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CHAPTER VII
Resources for Basic
Research in the
Chemical Sciences
INTRODUCTION
The understandings that follow from basic research in chemistry open new
options for addressing societal needs. The benefits may be recognized and
realized within only a few years, or they might not come to fruition until
decades after the most crucial discoveries. This range of time horizons explains,
in part, why research in chemistry is conducted in the United States in various
arenas, industrial laboratories, private (not-for-profit) laboratories, national
and other federal laboratories, and in our university and college laboratories.
Progressively through this sequence, research tends to be increasingly directed
toward the fundamental understanding of nature and less practical or goal-
oriented. This trend reveals the fact that in the United States, the frontiers of
chemistry are primarily explored and expanded in our research universities.
This characteristic contrasts with the organization of fundamental research
abroad, as witnessed by the considerable dependence upon the Max Planck
Institutes in Germany, the CARS Laboratories in France, and the Academy
Institutes in the Soviet Union. The U.S. system has the enormous advantage
that it strongly couples the basic research function to the education of the next
generation of scientists. Thus it continuously renews our pool of scientific
personnel with young scientists whose thesis work has probed the edges of our
knowledge.
BASIC CHEMICAL RESEARCH IN INDUSTRY
Because of the clear potentiality for short-term payofffrom chemical research,
the chemical industry invests heavily in its own in-house research. In 1982, the
Chemical and Allied Products industries invested about $4.2B in corporate
research and development, of which about $380M might be classified as basic
research. These statistics implicitly confirm a major thesis of this report, that
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
research in chemistry pays oh in future processes and products used by society.
They also show that industrial laboratories furnish an important locus of
chemical research. Excellent fundamental research is conducted in this arena
but, by and large, attention tends to be focussed on programs that offer prospect
for marketable products within a fairly short time, and most of these programs
must be proprietary.
Scientists in industrial laboratories depend upon and draw from a reservoir ot
fundamental knowledge constantly renewed and expanded by university-based
research. Industries also rely upon a stream of talented young scientists
entering the field and bringing immediate familiarity with the latest discover-
ies, the recent scientific literature, and the newest instruments and scientific
techniques. As tangible evidence of industry's recognition of these dependen-
cies, the chemical industries furnish direct support to university research in
amounts estimated to be about $10M to chemistry departments and $10M to
departments of chemical engineering in 1983. While this is only a modest
fraction of the resources needed to maintain international research leadership
for U.S. chemistry, it is an extremely important source of support. Industrial
support of university research provides communication and coupling between
industrial and academic scientists that facilitate movement of new discoveries
into the industrial laboratories where applications can be developed. At the
same time it can influence beneficially the graduate educational process, and it
gives industry some opportunity to influence the university research agenda.
Efforts are being made to strengthen this coupling (e.g., through the Council for
Chemical Research) and to increase the amount of this support. A realistic
appraisal suggests that industrial support might be as much as double its
current amount. Tax incentives to encourage such gains should be explored.
It is recommender! that new mechanisms and new incentives be sought for
developing stronger links between industrial and academic research and for
increasing industrial support for fundamental chemical sciences research
conducted in universities.
The most fundamental and adventurous research will remain a modest,
though vital, component of industrial research because the likelihood for payoff
is too uncertain and the time horizon for application is too remote. Yet, the most
fundamental chemical discoveries can offer the most far-reaching benefits to
society, most often in directions that could not have been foreseen. This
"high-risk," "blue sky" research ultimately furnishes the intellectual basis for
our cultural ethos and our technological competitiveness. Hence it is an
appropriate place for public investment. it explains and justifies the consider-
able federal investment in support of scientific research at the national
laboratories and at the nation's university laboratories.
Total federal obligations for basic research in chemistry were $349M in fiscal
year 1983. When corrected for inflation, this represents a 10.9 percent increase
over the federal investment 10 years earlier. During that same period, the sum
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290
RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
(corrected for inflation to 1972 S's)
-
c~
0$100B
-
-
He
S $50B
o
PETROLEUM and COAL /~<
- 1 Ul1LM 1UAL
PRODUCTS
MACH I NERY D/7 \~`
MOTOR
......
VEH ICLES
972 1 974 1 976 1 978 1 980 1 982
YEA R
REAL GROWTH FOR CHEMISTRY-BASED INDUSTRIES
of the chemistry-based petro-
leum, coal, and chemical
industries increased in in-
flation-corrected business vol-
ume by more than a factor of
two, while machinery deliver-
ies were increasing by only 30
percent and automobile deliv-
eries were 20 percent below
1972 levels. (All figures cor-
rected for inflation.)
Equally important, the in-
ternational balance of trade
for chemical products has
steadily remained positive. It
has risen from $1.4B in 1965
to about $12B in 1981, second
only to machinery. Thus our
chemistry-based industries
are key to our overall eco-
nomic well-being, and their
future must be assured.
While the FY 1983 federal obligation of $349M for chemistry research may
seem a large sum, it is well within bounds defined by federal obligations for
other physical sciences that depend upon sophisticated instrumentation (see
Table VIl-1), which compares federal funding for chemistry novice and
astronomy over the 10-year period 1973 to 1983.
~ 7 ~——A/ __ _~ ~
The parenthetical numbers, corrected with GNP deflators to 1973 dollars,
show that while real growth in chemistry funding was Il percent, physics
funding grew 20 percent and astronomy funding 44 percent. At least one
criterion by which these figures can be judged is their appropriateness to the
need for talented young people in the nation's industries. Thus if one divides the
federal obligations (in FY 1983 dollars) by the number of scientists employed in
industry, this "normalized" annual investment in chemistry amounts to $4K
per year per employed chemist. This is 16-fold less than the comparable
investment in physics and astronomy (taken together because there are no
separate data on the use of astronomers in industry). A related "normalization"
can be based on the number of Ph.D. degrees granted per year. In 1983, about
1700 chemistry Ph.D. degrees were conferred, so the annual investment per
Ph.D. joining the work force was $205K. This figure is one-fifth the comparable
figure for physics and perhaps one-twentieth that for astronomy. Thus, the
fecleral investment in chemistry is meagre comparer! to that receiver! by its
companion physical sciences. Cllearly, this investment is not commensurate
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
TABLE VII-1 Federal Obligations for Basic Research in the Physical Sciences,
1973 and 1983
Chemistry
Current $
(FY 1973 $)a
$146M (146M)
$349M (162M)
Physics
Current $
(FY 1973 $)a
$351M (351M)
$905M (421M)
Astronomy
Current $
(FY 1973 $)a
$122M (122M)
$379M (176M)
(1) FY 1973b
(2) FY 1983b
(3) ScientistsC employed by industry 86,600
(1980)
(4) Number Ph.Ds~ (1983)
$/Industry scientists (2)/(3)
$/Ph.D. (2)/(4)
1700
$4.0K
$205K
22,400
830
100
$57.3K
$1090K $380K
a Based on GNP deflator, see Science Indicators, 1980.
b See Table A-7.
c See Table A-4.
