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September 09 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine
Stimulus funding to boost science, help the nation
Frank Valdez of Inorganic Isotope and Actinide Chemistry works manipulators at the hot cell in the Isotope Production Facility at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Photo by Robb Kramer
Science at Los Alamos National Laboratory will get a boost in the near term thanks to funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the “economic stimulus money” that everyone has heard so much about.
In addition to funding that the Laboratory has received for cleanup operations, Los Alamos has been awarded nearly $30 million for projects ranging from enhancing the Laboratory’s equipment medical isotope production to developing an innovative polymer-based membrane technology to reduce the energy intensity and the greenhouse gas effect of processes used in the chemical, fuels,
and power production industries.
More money may be on its way. The Laboratory has submitted more than 100 science proposals for stimulus funding. Helping meet the nation’s energy needs is a large focus of many of these proposals. Los Alamos scientists are hoping to capture stimulus funding to provide for collaboration with other institutions for development of biofuels from algae, extracting power from “clean coal” power initiatives, partnering with other national laboratories and universities on superconductor technologies, and working with our neighbors in Taos on enhanced solar power technologies.
Additionally, the Laboratory is involved in a statewide Smart Grid proposal, requesting $56 million of DOE ARRA funding. NEDO, Japan, has already committed more than $20 million to Los Alamos County for “smart meters” on homes in Los Alamos and elsewhere in the state.
While much of the stimulus funding is coming into the Laboratory through the U.S. Department of Energy, science funding also is available from the National Institutes of Health. The Laboratory is working to obtain funding for a variety of these projects, such as protecting the health of the nation by developing better immunology and vaccine protocols for emerging health threats like the H1N1
swine flu virus.
Stimulus funding has led to numerous partnerships with the state of New Mexico Recovery Office, industrial partners, other national labs, and leading universitiesacross the nation.
“We are working to capture stimulus funding to enhance the Laboratory’s scientific expertise in areas that are important to the nation’s future in a sustainable manner that does not require the Laboratory to take on new, temporary personnel or programs,” said Carolyn Zerkle, director of the Laboratory’s Stimulus Project Office.
Laboratory personnel and other interested people can keep track of the Laboratory’s stimulus funding activities through the stimulus Web site: http://www.lanl.gov/stimulus_communication_center/.
— James E. Rickman
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