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113-948: The organization was first established in 1946 as the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS) with 14 university members. Its original purpose was to advance science and technology education and research by providing access to the atomic energy research facilities of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to faculty and students of universities across the South. The Institute also served to provide access to university faculty for ORNL researchers, arranging for University of Tennessee faculty to teach master's and doctoral courses in chemistry, math, and physics in Oak Ridge using ORNL facilities, equipment, and supplies. University of Tennessee faculty member William G. Pollard developed

226-465: A 'merit review' process, the current version of which was introduced in 1997. Reviews are carried out by ad hoc reviewers and panels of independent scientists, engineers, and educators who are experts in the relevant fields of study, and who are selected by the NSF with particular attention to avoiding conflicts of interest. For example, reviewers cannot work at the NSF itself, nor for the institution that employs

339-466: A byproduct of its own reaction. The High Flux Isotope Reactor built in 1965 had the highest neutron flux of any reactor at the time. It improved upon the work of the X-10 reactor, producing more medical isotopes as well as allowing higher fidelity of materials research. Researchers in the biology division studied the effects of chemicals on mice, including petrol fumes , pesticides , and tobacco . In

452-702: A chemical spill that contaminated the drinking water of about 300,000 West Virginia residents. In early 2018, it was announced that Trump would cut NSF Research Funding by 30% but quickly rescinded this due to backlash. As of May 2018, Heather Wilson, the secretary of the Air Force, signed that letter of intent with the director of NSF initiating partnership for the research related to space operations and Geosciences , advanced material sciences , information and data sciences , and workforce and processes. The NSF seeks to fulfill its mission chiefly by issuing competitive, limited-term grants in response to specific proposals from

565-665: A conventional and quantum scale . ORNL is home to a field site for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), which has a field office nearby. The Department of Energy works closely with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency out of ORNL to monitor forest ecology for the surrounding Appalachians & Cumberland Plateau Domain of NEON. There are two neutron sources at ORNL; the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and

678-404: A diverse range of fuels, and to improve the efficiency of energy delivery both to power plants and end users. The Center for Molecular Biophysics conducts research into the behaviour of biological molecules in various conditions. The center hosts projects that examine cell walls for biofuel production, use neutron scattering to analyse protein folding , and simulate the effect of catalysis on

791-583: A foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions. The NSF is broadly organized into four offices, seven directorates, and the National Science Board . It employs about 2,100 people in permanent, temporary and contractual positions at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia . Prior to 2017, its headquarters were located in Arlington, Virginia . In addition to around 1,400 permanent employees and

904-490: A funding rate of 28%. In FY 2021, the estimates are 43,200 and 11,500 respectively, giving a funding rate of 26.6%. According to FY 2020 numbers, the median annualized award size is $ 153,800 and the average duration of an award is 2.9 years. In 2022 the NSF has started funding open source software as part of their Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program. Although the federal government had established nearly 40 scientific organizations between 1910 and 1940,

1017-744: A lithium-sulfide battery with a theoretical energy density three to five times greater than existing lithium ion batteries . ORNL provides resources to the United States Department of Homeland Security and other defense programs. The Global Security and Nonproliferation (GS&N) program develops and implements policies, both US based and international, to prevent the proliferation of nuclear material . The program has developed safeguards for nuclear arsenals, guidelines for dismantling arsenals, plans of action should nuclear material fall into unauthorised hands, detection methods for stolen or missing nuclear material, and trade of nuclear material between

1130-459: A major breakthrough in its capacity to automate Pu-238 production which helped push annual production from 50 grams to 400 grams, moving closer to NASA 's goal of 1.5 kilograms per year by 2025 in order to sustain its space exploration programs. ORNL conducts research and development activities that span a wide range of scientific disciplines. Many research areas have a significant overlap with each other; researchers often work in two or more of

1243-406: A more integrated approach than did most academic departments at the time, encouraging physicists, chemists, engineers, and metallurgists to cross departmental boundaries and use systems approaches to attack complex problems of materials synthesis or processing. The NSF expanded these laboratories into a nationwide network of Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers . In 1972 the NSF launched

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1356-557: A number of programs that support institution-wide research during this decade including the Graduate Science Facilities program (started in 1960), Institutional Grants for Science (started in 1961), and Science Development Grants, better known as Centers of Excellence program (started in 1964). Notable projects conducted during this decade include creation of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (1960), creation of

1469-462: A prize cow can have multiple eggs extracted and thus, through in vitro fertilisation , have many more offspring than would naturally be possible. In 1974 Alvin Weinberg, director of the lab for 19 years, was replaced by Herman Postma , a fusion scientist. In 1977 construction began for 6 metre (20 foot) superconducting electromagnets , intended to control fusion reactions . The project

1582-669: A result of Roosevelt 's New Deal ) would eventually raise concern during the wartime period. In particular, concerns were raised that industry laboratories were largely allowed full patent rights of technologies developed with federal funds. These concerns, in part, led to efforts like Senator Harley M. Kilgore 's "Science Mobilization Act". Amidst growing awareness that US military capability depended on strength in science and engineering, Congress considered several proposals to support research in these fields. Separately, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sponsored creation of organizations to coordinate federal funding of science for war, including

