Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 230
D
Federal Support for Plasma
Science and Engineering
Plasma science and engineering is diffusely supported across the federal port-
folio of science and technology. One aim of this report is to identify those research
efforts more precisely and to communicate the common intellectual threads. This
appendix describes some of the levels of federal support for plasma science and
engineering. Because the research is so seemingly fragmented, the activities are
discussed agency by agency.
A further cautionary note is necessary. Because plasma science and engineering
are supported in such different capacities by such different programs, the com-
mittee was unable to obtain an authoritative and comprehensive view of federal
investments. As an approximation, the committee reports here the most identifiable
plasma-related funding.
Finally, the following list may be helpful in connecting agency programs with
the scientific topics discussed in the report:
• DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES) is the primary supporter
of magnetic fusion science. OFES also participates in the NSF/DOE Part-
nership for Basic Plasma Science and Engineering, which supports basic
plasma science. It is also starting to support some HED physics.
• DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is the chief sup-
porter of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and HED physics.
• DOE’s Office of High Energy Physics manages an advanced technology
R&D program that includes work on plasma-based accelerators.
20
OCR for page 231
aPPendix d 21
• DOE’s Office of Nuclear Physics supports research in quark-gluon plasmas,
a topic related to the HED science discussed in this report.
• The Office of Naval Research (ONR) supported research activities in basic
plasma science, low-temperature plasma science and engineering, and space
plasma physics but terminated its support for them in 2003.
• The National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Engineering Directorate is the
primary supporter of low-temperature plasma science and engineering
through distributed involvement in the National Nanotechnology Initiative
(NNI) and through its Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems program.
• NSF’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate supports plasma
research through its Astronomy Division (space and astrophysical plasmas)
and its Physics Division (mostly basic plasma science). There are no dedi-
cated plasma programs; the Physics Frontier Center program does include
several centers with plasma research topics. NSF’s Geosciences Directorate
supports a large number of atmospheric and space plasma activities.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports
space and astrophysical plasma research diffusely as part of the science
component of its satellite missions. NASA also supports a small program
in laboratory astrophysics whose focus on atomic, molecular, and optical
spectroscopy has some overlap with plasma science.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERgY
DOE’s support for plasma science is dominated by its investments in the
areas of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and magnetic confinement fusion (Fig-
ure D.1). The leading programs in these areas are at OFES and NNSA.
Office of Fusion Energy Sciences at DOE
OFES in DOE’s Office of Science has been a traditional steward for fusion
science as well as plasma science (Figure D.2). The mission of the program is to
advance plasma science, fusion science, and fusion technology—the knowledge
base needed for an economically and environmentally attractive source of fusion
energy.1
The approximately $150 million funding of the OFES science program in
FY2006 included support for theory ($25 million), advanced computing ($4 mil-
lion: Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing), and research on toka-
mak experiments ($46 million: major facilities DIII-D in San Diego, and C-Mod
1 The committee extends its grateful appreciation to Al Opdenaker and Francis Thio for their expert
assistance on these matters.
OCR for page 232
Plasma science
22
800
700
OFES
600
ICF
Annual Budget ($ millions)
OFES (FY96)
500 ICF (FY96)
400
300
200
100
0
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
FIGURE D.1 Historical perspective on federal funding for fusion research. The dashed lines have been corrected
for inflation in terms of FY1995 dollars. The OFES line represents (roughly) the total DOE/OFES annual budget
(dominated by magnetic fusion); the line for ICF represents an estimate of the DOE defense program’s sup-
port for inertial fusion. SOURCE: Fusion Power Associates, compiled from historical budget tables; available at
http://aries.ucsd.edu/FPA/OFESbudget.shtml.
D-1
in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as international collaborations, diagnostics,
and other activities), alternative concepts ($60 million: NSTX at Princeton, the
Madison Symmetric Torus at the University of Wisconsin, and high energy density
projects, plus about 10 other plasma experiments elsewhere), and general plasma
science activities ($14 million).
