Comments in the Matter of Amendment of Parts 2 and 35 of the Commission’s Rules to Allocate Spectrum and Adopt Service Rules and Procedures to Govern the Use of Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations in Certain Frequency Bands Allocated to the Fixed Satellite Service (IB Docket No. 07-101)-Letter Report (BPA-CORF)

Released 08.16.07

This report presents CORF’s assessment of the potential effect of a provision in an FCC proposal regulating satellite vehicle-mounted earth stations uplinking at 14.0-14.5 GHZ that would require frequency coordination with nearby radio astronomy facilities.  CORF believes that the best approach is to ban the 14.47-14.50 GHz portion of this band to prevent interference.  Baring that, CORF believes technical measures should be adopted to permit operators to carry out frequency coordination or make it a prerequisite to licensing.

Comments in the Matter of Amendment of Part 90 of the Commission’s Rules (WT Docket No. 07-100).-Letter Report (BPA-CORF)

Released 08.13.07

Allocation of frequency spectrum for commercial use by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can have a significant effect on scientific research such as radio astronomy.  The NRC’s Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) was established to examine the needs for radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research. This report presents CORF’s assessments of the potential effect of an FCC proposal to permit permanent fixed microwave operations at 4.9 GHz.  This frequency is important for radio astronomy, and CORF argues that if the proposal goes forward, it should carry a requirement for frequency coordination between the operators and nearby radio astronomy facilities.

Review of DOE's Nuclear Energy Research and Development Program (BEES)

Released 10.29.07

There has been a substantial resurgence of interest in nuclear power in the United States over the past few years.  One consequence has been a rapid growth in the research budget of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy (NE).   In light of this growth, the Office of Management and Budget included within the FY2006 budget request a study by the National Academy of Sciences to review the NE research programs and recommend priorities among those programs.  The programs to be evaluated were: Nuclear Power 2010 (NP 2010), Generation IV (GEN IV), the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)/Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI), and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) facilities.  This report presents a description and analysis of each program along with specific findings and recommendations.  It also provides an assessment of program priorities and oversight. 

Executive Summary

Released 06.20.07

The nature of materials research demands mechanisms to support interdisciplinary research to achieve the full potential of materials science and engineering. To this end, the NSF established the Materials Research Science and Engineering (MRSEC) program in 1994 to foster group research on materials in the academic community. After more than ten years, NSF deemed it appropriate to examine the MRSEC program. It requested the NRC to assess the performance and impact of the centers and, in the context of current trends in materials research, recommend future directions and roles for the program. This report provides a review of the overall context of the MRSEC program; an assessment of the impact of its research efforts, facilities, and education and outreach activities; an assessment of the impact of collaboration with industry; and an assessment of the future of the centers.

2005-2006 Assessment of the Army Research Laboratory (LAB)

Released 06.15.07

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) is the Army’s corporate basic and applied research laboratory.  For the last 12 years, at the request of the Army, the NRC has provided biennial assessments of the scientific and technical quality of the ARL.  These assessments focus on the work of the ARL’s directorates, and on technical rather than programmatic considerations.  This report presents a review of accomplishments and opportunities, an assessment of ongoing research, and an examination of crosscutting issues for the lab’s six directorates: computational and information science; human research and engineering; sensors and electron devices; survivability and lethality analysis; vehicle technology; and weapons and materials research.
 

Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics: The Science of the World Around Us (BPA)

Released 06.14.07

As part of the 2010 physics decadal survey project, DOE and NSF requested the NRC to assess opportunities, over roughly the next decade, in condensed matter and materials physics (CMMP). The study is to review recent accomplishments and new opportunities; identify potential future impact of CMMP; consider its contributions to national needs; assessing priorities for tools and facilities; analyze current research and funding; and make recommendations for realizing the full benefit of CMMP. This report presents a survey of the CMMP field during the last decade, including the state of federal and private support of CMMP within the United States, and looks ahead to the intellectual and technological challenges of the coming decade. This discussion is centered about six grand challenges concerning energy demand, the physics of life, information technology, nanotechnology, complex phenomena, and behavior far from equilibrium.

Comments in the Matter of Recommendations Approved by the Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (IB Docket No. 04-286) Letter Report (BPA-CORF)

Released 02.05.07

Comments in the Matter of Recommendations Approved by the Advisory Committee for the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (IB Docket No. 04-286)-Letter Report(BPA-CORF)

Released 12.06.06

Allocation of frequency spectrum for commercial use by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can have a significant effect on scientific research such as radio astronomy. This report is one in a series from the NRC’s Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) that examines the needs for radio frequency requirements and interference protection for scientific and engineering research, coordinates the views of the U.S. scientists, and acts as a channel for representing the interests of U.S. scientists in the work of the inter-union commission on frequency allocations for radio astronomy and space science (IUCAF) of the International Council of Scientific Unions. These reports present CORFs assessments of the potential effect on the Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) of two sets of proposals from the FCC based on the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference. The first proposal would set allowed commercial transmission power levels in several microwave frequency bands also used by EESS to levels recommended by NASA, and the second would have removed power level limits for one such band.

Plasma Science: Advancing Knowledge in the National Interest (BPA)

Released 05.29.07

As part of its current physics decadal survey, Physics 2010, the NRC was asked by the DOE, NSF, and NASA to carry out an assessment of and outlook for the broad field of plasma science and engineering over the next several years. The study was to focus on progress in plasma research, identify the most compelling new scientific opportunities, evaluate prospects for broader application of plasmas, and offer guidance to realize these opportunities. The study paid particular attention to these last two points. This "demand-side" perspective provided a clear look at what plasma research can do to help achieve national goals of fusion energy, economic competitiveness, and nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship. The report provides an examination of the broad themes that frame plasma research: low-temperature plasma science and engineering; plasma physics at high energy density; plasma science of magnetic fusion; space and astrophysical science; and basic plasma science. Within those themes, the report offers a bold vision for future developments in plasma science.

Released 05.01.07

The NRC has long used decadal surveys to review the status of and outlook for selected research fields, and to provide recommendations for scientific and programmatic priorities for federal research funding. While widely successful, various fiscal, technical, and policy factors have made implementation of this advice by relevant federal agencies difficult at times. To determine whether the approach to future surveys could be modified or improved to help account more effectively for those factors, the NRC undertook a workshop involving the research community and the relevant agencies to examine this question. This report presents a summary of the workshop. It provides a review of recent decadal surveys; a discussion of how to assess more effectively program cost and technical risk; an analysis of lessons learned from past surveys; and the identification of approaches that could enhance the realism, endurance, and utility of future surveys.

A Review of Proposals to the 2007 Wright Megacenters of Innovation (WMI) Program of the State of Ohio (BLS, ASEB)

Released 01.15.07

The State of Ohio’s Department of Development launched the 2007 Wright Megacenters of Innovation (WMI) program to help capitalize on new scientific and technological discoveries to enhance job growth and create new industries. To assist the State in this effort, the NRC was asked to conduct an independent review of proposals submitted to that program. Seven proposals were submitted—four in the biosciences and three in the physical sciences. This letter report presents the findings of that evaluation and includes a detailed discussion of each of the seven proposals. The report was prepared jointly by the Board on Life Sciences of the Division on Earth and Life Studies and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of DEPS.