For over
50 years the Biological
and Environmental Research (BER) program has been advancing environmental
and biomedical knowledge that promotes national security through improved
energy production, development, and use; international scientific leadership
that underpins our Nation’s technological advances; and research that
improves the quality of life for all Americans. BER supports these vital
national missions through competitive and
peer-reviewed research
at
national
laboratories, universities, and private institutions. In addition, BER
develops and delivers the knowledge needed to support the President’s
National Energy Plan.
BER supports the following DOE Strategic
Plan goal: Science Strategic Goal General Goal 5, World-Class
Scientific Research Capacity and Program Goal 05.21.00.00:
Harness the Power of Our Living World. The Office
of Science Strategic Plan details the goals and strategic plans for BER.
The following indicators establish specific long term goals in Scientific
Advancement that the BER program is committed to, and progress can
be measured by the
Program Assessment
Rating Tool.
- Life Sciences: Provide the fundamental scientific understanding of plants and microbes necessary to develop new robust and transformational basic research strategies for producing biofuels, cleaning up waste, and sequestering carbon.
- Climate Change Research: Deliver improved scientific data and models about the potential response of the Earth’s climate and terrestrial biosphere to increased greenhouse gas levels for policy makers to determine safe levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
- Environmental Remediation: Provide sufficient scientific understanding such that DOE sites would be able to incorporate coupled physical, chemical and biological processes into decision making for environmental remediation and long-term stewardship.
- Medical Applications: Develop intelligent biomimetic electronics that can both sense and correctly stimulate the nervous system. *
- Facilities: Manage facilities operations to
the highest standards of overall performance using merit evaluation
with independent peer review.
* This indicator is not a PART measure.