1695-412: A search engine that used the links between Web pages as a ranking method, which they later commercialized under the name Google . In 1996 NSF-funded research established beyond doubt that the chemistry of the atmosphere above Antarctica was grossly abnormal and that levels of key chlorine compounds are greatly elevated. During two months of intense work, NSF researchers learned most of what is known about

1808-415: A significant amount of NSF or other federal research funding. The ORAU consortium comprises more than 150 sponsoring institutions and 26 associate members, as of April 2023. Several institutions (31 as of April 2023) are additionally members of ORAU's Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Research Council, created to foster "relationships between these schools" serving historically disadvantaged communities in

1921-606: A social science project investigating why people fall in love. Ultimately, the OMB's 75% reduction proposal failed, but the NSF Economics Program budget did fall 40%. In 2012, political science research was barred from NSF funding by the passage of the Flake Amendment, breaking the precedent of granting the NSF autonomy to determine its own priorities. In fiscal year 2020, NSF received 42,400 proposals and awarded 12,100, for

2034-402: A variety of perspectives. Themes include disagreements over administrative structure, patents and inclusion of social sciences, a populist -versus-scientist dispute, as well as the roles of political parties, Congress, and President Truman . Commonly, this debate is characterized by the conflict between New Deal Senator Harley M. Kilgore and OSRD head Vannevar Bush . Narratives about

2147-736: A whole. Examples of national facilities include the NSF's national observatories, with their giant optical and radio telescopes; its Antarctic research sites; its high-end computer facilities and ultra-high-speed network connections; the ships and submersibles used for ocean research; and its gravitational wave observatories. In addition to researchers and research facilities, NSF grants also support science, engineering and mathematics education from pre-K through graduate school. Undergraduates can receive funding through Research Experiences for Undergraduates summer programs. Graduate students are supported through Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeships (IGERT) and Alliance for Graduate Education and

2260-481: Is Sethuraman Panchanathan. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) was established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950. Its stated mission is "to promote the progress of science, to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare, and to secure the national defense." The NSF's scope has expanded over the years to include many areas that were not in its initial portfolio, including

2373-510: Is easier to cast at a similar cost. In 2003 the partners received an R&D 100 award from R&D magazine and in 2009 received an award for "excellence in technology transfer" from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for the commercialisation of the steel. There is a high-temperature materials lab at ORNL that permits researchers from universities, private companies and other government initiatives to use their facilities. As

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2486-525: Is managed by UT–Battelle , a limited liability partnership between the University of Tennessee and the Battelle Memorial Institute , formed in 2000 for that purpose. The annual budget is US$ 2.4 billion. As of 2021 there is a staff of 5,700 working at ORNL, around 2,000 of whom are scientists and engineers, and an additional 3,200 guest researchers annually. There are five campuses on

2599-493: Is one of the principal U.S. statistical agencies . It is a part of the NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). In May 2011, Republican Senator Tom Coburn released a 73-page report, " National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope ", receiving immediate attention from such media outlets as The New York Times , Fox News , and MSNBC . The report found fault with various research projects and

2712-545: Is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $ 9.9 billion (fiscal year 2023), the NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States' colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing. NSF's director and deputy director are appointed by

2825-589: Is the case for all designated user facilities, the resources of the High Temperature Materials Laboratory are available for free if the results are published; private research is permitted but requires payment. The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) researches the behaviour and fabrication of nanomaterials . The center emphasises discovery of new materials and the understanding of underlying physical and chemical interactions that enable creation of nanomaterials. In 2012, CNMS produced

2938-699: The Antarctic Treaty reserving Antarctica for peaceful and scientific research, and a presidential directive gave the NSF responsibility for virtually all U.S. Antarctic operations and research in form of the United States Antarctic Program . In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed Leland John Haworth as the second director of the NSF. During the 1960s, the impact of the Sputnik Crisis spurred international competition in science and technology and accelerated NSF growth. The NSF initiated

3051-841: The Clinton Engineer Works in 1942 on isolated farm land as part of the Manhattan Project . During World War II, advanced research for the government was managed at the site by the University of Chicago 's Metallurgical Laboratory . In 1943, construction of the Clinton Laboratories, what would later be known as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was completed. The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor , used to produce plutonium from natural uranium . Enrico Fermi and his colleagues developed

3164-539: The Gemini Observatory and the Arecibo Observatory , all of which are funded in whole or in part by NSF. The NSF's astronomy program forged a close working relationship with NASA , also founded in 1958, in that the NSF provides virtually all the U.S. federal support for ground-based astronomy, while NASA's responsibility is the U.S. effort in space-based astronomy. In 1959 the U.S. and other nations concluded

3277-541: The National Defense Research Committee and the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) both from 1941 to 1947. Despite broad agreement over the principle of federal support for science, working out a consensus on how to organize and manage it required five years. The five-year political debate over the creation of a national scientific agency has been a topic for academic study, understood from

