We currently have less than 2,700 square feet to house the large spectrometers, shielding and ancillary equipment to do experiments. We also have only a similar small amount of space to support users for experimental set-up, computers, sample preparation, offices, et cetera. In contrast, the experimental areas at the high intensity pulsed neutron facility in Great Britain, the SNS, which is a facility of comparable intensity to that at Los Alamos, and the existing pulsed neutron source in the United States, the IPNS facility at Argonne National Laboratory, have experimental areas that are 5 to 10 times that of our existing area. The present proposal under consideration by the committee consists of an experimental space which increases the present area by a factor of 7 and provides a laboratory building to support up to 300 users annually at this facility. It will be possible to have up to 18 experiments running simultaneously for the national user program with this new hall. This complex of facilities has been named the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center, or LANSCE. LANSCE will provide the United States materials science community access to one of the best neutron scattering capabilities in the world with instruments designed for studies in metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and condensed matter physics. It will also strengthen the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the material science field, which is of great importance to our national security programs. In analogy with our LAMPF experience, it should benefit both the basic research and applied research programs of our country. This project has been reviewed seven times since 1980 by various national committees, including the Seitz-Eastman panel in 1984 and the ERAB panel that Dr. Stehli just reported on. All of these reviews have recommended the construction of this new experimental hall. Construction of the proton storage ring, which is the core of LANSCE, was completed less than 1 year ago, and we have already achieved 50 percent of our design goal by last December, which exceeds our milestone of 20 percent by a considerable margin. We have also demonstrated the scientific power of this source by taking data from a few experiments at a slightly lower level. One million dollars of design money was provided for this project in the fiscal year 1986 appropriations process. The remaining cost of the line item construction is $17.5 million. The first $5 million of the $17.5 million is requested in fiscal year 1987. This amount is required if we are to make sufficient progress on the construction of the hall to allow the startup of a national user program by fiscal year 1989. The timing of this project is very important. A delay would that in fiscal year 1989 we would have the world's highest intensity pulsed neutron source operational for a material science study research program for outside users, but we would have virtually no space to utilize it for at least 1 year, if not longer. This is a very important project for material science research in the United States, and it is very important to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in its mission in national security programs. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Subcommittee on Energy Development and Applications Testimony by Dr. John C. Browne Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer my testimony to the Committee on Science and Technology on behalf of our new Laboratory Director, Dr. Siegfried Hecker. Your letter of invitation requested testimony addressed to several topics: the Los Alamos National Laboratory proposal to construct a Neutron Scattering Experimental Hall, the impact of the FY1987 budget request for the Department of Energy's basic research and energy R&D programs on the state of the Laboratory as a whole, and the impact on the Laboratory's basic research programs of an FY1987 funding level at the FY1986 level and 10% below FY1986. Before I address the specific issues relating to the FY1987 budget, I think that it is important for the committee to understand how our basic research programs support the mission of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Our primary mission is to be a national resource of scientific, technical and engineering capabilities focused on execution of the national security programs of DOE, principally the development of the nuclear warheads for our nation's defense. The basic research acivities of our Laboratory are crucial to our success in this primary mission. Basic research is key to the advancement of technology in a wide range of technical areas which impact the quality and performance of our defense developments. These programs also provide us with an important component of the scientific talent mix that enhances our overall ability to provide for the nation's defense. The continued strength of our technical staff depends on our ability to recruit the best scientists and engineers. The basic research programs allow us to bring outstanding people to our Laboratory to work on forefront areas of science, but they also make significant contributions to the defense programs. This synergism between the defense and basic research activities is vital to the health and strength of our Laboratory. A perfect example of this is the project under consideration by this Committee today, i.e., the Neutron Scattering Experimental Hall. As historical background, the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) was constructed (completed in 1972) as a basic research facility for nuclear physics. It was recognized early in the planning stages that the output of LAMPF (1 milliampere of 800-MeV protons) could play an important role in solving certain defense problems if the time structure of the proton beam could be shortened. The Laboratory therefore proposed to DOE/Defense Programs the construction of the Proton Storage Ring (PSR) to accomplish this. Around the same time (1379), the value of high energy protons for the production of spallation neutrons was being investigated at Argonne National Laboratory for materials science applications. In 1980, Los Alamos proposed to a National Academy of Sciences Panel, which was investigating the needs of materials science for new neutron sources, that the PSR output could be shared both for defense program research and for a national materials science user program. It was recognized that the capability offered by the PSR would provide the United States with the world's highest peak intensity pulsed neutron source. This proposal was recommended by this NAS panel although it was felt that DOE/OBES would have to support the construction of a new experimental hall if a national user program was to be successful since the existing experimental space was limited. There were five subsequent reviews of this project (1982, 83, 84, 85) which continued to recommend the experimental hall project. This project was listed as a $1M line item start for DOE/OBES in the FY1986 HS&T authorization bill. The FY1986 Senate Appropriations bill specified $5M for the construction and operation of the experimental hall. In the final FY1986 appropriation bill, $1M from DOE defense programs was identified to begin the design of this hall. The remaining |