accomplishments of ER's Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. The latter assessment documented tangible contributions to the public made by the BER program. A narrative of these accomplishments is now available. Assessments of research needs and priorities regarding photovoltaic cells and the solar thermal and geothermal programs were also completed. These independent reviews by outstanding researchers provided peer guidance on the most fruitful directions for future DOE research. An assessment was made of solar and building control research projects supported by DOE at the National Bureau of Standards. This work was found to be of high quality and appropriate for support by the public sector. Finally, an assessment of the need to continue the DOE High Altitude Sampling Program was completed. OPA continued to represent DOE on the Interagency Task Force on Acid Precipitation and to coordinate the DOE acid precipitation research program with other Federal agencies. In FY 1983, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) initiated by OPA. The MOU formalized the joint assessment efforts of the two agencies and established the Acid Deposition Assessment Staff to which OPA continues to provide manpower and financial support. In addition, OPA conducted extensive technical contributions to documents used by those who formulate the Administration's acid rain policy. The FY 1985 budget request would provide up to four technology assessments depending on their complexity and depth and up to four program assessments. Technical coordination and guidance will continue in the areas of acid rain and civil remote land sensing; Liaison responsibilities will continue with the International Energy Agency to maintain annual reviews of energy R&D priorities, programs and technology base. The program will also provide independent peer review of technical or research subjects as requested dy principal Secretarial offices or the Director of Energy Research, and will continue to support the Energy Research Advisory Board. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SUPPORT The University Research Support Program (URS) provides a budget and management focus for a small number of specialized research and manpower development activities which help strengthen the capabilities of both universities and the Department's laboratories to carry out longer range scientific and technical research. Through these interrelated efforts, the Department is working to: • Maintain and strengthen university-based energy research and manpower development efforts in selected high priority energy research fields. o Utilize the unique resources of the national laboratories (equipment, instrumentation, and personnel) to assist university faculty and students to carry out advanced research and related training. • Increase the number of students including women and minorities pursuing professional level degrees in energy-related science or engineering. o Enhance the quality of the scientific/technical workforce in the Department's national laboratories. The URS program, with an FY 1985 budget request of $9.2 million in Operating Expenses, consists of two major subprograms (Table 16). The first subprogram, University/National Laboratory Cooperative Research, is directed at strengthening the capabilities of both universities and national laboratories as major energy research performers in the conduct of long range energy research. Many of the activities supported within this subprogram involve joint efforts between university and laboratory-based researchers. With a FY 1985 budget request of $8.4 million, this subprogram supports both University Laboratory Cooperative Research and University Reactor Fuel Assistance. This latter activity is aimed at ensuring that a continuing fuel supply is available for operation of university research reactors. We are requesting a significant increase ($3.0 million) for the University Laboratory Cooperative Research activity. This program serves as an essential bridge, and will strengthen the ties, between the laboratory and university communities. Laboratories are important complementary resources in preparing students for future research careers. This budget request will allow us to double the number of undergraduate students supported in summer research programs. It also will allow us to develop additional cooperative research programs involving university faculty and graduate students and laboratory scientists. The second subprogram, Energy Manpower Development, with a FY 1985 budget request of $0.8 million in Operating Expenses, combines two manpower-oriented activities. The Manpower Assessment activity conducts assessments and analyses of the supply and demand of manpower for both current and future energy R&D programs; and Energy Education and Training supports activities directed at encouraging secondary school students to pursue energy-related science and engineering programs at the college level. The FY 1985 budget request of $9.2 million in Operating Expenses will allow these programs together to: • Support approximately 3000 student and faculty research participation appointments and special training activities at the Department's national laboratories and major contractor facilities, o Refuel up to six university research/training reactors and support approximately 18 reactor sharing projects, • Update manpower assessments for future professional level manpower requirements (e.g., scientists/engineers) for Departmental research programs, • Support cooperative projects with universities, industry and the Department's national laboratories through the Prefreshman Engineering Program designed to encourage secondary school students to pursue energy-related engineering and science programs during their college careers, and • Support 6-8 high school science and math teacher institutes in computer science and energy-related subjects at the DOE national laboratories. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION The continued improvement of energy technologies depends on the development of new knowledge and concepts that can be applied to energy-related materials and processes. The research that leads to this new knowledge requires advanced, state-of-the-art equipment. The types of instruments required for advanced energy research include such equipment as plasma emission spectrometers which will detect and identify materials at the parts per billion level, a variety of scanning microscopes which can be used to obtain greater understanding of surface states and features, and hydrothermal equipment which enables one to simulate the temperatures and pressures which are found deep within the earth and in ocean depths. These and related instruments are very expensive, generally on the order of several hundred thousand dollars, and thus beyond the means of nearly all research universities to finance directly. In recent years the Department has attempted to help universities obtain access to these and similar sophisticated research instruments by (1) making the equipment at its national laboratories available to university researchers, (2) establishing unique user-oriented research facilities such as the Combustion Research Facility at the Sandia Laboratory at Livermore and (3) providing some funds within research contracts for the less expensive research tools. None of these programs, however, meets the needs of university scientists for continuous availability of the type of equipment which is provided through this program. DOE's University Research Instrumentation program, with an FY 1985 budget request of $6.0 million in Operating Expenses, will focus on those university groups that have demonstrated expertise in one or more of a small number of energy-related topics which are of special concern in the Department's long-range research efforts. Among the research topics likely to be of concern in FY 1985 are combustion, bioconversion related to energy, nuclear waste isolation systems, catalysis, advanced materials science and engineering, and the transport of energy-related pollutants. It is estimated that the $6.0 million requested will enable the Department to assist about 10-20 institutions to obtain the expensive (i.e., over $100,000) specialized instrumentation required. The program will continue to be coordinated, including both proposal review and awards, with similar programs in the other Federal agencies such as DOD and NSF. The close coordination ensures that each agency's program complements and reinforces the |