3390-497: The National Nanotechnology Initiative , dedicated to the understanding and control of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. NSF's roughly $ 300 million annual investment in nanotechnology research was still one of the largest in the 23-agency initiative. In 2001, NSF's appropriation passed $ 4 billion. The NSF's "Survey of Public Attitudes Toward and Understanding of Science and Technology" revealed that

3503-529: The Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology was established with two courses in reactor operation and safety; almost 1,000 students graduated. Much of the research performed at ORNL in the 1950s was related to nuclear reactors as a form of energy production, both for propulsion and electricity. More reactors were built in the 1950s than in the rest of the ORNL's history combined. One of their most influential projects

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3616-530: The Panama Canal Zone , and Antarctica . The US Air Force also contributed funding to three reactors, the lab's first computers, and its first particle accelerators. ORNL built its first molten salt reactor in 1954 as a proof-of-concept for a proposed fleet of long-range bombers , but it was never used. Alvin M. Weinberg was named Director of Research, ORNL, and in 1955 Director of the Laboratory. In

3729-540: The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). HFIR provides neutrons in a stable beam resulting from a constant nuclear reaction whereas SNS, a particle accelerator, produces pulses of neutrons. HFIR went critical in 1965 and has been used for materials research and as a major source of medical radioisotopes since. As of 2013, HFIR provides the world's highest constant neutron flux as a result of various upgrades. Berkelium -249, used to synthesize tennessine for

3842-631: The United States Department of Energy and administered by UT–Battelle, LLC . Established in 1943, ORNL is the largest science and energy national laboratory in the Department of Energy system by size and third largest by annual budget. It is located in the Roane County section of Oak Ridge. Its scientific programs focus on materials , nuclear science , neutron science, energy, high-performance computing , environmental science , systems biology and national security , sometimes in partnership with

3955-690: The ozone hole . In 1998 two independent teams of NSF-supported astronomers discovered that the expansion of the universe was actually speeding up, as if some previously unknown force, now known as dark energy , is driving the galaxies apart at an ever-increasing rate. Since passage of the Small Business Technology Transfer Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–564, Title II), NSF has been required to reserve 0.3% of its extramural research budget for Small Business Technology Transfer awards, and 2.8% of its R&D budget for small business innovation research. NSF joined with other federal agencies in

4068-444: The "Science Mobilization Act" (S. 1297), which did not pass. Perceiving organizational chaos, elitism, over-concentration of funds in elite universities, and lack of incentives for socially applicable research, Kilgore envisioned a comprehensive and centralized research body supporting basic and applied research which would be controlled by members of the public and civil servants rather than scientific experts. The public would own

4181-607: The 1960s ORNL was equipped with an IBM 360/91 and an IBM 360/65. In 1995 ORNL bought an Intel Paragon based computer called the Intel Paragon XP/S 150 that performed at 154  gigaFLOPS and ranked third on the TOP500 list of supercomputers. In 2005 Jaguar was built, a Cray XT3 -based system that performed at 25 teraFLOPS and received incremental upgrades up to the XT5 platform that performed at 2.3 petaFLOPS in 2009. It

4294-617: The 2007 fiscal year (October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007), and in 2007 NSF requested $ 6.43 billion for FY 2008. President Obama requested $ 7.373 billion for fiscal year 2013. Due to the October 1, 2013 shutdown of the Federal Government, and NSF's lapse in funding, their website was down "until further notice", but was brought back online after the US government passed their budget. In 2014, NSF awarded rapid response grants to study

4407-494: The AEC held a series of public hearings where emergency cooling requirements were highlighted and the safety requirements became more stringent. Also in 1972, Peter Mazur , a biologist at ORNL, froze with liquid nitrogen , thawed and implanted mouse embryos in a surrogate mother . The mouse pups were born healthy. The technique is popular in the livestock industry, as it allows the embryos of valuable cattle to be transported easily and

4520-750: The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge reservation: the National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex , the East Tennessee Technology Park (formerly the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant ), the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education , and the developing Oak Ridge Science and Technology Park, although the four other facilities are unrelated to the National Laboratory. The total area of

4633-695: The Division of Environmental Sciences (1965), deep sea exploration endeavors Project Mohole (1961) and the Deep Sea Drilling Project (1968–1983), the Ecosystems Analysis Program (1969), and ownership of the Arecibo Observatory (1969). In 1969, Franklin Long was tentatively selected to take over directorship of the NSF. His nomination caused some controversy due to his opposition to the current administration's antiballistic missile program and

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4746-501: The Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility, a 25 MV particle accelerator , was opened at ORNL. At the time, Holifield had the widest range of ion species and was twice as powerful as other accelerators, attracting hundreds of guest researchers each year. The Department of Energy was concerned with the pollution surrounding ORNL, and it began clean-up efforts. Burial trenches and leaking pipes had contaminated

4859-456: The NSF delivered ozone sensors, along with balloons and helium, to researchers at the South Pole so they can measure stratospheric ozone loss. This was in response to findings earlier that year, indicating a steep drop in ozone over a period of several years. The Internet project continued, now known as NSFNET . In 1990 the NSF's appropriation passed $ 2 billion for the first time. NSF funded

