SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER Senator JOHNSTON. Thank you very much, Miss Fitzpatrick. Senator Sasser, I understand, has to go to another committee and would like to make a statement or do some questioning at this point. Senator SASSER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. As you know, we have four appropriations subcommittees meeting simultaneously this morning. Also, we have a markup going on in the Governmental Affairs Committee. I would like to take this opportunity, just briefly, to commend the Department of Energy on its initiative in developing the proposal for the Superconducting-Super Collider project. The Super Collider would be capable of exploring new areas of highenergy physics and could open the door to important discoveries in a wide variety of fields at a time when our country is striving hard to maintain or recover an edge of competitiveness, whatever your viewpoint might be. It represents a sort of basic scientific research that is essential to maintain our nation's economic and technological competitive ness. I support the Super Collider concept, Mr. Chairman, but I am realistic about the chances of appropriating $363 million that the Department of Energy has requested to get this project off the ground. I know that you, Mr. Chairman, have expressed your concern about the Department's request and the ability of this subcommittee to find that much money in our budget this year. We need, therefore, I think, to explore ways to finance the construction of this important project that take into consideration the realities of the current budget climate that we find ourselves operating in. I encourage the Department to help in this effort. I pledge to work with members of this committee and the administration to make the Super Collider a reality. GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY One important matter, we included last year report language directing the Department to use $1 million to help in the development of gas turbine burning wood technology. This gas turbine would be fired by an external compressor or energy source consuming wood. I think that this is a project which has substantial potential, and I want to urge the Department to move with all due haste in getting this project underway. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator JOHNSTON. Thank you, Senator Sasser. OFFICE OF ENERGY RESEARCH STATEMENT OF DR. JAMES F. DECKER, ACTING DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ENERGY RESEARCH Senator JOHNSTON. Next we will hear from Dr. James F. Decker, the Acting Director of the Office of Energy Research. Dr. Decker. Dr. DECKER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to have the opportunity today to discuss the fiscal year 1989 budget request for the Office of Energy Research. I have submitted a written statement for the record, and with your permission I will proceed to summarize such statement. This budget supports long-range, fundamental, and applied research that provides new knowledge and the scientific base necessary for the development of energy and other technologies. BUDGET REQUEST The fiscal year 1989 budget request is approximately $2.4 billion for Office of Energy Research programs and is a major component of the Department's research and development commitment. One of the unique contributions of the energy research program to the nation's R&D enterprise is its support of major experimental facilities at the leading edge of technology. These facilities, located in our laboratories, are available for use by scientists from national laboratories, universities, and private industry. These user facilities include accelerators, synchrotron light sources, research reactors and other large facilities too costly for individual research facilities or industrial laboratories to afford. Our fiscal year 1989 budget request includes funding both to preserve the core capabilities of our research programs and to operate our user facilities. A few selected enhancements that I will discuss in a minute are provided in our request to take advantage of new research opportunities and to make new state-of-the-art facilities available to the U.S. scientific community. A side benefit from our research program is that students are trained at our major facilities and through direct support of research and development at universities throughout the country. I will now provide some brief highlights of the budget request. MAGNETIC FUSION PROGRAM First, on magnetic fusion energy. The Department's Magnetic Fusion Energy Program is focused primarily on the physics of fusion plasmas. The program's major experiment is the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at Princeton. We are continuing preparation for the deuterium-tritium break-even experiments in TFTR. Equipment installation will be finished during fiscal years 1989 and early 1990. System checkout will take place in the second half of 1990. Actual deuterium-tritium experiments will begin in January 1991. At the same time, we are studying plasma confinement in TFTR with deuterium plasmas at increasing power levels. This year, for the first time, TFTR plasma conditions exceeded the original design goals, giving us confidence that the deuterium-tritium experiments will be very productive. To move beyond the break-even conditions in TFTR, our fiscal year 1989 request includes construction of a Compact Ignition Tokamak, using the TFTR facilities and staff, that would attain ignition conditions in which fusion reactions are self-sustained. This is a critical remaining science question in the development of fusion energy. Senator JOHNSTON. Did you say that it is a question? Dr. DECKER. Yes, sir. Senator JOHNSTON. You don't know if you can do it, or is it just a frontier that you have to pass? Dr. DECKER. In terms of attaining break-even conditions, we