1. Research Opportunities in the DOE Office of Science
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science
Research Opportunities in the DOE Office of Science
Overview
To the University of Texas System Research and Policy Conference 2008
Dr. Julie Carruthers, Office of Science
November 19, 2008
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2. The Office of Science supports basic research in support of the DOE mission.
The DOE is a mission agency with responsibilities in energy, environment, and national security.
The Office of Science supports research within the DOE mission at universities and national laboratories.
The Office of Science also plans, builds, and operates user facilities for the scientific community.

4. Fiscal Year 2009 DOE Budget Request to Congress
Corporate Management
$1.1B
Science
$4.7B
National
Security
$9.1B
Energy
$3.9B
Environmental
$6.2B

5. Office of Science (SC) Transformational Science
The research programs and the scientific tools and facilities that are supported by the Office of Science collectively undertake major scientific and technological challenges of great scale with great impact on science and society.
Transformational Science
Advancing the frontiers of knowledge and scientific breakthroughs that will revolutionize our
approach to energy, environment, and national security challenges
National Scientific Facilities
Providing the nation’s researchers with state-of-the-art scientific
user facilities – the large machines of modern science
A Scientific Workforce for the Nation’s Future
Supporting, training, and educating the Nation’s current and future scientific & technical workforce: Ph.D.’s, post-docs, graduate students, and science educators

6. The Office of Science supports research and facilities within defined scientific programs
Advanced Scientific Computing Research Discover, develop, and deploy the computational and networking tools that enable researchers in the scientific disciplines to analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena important to the DOE.
Biological and Environmental Research Advance world-class biological and environmental research programs and scientific user facilities to support DOE’s energy, environment, and basic research missions.
Basic Energy Sciences 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.
Fusion Energy Sciences Advance the fundamental science of plasmas and develop the knowledge needed to create a sustainable fusion energy source.
High Energy Physics Understand how our universe works at its most fundamental level by discovering the most elementary constituents of matter and energy, probing the interactions between them, and exploring the basic nature of space and time itself.
Nuclear Physics Discover, explore, and understand all possible forms of nuclear matter.
Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists Help ensure that DOE and the Nation have a sustained pipeline of highly trained STEM workers.

7. Office of Science User Facilities
Four operating synchrotron light sources, and two next-generation light sources
Three neutron sources
Particle accelerators/colliders for high energy and nuclear physics
Fusion/plasma facilities, including ITER which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy
Joint Genome Institute – for rapid whole genome sequencing
Three Bioenergy Research Centers
Five Nanoscale Science Research Centers – assembly of capabilities unmatched in the world
Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory – integrated experimental resources for discovery and innovation in the environmental molecular sciences
Advanced computational resources – terascale to petascale computing and networks for open science

9. Office of Science Numbers
The Office of Science is a steward for 10 of 17 DOE national labs and operates more than 30 major scientific user facilities.
SC provides over 40% of Federal support for the physical sciences.
Approximately 1/2 of the budget supports operations of the scientific user facilities and construction of new facilities; the other 1/2 supports research at the national laboratories and universities.
About 1/3 of Office of Science research funding goes to support grants at more than 300 colleges and universities nationwide.
In FY 2009 SC plans to support the research of ~23,700 faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduates.
~20,000 users of scientific facilities a year:
~1/2 of the annual 20,000 facility users come from universities;
~1/3 of the users come from DOE national laboratories;
the remaining come from industry, other agencies, and international entities.

10. Science Programs FY 2009 Budget Request to Congress

11. Office of Science FY 2009 Budget Request to Congress

12. DOE Office of Science Facilities and Universities Supported

13. Competitive Award Process
All research funded at laboratories and universities, including facilities construction and operations, is awarded through a peer-reviewed, merit-based process.
Merit Review Criteria*:
Scientific and/or technical merit of the project
Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach
Competency of the personnel and adequacy of proposed resources
Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget
* From 10 C.F.R. 605
The Office of Science has ~3000 active grants, entertaining ~2000 new and renewal applications per year.