4972-598: The NSF has 53 existing contracts. The NSF also supports research through several offices within the Office of the Director, including the Office of Integrative Activities, and Office of International Science and Engineering. The NSF organizes its research and education support through eight directorates, each encompassing several disciplines: An eighth directorate, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP),

5085-428: The NSF. In 1981, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) introduced a proposal to reduce the NSF social sciences directorate's budget by 75%. Economist Robert A. Moffit suggests a connection between this proposal and Democratic Senator William Proxmire's Golden Fleece Award series criticizing "frivolous" government spending — Proxmire's first Golden Fleece had been awarded to the NSF in 1975 for granting $ 84,000 to

5198-552: The National Science Foundation prior to the 1970s typically concentrated on Vannevar Bush and his 1945 publication Science—The Endless Frontier. In this report, Vannevar Bush, then head of the Office of Scientific Research and Development which began the Manhattan Project , addressed plans for the postwar years to further foster government commitment to science and technology. Issued to President Harry S. Truman in July 1945,

5311-543: The National Science Foundation. which provided for a National Science Board of twenty-four part-time members. In 1951 Truman nominated Alan T. Waterman , chief scientist at the Office of Naval Research , to become the first Director. With the Korean War underway, the agency's initial budget was just $ 151,000 for 9 months. After moving its administrative offices twice, NSF began its first full year of operations with an appropriation from Congress of $ 3.5 million, far less

5424-716: The ORNL Frontier system broke the exascale barrier, achieving 1.102 exaflop/s using 8,730,112 cores. Since 1992 the Center for Computational Sciences has overseen high performance computing at ORNL. It manages the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility that contains the machines. In 2012, Jaguar was upgraded to the XK7 platform, a fundamental change as GPUs are used for the majority of processing, and renamed Titan . Titan performed at 17.59 petaFLOPS and held

5537-538: The Oak Ridge National Lab wrote the first version of Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM), software that enables distributed computing on machines of differing specifications. PVM is free software and has become the de facto standard for distributed computing. Jack Dongarra of ORNL and the University of Tennessee wrote the LINPACK software library and LINPACK benchmarks , used to calculate linear algebra and

5650-539: The Professoriate (AGEP) programs and through the Graduate Research Fellowships, NSF-GRF . K–12 and some community college instructors are eligible to participate in compensated Research Experiences for Teachers programs. In addition, an early career-development program (CAREER) supports teacher-scholars that most effectively integrate research and education within the mission of their organization, as

5763-473: The Smith bill made it to President Truman's desk, but it was vetoed. Truman wrote that regrettably, the proposed agency would have been "divorced from control by the people to an extent that implies a distinct lack of faith in the democratic process". The third attempt began with the introduction of S. 2385 in 1948. This was a compromise bill cosponsored by Smith and Kilgore, and Bush aide John Teeter had contributed in

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5876-560: The US and reduce dependence on foreign oil supplies. There are three key areas of research: electricity, manufacturing and mobility. The electricity division focuses on reducing electricity consumption and finding alternative sources for production. Buildings, which account for 39% of US electricity consumption as of 2012, are a key area of research as the program aims to create affordable, carbon-neutral homes. Research also takes place into higher efficiency solar panels , geothermal electricity and heating , lower cost wind generators , and

5989-505: The US "and some of the larger laboratories and research universities in America", and increase participation by members of minority communities in scientific research. Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory ( ORNL ) is a federally funded research and development center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee , United States. Founded in 1943, the laboratory is now sponsored by

6102-555: The US and Russia. The GS&N's work overlaps with that of the Homeland Security Programs Office, providing detection of nuclear material and nonproliferation guidelines. Other areas concerning the Department Homeland Security include nuclear and radiological forensics, chemical and biological agent detection using mass spectrometry , and simulations of potential national hazards. ORNL has been

6215-462: The US relied upon a primarily laissez-faire approach to scientific research and development. Academic research in science and engineering occasionally received federal funding. Within University laboratories, almost all support came from private contributions and charitable foundations. In industrial laboratories, the concentration of workers and funding (some through military and government programs as

6328-503: The US-ITER collaboration detailed in 2022. Biological research covers ecology , forestry , genomics , computational biology , structural biology and bioinformatics . The BioEnergy Program aims to improve the efficiency of all stages of the biofuel process to improve the energy security of the United States. The program aims to make genetic improvements to the potential biomass used, formulate methods for refineries that can accept

6441-400: The agency's move to a more nimble international posture. Rather than maintain dedicated offices, NSF will dispatch small teams to specific international institutions. Teams may work for up to a week on-site to evaluate research and explore collaborations with the institution. In addition to the research it funds in specific disciplines, the NSF has launched a number of projects that coordinate

6554-414: The almost $ 33.5 million requested with which 28 research grants were awarded. After the 1957 Soviet Union orbited Sputnik 1 , the first ever human-made satellite, national self-appraisal questioned American education, scientific, technical and industrial strength and Congress increased the NSF appropriation for 1958 to $ 40 million. In 1958 the NSF selected Kitt Peak , near Tucson, Arizona , as

