Oral
Testimony by
Dr. Raymond L. Orbach
Director, Office of Science
U.S. Department of Energy
before
the House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
and
before the Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Energy and Water
March
15, 2005
Mr. Chairman, members
of the Committee, thank you for giving me the
opportunity to discuss the President’s
fiscal year 2006 budget request for the Office
of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.
This budget is premised upon the
maintenance of U.S. scientific leadership, of
increased present and future research opportunities.
In order to achieve this goal goal, difficult
decisions had to be made within this budget
climate, prioritizing core research funding
and facility construction and operation. The
result augers well for U.S. science and scientists.
Among the more important investments
supported by this budget are:
1. Funds for the fabrication of
ITER, demonstrating the scientific and technological
feasibility of creating and controlling sustained
burning plasmas, the penultimate step to a demonstration
fusion power plant.
2. Two most powerful civilian
leadership class computers of different architectures,
20 TeraFlops each, to test configurations best
suited to scientific discovery.
3. Finishing construction, and
beginning operations of the Spallation Neutron
Source, the most powerful tool for neutron scattering
measurements in the world by an order of magnitude.
4. Finishing construction, and
beginning operations of four of the five Office
of Science Nanoscale Science Research Centers,
constructed contiguous to light and neutron
sources for characterization of nano-structures
and dynamical measurements.
5. Beginning construction of the
world’s most powerful X-ray light source,
the Linac Coherent Light Source, enabling structural
determination of single macro-molecules, and
opening the entirely new field of ultra-fast
science.
6. Initial operation of Neutrinos
at the Main Injector, observing neutrino oscillations
with an accuracy never before achieved. Continuation
of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, the world’s
highest energy accelerator, and the SLAC B-factory,
to explain the origin of mass, and illuminate
the pathway to the underlying simplicity of
the universe. Ramp up of support for the CERN
Large Hadron Collider, at which the U.S. is
a major partner in the research program.
7. Continuation of the Continuous
Electron Beam Accelerator Facility for study
of the quark-gluon structure of the nucleon;
and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider for
the study of the quark-gluon state of matter
at high density and temperature, exhibiting
the properties of a highly correlated liquid.
8. Acceleration of microbe-based
biotechnical solutions for clean energy, carbon
sequestration, and environmental remediation
through GTL.
9. Elucidation of the role of
clouds, and the development, testing, and running
of prediction models for climate change. Study
of the global carbon cycle and basic research
for biological sequestration of carbon in the
biosphere.
10. Continuation of the reduction
in scientific uncertainty surrounding the effects
of low dose radiation on human biology with
the goal of promulgating sensible standards
for radiation protection.
This budget enables this breathtaking
array of scientific initiatives and opportunities.
There are costs, working within the current
budget climate. But they are balanced against
the opportunities essential for continued U.S.
scientific primacy.
The Office of Science manages
long-term, high-risk, high-payoff programs aligned
with DOE missions, supporting the research of
approximately 23,500 graduate students, post
docs, and faculty. Our facilities are used by
more than 19,000 researchers each year. We are
the primary source of support for physical science
research in the U.S., providing 42% of federal
funding.
The Office of Science is committed
to providing basic research support for the
missions of the Department of Energy, leading
to energy security for our country. Our programs
contribute substantially to our nation’s
economic development; to enhancing scientific
literacy, and to our society’s intellectual
growth and excitement through scientific discovery.
Mr. Chairman, I believe this budget
will accomplish these goals. I would like to
thank you again for the opportunity to discuss
the work of the Office of Science, and would
be pleased to answer your questions.
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