~ See Table VI-1.
with the practical importance of chemistry both economic and societal nor
with the outstanding intellectual opportunities it now offers.
To frame recommendations directed toward redress of this imbalance, we
must examine the budgets of each of the federal agencies that might logically
support basic chemical research in the public interest and in the achievement of
their respective missions. Table VIT-2 shows the distribution of support for
chemistry among the five agencies that contribute significantly to fundamental
research performed in universities and colleges. These agencies also support
research in their own national laboratories, but funding of basic research
performed in universities and colleges is a clear-cut and unambiguous indicator
of a particular agency's commitment to long-range chemistry research and the
renewal of the pool of scientists.
Table VIl-2 shows that the largest fraction for the support of chemical
research has come from the National Science Foundation over the last decade.
This is despite the obvious relevance of chemistry to the congressionally
mandated missions of the other agencies listed. The detailed budgets of each of
these agencies will be considered in turn. First, however, it is appropriate to
consider the "style" of research in chemistry.
CHEMISTRY: AN ACTIVITY OF CREATIVE INDIVIDUALISTS
Today's public image of science is still heavily influenced by the reverberating
impact of the World War II Manhattan Project that brought us the atomic bomb
and the Apollo Project of the 1960s that let us set foot on the Moon. We are seen
to be in an era of Big Science. But embedded in this glamorous, highly
organized, and well publicized setting, there are a number of scientific disci-
plines that have somehow maintained the highly personal characteristics of
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
TABLE VII-2 Federal Obligations for Basic Research in
Chemistry Performed by Universities and Colleges (by
Percent of Total)
NSF
NIH
DOD DOE
DOA
FY 1974 49.2
FY 1984 44.7
24.2
21.5
9.2 9.2
16.1 11.0
3.1
3.6
classical human creativity:
How many writers were
needed to create Hamlet?
How many artists to paint the
Mona Lisa? How many scien-
tists to propose relativity?
Chemistry is one of these dis-
ciplines. Somehow it has re-
mained an idiosyncratic and highly competitive activity that depends upon
~ i, ~ .
sustained individual initiative and personal creativity. Scientific publications
in the field generally involve two or three authors. There are no examples to be
found in chemistry to match the multiple authorship—dozens of authors on a
single paper—like those announcing the occasional discovery of a new
subatomic particle.
Chemistry has remained, worldwide, an innovative "cottage industry" with a
modus operandi that has been remarkably productive. Tangible evidence of its
success is provided by the faster-than-exponential discovery of new compounds
(see Chapter I, p. 41. This gratifying record was achieved despite the fact that at
any given moment, the molecules easiest to synthesize have already been made;
the harder ones remain. Yet discovery is accelerating. The only plausible
explanation is that chemistry in the small project mode is an extremely effective
enterprise, both here and abroad.
Thus the term "cottage industry" describes a highly individualistic and
personally creative activity rather than a consensual one. These characteristics
impart a healthy competitiveness and a liberating freedom from bounding
paradigms. They make chemistry an ideal field in which to nurture a young
scientist's originality and initiative. He or she can be intimately involved and in
control of every aspect of an investigation, selecting the question, deciding on
the approach, assembling and personally operating the equipment, collecting
and analyzing the data, and deciding on the significance of the results. Here is
another reason to nourish this central and fundamental science in its present
image.
Yet we are in an era in which directors of U.S. federal science-funding
agencies will candidly admit that they believe it easier to argue for an enormous
increment of funding to sponsor a large machine or a massive project than for a
smaller increment to stimulate many smaller projects with comparable or
greater expectation for new discoveries and scientific advances that will surely
respond to society's needs. Thus the Department of Energy in its 1985 budget
devotes 55 percent of its Office of Energy Research budget to two "Big Science"
project areas: $54SM for high energy physics and $440M for fusion research.
Currently under consideration by various agencies are proposals for incremen-
tal funds to build a hard X-ray synchrotron light source ($160M), a neutron
source ($250M), a "next-generation" multimirror telescope ($100M), a set of
"supercomputer centers," an array of"engineering centers," and an accelerator
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
with a circumference of 80 miles (CRIB). Each of these new projects will require
large, ongoing (and incremental) operating budgets that are irresistibly rooted
in huge initial capital investments.
In the presence of such ambitious programs, the incremental resources
needed to exploit the rich opportunities before us in chemistry are easily in
scale. Because of the societal payoff to be expected from such an incremental
investment, it will be readily and persuasively defensible in the individual
competitive grant style already known to be elective in chemistry.
PRIORITY AREAS OF CHEMISTRY
The strength of American science has been built on allowing creative,
working scientists to decide independently where the best prospects lie for
significant new knowledge. Many of the most far-reaching developments, both
in concept and application, have come from unexpected (Erections. Thus, a
listing of priority areas may tend to close ok or quench some of the most
adventurous new directions whose potential is not yet recognized.
Even so, it makes sense to concentrate some resources in specially promising
areas. This can be done if we regard our research support as an investment
portfolio designed to achieve maximum gain. A significant part of this invest-
ment should be directed toward consensually recognized priority areas but with
a flexibility that encourages these favored listings to evolve as new frontiers
emerge. A second substantial element in this portfolio should be directed toward
creative scientists who propose to explore new directions and ideas. Then, a
third element must be the essential resources to provide the needed instrumen-
tation and the infrastructure for its cost-e~ective use in achieving the goals of
the entire portfolio.