6667-427: The best judges of the direction and needs of their field. While Bush and Kilgore both agreed on the need for a national science policy, Bush maintained that scientists should continue to own the research results and patents , wanted project selection limited to scientists, and focused support on basic research, not the social sciences, leaving the market to support applied projects. Sociologist Daniel Kleinman divides

6780-449: The biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators" report to the US president and Congress, as required by the NSF Act of 1950. In 1977 the first interconnection of unrelated networks was developed, run by DARPA . During this decade, increasing NSF involvement lead to a three-tiered system of internetworks managed by a mix of universities, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. By

6893-521: The debate into three broad legislative attempts. The first attempt consisted of the 1945 Magnuson bill (S. 1285), the 1945 Science and Technology Mobilization Bill, a 1945 compromise bill (S. 1720), a 1946 compromise bill (S. 1850), and the Mills Bill (H.B. 6448). The Magnuson bill was sponsored by Senator Warren Magnuson and drafted by the OSRD, headed by Vannevar Bush. The Science and Technology Mobilization bill

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7006-747: The development of several curricula based on the NCTM standards , devised by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics . These standards were widely adopted by school districts during the subsequent decade. However, in what newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal called the "math wars", organizations such as Mathematically Correct complained that some elementary texts based on the standards, including Mathland , had almost entirely abandoned any instruction of traditional arithmetic in favor of cutting, coloring, pasting, and writing. During that debate, NSF

7119-514: The disadvantaged unemployed. TAT taught basic sciences as well as technical skill concentrations, such as welding, machining, mechanical operations, drafting and physical testing. Employment search assistance was provided to trainees to integrate with regional industrial company opportunities. The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) was established by ORAU in 1976 to provide onsite emergency medical services, advice, and consultation for incidents involving radiation anywhere in

7232-669: The drafting process. In 1949, S. 247 was introduced by the same group of senators behind S. 2385, marking the fourth and final effort to establish a national science agency. Essentially identical to S. 2385, S. 247 passed the Senate and the House with a few amendments. It was signed by President Truman on May 10, 1950. Kleinman points out that the final NSF bill closely resembles Vannevar Bush's proposals. (Harley Kilgore) (Vannevar Bush) 1950 Business, labor, farmers, consumers In 1950 Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 507, or 42 U.S.C. 16 creating

7345-463: The early 1960s there was a large push at ORNL to develop nuclear-powered desalination plants, where deserts met the sea, to provide water. The project, called Water for Peace, was backed by John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and was presented at a 1964 United Nations conference, but increases in the cost of construction and falling public confidence in nuclear power caused the plan to be shuttered. The Health Physics Research Reactor built in 1962

7458-468: The economic and environmental feasibility of potential hydro power plants . The Fusion Energy Division pursues short-term goals to develop components such as high-temperature superconductors , high-speed hydrogen pellet injectors, and suitable materials for future fusion research. Much research into the behaviour and maintenance of plasma takes place at the Fusion Energy Division to further

7571-519: The efforts of experts in many disciplines, which often involve collaborations with other U.S. federal agencies. Examples include initiatives in: NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) gathers data from surveys and partnerships with other agencies to offer official data on the American science and engineering workforce, graduates of advanced U.S. science and engineering programs, and R&D expenditures by U.S. industry. NCSES

7684-680: The evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination. Health physics and epidemiology continue to be major areas of activity for ORAU. Activities include radiological surveys, dose reconstruction , and health screening for workers who may have been exposed to radioactive material , or other toxins . Since 1948, ORAU has also provided radiation safety and health physics training through its Professional Training Programs (PTP). ORAU defines two levels of membership, "sponsoring institution" and "associate member." Sponsoring institutions must be non-profit, accredited universities granting doctoral degrees in relevant fields ("complementary to

7797-658: The fields listed here. The laboratory's major research areas are described briefly below. The laboratory has a long history of energy research; nuclear reactor experiments have been conducted since the end of World War II in 1945. Because of the availability of reactors and high-performance computing resources, an emphasis on improving the efficiency of nuclear reactors is present. The programs develop more efficient materials, more accurate simulations of aging reactor cores, sensors and controls as well as safety procedures for regulatory authorities. The Energy Efficiency and Electricity Technologies Program aims to improve air quality in

7910-602: The first freely available browser to allow World Wide Web pages that include both graphics and text. Within 18 months, NCSA Mosaic becomes the Web browser of choice for more than a million users, and sets off an exponential growth in the number of Web users. In 1994 NSF, together with DARPA and NASA , launched the Digital Library Initiative. One of the first six grants went to Stanford University , where two graduate students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin , began to develop

8023-464: The first time, was produced in the HFIR as part of an international effort. HFIR is likely to operate until approximately 2060 before the reactor pressure vessel is considered unsafe for continued use. The SNS has the highest intensity neutron pulses of any human-made neutron source. SNS was made operational in 2006 and has since been upgraded to 1 megawatt with plans to continue up to 3 MW. High-power neutron pulses permit clearer images of

