FYI

The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News

Number 26: February 23, 2000

NSF FY 2001 Request: Major Research Equipment, Polar Programs

The following information and excerpts are from the National
Science Foundation’s FY 2001 submission to Congress for Major
Research Equipment and Polar Programs.

MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT:

The FY 2001 Major Research Equipment budget would increase $45.04
million, or 48.2%, from $93.50 million to $138.54 million. “The
Major Research Equipment account provides funding for the
construction and acquisition of major research facilities that
provide unique capabilities at the cutting edge of science and
engineering,” states the budget document. Funding is requested
for the following seven projects in FY 2001:

Earthscope USArray and San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth:
The budget document describes this as “a distributed, multi-
purpose geophysical instrument array that will allow scientists
to make major advances in our knowledge and understanding of the
structure and dynamics of the North American continent.” “This
project is composed of two elements. The first element is
USArray, which is a dense array of high-capability seismometers
that will be deployed in a step-wise fashion throughout the U.S.
to greatly improve our resolution of the subsurface structure.
The second element is the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth
(SAFOD), which will provide access for the first time to a major
active fault at depth to monitor fault conditions and study
nucleation and rupture processes of earthquakes.” “The FY 2001
request for funding to initiate construction…is $17.44 million.
To complete this project, NSF requests advance appropriations of
$28.46 million in FY 2002, $15.74 million in FY 2003, and $13.17
million in FY 2004. Total NSF funding for this project is $74.81
million over the period FY 2001-2004.”

Large Hadron Collider: “The FY 2001 Budget Request includes $16.4
million for construction of two detectors of the Large Hadron
Collider (LHC). These are ATLAS (A Toroidal Large Angle
Spectrometer) and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid.) To complete the
project, this budget requests advance appropriations of $16.86
million in FY 2002 and $9.72 million in FY 2003. Total NSF
funding for this project is $81.0 million over the period FY
1999-2003. Oversight of this project is provided through the
Physics Subactivity….” NSF and the Department of Energy are
providing support to the CERN member states for the LHC, which is
to be completed in FY 2005.

Millimeter Array: An expanded array called the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array is a collaboration of NSF and “a consortium of
European institutions and funding agencies.” The array is to
consist of 64 antennas that are 12 meters in diameter. “The US
share of the joint array will not exceed $292 million, including
design and development funds (FY 1999 dollars); the construction
of such an array is expected to take 6-7 years.” “Japan remains
interested in the possibility of joining the ALMA partnership as
a third major partner at a later date.” $6.0 million is requested
in FY 2001 for the Design and Development Phase.

National Ecological Observatory Network: “The FY 2001 Request
includes $12.0 million to initiate construction of the National
Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). To complete this project,
this Budget requests advance appropriations of $20.0 million in
FY 2002, $27.0 million in FY 2003, $20.0 million in FY 2004,
$14.0 million in FY 2005, and $7.0 million in FY 2006. Total NSF
funding for construction of this project, including the
experimental facilities, archives and network, is $100.0 million
over the period FY 2001-2006.” “NEON will consist of 10
observatories nationwide that will serve as national research
platforms for integrated, cutting-edge research in field
biology.”

Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation: “The FY 2001
request to continue construction of the Network for Earthquake
Engineering Simulation (NEES) is $28.2 million. To complete this
project, the Foundation requests advance appropriations of $24.4
million in FY 2002, $4.5 million in FY 2003, and $17.0 million in
FY 2004. Total NSF funding for this project, including both the
experimental facilities and the network, is $81.80 million over
the period FY 2000-2004. Oversight of this project will be
provided through the Engineering Activity….” “The goal of the
NEES Program is to provide a networked, national resource of
geographically-distributed, shared-used, next-generation,
experimental research equipment installations, with tele-
observation and tele-operation capabilities.” “Construction
funding for the NEES physical facilities and network integration
is scheduled to be completed in FY 2004. When NEES is completed,
it will be organized by an NSF-funded NEES Consortium that
includes participation from host institutions, affiliate
organizations, and the user community.”

South Pole Station: “In FY 1998, $70.0 million was appropriated
to begin the South Pole Modernization project, in FY 1999 a
second increment of $39.0 million was appropriated, and in FY
2000 an additional $5.4 million was appropriated. This Budget
includes a request of $13.5 million in FY 2001 to complete the
project. Priorities in implementing the modernization project
include increasing safety, minimizing environmental impacts and
disruption of ongoing science, and optimizing the use of existing
facilities during the modernization.” Modernization will be
completed in FY 2005.

Terascale Computing Systems: As part of the ITR [Information
Technology Research] initiative, the Terascale Computing Systems
project will enable U.S. researchers to gain access to leading
edge computing capabilities.” “The FY 2001 Request includes
$45.0 million for acquisition of an additional Terascale
Computing Systems. Advance appropriations of $55.0 million are
requested for FY 2002.”

U.S. POLAR PROGRAMS:

The FY 2001 U.S. Polar Programs budget would increase $32.41
million, or 12.8%, from $253.00 million to $285.41 million. Polar
Programs consists of two budget Activities:

The U.S. Polar Research Programs budget would increase $32.41
million, or 17.0%, from $190.40 million to $222.81 million. This
provides “funding for both Arctic and Antarctic research, as well
as operations and science support required to support polar
researchers.” There are five components within this Activity.
The budget for the U.S. Arctic Research Program would increase
$7.88 million, or 29.0%, from $27.14 million to $35.02 million.
The budget for U.S. Arctic Research Support and Logistics would
remain unchanged at $24.93 million. The budget for the Arctic
Research Commission would increase $0.31 million, or 43.6%, from
$0.70 million to $1.01 million. The budget for the U.S.
Antarctic Research Grants program would increase $8.48 million,
or 26.8%, from $31.60 million to $40.08 million. The budget for
Operations and Science Support would increase $15.75 million, or
14.9%, from $106.03 million to $121.78 million.

The U.S. Antarctic Logistical Support Activities budget would be
$62.0 million in FY 2001, unchanged from this year. 

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Richard M. Jones
Public Information Division
American Institute of Physics
fyi@aip.org
(301) 209-3095
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