Where this balance will fall for each of the funding sources will vary, of
course. Industrial research will weight rather heavily the currently recognized
priority frontiers. At the other extreme, NSF must take as its first responsibility
the encouragement of new avenues from which tomorrow's priority lists will be
drawn. The other mission agencies should structure their portfolios between.
This report shows decisively that this is a time of special opportunity for
intellectual advances in chemistry. Furthermore, the report demonstrates that
such advances will not only enrich our cultural heritage, but also will help us
respond to human needs and sustain our economic competitiveness. It is in
society's interest to exploit these opportunities and to do so with particular
attention to those frontiers that deserve high priority because they can be
confidently expected to yield high intellectual and social return from the needed
additional federal investment. We identify here five areas that meet this
criterion.
A. Understanding Chemical Reactivity
B. Chemical Catalysis
C. Chemistry of Life Processes
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
D. Chemistry Around Us
E. Chemical Behavior Under Extreme Conditions
Understanding Chemical Reactivity
This is surely a time of special opportunity to deepen our fundamental
knowledge of why and how chemical changes take place. The advance of the
frontiers of reaction dynamics at the molecular level has undergone a revolu-
tionary advance during the last decade. At the same time, synthetic chemists
are constantly adding to our arsenal of reaction types and classes of compounds
in a way that is eliminating historical distinctions between organic and
inorganic chemistry. Much of this remarkable progress is due to the develop-
ment and application of powerful instrumental and analytical techniques that
give us capability to probe far beyond current bounds of knowledge.
In reaction dynamics, we can now aspire to elucidate the entire course of
chemical reactions, including the unstable structural arrangements interven-
ing between reactants and products. Just as the last three decades saw rich
development of our understandings of equilibrium molecular structures and
equilibrium chemical thermodynamics, the next three decades will see elucida-
tion of the temporal aspects of chemical change. We will be able to ascertain the
factors that determine the rates of chemical reactions because of our new
abilities to watch the fastest chemical processes in real time, to conduct reliable
theoretical calculations of reaction surfaces, to examine chemical changes at the
most intimate level ("state-to-state"), to track energy movement within and
between molecules, and to exploit hitherto inaccessible nonlinear photon
excitation processes ("multi-photon" excitation). These remarkable possibilities
are rooted in a powerful array of new instruments, foremost of which are lasers
and computers, and including Fourier transform infrared spectrometers, ion
cyclotron resonance techniques, molecular beams, and synchrotron radiation
sources.
New reaction pathways in synthetic chemistry offer another rapidly advancing
frontier. These pathways identify a high leverage opportunity because they
provide the foundation for future development of new products and new pro-
cesses. Selectivity, the key challenge in chemical synthesis, is the cornerstone.
Control of the different intrinsic reactivity in each bond type (chemoselectivity),
the connection of reactant molecules in proper orientation (regioselectivity) and
in the desired three-dimensional spatial relations (stereoselectivity) is at last
within reach. Our ability to produce a controlled molecular topography has
far-reaching implications for catalyst design. The traditional line of demarka-
tion between organic and inorganic chemists has virtually disappeared as the
list of fascinating metal-organic compounds continues to grow. We have just
begun to elaborate and understand the potentialities of chemical pathways
opened using light as a reagent. Finally, chemists are learning how to prepare
solids with a wide range of tailored properties that include inorganic solids with
contrived cavities as designed catalysts, polymers with structural properties
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that challenge those of steel, and new families of"electronic chemicals"-
inorganic and organic semiconductors, resists, super-lattice materials, optical
fibers, nonlinear optical materials that will accelerate development of micro-
electronics and information transition.
Again powerful instrumentation plays a central role. Rapid and definitive
identification of reaction products, both in composition and structure, account
for the speed with which synthetic chemists are able to test and develop
adventurous synthetic strategies. Of prime importance are high-resolution
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, computer-controlled X-ray crystallography, and
high-resolution mass spectroscopy coupled with the delicate separation capabil-
ities provided by chromatography in its advanced forms.
Chemical Catalysis
A catalyst accelerates a chemical reaction toward equilibrium without being
consumed. This acceleration can be as much as 10 orders of magnitude while
favoring one particular reaction out of many competing pathways. There is now
in prospect the possibility of obtaining a molecular-level understanding of
catalysis to move it from an art to a science. Rich payoff can be expected because
we will be laying the foundation for the development of new technologies. All
facets of this critical frontier are opening and synergistically interacting.
Heterogeneous catalysts are solid materials prepared with large surface areas
upon which chemical reactions occur at extremely high rate and selectivity.
Entirely new kinds of information are now accessible through an arsenal of new
detection techniques of such sensitivity that we can hope to watch chemical
change take place on a solid surface flow energy electron diffraction, electron
energy-Ioss spectroscopy, Auger spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy, sur-
face-enhanced Raman, etc.~. These instruments open the door to understanding
and controlling the chemistry in this surface domain.
Homogeneous catalysts are soluble and active in a liquid reaction medium.
Often they are complex metal-containing molecules whose structures can be
modified to tune reactivity in desired directions to achieve high selectivities.
Organometallic chemistry and metal cluster compounds are of particular
importance; they reveal homogeneous catalysis as a bridge between heteroge-
neous catalysis and enzyme catalysis.
Artificial enzyme catalysis is now an exciting frontier because of our instru-
mental capability to deal with molecular systems of extreme complexity. It
permits us to apply the synthetic chemist's ability to produce a molecular
topography designed to adsorb selectively a paticular reactant and hold it in a
known geometry the enzyme counterpart to the basic feature of a heteroge-
neous catalyst. At this structured surface locale, a chemically bound metal atom
is placed so that it will impart to the adsorbed guest molecule a desired chemical
reactivity—the enzyme counterpart to homogeneous catalysis. Prototype arti-
ficial enzymes are in preparation and are on the drawing boards. Revolutionary
potentialities for new processes are in prospect.
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Electrocatalysis and photocatalysis are adding new dimensions to the field of
catalysis. Chemical reactions can now be induced at the interface between a
liquid solution and an electrochemical electrode surface, with or without
absorption of light by a semiconductor used as an electrode. In either case, our
growing knowledge of homogeneous catalysis and of semiconductor behavior is
being applied and coupled with the stimulating aspect of the electro- or
photochemical energy input. Potential applications range from solar energy
storage to photogeneration of liquid fuels, such as methanol from carbon dioxide
and water.