14. Establishing Long-term Scientific Research Directions
DOE Mission Needs
Energy security, national security, science-driven technology revolutions,
keeping our commitments
Workshops
Engaging the broader scientific community to identify opportunities
Scientific Advisory Committees
Independent advice and external review of programs and management
National Priorities
Nanotechnology, high-speed computing, advanced energy, climate change, U.S. competitiveness and innovation

15. “Basic Research Needs” Workshops
Basic Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy Future BESAC Workshop, October 21-25, The foundation workshop that set the model for the focused workshops that follow.
Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy BES Workshop, May 13-15, 2003
Nanoscience Research for Energy Needs BES and the National Nanotechnology Initiative, March 16-18, 2004
Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization BES Workshop, April 18-21, 2005
Advanced Computational Materials Science: Application to Fusion and Generation IV Fission Reactors BES, ASCR, FES, and NE Workshop, March 31-April 2, 2004
The Path to Sustainable Nuclear Energy: Basic and Applied Research Opportunities for Advanced Fuel Cycles BES, NP, and ASCR Workshop, September 2005
Basic Research Needs for Superconductivity BES Workshop, May 8-10, 2006
Basic Research Needs for Solid-state Lighting BES Workshop, May 22-24, 2006
Basic Research Needs for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems BES Workshop, July 31-August 3, 2006
Basic Research Needs for the Clean and Efficient Combustion of 21st Century Transportation Fuels BES Workshop, October 30-November 1, 2006
Basic Research Needs for Geosciences: Facilitating 21st Century Energy Systems BES Workshop, February 21-23, 2007
Basic Research Needs for Electrical Energy Storage BES Workshop, April 2-5, 2007
Basic Research Needs for Materials under Extreme Environments BES Workshop, June 10-14, 2007
Basic Research Needs for Catalysis for Energy BES Workshop, August 5-10, 2007
Reports available at

16. Basic—Applied Continuum: How Nature Works … to … Materials by Design … to … Technologies for the 21st Century
Basic research for fundamental new understanding on materials or systems that may revolutionize or transform today’s energy technologies
Development of new tools, techniques, and facilities, including those for the scattering sciences and for advanced modeling and computation
Basic research, often with the goal of addressing showstoppers on real-world applications in the energy technologies
Research with the goal of meeting technical milestones, with emphasis on the development, performance, cost reduction, and durability of materials and components or on efficient processes
Proof of technology concepts
Scale-up research
At-scale demonstration
Cost reduction
Prototyping
Manufacturing R&D
Deployment support
Technology Maturation
& Deployment
Applied Research
Grand Challenges Discovery and Use-Inspired Basic Research How nature works Materials properties and functionalities by design
Controlling materials processes at the level of quantum behavior of electrons
Atom- and energy-efficient syntheses of new forms of matter with tailored properties
Emergent properties from complex correlations of atomic and electronic constituents
Man-made nanoscale objects with capabilities rivaling those of living things
Controlling matter very far away from equilibrium
BESAC & BES Basic Research Needs Workshops
BESAC Grand Challenges Panel
DOE Technology Office/Industry Roadmaps
BES Energy Frontier Research Centers
Tackling our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science
BES: The Office of Basic Energy Sciences; BESAC: Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee

17. Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: Discover, develop, and deploy the computational and networking tools that enable researchers in the scientific disciplines to analyze, model, simulate, and predict complex phenomena important to the DOE.
Research Program Areas:
Applied Mathematics
Computer Science
Advanced Networking
Computational Science (Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing, SciDAC)
High Performance Computing Prototypes
User Facilities and Networks:
National Energy Research Scientific Computing Facility (NERSC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Leadership Computing Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Energy Sciences Network (ESnet)

18. Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: BER supports observational, experimental, theoretical, and computational research in complex systems science to support DOE missions in bioenergy, climate, and subsurface science, and to explore the interface of biology and physics, including:
Development biofuels as a major secure national energy resource
Understanding relationships between climate change and Earth’s ecosystems, and assess options for carbon sequestration
Predicting fate and transport of subsurface contaminants
Developing new tools to explore the interface of biological and physical sciences
Research Program Areas:
Genomics: GTL – systems biology on microbes and plants for energy and environmental applications; Bioenergy Research Centers; Structural Biology
Low Dose Radiation
Radiochemistry, Imaging & Instrumentation
Climate Change Research
Environmental Remediation Science Program
Scientific User Facilities:
Joint Genome Institute (Walnut Creek, CA)
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (PNNL)
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (Multi-institution partnership)

19. Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: 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.
BES’s central tenet is that discovery science is at the foundation of innovation and future technologies. BES basic research touches virtually every aspect of energy resources, production, conversion, transmission, storage, efficiency, and waste mitigation.
Research Program Areas:
Chemical Science, Geosciences, and Biosciences
Fundamental Interactions
Photo- & Bio-Chemistry
Chemical Transformations
Scientific User Facilities
Accelerator and Detector R&D
Materials Sciences and Engineering
Condensed Matter & Materials Physics
Materials Discovery, Design, & Synthesis
Scattering & Instrumentation Sciences
Scientific User Facilities:
Four synchrotron radiation light sources
Advanced Light Source; Advanced Photon Source; National Synchrotron Light Source; Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
Three neutron scattering facilities
Spallation Neutron Source; High Flux Isotope Reactor; Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center
Five nanoscale science research centers
Center for Nanoscale Materials; Center for Functional Nanomaterials; The Molecular Foundry; Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences; Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies
Two facilities under construction
Linac Coherent Light Source; National Synchrotron Light Source II

20. High Energy Physics (HEP) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: Understand how our universe works at its most fundamental level by discovering the most elementary constituents of matter and energy, probing the interactions between them, and exploring the basic nature of space and time itself
To enable these discoveries, HEP supports theoretical and experimental research in elementary particle physics focused on three frontiers: the Energy Frontier; the Intensity Frontier; and the Cosmic Frontier; fundamental accelerator science and technology; operation of scientific user facilities; development, design, and construction of the next generation of facilities; and international and interagency collaborations
Research Program Areas:
Proton Accelerator Based Research
Electron Accelerator Based Research
Non-Accelerator Physics (including ground-based and space-based detectors)
Theoretical Physics
Large Hadron Collider Support
Accelerator R&D
Scientific User Facilities:
Tevatron Collider and NuMI facilities at Fermilab (includes neutrino beamline and detector experiments)
Large Hadron Collider, operation and maintenance of ATLAS and CMS detectors

21. Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: Advance the fundamental science of plasmas and develop the knowledge needed to create a sustainable fusion energy source
Research Program Areas:
Magnetic Fusion Energy Science
Encompasses support for Burning Plasma Science, Advanced Tokamak Physics, Toroidal Confinement Physics, the ITER Project and Program, Theory and Computation, Enabling Technologies, Diagnostics, Materials Science, and International Collaborations
Plasma Sciences
Encompasses support for Fundamental Properties of Plasmas, High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas, Atomic Processes, Electromagnetic Confinement, and Low-Temperature Plasmas
New Initiatives:
Fusion Simulation Program (FSP) to develop an integrated predictive simulation capability for fusion burning plasmas, fully validated against experiments
Joint Program in High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas (HEDLP) with NNSA
Scientific User Facilities:
DIII-D Advanced Tokamak
Alcator C-Mod Advanced Tokamak
National Spherical Torus Experiment
ITER
Additional facilities: Madison Symmetrical Torus and the Large Area Plasma Device

22. Nuclear Physics (NP) Areas of Emphasis
Focus: Discover, explore, and understand all possible forms of nuclear matter
The fundamental particles that compose nuclear matter—quarks and gluons—are relatively well understood, but exactly how they fit together to create the different types of matter that we see in the universe is still largely a puzzle.
NP Scientific Thrusts:
Quantum Chromodynamics: From the structure of hadrons to the phases of nuclear matter
Nuclei and Nuclear Astrophysics: From structure to exploding stars
Fundamental Symmetries and Neutrinos: In search of the New Standard Model
Research Program Areas:
Medium Energy Nuclear Physics
Heavy Ion Nuclear Physics (including contributions to Large Hadron Collider experiments)
Low Energy Nuclear Physics
Nuclear Theory
Isotope Production and Applications
Scientific User Facilities:
Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
Argonne Tandem-Linear Accelerator System
Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility

23. Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS)
Focus: Support programs that help ensure that DOE and the Nation have a sustained pipeline of highly trained science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers.
In addition to supporting over 23,700 Ph.D.s, graduate students, undergraduates and technical staff in FY 2009 through its science research programs, the Office of Science is preparing educators to be effective teacher scientists and inspiring America’s youth to engage in science and mathematics through the WDTS programs.
Program Areas:
Student Programs
Educator Programs
Workforce Development Programs
Program Administration and Evaluation
Highlights:
DOE Academies Creating Teacher Scientists – supports approximately 225 new K-12 educators (~340 total) in FY 2009 for hands-on research experiences at DOE laboratories and creating educational leaders
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship – supports undergraduate student research experiences working with mentor scientists at the DOE national laboratories. In FY 2009, WDTS plans to support 630 students
DOE National Science Bowl for High School Students and Middle School Students – providing prestigious academic events to challenge and inspire the Nation’s youth to excel in science and mathematics

24. Early Career Award Opportunities
The Office of Science provides opportunities for early career researchers.
Fusion Energy Sciences Plasma Physics Junior Faculty Development Program
Advanced Scientific Computing Research Early Career Principal Investigator Program
High Energy Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator Program
Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator Program
SC Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award (SC-ECASE) recognizes researchers at national laboratories. If an SC-ECASE winner is selected for PECASE, they receive ~$50k per year for five years.

