NSF FY 1999 Budget Request: Physics, Materials Research, Astronomy

The National Science Foundation prepares a detailed budget request every year describing various programs. This and following FYIs provide information from this document for areas that are part of FYI’s coverage. The following programs are contained within NSF’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences Activity:

PHYSICS:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Physics Subactivity is $171.94 million, an increase of $23.42 million or 15.8 percent over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $148.52 million.”

“The Physics Subactivity oversees two construction projects funded through the Major Research account -- LIGO and the Large Hadron Collider’s (LHC) ATLAS and CMS detectors. Funding for LIGO construction is to be completed in FY 1998. In FY 1999, LIGO will have its first year of full operations funding as it enters a projected three-year instrumentation-commissioning phase. Funding for the LHC detectors will commence in FY 1999, representing the start of this joint NSF, DOE, and CERN multi-national construction project.”A forthcoming FYI on NSF’s Major Research Equipment request will provide additional information.

“The FY 1999 Budget request includes:

“An [8.9 percent] increase of $9.34 million in research project support to a total of $114.02 million. This will provide enhanced support for forefront areas of physics, such as work on quantum control of atomic motion and quantum information science and on astrophysics and cosmology. Support will also be provided for new education and outreach activities for K-12 teachers and students as well as enhanced support for an initiative aimed at broadening the role physics plays in new and emerging areas of research, and to train young physicists to address multidisciplinary problems which are outside the usual scope of the field.”

“An [32.1 percent] increase of $14.08 million for physics facilities to a total of $57.92 million. A $12.48 million increase will be provided for LIGO operating staff build-up and commissioning activities. A $2.0 million increment will be provided to NSCL [National Superconducting Cyclotron Facility] for the radioactive ion beam upgrade. Funding for CESR [Cornell Electron Storage Ring] will decrease by $400,000, following completion of the CESR upgrade.”

MATERIALS RESEARCH:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Materials Research Subactivity is $200.04 million, an increase of $13.43 million, or 7.2 percent, over the FY 1998 estimate of $186.61 million.”

“The FY 1999 Budget Request includes:

"$159.60 million, an increase of $11.45 million, for Materials Research Project Support [up $9.12 million/10.2 percent] and MRSECs [Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers] [up $2.33 million/4.0 percent]. Special emphasis will be placed on research addressing nanoscience and engineering, including self-assembled and macromolecular materials; learning from nature through the development of materials which mimic biological materials; understanding and developing environmentally compatible materials; and the design of new materials with novel properties through the use of advanced computational techniques and innovative synthetic routes. Support will be through a variety of mechanisms including individual investigator projects, focused research groups, and centers. The MRSECs will bring together collaborative, interdisciplinary research on complex problems, the integration of research and education, partnership with industry and other sectors, and shared experimental facilities. The request includes an increase of $3.78 million to support up to four additional MRSECs and an increase of $1.50 million to support new efforts aimed at reforming materials research and education that will build upon existing activities.”

"$40.44 million, an [5.1 percent] increase of $1.98 million, for National Facilities and Instrumentation, including $26.35 million to support facilities and $14.09 million for the purchase of instrumentation and instrumentation development. Additional emphasis will be placed on the development of instrumentation for shared use, including instruments at major facilities supported by other federal agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. In collaboration with DOE, DMR will provide $1.0 million to support planning and development of neutron scattering facilities for structural and dynamical studies of materials at the Spallation Neutron Source planned by DOE.”

ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES:

“The FY 1999 Budget Request for the Astronomical Sciences Subactivity is $127.99 million, an increase of $10.17 million, or 8.6 percent, over the FY 1998 Current Plan of $117.82 million”

“Funding is requested in FY 1999 for continued design and development of the Millimeter Array, a radio telescope operating at millimeter wavelengths.”A forthcoming FYI on NSF’s Major Research Equipment request will provide additional information.

“The FY 1999 Budget Request includes $50.88 million, an [12.0%] increase of $5.45 million from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $45.43 million, for Astronomy Research and Instrumentation to support the scientific priorities in cosmology, the formation of stars and planets, and planetary atmospheres. A number of these activities include interagency partnerships. Priorities in instrumentation support will continue for the development of adaptive optics systems for moderate-aperture telescopes, particularly focusing on the search for extra-solar planets. The additional $5.45 million will be provided to support an initiative involving the origin and evolution of the Universe itself as well as the galaxies, stars, and planets it contains. Support will also be provided related to the Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) activity within the NSF Life and Earth’s Environment (LEE) initiative.

“Within Facilities:

"$6.98 million, an increase of $720,000 from the FY 1998 Current Plan of $6.26 million, for the Gemini Observtories to provide increased operational support for the two 8-meter telescopes currently being constructed in Hawaii and Chile by the United States and its international partners.

"$8.27 million for NAIC [National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center], level with the FY 1998 Current Plan. Support will be maintained for the operation and maintenance of the renovated Arecibo Telescope and for development of instrumentation to take advantage of its new capabilities.

"$29.72 million, an increase of $2.0 million, for NOAO [National Optical Astronomy Observatories] provides the U.S. astronomical community with observational facilities in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Support is provided for operations and maintenance of the unique telescopes of these observatories, including the now-operational Global Oscillation Network Group, which permits monitoring of small-scale oscillations of the sun. Funding at this level will also provide for the development of state-of-the-art instrumentation for these telescopes. Enhanced support, initiated in FY 1998, will be provided for construction of instrumentation for the Synoptic Optical Long Term Investigation of the Sun (SOLIS). SOLIS will enable refined studies of the sun’s atmosphere and surface, including determining conditions which give rise to solar flares.

"$32.14 million, an increase of $2.0 million, for NRAO [National Radio Astronomy Observatory] will provide for the operations and maintenance of telescopes such as the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array, and for the development of instrumentation for the Greenbank Telescope under construction in West Virginia. The Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array are unique instruments that provide for very high resolution images of astronomical objects at radio wavelengths. Incremental funds will be used for development of new instrumentation making use of advanced technology in detectors and digital design.”