The OFES general plasma science program supports several areas of plasma
research. The Partnership for Basic Plasma Science and Engineering program is
jointly sponsored by DOE and NSF, to which DOE contributed (in FY2006) $4.7
million for university research, $2.4 million for national laboratory research, $1.3
million for the Junior Faculty Development Program, and $1.1 million for the Basic
Plasma Science Facility at the University of California at Los Angeles. In addition,
the general plasma science program supported two recently established fusion sci-
OCR for page 233
History of DOE/OFES Budget
Prog Direction
Enabling R&D
$800,000 Facility Ops
Science
$700,000
$600,000
$500,000
$400,000
FY2006 $K
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0
97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06
85 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 96
19 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
19
FIGURE D.2 Breakdown of the major components of the OFES annual budget, 1985-2006.
2
D.2
OCR for page 234
Plasma science
24
ence centers ($2.5 million: Multi-Scale Plasma Dynamics, Extreme States of Matter)
and fusion-related atomic physics and several other activities ($2.1 million).
Inertial Fusion Energy and HED Physics at DOE/OFES
Planning for transitioning the OFES inertial fusion energy (IFE) program to
a program addressing the HED physics issues that have potential applications to
inertial fusion began in FY2003. The budget for this line of programs from FY2004
to FY2007 is as follows: FY2004, $17.3 million; FY2005, $14.7 million; FY2006,
$16 million; and FY2007, $11.9 million.
Before FY2005, the OFES program was focused on the development of the
heavy ion beam as a driver for IFE. In FY2004, $16.3 million was used for research
in heavy-ion-driven IFE. The remaining $1 million was used to fund a small ef-
fort in fast ignition and research in the behavior of dense plasma in very high
magnetic fields. In heavy-ion-driven IFE, $15.2 million was for research related
to the development of the heavy-ion accelerator science, and $1.1 million was for
research in the target physics and designs for heavy-ion-driven IFE. In accelerator
development, there were three research components: the ion source, the transport
of the beam, and the focusing and compression of the beam.
In redirecting the heavy ion research toward a program in HED physics, the
goal of the program was redefined to one of developing a user facility for warm
dense matter research. Research on the transport of the beam was further curtailed
and concentrated on compressing and focusing the beams to increase the intensity
of the beam about 100-fold. Such beam intensities are required in order to produce
warm dense matter. A new initiative was launched in FY2005 with a call for research
in fast ignition, plasma jets, and dense plasmas in high magnetic fields, resulting in
a total funding for these subfields of HED physics of $3.4 million, leaving $11.3 mil-
lion for heavy-ion-related HED physics research.
In FY2006, Congress increased the funding for fast ignition by $2 million,
which included work on target physics, with a corresponding reduction in heavy-
ion-beam research. Congress also added $1 million for research in dense plasmas
in high magnetic fields using the Atlas pulsed-power facility. Thus the total fund-
ing for fast ignition, plasma jets, and dense plasmas in high fields was increased to
$6.7 million while the funding for heavy ion beams was reduced to $9.3 million.
The President’s FY2007 budget further reduced research in heavy-ion-related
HED physics to $8.2 million, while the research for fast ignition, plasma jets, and
dense plasmas in high fields was reduced to $3.7 million.
National Nuclear Security Administration at DOE
Established by Congress in 2000, the NNSA is a semiautonomous agency within
the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing national security through
OCR for page 235
aPPendix d 2
NNSA Annual Budget for Plasma and HED Science
Requested
$350,000
Appropriated
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
FY2006 $K
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
FIGURE D.3 NNSA budget for plasma and HED science, corrected for inflation, during the past decade.
D.3
the military application of nuclear energy.2 Part of the NNSA mission is to maintain
and enhance the safety, reliability, and performance of the United States nuclear
weapons stockpile, including the ability to design, produce, and test, in order to
meet national security requirements.
To accomplish these objectives and others, NNSA runs a series of campaigns.
The most relevant ones for plasma research are the Science Campaign, which fo-
cuses primarily on certification of warhead readiness, and the Inertial Confinement
Fusion (ICF) and High Yield Campaign, which focuses on developing laboratory
capabilities to create and measure extreme conditions of temperature, pressure,
and radiation.
As shown in Figure D.3, support for the component of the ICF and High
Yield Campaign that involves plasma science (primarily HED physics) has con-
sistently been about $200 million per year. Figure D.4 breaks out the component
of that funding that supports activities at universities, including the University of
Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE).
2 The committee extends its grateful appreciation to Christopher Keane and Joe Kindel for their
expert assistance on these matters.
