with state-of-the-art equipment. This experience allows the student to develop technical skills that build confidence and reinforce classroom learning. This, in turn, will support a productive relationship between the national laboratory and the participating college or university while strengthening the research at both institutions. This activity efficiently connects academia and industry with the excellent resources of the DOE laboratories and the enormous intellectual resources of the nation’s universities. $5 million of the SC request will provide over 1000 student and 200 faculty with fellowships for the Faculty/Student Science Teams during academic year 2000-2001.

The second new activity involves the training of pre-college teachers as part of a national effort to strengthen K-12 student performance in science, mathematics, and technology. The Department of Energy has a vested interest and vital role to play if Federal efforts, to ensure science literacy for all Americans and to develop future generations of scientists, are to be successful. This activity will provide high school and pre-college teachers with 8-week appointments at DOE’s Office of Science Laboratories. In these settings, teachers will work in teams with scientists and engineers and will participate in and contribute to the ongoing research of the Laboratories. Teachers will participate in designing experiments, creating mathematical models, and collecting and analyzing data. Experience has shown that allowing teachers to experience being treated as research colleagues provides a sense of renewal, and increases connection to their field and profession. Therefore, this activity includes additional follow-up such as remote mentoring and opportunities for teachers to attend and make presentations at regional and national meetings of scientific and teacher organizations. It also includes loans and grants of equipment and materials, assistance in translating their research experience into investigations, activities, and demonstrations applicable to their classroom settings, and sharing research experiences with their colleagues. $5 million of the SC request will reach over 200 teachers nationwide annually through this activity.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

FY 1999 Appropriation - $8.6 million; FY 2000 - $9.1 million

The significant increase in the FY 2000 budget request for the Office of Science recognizes the critical role that fundamental knowledge plays in achieving the DOE missions and for the general advance of the Nation's economy and the welfare of its citizens. The Scientific Simulation Initiative represents a major investment in producing the necessary scientific computation and information infrastructure for DOE science applications as part of a multi-agency initiative. This request will also provide the U.S. scientific community with increased research capability and new opportunities at the DOE scientific user facilities, including progress on SNS, a new forefront neutron source, and upgrades of existing facilities. On behalf of the Administration and the Department, I am pleased to present this budget for the Office of Science and welcome the challenge to deliver results.

This concludes my statement. I would be happy to answer your questions.