Chemistry of Life Processes
In the last decade, chemists have succeeded in recognizing and synthesizing
a large number of molecules of exquisite complexity. This capability is most
timely because the exciting and largely phenomenological advances of the
biosciences now demand explication at the molecular level. Thus, the time is
ripe for quite spectacular advances in chemistry at the interface of chemistry
and biology. These advances are bound to have applications to human health,
animal health, and agriculture. The opportunities are illustrated by three broad
types of problems: receptor-substrate interactions, vectorial chemistry at mem-
branes, and genetic engineering.
Receptor-substrate interactions selectively mediate essentially all biological
processes. Thus, protein receptors (enzymes, antibody, membrane, or intracel-
Jular receptors) interact selectively with one or more substrates (enzyme
substrate, antigen, hormone, neurotransmitter, or simple molecule or ion).
Chemistry is needed to understand these processes in molecular detail because
we must be able to isolate and identify the structures of these substrates,
synthesize them in useful quantities, analyze their receptor-interactions in
physical-chemical as well as biological terms, and modify their structures to
suit desired uses. Medical and biological applications of great value can be
foreseen, but the methods of chemistry are needed in order to manipulate these
substances.
Vectorial chemistry describes reactions depending upon spatial separation (as
by a membrane) of reactants into regions of different concentrations. Because of
the importance of such systems in living systems (celIs and organelles), we must
understand the relations between concentration gradients across membranes
and the processes by which chemical bonds are made and broken. Active
chemical modelling, at both the synthetic and mechanistic levels, is needed to
complement current activity in mechanistic biology. Progress will be directly
applicable in pharmacokinetics and drug delivery.
Genetic engineering has become possible as molecular biologists have discov-
ered and exploited the action of certain natural enzymes that affect DNA.
Restriction enzymes catalyze the cutting of DNA at special places, and ligation
enzymes can join it (or a contrived insert) together again. Through synthesis of
DNA and RNA sequences, structural analysis of gene fragments, and develop-
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ment of separations techniques, chemists will play an important and increasing
role as we use these capabilities to clarify, on a molecular level, the chemistry
of genetics, and as we add to the growing number of applications of genetic
. .
engineering.
Chemistry Around Us
The atmosphere, oceans, earth, and biosphere are strongly coupled through
the chemical processes that take place in each region. Man's disturbance of this
global chemical reactor is no longer negligible. Networks of interlocking
chemical cycles involving trace constituents help determine the gross structure
and behavior of the stratosphere, the troposphere, and, through rain, the soil
and lakes that make up our local environment. To protect these local environ-
ments, we must understand what chemical substances are present and in what
concentrations, as well as what chemical reactions they induce, and at what
rates the changes take place. The first two issues involve analytical chemistry,
and the second two involve reaction dynamics. Fortunately, both fields are in
particularly fruitful states of development.
Analytical chemistry critically determines our ability to advance our under-
standing of environmental chemistry because much of this chemistry is con-
trolled by reactive molecules present at trace levels in some cases as low as
parts per trillion. Astonishing progress is being made in extending analytical
sensitivity limits (How little can we detect?), sharpening analytical specificity
(How sure can we be of what we are detecting?), and improving separations (Can
we isolate the desired constituent even in miniscule quantities?. Such progress
has immediate applicability in the analysis of complex but very dilute mixtures
of pollutants, pesticides, and degradation products of both human and natural
origin as found in ambient air, toxic wastes, polluted streams and lakes,
agricultural soils, and biological samples.
Instrumentation will play a central role in these gains. Analytical chemists
are applying our most sophisticated techniques, including tandem mass spec-
trometry, high-resolution gas chromatography coupled with mass or Fourier
Transform infrared spectroscopy, supercritical fluid chromatography, remote
detection using laser fluorescence or absorption techniques, ultrasensitive
in-cavity and photoacoustic laser methods, chemiTuminescence, and computer-
aided data collection and manipulation. Increased investment in analytical
chemistry will permit us to extend detection well below toxicity bounds so that
potential problems can be anticipated and ameliorated Tong before the hazard
level is reached.
Reaction dynamics in environmental chemistry poses some surprisingly
difficult problems that define new research fronts. In atmospheric chemistry,
complex chains of interlocking reactions can be involved, and reaction rates of
highly reactive and elusive molecules can be controlling (e.g., OH, HO2, NOT.
Because of the reactivity, these rates are difficult to measure, and reliable
laboratory methods for measuring the relevant rate constants must be devel-
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oped. Even the locale of reaction may be in question because of the presence of
solid and liquid particulates, including finely divided carbon particles (soot).
Reaction rates here may be catalytically enhanced. Nucleation of aqueous
clusters induced by such pollutants as sulfur oxides and nitric acid may figure
importantly in transport as well as chemistry, so nucleation rates must be
known. Hypersaline droplets provide an unfamiliar reaction environment in
which aqueous solution chemistry can be strongly perturbed. Photochemistry is
a significant factor and adds to the problem because the chemical fate of the
photoactive species must be considered in all the potential reaction locales in
the gas phase, adsorbed onto solid particles, or dissolved in droplets
(hypersaline or not). For example, little is known about aqueous phase photo-
chemistry in clouds.
Once again, modern laser spectroscopic techniques and computer-aided data
collection, usually coupled with traditional kinetic methods, are permitting us
to address these challenging questions. We cannot afford to neglect the rnnctinn
dynamics aspect of environmental chemistry.
Chemical Behavior Under Extreme Conditions
Most of our knowledge of chemical change has been accumulated within a
narrow range of the influential variables, pressure and temperature being the
most obvious. Now, as our measurement techniques are becoming more power-
ful, we can investigate chemical processes as they occur under conditions far
removed from those of our normal ambient surroundings. The ability to study
chemistry under such extreme conditions expands the number of laboratory
variables with which chemical reactivity can be manipulated and controlled. At
the same time, these extreme conditions provide critical tests of our basic
understanding of chemical processes. With capabilities in hand or close on the
horizon, significant progress in new materials, new processes, new devices, and
deeper understandings would reward a concentration of effort on the study of
chemistry under extreme conditions. The effort should encompass chemistry
under exceptionally high pressure, high temperature
,, in gaseous discharges
plasmas J. and at temperatures near absolute zero.