OCR for page 236
Plasma science
2
NNSA Budget for University Plasma and HED Science
70,000
LLE Req
LLE Approp
60,000 Univ Total Req
Univ Total Approp
50,000
FY2006 $K
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
FIGURE D.4 NNSA funding for university programs, corrected for inflation, for plasma and HED science over the
past decade. Funding for the LLE at the University of Rochester is shown as a portion of the overall budget.
D.4
Stewardship Science Academic Alliance at DOE/NNSA
• In FY2005, the eight awards made to individual investigators represented
a total investment of $8.4 million over 3 years. One center of excellence
award involved funding of $4 million projected over 2 years. The aggregate
average level of annual funding will be $4.8 million.
• In FY2002, the eight awards made to individual investigators represented
a total investment of $7.3 million over 3 years. Two centers of excellence
awards were made (Cornell University and University of Texas) and in-
volved $16 million over 3 years. The aggregate average level of annual
funding was nearly $7 million.
Advanced Accelerator Research and Development Program at DOE/HEP
DOE’s Office of High Energy Physics (HEP) manages a suite of programs sup-
porting research into advanced accelerator concepts in support of DOE’s overall
mission (see Figure D.5).3 This program has traditionally been a strong supporter
3 The committee expresses its grateful appreciation to Glen Crawford for his expert assistance on
these matters.
OCR for page 237
aPPendix d 2
DOE/HEP Advanced Accelerator Funding
$90
$80
$70
$60
FY2006 $M
$50
$40
$30
$20
$10
$0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
FIGURE D.5 Total funding in inflation-adjusted dollars for the DOE advanced accelerator R&D program.
D.5
of laser–plasma and beam–plasma interactions because of their potential applica-
tions to future accelerators such as the plasma-wake field accelerator described in
the report. Perhaps 10 percent of this program is devoted to explicit plasma science
such as wake field acceleration.
In a recent report prepared by the DOE/NSF High Energy Physics Advisory
Panel (HEPAP) that examined the future directions for this program, the authoring
committee wrote as follows:
Another difference is that the European AARD activity emphasizes multi-national,
multi-laboratory efforts, cross-institutional networking, and cross-disciplinary work
between HEP, nuclear physics, light source, and laser acceleration laboratories.
There has also been a recent flowering of ultra-high intensity, short pulse laser ac-
celeration R&D in smaller institutes and universities, particularly in Asia. The US
is rapidly being overtaken in this area, with US laser development oriented more
towards NIF and related programs. With the closing of FFTB at SLAC and ensuing
hiatus in the beam-based wakefield program, the US leadership in long range,
plasma acceleration R&D is being effectively challenged.4
4 HEPAP, Report of the HEPAP Subpanel on the Assessment of Advanced Accelerator Research and
Development, Washington, D.C.: Department of Energy, 2006, p. 31.
OCR for page 238
Plasma science
2
OFFICE OF NAvAL RESEARCH
The Office of Naval Research supported a strong program in plasma science
although its investments were relatively modest. However, because of changing
priorities at the Navy, these programs have been discontinued. In earlier years,
ONR supported the following research areas:
• Basic laboratory plasma physics (1988-2002), $2.5 million/year,
• Initiatives in microwaves (1982-1987), $1.0 million/year,
• Initiative in particle beams (1982-1987), $1.0 million/year,
• Basic research in nonneutral plasma (1994-2002) at $1.5 million/year,
and
• Advanced accelerator research at $2 million/year for 5 years.
Taken together, ONR’s investments represent more than $60 million over
nearly 20 years.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOuNDATION
The NSF has traditionally supported plasma research in a number of different
programs because the science cuts across many disciplines. For instance, the study
of basic plasma science has traditionally been directed by NSF’s Physics Division
while much of the low-temperature plasma science and engineering work has been
overseen by its Engineering Directorate. Space plasma science has been strongly
supported by NSF’s Geosciences Directorate. To some extent, NSF’s participation
in the NNI has provided some additional connections between plasma science and
the core programs.
Engineering
NSF’s Engineering Directorate is undergoing some reorganization but the
Combustion, Fire, and Plasma Systems program has traditionally been a source of
limited support for plasma research (Figure D.6).5
The committee notes that aside from the NSF engineering support for low-
temperature plasma science, there is no other stable support for this research.
The NSF/DOE partnership for basic plasma science invests only modestly in low-
temperature research, and participation in that program has been decreasing.