25. Office of Science Research Opportunities

26. Office of Science Solicitations http://www. sc. doe. gov/grants/grants
Annual Open Solicitation…
…As well as specific Funding Opportunity Announcements
Submission is through Grants.gov.

27. Recent Examples of Topical Solicitations: Watch http://www. sc. doe
Recent Examples of Topical Solicitations: Watch for future opportunities
Research Opportunities at Rare Isotope Beam Facilities Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted February 14, Preapplications required by June 2, Formal applications due Nov. 10, 2008.
Plasma Science Centers Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted June 26, Letters of Intent requested by August 11, Preapplications required by September 1, Formal applications due Jan. 30, 2009.
High-Performance Networks for Distributed Petascale Science Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted September 30, Letters of Intent required by October 31, Formal applications due Dec. 17, 2008.
High Energy Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator Program Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted September 3, Formal applications due Nov. 5, 2008.
Advanced Detector Research Program Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted September 17, Letters of Intent requested by November 15, Formal applications due Dec. 2, 2008.
Office of Nuclear Physics Outstanding Junior Investigator Program Notice DE-PS02-08ER Posted September 17, Letters of Intent encouraged by October 30, Formal applications due Dec. 1, 2008.
Fusion Simulation Program Notice DE-PS02-09ER Posted October 6, Preapplications required by October 31, Formal applications due by Dec, 10, 2008.
Fundamental Research in Superconducting RF Cavity Design Notice DE-PS02-09ER Posted October 15, Letters of Intent encouraged by December 15, Formal applications due by Jan. 15, 2009.

28. Energy Frontier Research Centers Engaging the Nation’s Intellectual and Creative Talent
Innovative basic research to accelerate scientific breakthroughs
needed to create advanced energy technologies for the 21st century
The DOE Office of Science announced the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) program. EFRC awards are $2–5 million/year for an initial 5-year period.
Universities, labs, and other institutions are eligible to apply.
Energy Frontier Research Centers will pursue fundamental basic research in areas such as:
Solar Energy Utilization • Geosciences for Nuclear Waste and CO2 Storage
Catalysis for Energy • Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems
Electrical Energy Storage • Combustion of 21st Century Transportation Fuels
Solid State Lighting • Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Use
Superconductivity • Materials Under Extreme Environments
Biofuels
FOA opened April 4, FOA closed October 1, applications received
Under review now - will not be funded during the continuing resolution.

29. Additional Funds for BES Single-Investigator and Small Group Research (SISGR) Requested in FY09
Pending Congressional appropriation, it is anticipated that up to $60 million will be available for core research program awards in FY 09.
Web announcement issued to request applications from the scientific community as part of the Office of Science Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement.
While no limit is set for each of the awards, this funding is primarily aimed at single PI or small-group projects with an initial funding of 3 years.
Examples of topical areas covered in the solicitations include:
instrumentation, ultrafast science, chemical imaging, emergent behavior;
basic research for electrical energy storage, advanced nuclear energy systems, solar energy utilization, hydrogen production, storage, and use;
other research areas identified in the BESAC and BES workshop reports, with an emphasis on nanoscale phenomena;
accelerator research and development
Nearly 800 pre-applications have been received under the first round. Encourage/discourage decisions planned for late in the calendar year. 

30. More information in funding opportunities can be found on the program websites
Advanced Scientific Computing Research
Basic Energy Sciences
Biological and Environmental Research
Fusion Energy Sciences
High Energy Physics
Nuclear Physics
Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists

31. Universities are integral part of accomplishing SC mission
Universities are engaged in the DOE Office of Science mission:
As research performers
Through use of the scientific user facilities—over 50% of SC scientific facility users come from universities
Interactions with the DOE Laboratories:
9 out of 10 SC Laboratories are managed by a university, a consortium of universities, or a university in partnership with a non-profit enterprise.
SC Laboratories research partnerships with universities
Become Involved:
Read about the core research areas on our websites and contact program manages to discuss whether your ideas fit within the programs they manage
Respond to open and topical solicitations for research grants and fellowships
Incorporate our large scientific user facilities into your research; apply to compete for time at one of them
Follow Federal advisory committee meetings
Participate in SC review and planning processes:
Volunteer to serve as a reviewer
Participate in SC workshops that identify scientific opportunities

32. Thank you!