[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64103-64106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26397]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial
Assistance Program--Notice 03-01
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 (SC) of the Department of Energy (DOE)
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, 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 until September 30, 2003, in
response to this Notice of Availability.
ADDRESSES: Formal applications in response to this solicitation are to
be electronically submitted by an authorized institutional business
official through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS)
at: http://e-center.doe.gov/. IIPS provides for the posting of
solicitations and receipt of applications in a paperless environment
via the Internet. In order to submit applications through IIPS your
business official will need to register at the IIPS website. The Office
of Science will include attachments as part of this notice that provide
the appropriate forms in PDF fillable format that are to be submitted
through IIPS. Color images should be submitted in IIPS as a separate
file in PDF format and identified as such. These images should be kept
to a minimum due to the limitations of reproducing them. They should be
numbered and referred to in the body of the technical scientific
proposal as Color image 1, Color image 2, etc. Questions regarding the
operation of IIPS may be e-mailed to the IIPS Help Desk at: center.doe.gov">HelpDesk@e-center.doe.gov or you may call the help desk at: (800) 683-0751.
Further information on the use of IIPS by the Office of Science is
available at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html.
If you are unable to submit an application through IIPS please
contact the Office of the Director, Grants and Contracts Division,
Office of Science, DOE at 301-903-5212 in order to gain assistance for
submission through IIPS or to receive special approval and instructions
on how to submit printed applications.
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 03-01 succeeds Notice 02-01, which was
published December 20, 2001.
It is anticipated that approximately $400 million will be available
for grant and cooperative agreement awards in Fiscal Year 2003. 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 and Engineering
The objective of this program is to increase the fundamental
understanding of phenomena, properties, and behavior important to
materials that will contribute to improving current energy technologies
and developing new energy technologies. This program is comprised of
the subfields materials physics, condensed matter physics, materials
chemistry, engineering physics, 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) 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 performance prediction for
repository
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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.
(d) 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 a fundamental
understanding of the interactions and structures of atomic nuclei and
nuclear matter, and an understanding of the 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.
(a) Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences
This subprogram is responsible for carrying out the primary mission
of the ASCR program: discovering, developing, and deploying advanced
scientific computing and communications tools and operating the high
performance computing and network facilities that researchers need to
analyze, model, simulate, and--most importantly--predict the behavior
of complex natural and engineered systems of importance to the Office
of Science and to the Department of Energy.
The computing and the networking required to meet Office of Science
needs exceed the state-of-the-art by a wide margin. Furthermore, the
algorithms, software tools, the software libraries and the software
environments needed to accelerate scientific discovery through modeling
and simulation are beyond the realm of commercial interest. To
establish and maintain DOE's modeling and simulation leadership in
scientific areas that are important to its mission, the MICS subprogram
employs a broad, but integrated research strategy. The basic research
portfolio in applied mathematics and computer science provides the
foundation for enabling research activities, which includes efforts to
advance networking, to develop software tools, software libraries and
software environments. Results from enabling research supported by the
MICS subprogram are used by computational scientists supported by other
Office of Science and other DOE programs. Research areas include:
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) 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. Research is conducted on
medium to large-scale confinement devices to study physics issues
relevant to basic plasmas and to the production of fusion energy.
Experiments on this scale of devices are used to explore the
[[Page 64105]]
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 stability
of high pressure plasmas, (3) investigating plasma wave interactions,
(4) studying and controlling impurity particle transport and exhaust in
plasmas, and (5) interaction and coupling among these four issues in a
fusion experiment.
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 high energy density physics necessary
for target development is carried out by the 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 knowledge of biological systems that can be used
to address DOE needs in clean energy, carbon sequestration, and
environmental cleanup and that will underpin biotechnology based
solutions to energy challenges. The objectives are: (1) To develop the
experimental and, together with the Advanced Scientific Computing
Research program, the computational resources, tools, and technologies
needed to understand and predict the complex behavior of complete
biological systems, principally microbes and microbial communities; (2)
to take advantage of the remarkable high throughput and cost-effective
DNA sequencing capacity at the Joint Genome Institute to meet the DNA
sequencing needs of the scientific community through competitive, peer-
reviewed nominations for DNA sequencing; (3) to develop and support DOE
national user facilities for use in fundamental structural biology at
synchrotron and neutron sources; (4) to use model organisms to
understand human genome organization, human gene function and control,
and the functional relationships between human genes and proteins at a
genomic scale; (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 Sciences
The research is designed to develop the beneficial applications of
nuclear and energy-related technologies for bio-medical research,
medical diagnosis and treatment. The objectives are: (1) To utilize
innovative radiochemistry to develop new radiotracers for medical
research, clinical diagnosis and treatment, (2) To develop the next
generation of non-invasive nuclear medicine technologies, such as
positron emission tomography, (3) To develop advanced imaging detection
instrumentation capable of high resolution from the sub-cellular to the
clinical level, (4) To utilize the unique resources of the DOE in
engineering, physics, chemistry and computer sciences to develop the
fundamental tools to be used in biology and medicine, particularly in
imaging sciences, photo-optics and biosensors.
Program Contact: (301) 903-3213.
(c) Environmental Remediation
This research delivers the scientific knowledge, tools, and
enabling discoveries in biological and environmental research to reduce
the costs, risks, and schedules associated with the cleanup of the DOE
nuclear weapons complex; to extend the frontiers of biological and
chemical methods for remediation; to discover the fundamental
mechanisms of contaminant transport in the environment; to develop
cutting edge molecular tools for investigating environmental processes;
and to develop an understanding of the ecological impacts of
remediation activities. Research priorities include bioremediation,
contaminant fate and transport, nuclear waste chemistry and advanced
treatment options, and the operation of the William R. Wiley
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and the Savannah
River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). The research performed for this
program will provide fundamental knowledge on a broad range of
remediation problems.
Program Contact: (301) 903-4902.
(d) Climate Change Research
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
[[Page 64106]]
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
carbon sequestration 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 program
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.
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 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 October 10, 2002.
John Rodney Clark,
Associate Director of Science for Resource Management.
[FR Doc. 02-26397 Filed 10-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-03-U