5 The committee expresses its grateful appreciation to Phillip Westmoreland and Geoffrey Prentice
for their expert assistance in these matters.
OCR for page 239
aPPendix d 2
$3,000,000
$2,500,000
As-Spent Dollars
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
FIGURE D.6 Support from the NSF Engineering Division for low-temperature plasma engineering research over
the past decade. Data for 2005 and 2006 are estimates.
D.6
DOE’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences does not support low-temperature research
except for several grants that cross over into chemistry.
Astronomy
The NSF Astronomy Division occasionally participates in the NSF/DOE Part-
nership for Basic Plasma Science and Engineering. Space and astrophysical plasma
research also figures in its general university grant portfolio. Based on an infor-
mal analysis of the FY2006 program, it was estimated that the program included
about $4 million of research support that was plasma science per se.6 By com-
parison, the entire FY2006 budget for traditional single-investigator programs
was about $39 million; thus explicit plasma science represents about 10 percent
of the portfolio.
In terms of involvement in the NSF/DOE partnership, the Astronomy Divi-
sion records show the following: FY2006, $137,000; FY1999, $250,000; FY1998,
$250,000; and FY1997, $250,000.
6 The committee extends grateful appreciation to Nigel Sharp for his expert assistance in this
regard.
OCR for page 240
Plasma science
240
Physics
Using an informal analysis of the NSF abstracts and awards database, the an-
nual investment in plasma science through the NSF Division of Physics was tracked
(Figure D.7). In addition to the individual grants program of about $3 million per
year, a Physics Frontier Center was launched in 2001. Based jointly at the Univer-
sity of Michigan and the University of Texas, the name of its program describes
its research focus: Frontiers in Optical Coherent and Ultrafast Science. NSF also
launched the Physics Frontier Center for Magnetic Self-Organization in Labora-
tory and Astrophysical Plasmas (CMSO) in September 2003. It receives about $2
million per year and encompasses activities at University of Wisconsin at Madison,
the University of Chicago, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and five other
institutions. CMSO aims to investigate basic problems in plasma physics common
to the laboratory and the cosmos.
NSF/Physics Support of Plasma Science (est.)
As-Spent $$
$9,000,000
FY2006 $$
$8,000,000
$7,000,000
$6,000,000
$5,000,000
$4,000,000
$3,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
$0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
FIGURE D.7 History of support for plasma science from the NSF Division of Physics (estimated). The significant
increase in FY2001 marks the beginning of the University of Michigan Physics Frontier Center. Physics Division
grants made through the NSF/DOE Partnership in Basic Plasma Science and Engineering are included.
D.7
OCR for page 241
aPPendix d 241
NSF/DOE Partnership in BASIC Plasma Science and Engineering
Examining the NSF abstracts and awards database, NSF’s annual participa-
tion in the joint partnership with DOE for support of basic plasma science and
engineering can be deduced (Figure D.8). The first grants were awarded in the
fall of 1997. The three directorates most heavily involved have been Engineering,
Geosciences, and Mathematical and Physical Sciences.
NATIONAL AERONAuTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
NASA supports a significant portfolio of astronomy and astrophysics research
probably because at least 99 percent of the visible universe is composed of plasmas.
Because the agency is organized around mission themes, however, it is difficult to
estimate the fraction of NASA science programs that addresses plasma science.
NSF Participation in NSF/DOE Partnership for Basic Plasma Science & Engineering
$4,000,000
GEO
ENG
$3,500,000
MPS
$3,000,000
As-Spent $$ (approx.)
$2,500,000
$2,000,000
$1,500,000
$1,000,000
$500,000
$0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
FIGURE D.8 Annual levels of participation from three directorates at NSF in the NSF/DOE Partnership for Basic
Plasma Science and Engineering. The three directorates are mathematical and physics sciences (MPS), engi-
neering (ENG), and geology (GEO).
D.8
OCR for page 242
Plasma science
242
For instance, much of space weather science is plasma science. The space and solar
physics budget at NASA has been around $400 million per year, and perhaps 10-20
percent of that funding could be identified as going to plasma science, in the strict
sense, and as much as half could be space-plasma research.
Because NASA does not programmatically recognize plasma science as a dis-
cipline, the committee was unable to achieve a finer level of detail.
