With an FY 1987 budget request of $11.0 million in Operating___ Expenses, the URS program consists of two major subprograms (Table 13). The first of these is the University/Laboratory Research subprogram, with a FY 1987 Operating Expenses budget request of $9.7 million. This subprogram supports both the University/Laboratory Cooperative Research and University Reactor Fuel Assistance efforts. One of the objectives of the Laboratory Cooperative Research activity is to enhance the quality of students pursuing future careers in science or engineering by involving them in ongoing laboratory research programs. This approach offers the added benefit of making additional research capabilities available to participating university faculty. The second subprogram is Energy Manpower Development with an FY 1987 Operating Expenses request of $1.3 million. This subprogram 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. The Energy Education and Training activity supports projects directed at encouraging secondary school students to pursue energy-related science and engineering programs at the college level. The FY 1987 budget request for the URS program specifically includes: (1) support for approximately 2500 student and faculty research participation appointments and special training appointments at the Department's labs and major contractors; (2) support for joint research and manpower development efforts involving the DOE laboratories and Historically Black Colleges and Universities; (3) support for 20 Prefreshman Engineering Program Projects that will reach over 2500 junior and senior high school students, and for high school science student institutes at selected DOE laboratories; (4) cost-shared support for 30 visiting industrial scientists through the joint DOE National LaboratoryIndustry Technology Transfer Exchange Research Program; (5) updated manpower assessments for future professional level manpower requirements (e.g., scientists and engineers) for DOE research programs; and (6) refueling of 7 university reactors and approximately 20 reactor sharing grants to be made on a competitive basis. This latter activity falls under the University Reactor Fuel Assistance program which provides fuel for university research and training reactors. The National nuclear reactor and manpower development effort is highly dependent on these specialized facilities not only for nuclear-related training but also for research in the basic sciences. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATION Direct access to state-of-the-art scientific research instrumentation equipment is essential for continued progress in advanced, energy-related scientific and technical research. For example, frontier-level materials research in surface science and catalysis requires the ability to describe what is occurring at atomic and molecular levels. This research is essential for understanding such phenomena as carbon gasification, and the composition of surface gases. Instruments used in this research must be able to detect and identify materials at the parts per billion level. 57-567 0-86-8 Another example is in the field of biological energy research where a major limitation is in understanding the key proteins which influence physiological and genetic factors related to plant productivity. Advances in the analytical capacity of mass spectrometry now offer biological scientists possibilities for approaching this problem. Many university scientists do not have direct access to sophisticated, state-of-the-art scientific research instrumentation. This is a serious National problem which is being addressed through the combined efforts of Federal science agencies, state governments, private industry and by the university community itself. The Federal effort is coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy through the Interagency Committee on University Research Instrumentation chaired by the Deputy Director of the National Science Foundation. Each participating Federal agency is responsible for supporting university research instrumentation in relation to agency missions and programmatic needs. The DOE response to this overall National effort is the University Research Instrumentation Program initiated in FY 1984 to help support the purchase on a competitive basis by university researchers of state-of-the-art instrumentation. The FY 1987 request for the University Research Instrumentation program is $5.0 million. This level will support an estimated 15 to 18 competitively selected awards for instrumentation costing over $100,000. Typical instruments supported in prior years include microprobes, electron and scanning microscopes, laser systems and spectrometers. As in prior years, the program will concentrate on those university research groups which have already demonstrated expertise in one of a small number of high priority energy-related topics which are of special concern to the Department's research programs. Among the research topics to be considered in FY 1987 are catalysis, bioconversion, engineering research including materials, the geological sciences, and environmental research. Each award will be cost-shared with the selected university. MULTIPROGRAM ENERGY LABORATORIES-FACILITIES SUPPORT The FY 1987 request for the Multiprogram Energy LaboratoriesFacilities Support (MEL-FS) program is $60.2 million (Table 14). The MEL-FS program consists of two subprograms: Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-General Purpose Facilities (MEL-GPF), initiated in FY 1981, and Environmental Compliance, initiated in FY 1985. The goal of the MEL-GPF subprogram, which is managed for the Department by the Office of Energy Research, is to rehabilitate and replace multiprogram general support facilities that are essential to continued operations of the Department's multiprogram laboratory sites. These support facilities include site utilities and support buildings such as laboratories, office buildings and warehouses, roads and railroads, which represent a multibillion dollar Government investment. *A reprogramming, approved in April 1985, transferred $5.4 million to this activity. Through continued use and aging, support facilities deteriorate to a point where they are no longer capable of performing their intended functions and must be rehabilitated or replaced. The MEL-GPF program systematically reduces the backlog of deficiencies of these support facilities. It reflects an appropriate Federal responsibility for management of the Government's real property, and we plan to continue the program as a necessary cost of doing business as long as the multiprogram laboratory facilities are used to perform research and development functions for the Department. The FY 1987 Construction budget request for MEL-GPF is $34.9 million (Table 15) and would continue construction on projects begun in prior years, including chilled water facilities at Brookhaven, Oak Ridge and Argonne National Laboratories, replacement of laboratory roofs at Argonne National Laboratory, a fire alarm system at Richland, and fire protection improvements at Brookhaven. Table 15 Multiprogram Energy Laboratories-General Purpose Facilities (MEL-GPF) Budget Authority |