are quite confident from the results that we will come very close to break-even conditions. There are always some uncertainties in this business, but with the modifications that we are making, our predictions are that it will be between a half to one-and-a-half of energy break-even. Senator JOHNSTON. I guess I am quibbling over the words. There is no doubt that, given enough money and time, you can reach the breakeven point in the fusion research program. Dr. DECKER. That is correct. Senator JOHNSTON. OK. HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS Dr. DECKER. Next, I want to talk a little bit about High Energy Physics. This is a most fundamental area of basic research for which the Department has the primary responsibility. Our fiscal year 1989 request emphasizes exploiting the enhanced capabilities of collider facilities at FermiLab and SLAC. We will also continue construction of large detectors-D-Zero at Tevatron and SLD at SLAC-to keep these accelerators in the forefront of research during the early 1990's. SUPERCONDUCTING SUPER COLLIDER Most important for the future of high-energy physics is the Superconducting-Supercollider [SSC]. Our request increases the research and development program for this project from $25 million to $64 million. We are also requesting $283 million to begin construction in fiscal year 1989. Specifically, we are asking funds for detailed design of technical systems and conventional facilities, long-lead critical path procurements and site preparations. In order to share the cost of this world class facility, the Department is aggressively seeking international participation on SSC, either through cost sharing or with in-kind contributions. I believe substantial in-kind contributions are likely from several countries, but significant foreign commitments are not expected until Congress appropriates significant support for the project. 84-621- 88 - 10 NUCLEAR PHYSICS In nuclear physics, we are requesting funds to continue construction of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, with completion of the project expected in 1993. We are also requesting funding to continue nuclear physics research at existing facilities and to continue research and development on a possible new accelerator at Brookhaven. The next budget that I would like to discuss is that for basic energy sciences [BES]. BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES This is a broad area of research that underlies many of the Department's more applied programs. Basic energy sciences operates a number of user facilities such as synchrotron light sources, very high resolution microscopes, and research reactors. An example of BES-supported research that is quite highly publicized at this time is in the area of high temperature superconductors. Our request includes funding to continue research on these most interesting materials. High temperature superconductors provide a good example of how basic energy sciences research and user facilities can be mobilized to exploit new discoveries. The atomic structure of these materials has been determined using neutrons from our research reactors and photons from our synchrotron light sources. Important information on the microstructure of these materials has been obtained using the Department's electron microscopes. In the area of new facilities, our request includes funding to begin construction of the 7 GeV synchrotron light source at the Argonne National Laboratory. The higher energy, higher intensity x-rays to be uniquely available from this source will open up new research opportunities and materials, biology chemistry, medicine, and other fields. The last program that I would like to mention is biological and environmental research. HUMAN GENOME PROGRAM Our request will expand the Genome Program that has, as its ultimate goal, the complete characterization of the human genome at the molecular level. The Department is cooperating with the National Institute of Health in carrying out this project. Senator JOHNSTON. What is the total cost of that project seen through to its finish, and how long will it take? Dr. DECKER. That is a question that is a little bit hard to answer. Some of the estimates that have appeared publicly are very large. They have been on the order of $3 billion, but that is based on today's technology. The thrust of our program is to develop new technologies, which we believe can be done, to greatly reduce the cost of doing that kind of project. We see technologies coming along now that probably within a couple of years could reduce the cost by maybe a factor of five or so. Hopefully, we can improve on that. Senator JOHNSTON. Computer technology? Dr. DECKER. Some of it is computer technology, also in new sequencing technology. Senator JOHNSTON. How long will this take? Dr. DECKER. I would see a technology development program lasting probably on the order of 5 years or so. I don't think one would launch on the much larger project of trying to sequence the human genome until after those new technologies are developed. As I started to say, the Department's unique role would be to develop technologies and other resources needed to map and ultimately sequence the human genome. The value of this program, and DOE's approach to it, has recently been endorsed by recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences. Our request also includes funding to expand research into the health effects of radon and to expand research in subsurface microbiology. In regard to the latter, the discovery of varieties of bacteria deep in the soil offers a possibility of neutralizing harmful chemicals that have found their way underground before they can migrate and cause undesirable effects. PREPARED STATEMENT Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks. I will be glad to answer any questions. [The statement follows:] |