Basic Energy Sciences

-Spring 2004 Program Plan-

1.0   Program Name:

Basic Energy Sciences

2.0   Position Title of the Program Manager:

Associate Director of the Office of Science for Basic Energy Sciences
SC-10/Germantown Building
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585-1290
http://www.sc.doe.gov/bes/bes.html

3.0   DOE Strategic Plan General Goal:

General Goal 5, World Class Scientific Research Capacity: Provide world-class scientific research capacity needed to: ensure the success of Department missions in national and energy security; advance the frontiers of knowledge in physical sciences and areas of biological, medical, environmental, and computational sciences, or provide world-class research facilities for the Nation’s science enterprise.

4.0   Mission Statement and Program Goal:

The growth of our economy over the past half-century has derived in substantial part from steady improvements in our energy technologies. In each subsequent decade, we have produced more goods and services with a given amount of energy, and we have produced that energy more efficiently and with less environmental impact. Much of this progress has come from advances in the materials and chemical sciences such as new magnetic materials; high strength, lightweight alloys and composites; novel electronic materials; and new catalysts, with a host of energy technology applications. We are now in the early stages of two remarkable explorations - observing and manipulating matter at the molecular scale and understanding the behavior of large assemblies of interacting components. Scientific discoveries in these two frontiers alone will accelerate our progress toward more efficient, affordable, and cleaner energy technologies. They pose some of the most fascinating and far-reaching scientific challenges of our time.

Mission: The mission of the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program - a multipurpose, scientific research effort - is to foster and support fundamental research to expand the scientific foundations for new and improved energy technologies and for understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts of energy use. The portfolio supports work in the natural sciences, emphasizing fundamental research in materials sciences, chemistry, geosciences, and aspects of biosciences.

Program Goal 5.22.00.00: Advance the Basic Science for Energy Independence - Provide the scientific knowledge and tools to achieve energy independence, securing U.S. leadership and essential breakthroughs in basic energy sciences.

5.0   Objectives and Performance Targets:

At the core of this science program, and underpinning all of our objectives, is a fundamental quest for knowledge. Our program history provides a compelling story of how this knowledge has shaped the world around us, and the future appears even more promising as we focus on such questions as:

• What new, useful properties do materials display as we move from the classical or macroscopic world to objects composed of a few to a few thousands of atoms or molecules?
   

• What range of optical, mechanical, catalytic, electrical, tribological, and other properties can be achieved by designing devices and materials at the molecular scale?
   

• How can we efficiently assemble molecular-scale structures? How do living organisms construct complex assemblies, and can we apply these approaches to engineer useful devices and materials?
   

• How can we control chemical reactivity -- the making and breaking of chemical bonds -- to produce energy and desired materials while eliminating unwanted byproducts?
   

• How can we design, model and exploit complex systems -- systems composed of large numbers of interacting components and/or components operating at different spatial or temporal scales -- such as novel magnetic or superconducting materials?

Below are the main objectives for Basic Energy Sciences. Complementing this stand-alone Program Plan, and providing additional details of our program objectives are the Office of Science Strategic Plan (February 2004), the Facilities for the Future of Science: A Twenty Year Outlook (November 2003), as well as the most recent Office of Science budget.

Objectives:

1. Core Disciplines: Advance the core disciplines of the basic energy sciences, producing transformational breakthroughs in materials sciences, chemistry, geosciences, energy biosciences, and engineering research.
    

2. Nanoscale Science: Lead the nanoscale science revolution, delivering the foundations and discoveries for a future built around controlled chemical processes and materials designed one atom at a time or through self-assembly.

An accompanying timeline (Road Maps) provides a roadmap for these objectives, including our planned future facilities, performance targets, and the primary connections and program interdependencies. Two important caveats, described below, must be observed when viewing the timeline.

The Objectives, Performance Targets and schedules identified on the timeline are for planning purposes only and do not constitute financial or contractual commitments by the Federal government. More often than not, there are significant discrepancies between planning levels and subsequent, enacted budgets. It is reasonable to anticipate that resources may not be available to fully support every performance target, including but not limited to the schedule for performance. Subsequent annual updates of this plan will reflect and adjust for those fiscal constraints based on the latest available information.

Additionally, there are many more connections (lines) and interdependencies (footnotes in red) than are displayed on the actual timelines. The very nature of science is multi-disciplinary and interdependent. Consequently, those relationships that are depicted are only illustrative, although they are believed to largely representative of the primary relationships.

6.0   Program Evaluation:

The BES program conducts frequent and comprehensive evaluations of every component of the program. Progress against established plans is evaluated by periodic internal and external performance reviews. These reviews provide an opportunity to verify and validate performance. Quarterly, semiannual, and annual reviews consistent with specific program management plans are held to ensure technical progress, cost and schedule adherence, and responsiveness to program requirements.

