DOE FY 1999 Request: High Energy and Nuclear Physics

Below are details about the Department of Energy’s FY 1999 budget request for High Energy Physics and Nuclear Physics. (Note: As always in comparing budgets from year to year, some funding changes may result from items being shifted to different accounts.) According to DOE, High Energy and Nuclear research “is preformed primarily at DOE National Laboratories using large particle accelerators and detectors. The research is conducted by over 3,000 researchers and over 1,000 graduate students from more than 100 universities and the National Laboratories. The Department of Energy funds approximately 90 percent of all Federal research in High Energy and Nuclear Physics.” Quotes are taken from the DOE FY 1999 Congressional Budget Request “Budget Highlights” document.

HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS:

“The FY 1999 budget request for High Energy Physics is $691.0 million, an increase of $11.3 million [or 1.7 percent] from FY 1998 [funding of $679.7 million.] The U.S. has finalized negotiations for its involvement in the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project, and the program will conduct activities in accordance with the DOE/NSF December, 1997 agreement with CERN. An advance appropriation of $329 million is requested to fund DOE participation in the project through FY 2004. Funding for the LHC increases from $35.0 million in FY 1998 to $65.0 million in FY 1999 [an increase of 30.0 million, or 85.7 percent.]

“At Fermilab, construction and commissioning of the Fermi Main Injector will be completed in FY 1999, and the C-Zero Experimental Hall will also be completed. Fermilab funding increases (FY 1998 $218.6 million; FY 1999 $232.8 million) to support commissioning and initial operation of the Fermi Main Injector. Similarly, operating funding for SLAC increases (FY 1998 $137.5 million; FY 1999 $144.3 million), including funds for commissioning and initial operations of the B-factory; this and other increases are partially offset by completion of the BaBar detector for the B-factory. Funding at BNL [Brookhaven National Laboratory] decreases (FY 1998 $72.3 million; FY 1999 $56.4 million) as the AGS [Alternating Gradient Synchrotron] is transitioned to the Nuclear Physics RHIC program. The Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) construction project continues (FY 1998 $5.5 million; FY 1999 $14.3 million) and the Wilson Hall Safety Improvements renovation project is initiated at $6.7 million.”

Highlights of Program Changes to High Energy Physics (Total Change from FY98: +$11.3 million; items listed do not sum to total):

+$30.0 million Large Hadron Collider funding increases by +$30.0 million to support the U.S. contribution (FY98 $35.0 million; FY99 $65.0 million.) +$14.2 million Fermilab changes include: Commissioning and initial operation of Main Injector (+$12.9 million), fabrication of CDF and D-Zero detectors (-$11.2 million), capital equipment and other construction (+$15.5 million.) +$6.8 million SLAC: Commissioning and initial operation of B-Factory (+$8.3 million), completion of BaBar detector (-$17.0 million), and capital equipment and other construction (+$12.7 million.) -$15.9 million Brookhaven - Transfer of the AGS to the RHIC program in Nuclear Physics (-$15.9 million.) -$29.9 million Construction (FY98 $50.9 million; FY99 $21.0 million.) Completion of Fermi Main Injector in FY98 (-$31.0 million); Completion of SLAC Master Substation Upgrade in FY98 (-$9.4 million); Increased funding for NuMI at Fermilab (FY98 $5.5 million; FY99 $14.3 million) (+$8.8 million); Complete C-Zero Experimental Hall at Fermilab in FY98 (-$5.0 million); and initiate the Wilson Hall Safety Improvement Project at Fermilab (+$6.7 million.) NUCLEAR PHYSICS:

“The FY 1999 request for Nuclear Physics is $332.6 million, an increase of $11.9 million [or 3.7 percent] over FY 1998 [funding of $320.7 million.] RHIC [Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider] construction is completed in FY 1999 (FY 1998 $59.4 million; FY 1999 $16.6 million); funding for RHIC preoperations/operations increases from $19.0 million in FY 1998 to $67.7 million in FY 1999 to support initial operations in the 4th quarter of FY 1999. The Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory (TJNAF) will operate for 4500 hours and deliver continuous beam to all three experimental halls in FY 1999 ($70.6 million.) Development of new internal targets and the BLAST detector at BATES Laboratory at MIT continues in FY 1999, with limited operation of the facility. Operations and research at the Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility at ORNL [Oak Ridge National Laboratory] will continue at the FY 1998 level with additional funding provided for capital equipment to expand beam variety. Initial data collection begins at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. Operation of Nuclear Physics scientific user facilities will be at levels consistent with the Scientific Facilities Initiative.”

Highlights of Program Changes to Nuclear Physics (Total Change from FY98: +$11.9 million; items listed do not sum to total):

-$42.8 million Final year of RHIC construction (FY98 $59.4 million; FY99 $16.6 million.) +$51.7 million Increased funding for RHIC includes: experimental equipment (+$2.8 million), RHIC preoperations (FY98 $19.0 million; FY99 $36.2 million) (+$17.2 million), and RHIC operations which begin in the fourth quarter of FY99 (+$31.5 million.)