What’s Ahead

Advanced Photon Source at Argonne
The Advanced Photon Source user facility at Argonne National Lab is currently in the middle of an upgrade project that will bring its capabilities up to par with those of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, which completed an upgrade last year. Argonne National Lab

Advisory Panel Takes Stock of DOE Basic Energy Sciences Program

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Advisory Committee is meeting for the first time since December. The first part of the meeting is devoted to a new study the committee has produced that evaluates the international competitiveness of research and facilities supported by DOE’s BES program and recommends strategies for future activity. Findings will be presented by Kavli Foundation President Cynthia Friend and Argonne National Lab Deputy Director for Science Matt Tirrell, who led different components of the study. Updating the committee in December, the two identified a number of “hypotheses” the study was investigating, including that the U.S. is “losing in the global competition for talent” and that European user facilities are superior at supporting their science programs and in undertaking long-term planning. Last October, DOE’s Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee received a charge to produce a similar study and last week DOE issued a request for stakeholder input to inform that effort. Other items on the BES Advisory Committee’s agenda include updates from DOE Office of Science leadership, an update on the office’s workforce diversity efforts, and discussion of reports on science opportunities enabled by cryogenic electron microscopy and on lessons DOE user facilities have learned from the pandemic.

Low-Dose Radiation Study to Hear Congressional Perspective

The National Academies study committee that is developing a strategy for the Department of Energy’s low-dose radiation research program is holding its second public meeting on Thursday. DOE terminated the program in 2016 but is now reviving it in response to a law enacted two years later. At the committee’s kickoff meeting in July, it heard from DOE about its ideas for the program as well as about concerns it fits in poorly with other priorities in the department’s Biological and Environmental Research program. At this week’s meeting, two staff members from the House Science Committee will discuss why lawmakers requested the study from the National Academies and will offer their perspective on the low-dose program’s long-term sustainability. The committee will also hear from stakeholders on matters such as the role of DOE’s Office of Domestic and International Health Studies and coordination between DOE’s low-dose program and NASA, which must monitor astronauts’ exposure to radiation in spaceflight environments.

NOAA Science Panel Reviewing Climate and Weather Reports

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Science Advisory Board is meeting on Wednesday to consider whether to approve a draft review of NOAA’s vision for providing coastal flooding information services at subseasonal to centennial timescales, as well as a separate draft review of the agency’s plans for monitoring the impact of climate change on fisheries management. The board will also provide guidance on a draft report that recommends improvements to NOAA’s tsunami preparedness programs and on an outline of a congressionally mandated study that will recommend weather research priorities for NOAA over the next decade. The outline notes that the final version will not prioritize activities in rank order due to the study’s broad scope and the limited time and resources available to complete it, and will instead bin activities into three priority levels.

Pelosi Looks to Resolve Standoff Over Reconciliation Bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is aiming to hold a vote this week on the outline for a $3.5 trillion spending package that will use Congress’ budget reconciliation process to circumvent Republican opposition and fund Democratic priorities in areas such as social spending and climate change mitigation. However, Pelosi can only afford to lose a few Democratic votes and a group of nine centrist Democrats has so far remained firm in demanding the House first pass the bipartisan infrastructure spending bill the Senate passed on Aug. 10. “Time kills deals,” the group wrote in an op-ed published on Sunday, arguing that delaying action until after Democrats advance the reconciliation bill jeopardizes the infrastructure bill’s prospects. Meanwhile, Pelosi has set a goal of passing both bills before Oct. 1. Approval of the reconciliation bill outline, known as a budget resolution, is required for the House to formally begin advancing legislation that would allocate the $3.5 trillion, of which billions would go toward additional R&D and research infrastructure projects beyond those included in the bipartisan bill.

In Case You Missed It

Fusion fuel target
A spherical fusion fuel target a few millimeters in diameter is seated within a hohlraum, a hollow device designed to focus energy from high-powered lasers onto the target. Recent refinements in hohlraum design have helped to significantly increase the amount of energy that reaches the target. Eduard Dewald / LLNL