High-pressure chemistry has potentiality on several fronts as it has become
possible to examine reactivity at pressures up to and exceeding a million times
atmospheric pressure (>1 megabar). High-pressure studies of reactivity reveal
the volume profile of reactants so they add an entirely new facet to our
description and understanding of the unstable atomic arrangements that
intervene between reactants and products. The insights so gained could be one
of the important ways that the temporal aspects of reactions (reaction rates) are
understood and brought under control. Reaction mechanisms are revealed, and
reaction pathways can be manipulated. New processes and chemical products
are to be expected.
Next, pressure can have a differential effect on electronically excited states of
molecules, thus altering the optical properties of liquids and solids, and it can
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
NSF figure can be derived as a fraction of the announced budgets for its
divisions; the sum of the NSF Chemistry Division budget and the chemistry
part of the Materials Science Division budget is $77.3M (see Table VIl-3), and
smaller amounts are derived from the Divisions of Biochemistry, Atmospheric
Chemistry, Geochemistry, and Marine Chemistry.
Contrast this agreement with the outcome of a more detailed NTH budget
analysis sponsored by the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology of the
National Research Council for FY 1982. This analysis was not based on the
stated aim of the research (which, perforce, must always be justified in terms of
human health) but rather on the total funding of individual investigators whose
institutional connection is a chemistry department at a Ph.D.-granting univer-
sity. The total so obtained was $76M, just double that recorded in Appendix
Table A-7. The discrepancy undoubtedly reflects the substantial cross-
disciplinary character of chemistry research as conducted in our university
chemistry departments and implicitly justifies the substantial support chemis-
try receives from NTH.
Average Grant Size
Table VIl-15 shows some detail on the FY 1982 distribution among the
institutes of the funding received by chemists. About 90 percent of the grants
are supported by ~ of the 11 Institutes and 54 percent by the Institute for
General Medical Sciences. Over all the institutes, the average grant size is
$83.2K. This is only slightly larger than the NSF average, $74.SK, and it again
will support less than an average level of effort C in Table VIl-S (one
postdoctoral and two graduate students). By the same argument made earlier
concerning NSF grant sizes, it is recommended that a fraction of any additional
NIH funds into chemistry be used to increase average grant size. A 30 percent
increase in average grant size to level of effort B (Table VIT-~) is a reasonable
target. Furthermore, somewhat larger grant size should be considered appro-
priate for cross-disciplinary collaborative programs that, through joint PI
structure, link expertise in chemistry with that in other disciplines (biology,
molecular biology, etc.~.
Grant Success Ratio
Through all of its institutes in FY 1982, NIH supported 14,826 individual
investigator grants with a total cost of $~.45B. Thus chemistry receives about 6
percent of the research monies distributed by NTH through individual grants
and about 3.7 percent of the total resources NTH directs to the conduct of R&D
at universities and colleges (in FY 1982, $2.07B). When the data base is
expanded to include, as well, departments of biochemistry, pharmacology, and
medicinal chemistry, total NTH support in the form of grants to individual
investigators rises to some $204M in FY 1982 with 2,256 individual grants. To
these four departments, the Institute for General Medical Sciences devotes
nearly 40 percent of its budget, over $94M, to grant support. Support from the
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
National Cancer Institute rises for these four departments to $2SM, somewhat
less than 10 percent of the total NCI research budget.
The last column of Table VIl-15 shows that about 6 percent of all NTH
individual investigator grants are made to investigators in university chemis-
try departments but that the percentage is considerably higher in the Institute
for General Medical Sciences, 19.3 percent. For this particular Institute,
detailed study of awards made relative to the number of applications received
over the period 1974-1982 shows that the percentage of applications awarded
has consistently remained a few percentage points above the rate to
nonchemistry scientists over this period. Thus scientists in chemistry depart-
ments are apparently being equitably treated as measured by the success of
their applications.
On the other hand, the average success rate for competing research projects
has declined from about 60 percent in 1974 to about 40 percent in 1982. Equally
damaging is the fact that success rates fluctuate widely from year to year,
moving from about 60 percent in 1975 to 40 percent in 1977, back up to 55
percent in 1979, and then down to 37.5 percent in 1982. Such large and
apparently capricious variations do not afford the continuity essential for
first-cIass fundamental research. Needless to say, the overall NTH budget did
TABLE VII-15 National Institutes of Health Research Projects to Chemistry
Department-Based Principal Investigators, FY 1982a
Percent of Total
Approximate Number, Number, Res.
Institute Dollarsb Research Grants Grants
General Medical Sciences 42.9M 499 19.3
National Cancer Institute 11.7M 152 5.6
Allergy and Infectious Diseases 4.5M 55 3.8
Heart, Lung, and Blood 6.2M 67 2.9
Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive, 5.3M 64 2.7
and Kidney Diseases
Neurological and Communica- 1.8M 25 1.7
five Disorders and Stroke
Environmental Health Sciences 1.2M 18 5.5
Aging .4M 5 1.2
Dental Research .4M 5 1.4
Eye Institute 1.7M 23 2.3
Child Health and Human De- .7M 10 0.8
velopment
Total all institutes 76.8M 923 5.6
a Robert M. Simon, National Research Council, private communication.
b These dollar amounts do include institutional overhead.
not display swings of these magnitudes, so other factors are at work in
producing these large amplitude fluctuations. Whatever the causes, these rapid
317
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
602
At:
At:
40%
20%
//:INDIVIDUAL INVESTIGATOR///
_ /~/j//-RESEARCH GRANTS///////,
/~i//~.~i:
~ ~ _
1 975 1 980
YEAR
NIH AWARD RATES ARE DECLINING
AND FLU CTU ATING WIDELY
changes disrupt and damage
high-quality research pro-
grams, and they are to be
avoided. Hence we applaud
anti vigorously support the ef-
forts of the National Insti-
tutes of Health to build into
its yearly budget an extramu-
raZ grant stabilization pro-
gram.
, ~ , Shared Instrumentation
985
In the 1960s, NIH began a
program of support for the
purchase of large instrumen-
tation—mainly NMR and
Mass Spectrometers- for
shared use at universities. The program stabilized in the support of existing
centers without new starts in the early 1970s and gradually was phased out.