All on-going projects undergo regular (every three to five years) peer review and merit evaluation based on procedures set down in 10 CFR 605 for the extramural grant program, and under a similar process for the laboratory programs and scientific user facilities. Results of these evaluations are used to modify program management as appropriate. Additionally, all new projects are also selected through peer review and merit evaluation.

The Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) was established by DOE to provide independent advice on complex scientific and technical issues related to the BES program. During the past few years, BESAC has provided advice on new directions in nanoscale science and complex systems; on the operation of the major scientific user facilities; on the need for new, “next-generation” facilities for x-ray, neutron, and electron-beam scattering; on performance measurement; on the quality of the BES program management and its consequent impacts on the program portfolio; on new directions in research relating to specific aspects of fundamental science such as catalysis, biomolecular materials, and computational modeling at the nanoscale; on the fundamental research challenges posed by the Department’s energy missions; and on a 20-year roadmap for BES facilities. Of particular note is the BESAC report Basic Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy Future, which describes 10 themes and 37 specific research directions for increased emphasis. This report will help the program map its research activities for many years to come.

In addition, on a rotating schedule, BESAC reviews the major elements of the BES program using Committees of Visitors (COVs). COVs are charged with assessing (1) the efficacy and quality of the processes used to solicit, review, recommend, monitor, and document proposal actions and (2) the quality of the resulting portfolio, specifically the breadth and depth of portfolio elements and the national and international standing of the elements. The first reviews assessed the chemistry activities (FY02) and the materials sciences and engineering activities (FY03). In FY04, the activities associated with the management of the scientific user facilities were assessed. The cycle will begin again in FY05, so that all elements of the BES program will be reviewed once every three years.

Change control and off-ramps:

Science changes rapidly and breakthroughs in knowledge by our science programs, other agencies, industry and the international science community create a constant state of flux. Although there are long-term research themes and lengthy horizons for new cutting-edge tools, basic research must be constantly revisited in a context of new discoveries and the most promising current opportunities.

Additionally, basic research is, by its nature, unpredictable. Results that appear to mark a failed experiment are often much more significant to progress in the field than a “successful” result. This is the reason that expert review will be used to assess progress toward our objectives. It is critical that all evaluations take this unique aspect of research into account so that success will be judged as advancing the field rather than meeting the specifics of an objective or target.

Underpinning the Office of Science change control process and our off-ramps are a strong dependence on our program advisory committees, for example the BESAC. Our programs and our advisory committees are driven by the following three major criteria for evaluating change and possible off-ramps: Quality, Relevance, and Performance. These criteria are also the criteria that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) applies to basic research.

As part of the Office of Science Strategic Planning process, BESAC is consulted on the actual Objectives for the program. A broader array of stakeholders from government, industry, and academia are also consulted. Such input helps form the basis for a new focus or direction at this more aggregate level, and the current objectives for this program were the result of a recently completed cycle and preparation of a new Office of Science Strategic Plan. The objectives from the Strategic Plan form the basis for this Program Plan.

Key Targets were also developed in consultation with BESAC as part of OMB’s Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process. Progress reviews for these key targets will be conducted by BESAC every three years. These reviews will allow us to assess progress so that the program can continue, redirect or discontinue the efforts that support those targets.

Ultimately, all decisions on focus, emphasis, resources, and possible shifts are vetted at the appropriate levels within our program - from the researchers to the program managers, and often to the level of the Associate Director. Depending on the scope of the issue and the venue, the Director of the Office of Science may be involved. For major off-ramps, the Director of the Office of Science is always involved and assumes final responsibility.

7.0   Key External Factors:

The BES program in fundamental science is closely coordinated with the activities of other federal agencies (e.g., National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, and National Institute of Health). BES also promotes the transfer of the results of its basic research to contribute to DOE missions in areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, improved use of fossil fuels, reduced environmental impacts of energy production and use, national security, and future energy sources.

The BES program has many connections with other organizations, and is dependent on their planning needs, identified challenges, information, scientific data sharing, and more. Some of the key external factors for the BES program, include: the SC-wide SciDAC effort (linkages with ASCR), the needs of the applied energy programs within the DOE in pursuit of new energy technologies (organizations such as NE, EE, FE, etc.), genomics data and improved sequencing techniques that assist in bio-energy sciences (linkages with BER), and domestic and international coordination and associated roadmaps on hydrogen research (linkages with DOE applied energy programs and international working groups).

External factors that affect the programs and performance include: (1) mission needs as described by the DOE and SC mission statements and strategic plans; (2) evolving scientific opportunities, which sometimes emerge in a way that revolutionizes disciplines; (3) results of external program reviews and international benchmarking activities of entire fields or subfields, such as those performed by the National Academy of Sciences; (4) unanticipated failures, for example, in the evaluation of new computer architectures for science, that cannot be mitigated in a timely manner; (5) strategic and programmatic decisions made by other (non-DOE) Federal agencies and by international entities; and (6) the evolution of the commercial market for high performance computing and networking hardware and software.