New Report on FY 1994 Advanced Materials and Processing Program

The Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, have released a report providing a good overview of various federal materials research programs. This 48-page report is entitled, “Advanced Materials and Processing: the Fiscal Year 1994 Federal Program in Materials Science and Technology.”

The relatively new Advanced Materials and Processing Program (AMPP) is a coordinated interagency activity comprising the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Transportation, and EPA, NASA, and NSF. The total AMPP program received $2,094.1 million for fiscal year 1993.

Program and budgetary oversight of the research and development plans of the ten participating agencies is performed by FCCSET, OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget. The evaluation of agency programs is based both on technical content and the AMPP framework, using what the report calls “inclusion criteria.” This includes 1.) responsiveness to goals and strategic objectives; 2.) scientific/technical merit; and 3.) linkages which will be fostered between government and industrial and academic sectors.

The report states that “The goal of the AMPP is to improve the performance and manufacture of materials to enhance the Nation’s quality of life, security, industrial productivity, and economic growth.” Four strategic objectives are described: “Establish and maintain the U.S. scientific and technological leadership position in advanced materials and processing; Bridge the gap between innovation and application of advanced materials technologies; Support agencies’ mission objectives to meet national needs with improvements in advanced materials and processing; and Encourage university and private sector R&D activities in materials technologies, their applications, and their implementation.”

The materials programs of the ten agencies are briefly described, as well as budgetary information and statistics. The Department of Energy had the largest AMPP R&D budget in fiscal year 1993: $914.0 million, which includes construction and operating costs for major national user facilities such as the Advanced Neutron Source (as is true for the below agencies.) This was followed by the Defense Department ($557.7 million), NSF ($303.6 million) and NASA ($102.8 million.) All other programs were less than $100 million. Fiscal year 1994 final figures are not provided in the report.

Breaking down the fiscal year 1993 AMPP budget by research component reveals that almost half of all spending went to Synthesis and Processing. Approximately 24% went to Materials Characterization, followed by 12% for Theory, Modeling, Simulation. Education/Human Resources received just over 1%. Combined 1993 spending for these categories was 87% of the total AMPP budget, the remainder being for National User Facilities.

The report also provides data on spending by materials class. In fiscal year 1993, metals and electronics materials received the most funding, magnetic materials the least.

A chapter entitled “AMPP Implementation” briefly describes various aspects of the program. Included are discussions of the planning process, execution mechanisms such as single company interactions; multiple company, multi-investigator interactions; and national user facilities. Program evaluation is also covered.

The final sections of the report are devoted to R&D descriptions of the ten agencies, complementary programs, and contact points for the interagency planning groups.

A copy of this report, “Advanced Materials and Processing: The Fiscal Year 1994 Federal Program in Materials Science and Technology,” can be obtained from:

Committee on Industry and Technology COMAT c/o National Institute of Standards and Technology Room B309, Materials Building Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 Phone: 301-975-5655

Two other publications are available from the same address: “Advanced Materials and Processing: The Federal Program in Materials Science and Technology,” and the more detailed, “Advanced Materials and Processing: The Fiscal Year 1993 Program.”

Please note that copies of the above reports are NOT available from AIP.