National Ignition Facility Achieves Record Fusion Energy Yield

Lawrence Livermore National Lab announced last week that its National Ignition Facility has achieved a major milestone in inertial confinement fusion research, producing a laser fusion reaction that released more energy than was absorbed by its fuel. The record-breaking shot yielded 1.3 megajoules of energy, roughly five times the 250 kilojoules of energy absorbed by the experiment’s hydrogen fuel capsule. However, the lab stopped short of declaring it had achieved fusion ignition, one of the facility’s main goals, as the fusion yield did not exceed the 1.9 megajoules produced by NIF’s array of 192 ultraviolet lasers, most of which was converted to x-rays inside NIF’s hollow target before reaching the fuel suspended at its core.
In a statement commending the “astounding” result, House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) urged DOE to reinvigorate its fusion energy research efforts in accord with recent laws, remarking, “While there was very good reason to do this sooner, I hope that the department will now take this opportunity to fully implement the fusion research provisions recently authorized in the Energy Act of 2020, and before that in the [2018] DOE Research and Innovation Act.” Among its provisions, the 2018 law directed the DOE Office of Science to support research on ways to generate energy from inertial fusion and the 2020 law directed the office to establish a program that would reimburse private fusion ventures when they achieve defined technological goals. Currently, the office’s fusion program focuses on non-inertial methods of energy generation while the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s inertial fusion program, which funds NIF, focuses on research to support maintenance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.

CERN Makes Key Commitment to Flagship Neutrino Experiment

CERN, Europe’s world-leading particle physics laboratory, announced last week it will provide a second cryostat for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) that is being constructed in South Dakota to analyze neutrinos produced 1,300 kilometers away at Fermilab. CERN had already agreed to provide one of DUNE’s cryostats, which are enormous chambers that will house and cool the experiment’s detector modules. Current plans call for the construction of four modules, each with its own cryostat, but the project’s lead U.S. funder, the Department of Energy, is contemplating a reduced initial scope in part because partners have not yet made commitments necessary to fully achieve the experiment’s envisioned capabilities. Fermilab official Chris Mossey, who is leading the U.S. effort, reported late last year that the aim is now to include two modules in the project’s baseline plan, which he said the project is seeking to finalize in late 2021 or early 2022. CERN’s new commitment is critical to realizing that goal. DUNE is coupled with a U.S.-led project called the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), which together will have a multibillion-dollar total cost. LBNF/DUNE follows from a top recommendation of the 2014 Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) report and will aim to discover new fundamental physics in neutrinos’ most subtle behaviors.

DOE Continues Buildout of Quantum Research Infrastructure

The Department of Energy announced grant awards last week totaling $61 million for quantum information science projects that complement the five cornerstone research center awards DOE issued last year. Of the newly awarded funding, $30 million is for research infrastructure at DOE’s five Nanoscale Science Research Centers and $25 million is for the design and development of three “regional-scale quantum network testbeds” located at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. The remaining $6 million is for projects supporting the development of a “continental-scale quantum internet,” which DOE has envisioned building up around its national laboratory system. Separately last week, DOE issued a request for public comment on ways the department could facilitate access to quantum computing systems. The request highlights how DOE could employ a variety of models for sharing its research infrastructure, such as technology transfer agreements, testbeds, and national user facilities. It also asks what role federal agencies might play in facilitating access to non-federal quantum systems.

Events This Week

Monday, August 23

Space Foundation: 36th Space Symposium
(continues through Thursday)

Tuesday, August 24

Wednesday, August 25

NOAA: Science Advisory Board meeting
12:30 - 3:30 pm
Issues in Science and Technology: “How Do We Build Infrastructure for a Future We Can’t See?”
3:00 - 4:00 pm

Thursday, August 26

Columbia University: “Zero-C Hydrogen in a Circular Carbon Economy”
9:00 - 10:30 am
American Nuclear Society: Webinar on the Nevada National Security Site
12:00 - 1:30 pm

Friday, August 27

Monday, August 30

NASA: Outer Planets Assessment Group meeting
(continues through Wednesday)

Opportunities

NSF and OSTP Seeking Input on National AI Research Resource

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation have extended their call for input on a roadmap for a “shared research infrastructure that would provide artificial intelligence researchers and students across scientific disciplines with access to computational resources, high-quality data, educational tools, and user support.” The roadmap is being developed by the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Task Force, a congressionally chartered panel comprising representatives from government, industry, and academia. Submissions are due Oct. 1.

DOE Hiring Education Policy Fellows

The Department of Energy Office of Science is accepting applications for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program, which places K-12 educators in a federal agency or congressional office for 11 months to work on national education policy activities. Interested educators must have at least five years of classroom teaching experience in a STEM field. Applications are due Nov. 18.

NSF Seeking Program Director for International Office

The National Science Foundation is seeking applications from scientists, engineers, and educators to serve as a term-limited program director within its Office of International Science and Engineering. Among the position’s responsibilities are working on science diplomacy activities and monitoring political, economic, social, and scientific developments in assigned countries. The initial appointment will be for one year and may be extended by mutual agreement. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities. Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

Around the Web

News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House

Congress

Science, Society, and the Economy

Education and Workforce

Research Management

Labs and Facilities

Computing and Communications

Space

Weather, Climate, and Environment

Energy

Defense

Biomedical

International Affairs