Nevertheless, NIH had furnished an admirable prototype mode] for the NSF
Departmental Instrumentation program which, from a much smaller funding
base, attempted by itself to meet chemistry departmental needs through the
1970s.
Now NIH has reawakened its shared instrumentation program, a timely
addition to the existing oversolicited counterpart programs in NSF and DOD. In
view of the growing dependence upon sophisticated instrumentation in the
health-related sciences, we recommend that NIH maintain its extramural
shared instrumentation program at a [eve! approximately equal to that pro-
posed here for NSF. Further, we urge that initial cost-sharir~g and support of
ongoing maintenance and operations follow the same guidelines proposed
earlier for NSF, i.e., 80 percent cost sharing and 5-year maintenance at 20
percent of the initial cost.
CHEMISTRY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MISSION
The many ways in which our national security depends upon a vigorous
scientific enterprise are enumerated in the introduction in Section V-C. The
body of this report presents compelling evidence for the role that basic and
applied chemical research has played in this enterprise, with direct impact on
the technologies upon which the nation's security is based. Most obvious
examples of interest to DOD include fuels and propellants, new polymers for
protective garments, structural elements, and nose cones, alloys for jet engine
parts, electronic materials, upper atmospheric chemistry, medicines, chemical
lasers, and a host of others. Plainly, it is appropriate for the Department of
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Defense to devote a deliberate fraction of its resources and attention to the
maintenance of the research activity that leads to such advances.
Applied and Basic Research
For near-term exploitation of scientific advances, DOD should invest heavily
in applied research, which is designated by categories 6.2, 6.3, and 6.4. At the
same time, long-range security interests dictate that DOD should also support
fundamental research in those areas that can be seen to underlie technologies
of particular relevance to the defense mission. The more fundamental research
is designated category 6.1. Over the last two decades, there have been profound
changes in the pattern of DOD research activity. When corrected for inflation,
the level of support for all R&D declined steadily from 1970 to 1975, remained
constant until 1980, and then was raised steeply during the last 5 years. In 1984
the level of activity in applied research exceeded the 1965 level and in the
proposed 1985 budget, it is 22 percent higher. When attention is focussed on
basic research (6.1), the picture is remarkably different. Viewed as a percentage
of the total R&D, in 1965, 5.1 percent of the R&D was directed to fundamental
research. In 1980, this figure had dropped to 3.9 percent. In 1984, the 6.1
category accounted for only 3.0 percent of the total R&D, and in the proposed
1985 budget, it drops still further, to 2.7 percent. Expressed in level of effort in
inflation-corrected dollars, (CORRECTED FOR INFLATION TO 1972 S)
the proposed 1985 investment ~ i`
in basic research is only two- 0 So 0 B ~ <~_ r 1 Offs r I
thirds the 1965 value. It is I,
recommended that over the °
next 5 years, the percentage <: $5B
of the DOD R&D budget dEi- °
rected to basic (6.1J research
be increased to restore the
1965 value of 5.0 percent by
the year 1990.
Research Areas
A number of broad research
areas in chemistry deserve
DOD attention because they
are likely to provide signifi-
cant advances relevant to de-
fense technologies.
Strategic and Critical
Materials
—Fuels, Propellants, and
Explosives
S600M
an:
~ 5400M
son
ct
~ $200M
965 ~ 970 ~ (375 1 980 ~ 985
YEAR
D.O.D. SUPPORT FOR APPLIED RESEARCH (~.2 6.3 6.4
(1985 LEVEL)/(1965 LEVEL) = /5
(CORRECTED FOR INFLATION TO 1972 S)
_
( 196 5 LEVEL ) i,
_~
1 965 1 970 1 975 1 980 1 985
YEAR
D.O.D. SUPPORT FOR BASIC RESEARCH (6.1 )
( l 98 5 LEV EL )/( 1 9 65 LEY EL ~ = /3
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Atmospheric Phenomena
—Chemical and Biological Defense
Nuclear Power and Nuclear Weapons Ejects
For each of these broad areas, Table VIl-16 lists fundamental studies that will
TABLE VII-16 Defense Needs and Special Opportunities
Army Navy
Air Force DARPA
Strategic and critical materials
Polymers as structural materials
Solid state chemistry
Chemical synthesis
Fuels, propellants, and explosives
Molecular spectroscopy & kinetics
Chemical synthesis
Catalysis, surface sciences
Combustion
Corrosion
Chemical lasers
Fluid transport
Condensed phases
Theoretical chemistry
Atmospheric phenomena
Chemical kinetics
Atomic & molecular spectroscopy
Analytical chemistry
Theoretical chemistry
Chemical and biological defense
Biotechnology
Analytical chemistry
Marine chemistry
Organic synthesis
Nuclear power and nuclear weapons
effects
Nuclear chemistry and nuclear
processing
Nuclear stability
Avow '' Eva ~v~v~
vet
vet
v.
Eva ''
vet
v.
vet
v.
~v. ''
vet ~
vat
vet ~
vial
NOTE: ~ = applicable '' = important Nave = critically important
provide the advances that will lead, in the long run, to advanced defense
concepts and applications. The table also indicates specific applicabilities to the
specialized interests of the various defense arms.
Chemistry Research in Universities
With so many areas of opportunity of special relevance to the DOD mission,
there is ample reason for DOD to guarantee the vitality of U.S. research activity
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
in chemistry. Furthermore, there are clear benefits to DOD if these opportuni-
ties are pursued, in part, in our university research laboratories. First, univer-
sity participation builds the technical manpower pool needed to deploy and
maintain our increasingly sophisticated defense technologies. Second, it gives
DOD significant influence on the university research agenda in directing
attention toward advancing our knowledge in those areas of chemistry key to
our defense posture.
Plainly, the extent of DOD influence on university research agendas is
related to the fraction of the university support coming from DOD sources. This
fraction remained close to 10 percent through the decade of the 1970s, a level
much too Tow to secure lithe desired end. In order for DOD to have a significant
impact on building our technical manpower pool while increasing the growth of
critical scientific knowledge,
its support of chemistry must
be comparable to that of other
federal agencies. Since four
agencies furnish most of the
basic research support for the
chemical sciences, a reason-
able level for DOD support is
near 25 percent of the total.
