Dear Colleagues,
Steven Koonin, the Under Secretary for Science Designee,
addressed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
last week as part of his confirmation process.
He offered observations about the three major areas of
DOE technical activities - basic science, nuclear security,
and energy technologies.
On basic science:
"
The basic research supported by the Office of Science is one of
the jewels of the Federal research portfolio. The long tradition
of peer-reviewed support for university and national laboratory
researchers and forefront user facilities continues to drive
advances on many fronts. We are on the cusp of understanding the
origin of mass, the nature of most of what's in the universe, and
how quarks and gluons combine to form nuclei. New instrumentation
and new information technologies are enabling better understanding
of the changing climate and new capabilities to predict, manipulate,
and control materials, biological systems, and plasma. The
commitments from Congress and the Administration to double support
for these activities over the next decade are more than justified.
"
The full text of his address can be found at:
http://www.congressional.energy.gov/documents/4-23-09_Final_Nomination_Testimony_(Koonin).pdf
Sincerely,
Norman Graf
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