Research projects at 52 universities and 11 U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories got a shot in the arm from DOE's Environmental Management Science Program. On August 19, DOE Secretary Hazel O'Leary announced the department's award of 138 research grants totaling $112 million over three years. The purpose of the grant money is to fund basic research that can be applied toward solving DOE's major environmental problems.
The Science Program is a partnership between DOE's Environmental Management and Energy Research offices. Both offices played a part in deciding which of more than 800 proposals received funding. In June, the Office of Energy Research convened external peer review panels to determine the scientific merit of submitted grant applications. During the federal review phase of the process in July, the Office of Environmental Management convened federal reviewers to reach consensus on which grant applications to send for consideration to Clyde Frank, deputy assistant secretary for EM's Office of Science and Technology, and Martha Krebs, director of the Office of Energy Research.
Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory won the most funding from DOE--$15.8 million for 10 research projects. Oak Ridge National Laboratory came in second with $12.6 million for 11 projects, and Argonne National Laboratory was third with $9.1 million for eight projects. Big winners among the academic institutions were the University of Washington with $3.2 million for five projects and Stanford University with $2.4 million for three projects.
The University of California system will share $4.1 million among eight projects at its five branches.The complete list of awards is available on the Internet at http://www.doe.gov/em52/science-grants.html.