In fact, beginning in 1981,
the percent of DOD support
has been growing. From 1980
to 1983, DOD funds for uni-
versity research in chemistry
rose from $15.0M to $29.5M,
sufficient to bring this percent
to 16 percent. This rise paral-
~ ~~ ~ ~ · ~
321
(corrected for inflation to 1972 S's)
10~:
25~
Federal Support for University
Research in Chemistry
Percent from Dept. of Defense a'
.. .. ... ..
~ , . . 1. 1 1 1
1975
1 980 1 985
YEA R
TECHN ICAL MANPOWER AND CRITI CAL KNOWLEDGE
REQUIRE A LARGER D.O.D. INVESTMENT
Select a corresponding much-needed rise in in-house research investment from
$20.7M to $30.4M, which, after inflation, represents a real growth of 4 percent
per year. Then, in the years 1984 and 1985, planned support for chemistry
research leveled oh, just matching inflation at 6.1 percent per year.
It is recommended that DOD support for university research in the chemical
sciences should be raised to about 25 percent of the total federal support. Real
growth of 10 percent per year should be sustained until that goal is reached.
Because of the central importance of chemistry to our national security, the
same proposed growth should be Provided to DOD in-hou.se re.search nroarr~m.s
of the 6.1 category.
6.1 Research in the Various Defense Arms
~ ,~
Table VIl-17 shows for the years 1982 to 1985 the total DOD investment in
fundamental research, the percentage of these amounts devoted to chemistry
and materials programs, and how these amounts were divided among the
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
various arms. The Army, Navy, and Air Force direct approximately equal
amounts to the support of chemistry, which is appropriate in view of the
opportunities chemistry affords (see Table VIl-161.
In the preceding discussion, it was recommended that the benefits to DOD
warrant an increase in its current level of support for chemistry of 10 percent
real growth per year for 5 years. For each of the three defense arms, this growth
should be focused into the high pay-offresearch areas identified in Table VII-16.
Comparable growth in the Chemistry and the Materials Science programs
should exploit the opportunities chemistry offers to provide new strategic
materials, fuels, propellants, and explosives, as well as deeper understandings
of chemistry relevant to atmospheric phenomena, biological defense, and
nuclear power and weapons elects.
Collaborative Relationships
Since it is to the benefit of both the inhouse DOD laboratories and the broader
chemical research community (including both industry and universities), it is
recommended that means be sought to increase the interaction between DOD
laboratories and universities. There are several mechanisms that should be
pursued to improve these interactions; they include (a) postdoctoral and visiting
faculty programs, (b) long-term collaborative projects, and (c) innovative grad-
uate student support programs. Such interactions are entirely consistent with
recommendations of both the Grace Commission and the Packard Committee
bearing on the strengthening of federal laboratory, university, and industry
interactions.
TABLE VII-17 Department of Defense Research Support for ChemistrY and
Materials Science, 1982-1985 (6.1, Basic Researches
1982 1983 1984 1985 (Request)
DOD Total $694.1M $780.0M $837.9M $897.9M
Chemistry 53.1 (7.7%) 58.9 (7.6C%o) 62.0 (7.4%) 66.3 (7.4%)
Materials 71.5 (10.3%) 81.0 (10.4%) 82.8 (9.9%) 87.5 (9.7%)
ARMY Total $178.1M $202.4M $217.5M $238.8M
Chemistry 22.2 (12.5%) 23.8 (11.6%) 23.5 (10.8%) 25.4 (10.6~o)
Materials 14.8 (8.3%) 17.1 (8.4%) 17.1 (7.9%) 18.1 (7.6%)
NAVY Total $276.0M $309.3M $319.3M $349.7M
Chemistry 17.1 (6.2%) 18.2 (5.9%) 19.0 (6.0%) 20.9 (6.0%)
Materials 24.2 (8.8%) 24.0 (7.8~o) 25.0 (7.8%) 27.5 (7.9%)
AF Total $147.5M $167.3M $192.5M $206.9M
Chemistry 13.8 (9.4%) 16.9 (10.1%) 19.5 (10.1%) 20.0 (9.7%)
Materials 18.1 (12.3%) 17.7 (10.6%) 21.9 (11.4%) 22.7 (11.0C/o)
DARPA Total $ 92.5M $101.0M $108.6M $102.5M
Materials 14.4 (15.6%) 22.3 (22.1%) 18.8 (17.3%) 19.2 (18.7%)
a AAAS Report IX: Research and Development, FY 1985.
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
Equipment and Facilities Support
It is now widely recognized- as documented at length in this report that
federal programs supporting science and engineering activities have not ade-
quately recognized the sophistication and cost of the equipment required for
modern science. In many cases the equipment found in U.S. laboratories
supported by DOD 6.1 and 6.2 programs is greatly outdated compared to the
equipment found in laboratories undertaking similar work in U.S. industry or
in foreign countries. In 1983 DOD recognized these equipment needs by
establishing a special "set aside" program for instrumentation, $30M per year
divided equally among its three arms. This heavily overso]Licited program has
proven to be quite successful, except that maintenance and technician support
have not been included as an integral part of the equipment award. Since
recipient research groups and their institutions do not have adequate resources
to devote to these important purposes, there is a risk that the much needed new
instrumentation will be less efficiently employed or will become obsolete more
rapidly than would be the case if provision were made to include appropriate
levels of maintenance and technician support. It is recommended that DOD
continue its instrumentation program but with the addition of support for
maintenance and operation to ensure cost-effective use of the equipment. This
instrumentation program should not grow at the expense of the direct contract
support for research activities. Evidently the appropriate balance between
research support and equipment support is a matter requiring on-going judg-
ment, and continuing attention must be given by DOD to maintaining this
balance.
With regard to research facilities at universities and colleges, it is regrettable
that the lapse in federal programs has meant that new research laboratories are
not being built and that old laboratories and buildings are deteriorating
progressively. While the general state of research buildings and laboratories on
U.S. campuses is clearly not a principal responsibility of DOD, the Department
does have an interest in assuring that campus research facilities are adequate
to carry out the research missions and associated technical manpower training
for long-run national defense. Accordingly, DOD should explore mechanisms to
support new construction and renovation of university research facilities in
particularly critical areas of chemical science. If attention to such space needs
is not forthcoming, it cannot be expected that an adequate research base for
DOD needs will be available. In addition, DOD should support OSTP efforts to
establish new programs for research facilities generally at the nation's colleges
and universities.
