[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 245 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65682-65685]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31351]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Science; Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of
Science Financial Assistance Program--Notice 02-01
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Annual notice of continuation of availability of grants and
cooperative agreements.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Science of the Department of Energy hereby
announces its continuing interest in receiving grant applications for
support of work in the following program areas: Basic Energy Sciences,
High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Advanced Scientific Computing,
Fusion Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, and
Energy Research Analyses. On September 3, 1992, (57 FR 40582), DOE
published in the Federal Register the Office of Energy Research
Financial Assistance Program (now called the Office of Science
Financial Assistance Program), 10 CFR part 605, Final Rule, which
contained a solicitation for this program. Information about submission
of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluation and selection
processes and other policies and procedures are specified in 10 CFR
part 605.
DATES: Applications may be submitted at any time in response to this
Notice of Availability.
ADDRESSES: Applications must be sent to: Director, Grants and Contracts
Division, Office of Science, SC-64, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901
Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290. When preparing
applications, applicants should use the Office of Science Financial
Assistance Program Application Guide and Forms located on the World
Wide Web at
http://www.science.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html. Applicants
without Internet access may call 301-903-5212 for information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published annually and
remains in effect until it is succeeded by another issuance by the
Office of Science, usually published after the beginning of the fiscal
year. This annual Notice 02-01 succeeds Notice 01-01, which was
published December 7, 2000.
It is anticipated that approximately $400 million will be available
for grant and cooperative agreement awards in FY 2002. The DOE is under
no obligation to pay for any costs associated with the preparation or
submission of an application. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole
or in part, any, all, or none of the applications submitted in response
to this Notice.
The following program descriptions are offered to provide more in-
depth information on scientific and technical areas of interest to the
Office of Science:
1. Basic Energy Sciences
The Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program supports fundamental
research in the natural sciences and engineering leading to new and
improved energy technologies and to understanding and mitigating the
environmental impacts of energy technologies. The science areas and
their objectives are as follows:
(a) Materials Sciences
The objective of this program is to increase the understanding of
phenomena and properties important to materials behavior that will
contribute to meeting the needs of present and future energy
technologies. It is comprised of the subfields metallurgy, ceramics,
condensed matter physics, materials chemistry, and related disciplines
where the emphasis is on the science of materials.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3427.
(b) Chemical Sciences
The objective of this program is to expand, through support of
basic research, knowledge of various areas of chemistry, chemical
engineering and atomic molecular and optical physics with a goal of
contributing to new or improved processes for developing and using
domestic energy resources in an efficient and environmentally sound
manner. Disciplinary areas where research is supported include atomic
molecular and optical physics; physical, inorganic and organic
chemistry; chemical physics; photochemistry; radiation chemistry;
analytical chemistry; separations science; actinide chemistry; and
chemical engineering sciences. Program Contact: (301) 903-5804.
(c) Engineering Research
This program's objectives are: (1) To extend the body of knowledge
underlying current engineering practice in order to open new ways for
enhancing energy savings and production, prolonging useful equipment
life, and reducing costs while maintaining output performance, and
environmental quality; and (2) to broaden the technical and conceptual
base for solving future engineering problems in the energy
technologies. Program Contact: (301) 903-3427.
(d) Geosciences
The goal of this program is to develop a quantitative and
predictive understanding of geologic processes related to energy and
environmental quality. The program emphasizes cross-cutting basic
research that will improve understanding of reactive geochemical
transport and other subsurface processes and properties and how to
image them using techniques ranging from electrons, x-rays or neutrons
to electromagnetic and seismic waves. Applications of this fundamental
understanding might include transport of contaminant fluids,
hydrocarbons, sequestered CO2 or
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performance prediction for repository sites. The emphasis is on the
disciplinary areas of geochemistry, geophysics, geomechanics, and
hydrogeology with a focus on the upper levels of the earth's crust.
Particular emphasis is on processes taking place at the atomic and
molecular scale. Specific topical areas receiving emphasis include:
high resolution geophysical imaging; rock physics, physics of fluid
transport, and fundamental properties and interactions of rocks,
minerals, and fluids.
Program Contact: (301) 903-4061.
(e) Energy Biosciences
The primary objective of this program is to generate an
understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms in plants and
microorganisms that will support future technological developments
related to DOE's mission. The research serves to provide the basic
information foundation for environmentally responsible production and
conversion of renewable resources for fuels, chemicals, and the
conservation of energy. This program has special requirements for the
submission of preapplications, when to submit, and the length of the
applications. Applicants are encouraged to contact the program
regarding these requirements.
Program Contact: (301)-903-2873.
2. High Energy and Nuclear Physics
This program supports about 90% of the U.S. efforts in high energy
and nuclear physics. The objectives of these programs are indicated
below:
(a) High Energy Physics
The primary objectives of this program are to understand the
ultimate structure of matter in terms of the properties and
interrelations of its basic constituents, and to understand the nature
and relationships among the fundamental forces of nature. The research
falls into three broad categories: Experimental research, theoretical
research, and technology R&D in support of the high energy physics
program.