8136-482: The first tokamak to achieve a plasma temperature of 20 million Kelvin. After the success of the fusion experiments, it was enlarged and renamed ORMAK II in 1973; however, the experiments ultimately failed to lead to fusion power plants. The US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) required improved safety standards in the early 1970s for nuclear reactors, so ORNL staff wrote almost 100 requirements covering many factors including fuel transport and earthquake resistance. In 1972

8249-496: The goals and aims of the agency and published a revised version of the merit review criteria in its 2012 report, to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. However, both criteria already had been mandated for all NSF merit review procedures in the 2010 re-authorization of the America COMPETES Act . The Act also includes an emphasis on promoting potentially transformative research , a phrase which has been included in

8362-473: The groundwater beneath the lab, and radiation tanks were sitting idle, full of waste . Estimates of the total cost of clean-up were into the hundreds of millions of US dollars. The five older reactors were subjected to safety reviews in 1987, ordered to be deactivated until the reviews were complete. By 1989 when the High Flux Isotope Reactor was restarted, the US supply of certain medical isotopes

8475-600: The institution from a suggestion by ORNL physicist Katharine Way ; Pollard would be elected the Institute's first executive director, a position he would hold until 1974. The name Oak Ridge Associated Universities was adopted in 1966. In 1950, ORINS opened a hospital where it conducted clinical research for the United States Atomic Energy Commission on the use of radiation and radioactive materials in cancer treatment . The hospital treated patients until

8588-514: The interests of ORAU members and/or the programs of ORAU itself"), and either among the top schools in the US by Carnegie Classification or National Science Foundation research spending, or have offered doctoral degrees in multiple STEM fields for at least five years. Associate members are not required to be non-profit, but must be accredited and offer graduate degrees in at least two science, engineering, or math fields; be recommended by an existing sponsoring institution or ORAU program; and receive

8701-402: The late 1960s, cuts in funding led to the cancellation of plans for another particle accelerator, and the United States Atomic Energy Commission cut the breeder reactor program by two-thirds, leading to a downsizing in staff from 5,000 to 3,800. In the 1970s, the prospect of fusion power was strongly considered, sparking research at ORNL. A tokamak called ORMAK, made operational in 1971, was

8814-582: The mid-1970s. ORINS also conducted training courses in radioisotopes and established resident training programs in nuclear medicine . In the 1980s, clinical research at ORINS was the subject of investigation by the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments . The Institute for Energy Analysis was organized as a unit of ORAU in January 1974, under the leadership of former Oak Ridge National Laboratory director Alvin Weinberg . This institute's focus

8927-517: The mid-1980s, primary financial support for the growing project was assumed by the NSF. In 1983, NSF budget topped $ 1 billion for the first time. Major increases in the nation's research budget were proposed as "the country recognizes the importance of research in science and technology, and education". The U.S. Antarctic Program was taken out of the NSF appropriation now requiring a separate appropriation. The NSF received more than 27,000 proposals and funded more than 12,000 of them in 1983. In 1985,

9040-403: The most recent incarnation of the 'merit review' criteria. Most NSF grants go to individuals or small groups of investigators, who carry out research at their home campuses. Other grants provide funding for mid-scale research centers, instruments, and facilities that serve researchers from many institutions. Still, others fund national-scale facilities that are shared by the research community as

9153-508: The new millennium have been two reports, variously called "Performance Report" and "Accountability Report" or "Performance Highlights" and "Financial Highlights"; the latest available FY 2013 Agency Financial Report was posted December 16, 2013, and the six-page FY 2013 Performance and Financial Highlights was posted March 25, 2013. More recently, the NSF has focused on obtaining high return on investment from their spending on scientific research. Various bills have sought to direct funds within

9266-734: The number 1 spot on the TOP500 list for November 2012. Other computers include a 77 node cluster to visualise data that the larger machines output in the Exploratory Visualization Environment for Research in Science and Technology (EVEREST), a visualisation room with a 10 by 3 metre (30 by 10 ft) wall that displays 35 megapixel projections. Smoky is an 80 node Linux cluster used for application development. Research projects are refined and tested on Smoky before running on larger machines such as Titan. In 1989 programmers at

9379-602: The president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate, whereas the 24 president-appointed members of the National Science Board (NSB) do not require U.S. Senate confirmation. The director and deputy director are responsible for administration, planning, budgeting and day-to-day operations of the foundation, while the NSB meets six times a year to establish its overall policies. The current NSF director

9492-537: The prestigious "National" laboratory designation, until in December 1947, when Union Carbide and Carbon Co. , which already operated two other facilities at Oak Ridge, took control of the laboratory and renamed the site Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Post-war, the demand for military science had fallen dramatically, and the future of the lab was uncertain. The X-10 reactor and the laboratory's 1,000 employees were no longer involved in nuclear weapons. Instead, it