CHEMISTRY AND THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MISSION
It is widely recognized abroad that a major strength of the U.S. fundamental
research enterprise is the plurality of federal agencies sponsoring it. Each
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH Ix THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
agency exerts its due influence on the research community's agenda by
encouraging research at the most fundamental level in areas that underlie and
advance that agency's mission. Consequently, it is an unfortunate anomaly and
a loss to the nation that the Department of Agriculture has had difficulty
mounting a significant competitive grants program to engage the university
research community more fully in its mission goals.
The FY 1984 R&D budget for the USDA was $869M, 1.9 percent above the FY
1983 figure. Of this, only 4.5 percent is directed toward research in chemistry
($38.7M in FY 19831. The bulk of this research is performed in-house in seven
major research centers under the Agricultural Research Service. In fact, as
shown in Table A-7, less than one-fifth of USDA chemistry research is supported
through competitive grants at universities and colleges ($6.6M in FY 19831. The
result is that USDA provides only about 3.6 percent of the federal support for
chemistry performed in the nation's university research laboratories. This is
incongruous in the light of chemistry's significant accomplishments relevant to
increase in the world's food supply (e.g., in fertilizers, growth hormones,
pesticides, herbicides, pheromones, and genetic engineering of plants) and the
expanding possibilities for further advances as described in Sections IV-A and
IV-D.
Over the last several years, conscientious and laudable attempts have been
made by USDA to add to its budget a more substantial competitive grants
program that does not detract from the existing activities of the Agricultural
Research Service. These attempts have not yet been implemented by Congress.
In the public interest, it is recommended that the Department of Agriculture
initiate a substantial competitive grants program in chemistry research. The
aim of the program should be to increase over the next 5 years the Department's
extramural support of fundamental research in chemistry to an approximate
par with its intramural research program.
CHEMISTRY AND THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
ADMINISTRATION MISSION
This report identifies several rapidly moving fronts of chemistry in scientific
areas where NASA has active interests. Obvious examples are high energy
propellants (Initiative A), high temperature materials (Initiative E), chemistry
in plasmas (Initiative E), and chemistry in the stratosphere (Initiatives A and
D). The current NASA interest in the establishment of a permanent human
presence in space offers fascinating challenges in chemistry related to life-
sustenance within the closed system of a space station (Initiative C). It is
recommended that NASA direct increased attention toward special opportuni-
ties in chemistry relevant to operations in space:
high-energy propellants
chemical behavior under extreme conditions
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
reaction kinetics and photochemistry under collision-free conditions
chemical aspects of life-sustenance in a closed system
analytical methods for compositional monitoring in both the troposphere
and the stratospere
Especially vital is NASA's concern with the chemical composition of the
atmosphere, particularly in reference to changes that may be occurring. The
importance of a deep understanding of the complex chemical processes operative
in the stratosphere has already been well documented in recent concerns about
the ozone layer. Now attention is focussing on the atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentration, which has clearly increased over the last three decades. Similar
changes are being noted in methane and nitrous oxide concentrations, each of
which is intimately involved with the earth's biological activity. Understanding
of the biogeochemical cycles that move carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and other
elements into and out of the atmosphere is fundamental to the maintenance of
favorable conditions for all forms of life. Because of NASA's unique capabilities,
it can play a significant role as we seek this understanding.
NASA has been actively engaged in such studies, through downward-Iooking
sensors in satellites, through programs of active measurement in the atmo-
sphere, and through laboratory-backup programs in chemical kinetics. These
programs address such crucial problems as the role of trace gases in the
atmospheric trapping of infrared radiation (the greenhouse effect), the deposi-
tion and chemical fate of acid compounds and their precursors, the chemical
interactions that affect stratospheric ozone, and the environmental implications
of the changing desert cover in the tropics. Clearly, NASA should maintain a
substantial and continuing commitment to the study of atmospheric chemistry.
NASA conducts a large and productive research program through its own
NASA laboratories, and it depends significantly upon private research contrac-
tors. It engages less fully the academic research community in chemistry. In
light of the potential contributions of chemistry to the safety, range, and
effectiveness of future space operations, NASA should more actively encourage
academic chemists to address problems relevant to the NASA mission through
competitive grants for funclamental research.
CHEMISTRY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
For FY 1985, EPA proposed to direct 6.5 percent of its $4.25 billion budget
request toward R&D. Approximately half of this $27SM R&D support would go
to programs in which chemistry plays a role: Environmental Engineering and
Technology, $50M; Acid Rain, $34M; Monitoring Systems and Quality, $31M;
Exploratory Research, $16M; and Environmental Processes and Effects, $1.9M.
While the Exploratory Research program is only 5.6 percent of the total EPA
R&D program, over 95 percent is currently directed toward extramural activity.
This research is largely conducted at eight university-based centers, but it also
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RESOURCES FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN THE CHEMICAL SCIENCES
includes some competitive research grants. Significantly, this small program
was incrementally increased by a factor of 2.5 in FY 1984 over the FY 1983
level, and all the growth was placed in the extramural program. Presuming that
this Exploratory Research program is intended to nurture long-range research
relevant to its mission, EPA should increase the percentage of its R&D funds
placed in its Exploratory Research program and its commitment to extramural
fundamental research relevant to environmental problems of the future. Most
of this growth should be awarded through competitive grants.
Initiatives A and D both present opportunities that are applicable to EPA
mission goals. When a potential pollutant enters the environment, it will
almost always become involved in chemical transformations that influence its
movement through and its impact on the environment. Photochemical and
biological factors may be active. The EPA should encourage systematic and
fundamental research directed toward clarification of reaction pathways open
to molecules, atoms, and ions of environmental interest, both in the gas phase
and in aqueous solutions.
More important, however, EPA should have as a conscious and publicized
goal the detection of potentially undesirable environmental constituents at
concentration levels far below known or expected toxicity limits. To reach this
goal, EPA should stimulate the development of new analytical techniques of all
kinds. Its program must, of course, include analytical detection of specific
substances already known to present environmental issues. In addition, EPA
should take a prominent role in the support of long-range research in analytical
chemistry. Program emphases should include extension of sensitivity limits,
increase in detection selectivity, and exploration of new concepts.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
chemistry division