Program Contact: (301)-903-3624.
(b) Nuclear Physics (Including Nuclear Data Program)
The primary objectives of this program are an understanding of the
interactions and structures of atomic nuclei and nuclear matter at the
most elementary level possible, and an understanding of the fundamental
forces of nature as manifested in nuclear matter.
Program Contact: (301)-903-3613.
3. Advanced Scientific Computing Research
This program fosters and supports fundamental research in advanced
computing research (applied mathematics, computer science and
networking), and operates supercomputer, networking, and related
facilities to enable the analysis, modeling, simulation, and prediction
of complex phenomena important to the Department of Energy.
Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences
This subprogram supports a spectrum of fundamental research in
applied mathematical sciences, computer science, and networking from
basic through prototype development. Results of these efforts are used
to form partnerships with users in scientific disciplines to validate
the usefulness of the ideas and to develop them into tools. Testbeds on
important applications for DOE are supported by this subprogram. Areas
of particular focus are:
Applied Mathematics: Research on the underlying mathematical
understanding and numerical algorithms to enable effective description
and prediction of physical systems such as fluids, magnetized plasmas,
or protein molecules. This includes, for example, methods for solving
large systems of partial differential equations on parallel computers,
techniques for choosing optimal values for parameters in large systems
with hundreds to hundreds of thousands of parameters, improving our
understanding of fluid turbulence, and developing techniques for
reliably estimating the errors in simulations of complex physical
phenomena.
Computer Science: Research in computer science to enable large
scientific applications through advances in massively parallel
computing such as very lightweight operating systems for parallel
computers, distributed computing such as development of the Parallel
Virtual Machine (PVM) software package which has become an industry
standard, and large scale data management and visualization. The
development of new computer and computational science techniques will
allow scientists to use the most advanced computers without being
overwhelmed by the complexity of rewriting their codes every 18 months.
Networking: Research in high performance networks and information
surety required to support high performance applications--protocols for
high performance networks, methods for measuring the performance of
high performance networks, and software to enable high speed
connections between high performance computers and networks. The
development of high speed communications and collaboration technologies
will allow scientists to view, compare, and integrate data from
multiple sources remotely.
Program Contact: (301)-903-5800.
4. Fusion Energy Sciences
The mission of the Fusion Energy Sciences program is to advance
plasma science, fusion science, and fusion technology--the knowledge
base needed for an economically and environmentally attractive fusion
energy source. The Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) supports
basic and applied research, encourages technical connectivity with the
broader U.S. science community, and uses international collaboration to
accomplish this mission.
(a) Research Division
This Division seeks to develop the physics knowledge base needed to
advance the Fusion Energy Sciences program toward its goals. Research
into physics issues associated with medium to large-scale confinement
devices is essential to studying conditions relevant to the production
of fusion energy. Experiments on this scale of devices are used to
explore the limits of specific confinement concepts, as well as study
associated physical phenomena. Specific areas of interest include: (1)
Reducing plasma energy and particle transport at high densities and
temperatures, (2) understanding the physical laws governing confinement
of high pressure plasmas, (3) investigating plasma wave interactions,
and (4) studying and controlling impurity particle transport and
exhaust in plasmas.
Research is also carried out in the following areas: (1) Basic
plasma science research directed at furthering the understanding of
fundamental processes in plasmas; (2) theoretical research to provide
the understanding of fusion plasmas necessary for interpreting results
from present experiments, planning future experiments, and designing
future confinement devices; (3) critical data on plasma properties,
atomic physics and new diagnostic techniques for support of confinement
experiments; (4) supporting research on innovative confinement
concepts; and (5) research on issues that support the development of
Inertial Fusion Energy, for which target development is carried out by
the
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Office of Defense Programs in the Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Agency.
Program Contact: (301) 903-4095.
(b) Facilities and Enabling Technologies Division
This Division is responsible for overseeing the facility operations
and enabling research and development activity budgets within the OFES.
Grant program opportunities are in the enabling research and
development activity. (Grants for scientific use of the facilities
operated/maintained by this Division should be addressed to the
Research Division.) The enabling technologies program supports the
advancement of fusion science in the nearer-term by carrying out
research on technological topics that: (1) Enable domestic experiments
to achieve their full performance potential and scientific research
goals; (2) permit scientific exploitation of the performance gains
being sought from physics concept improvements; (3) allow the U.S. to
enter into international collaborations gaining access to experimental
conditions not available domestically; and (4) explore the science
underlying these technological advances.
The enabling technologies program supports pursuit of fusion energy
science for the longer-term by conducting research aimed at innovative
technologies, designs and materials to point toward an attractive
fusion energy vision and affordable pathways for optimized fusion
development.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3068.