9605-438: The proposing researchers. All proposal evaluations are confidential: the proposing researchers may see them, but they do not see the names of the reviewers. The first merit review criterion is 'intellectual merit', the second is that of the 'broader societal impact' of the proposed research; the latter reflects a broader global trend for funding agencies to demand evidence of research 'impact' and has been met with opposition from

9718-519: The public had a positive attitude toward science, but a poor understanding of it. During 2004–5 NSF sent "rapid response" research teams to investigate the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster and Hurricane Katrina . An NSF-funded engineering team helped uncover why the levees failed in New Orleans . In 2005, NSF's budget stood at $ 5.6 billion, in 2006 it stood at $ 5.91 billion for

9831-510: The report made a strong case for federally-funded scientific research, arguing that the nation would reap rich dividends in the form of better health care, a more vigorous economy, and a stronger national defense. It proposed creating a new federal agency, the National Research Foundation. The NSF first appeared as a comprehensive New Deal Policy proposed by Sen. Harley Kilgore of West Virginia. In 1942, Senator Kilgore introduced

9944-658: The research community and establishing cooperative agreements with research organizations. It does not operate its own laboratories, unlike other federal research agencies, notable examples being NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NSF uses four main mechanisms to communicate funding opportunities and generate proposals: dear colleague letters, program descriptions, program announcements, and program solicitations. The NSF receives over 50,000 such proposals each year, and funds about 10,000 of them. Those funded are typically projects that are ranked highest in

10057-588: The reservation is 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi) of which the lab takes up 18 square kilometres (7 sq mi). In 1934 the Freel Farm Mound Site , an archaeological site and burial mound of the Late Woodland period was excavated. The site is currently inundated by Melton Hill Lake . The city of Oak Ridge was established by the Army Corps of Engineers as part of

10170-543: The rights to all patents funded by public monies and research monies would be equitably spread across universities. Kilgore's supporters included non-elite universities, small businesses, and the Budget Bureau. His proposals received mixed support. Vannevar Bush opposed Kilgore, preferring science policy driven by experts and scientists rather than public and civil servants. Bush was concerned that public interests would politicize science, and believed that scientists would be

10283-455: The scientific and policy communities since its inception in 1997. In June 2010, the National Science Board (NSB), the governing body for NSF and science advisers to both the legislative and executive branches, convened a 'Task Force on Merit Review' to determine "how well the current Merit Review criteria used by the NSF to evaluate all proposals were serving the agency." The task force reinforced its support for both criteria as appropriate for

10396-644: The site of the first national observatory, that would give any astronomer unprecedented access to state-of-the-art telescopes; previously major research telescopes were privately funded, available only to astronomers who taught at the universities that ran them. The idea expanded to encompass the National Optical Astronomy Observatory , the National Radio Astronomy Observatory , the National Solar Observatory ,

10509-520: The site of various supercomputers , home to the fastest on several occasions. In 1953, ORNL partnered with the Argonne National Laboratory to build ORACLE (Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine), a computer to research nuclear physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. ORACLE had 2048  words (80  Kibit ) of memory and took approximately 590 microseconds to perform addition or multiplication of integers. In

10622-619: The social and behavioral sciences, engineering, and science and mathematics education. The NSF is the only U.S. federal agency with a mandate to support all non-medical fields of research. Since the technology boom of the 1980s, the U.S. Congress has generally embraced the premise that government-funded basic research is essential for the nation's economic health and global competitiveness, and for national defense. This support has manifested in an expanding National Science Foundation budget from $ 1 billion in 1983 to $ 8.28 billion in 2020. NSF has published annual reports since 1950, which since

10735-545: The staffs of the NSB office and the Office of the Inspector General , NSF's workforce includes some 200 scientists on temporary duty and 450 contract workers. Scientists from research institutions can join the NSF as temporary program directors, called "rotators", overseeing the merit review process and searching for new funding opportunities. These assignments typically last one–two years, but may extend to four. The NSF also offers contracting opportunities. As of May 2018,

10848-401: The standard method of measuring floating point performance of a supercomputer as used by the TOP500 organisation. National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation ( NSF ) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart

10961-420: The state of Tennessee , universities and other industries. ORNL has several of the world's top supercomputers , including Frontier , ranked by the TOP500 as the world's most powerful. The lab is a leading neutron and nuclear power research facility that includes the Spallation Neutron Source , the High Flux Isotope Reactor , and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences . Oak Ridge National Laboratory

11074-430: The targets, meaning smaller samples can be analysed and accurate results require fewer pulses. Between 2002 and 2008 ORNL partnered with Caterpillar Inc. to form a new material for their diesel engines that can withstand large temperature fluctuations. The new steel, named CF8C Plus, is based on conventional CF8C stainless steel with added manganese and nitrogen ; the result has better high–temperature properties and

11187-479: The understanding of plasma physics , a crucial area for developing a fusion power plant. The US ITER office is at ORNL with partners at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Savannah River National Laboratory . The US contribution to the ITER project is 9.1% which is expected to be in excess of US$ 1.6 billion throughout the contract. ORNL researchers participated in developing of an extensive research plan for

11300-463: The world's second self-sustaining nuclear reactor after Fermi's previous experiment, the Chicago Pile-1 . The X-10 was the first reactor designed for continuous operation. After the end of World War II, management of the lab was contracted by the US government to Monsanto ; however, they withdrew in 1947. The University of Chicago temporarily re-assumed responsibility, with the site receiving

11413-581: The world. ORAU's mission continues to be the advancement of scientific research and education. ORAU operates the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) under contract to the Department of Energy . ORISE provides operational capabilities dedicated to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives for the department and its laboratory system by providing world class expertise in STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and

11526-605: Was an international effort: three electromagnets were produced in the US, one in Japan, one in Switzerland and the final by remaining European states. ORNL was involved in analysing the damage to the core of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station after the accident in 1979 . The 1980s brought more changes to ORNL: a focus on efficiency became paramount. An accelerated climate simulation chamber

11639-613: Was both lauded and criticized for favoring the standards. In 1991 the NSFNET acceptable use policy was altered to allow commercial traffic. By 1995, with private, commercial market thriving, NSF decommissioned the NSFNET, allowing for public use of the Internet. In 1993 students and staff at the NSF-supported National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, developed Mosaic ,

11752-614: Was built that applied varying weather conditions to insulation to test its efficacy and durability faster than real time. Materials research into heat resistant ceramics for use in truck and high-tech car engines was performed, building upon the materials research that began in the nuclear reactors of the 1950s. In 1987 the High Temperature Materials Laboratory was established, where ORNL and industry researchers cooperated on ceramic and alloy projects. The materials research budget at ORNL doubled after initial uncertainty regarding Reagan's economic policy of less government expenditure. In 1981,

11865-546: Was created in 2022 to accelerate the transition of basic research into real world impact. It has a primary goal of the support of use-inspired research and the translation of research results to the market and society. Prior to October 2018, NSF maintained three overseas offices to promote collaboration between the science and engineering communities of the United States and other continents' scientific communities: All three overseas offices were shut down in October 2018, to reflect

11978-968: Was depleted. In 1989 the former executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , Alvin Trivelpiece , became director of ORNL; he remained in the role until 2000. In 1992 whistleblower Charles Varnadore filed complaints against ORNL, alleging safety violations and retaliation by his superiors. While an administrative law judge ruled in Varnadore's favor, Secretary of Labor Robert Reich overturned that ruling. However, Varnadore's case saw prime contractor Martin Marietta cited for safety violations and ultimately led to additional whistleblower protection within DOE. In January 2019 ORNL announced

12091-481: Was promoted by Harley Kilgore. The bills called for the creation of a centralized science agency, but differed in governance and research supported. The second attempt, in 1947, included Senator H. Alexander Smith 's bill S. 526, and Senator Elbert Thomas 's bill S. 525. The Smith bill reflected ideas of Vannevar Bush, while the Thomas bill was identical to the previous year's compromise bill (S. 1850). After amendments,

12204-483: Was recognised as the world's fastest from November 2009 until November 2010. Summit was built for Oak Ridge National Laboratory during 2018, which benchmarked at 122.3 petaFLOPS. As of June 2020, Summit was the world's second fastest [clocked] supercomputer with 202,752 CPU cores, 27,648 Nvidia Tesla GPUs , and 250 Petabytes of storage, having lost the top position to the Japanese Fugaku supercomputer. In May 2022,

12317-593: Was the light-water reactor , a precursor to many modern nuclear power stations. The US Military funded much of its development, for nuclear-powered submarines and ships of the US Navy . The US Army also contracted the design of portable nuclear reactors in 1953 for heat and electricity generation in remote military bases. The reactors were produced by the American Locomotive Company and used in Greenland ,

12430-472: Was the evaluation of alternatives for meeting future energy requirements. From 1976 until it ceased operation with Weinberg's retirement in 1984, the Institute for Energy Analysis was a center for the study of diverse issues related to carbon dioxide and global climate . In the mid-1970s, ORAU operated the Training And Technology (TAT) Project, an effort to provide marketable technical skills to

12543-478: Was ultimately rejected by President Richard Nixon. William D. McElroy instead took over as the third director of the NSF in 1969. By 1968, the NSF budget had reached nearly $ 500 million. In 1972 the NSF took over management of twelve interdisciplinary materials research laboratories from the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). These university-based laboratories had taken

12656-502: Was used for radiation exposure experiments leading to more accurate dosage limits and dosimeters , and improved radiation shielding . In 1964 the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment began with the construction of the reactor. It operated from 1966 until 1969 (with six months down time to move from U-235 to U-233 fuel) and proved the viability of molten salt reactors , while also producing fuel for other reactors as

12769-483: Was used for scientific research. In 1946 the first medical isotopes were produced in the X-10 reactor, and by 1950 almost 20,000 samples had been shipped to various hospitals. The quantity and variety of radionuclides produced by X-10 for medicine grew steadily in the 1950s. ORNL was the only Western source of californium-252 . ORNL scientists also performed the world's first successful bone marrow transplant in mice by suppressing their immune systems . In 1950

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