5. Biological and Environmental Research Program
For over 50 years the Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Program has been investing to advance environmental and biomedical
knowledge connected to energy. The BER program provides fundamental
science to underpin the business thrusts of the Department's strategic
plan. Through its support of peer-reviewed research at national
laboratories, universities, and private institutions, the program
develops the knowledge needed (1) To identify, understand, and
anticipate the long-term health and environmental consequences of
energy production, development, and use, and (2) to develop biology
based solutions that address DOE and National needs.
(a) Life Sciences Research
Research is focused on using DOE's unique resources and facilities
to develop fundamental biological information and advanced technologies
to understand and mitigate potential health effects of energy
development, energy use, and waste cleanup, and that will underpin
biotechnology based solutions to energy challenges. The objectives are:
(1) To create and apply new technologies and resources in DNA
sequencing, comparative genomics, and bioinformatics to characterize
the human genome; (2) to develop and support DOE national user
facilities for use in fundamental structural biology; (3) to use model
organisms to understand human genome organization, human gene function
and control, and the functional relationships between human genes and
proteins; (4) to characterize and exploit the genomes and diversity of
microbes with potential relevance for energy, bioremediation, or global
climate; (5) to understand and characterize the risks to human health
from exposures to low levels of radiation; and (6) to anticipate and
address ethical, legal, and social implications arising from genome
research.
Program Contact: (301) 903-5468.
(b) Medical Applications and Measurement Science
The research is designed to develop beneficial applications of
nuclear and other energy-related technologies for medical diagnosis and
treatment. The research is directed at discovering new applications of
radiotracer agents for medical research as well as for clinical
diagnosis and therapy. A major emphasis is placed on application of the
latest concepts and developments in genomics, structural biology,
computational biology, and instrumentation. Much of the research seeks
breakthroughs in noninvasive imaging technologies such as positron
emission tomography.
The measurement science activities focus on research in the basic
science of chemistry, physics and engineering as applied to
bioengineering.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3213.
(c) Environmental Remediation
The research is primarily focused on the fundamental biological,
chemical, geological, and physical processes that must be understood
for the development and advancement of new, effective, and efficient
processes for the remediation and restoration of the Nation's nuclear
weapons production sites. Priorities of this research are
bioremediation and operation of the William R. Wiley Environmental
Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). Bioremediation activities are
centered on the Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research (NABIR)
program, which provides the fundamental science to serve as the basis
for development of cost-effective bioremediation and long-term
stewardship of radionuclides and metals in the subsurface at DOE sites.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3281.
(d) Environmental Processes
The program seeks to understand the basic physical, chemical, and
biological processes of the Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans and
how these processes may be affected by energy production and use. The
research is designed to provide data that will enable an objective
assessment of the potential for and the consequences of human-induced
climate change at global and regional scales. It also provides data to
enable assessments of mitigation options to prevent such a change. The
program is comprehensive with an emphasis on understanding and
simulating the radiation balance from the surface of the Earth to the
top of the atmosphere (including the effect of clouds, water vapor,
trace gases, and aerosols), on enhancing the quantitative models
necessary to predict possible climate change at global and regional
scales, and on understanding ecological effects of climate change.
The Climate Change Technology (CCT) research seeks the
understanding necessary to exploit the biosphere's natural carbon
cycling processes to enhance the sequestration of carbon dioxide in
terrestrial systems and the ocean, and to understand its potential
environmental implications. The CCT includes research that can lead to
the development of approaches to reduce or overcome the environmental
and biological factors or processes that limit the sequestration of
carbon in these systems to enhance the net sequestration of carbon. The
research includes studies on terrestrial and ocean carbon sequestration
and disposal, including research to modify the carbon sequestration
capacity and rate by marine and terrestrial organisms and to understand
the potential environmental implications of designed enhancements of
carbon sequestration by terrestrial systems, and impacts of purposeful
CO2 injection in oceans.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3281.
6. Energy Research Analyses
This program supports energy research analyses of the Department's
basic and applied research activities. Specific objectives include
assessments to identify any duplication or gaps in scientific research
activities, and impartial and independent evaluations of scientific and
technical research efforts. Consistent with these overall objectives,
this program conducts
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numerous research studies to assess directions in science and to
identify and assess new and improved approaches to science management.
Program Contact: (202) 586-9942.
7. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
The objective of the EPSCoR program is to enhance the capabilities
of EPSCoR states to conduct nationally competitive energy-related
research and to develop science and engineering manpower to meet
current and future needs in energy-related fields. This program
addresses basic research needs across all of the Department of Energy
research interests. Research supported by the EPSCoR program is
concerned with the same broad research areas addressed by the Office of
Science programs that are described in this notice. The EPSCoR program
is restricted to applications, which originate in twenty-one states
(Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia,
and Wyoming) and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is anticipated
that only a limited number of new competitive research grants will be
awarded under this program subject to the availability of funds.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3427.
Issued in Washington, DC on: December 10, 2001.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 01-31351 Filed 12-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-02-U