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An Overview: Physics Through the 1990's (1986)

Chapter: Supplement 3 - Organization and Support of Physics

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Suggested Citation:"Supplement 3 - Organization and Support of Physics." National Research Council. 1986. An Overview: Physics Through the 1990's. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/626.
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Supplement 3 Organization and Support of Physics In the United States, basic physics is supported by many organizations and a variety of funding patterns. These patterns reflect such factors as industrial interest, relevance to agency missions, and degrees of centralization, which can range from intense concentration in large national facilities to highly dispersed small research groups. In this supplement, we describe the funding patterns, their differences and similarities, and some of their consequences. We point out the increasing need for centralized facilities in some areas, the increasing need for dispersed support in other areas, and certain trends in physics funding during the past 15 years. This supplement focuses on the organization and support of physics as a whole. Specific problems of the various subfields are highlighted, but the reader should consult the accompanying panel reports for a thorough discus- sion of any particular one. THE DIVERSITY OF INSTITUTIONS FOR RESEARCH IN PHYSICS At present, more than half (53 percent) of Ph.D. physicists work in academic institutions; the remainder are in industry (21 percent) and in government and national laboratories (26 percent). An increasing number of industrial and governmental physicists use specialized facilities at regional or national laboratories for part of their research, but most by far of the physical research in the United States is carried out by small groups, often in universities. As emphasized in Chapter 3, it is important to recognize that small-group research represents one of this nation's major strengths in physics. It plays a major role in the advance of physics, and the research contributes directly to our national programs and the generation of new technology. 115

116 PHYSICS THROUGH THE I990s: AN OVERVIEW Major Facilities and National Laboratories It is probably fair to say that big science the collaborative use of large centralized facilities at national laboratories—had its origins in the Manhattan Project. However, even without this wartime stimulus the evolution of physics would have been, as it is, toward increasingly complex problems whose solutions frequently require larger, more sophisticated, and more expensive facilities. Elementary-particle physics has moved farthest in this direction: its research is concentrated in no more than four accelerator facilities in the United States. Nuclear physics, while clearly moving in the same direction, has so far managed to justify the maintenance of a broader base of facilities. Even in subfields such as atomic physics and condensed-matter physics, which pride themselves on their independent, self-sufficient, and individually sized research groups, some of the research now requires user programs with such facilities as synchrotron light sources, high-voltage electron microscopes, reactors, intense- pulse neutron sources, and the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Materials Research Laboratories. A very different example of the trend toward centralized facilities has been the development of national computing centers and associated networks. The NSF's National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Depart- ment of Energy's Magnetic Fusion Energy Computer Center (MFECC) make available to an individual researcher far more computer capability than could be justified or afforded on a more local level. Recently, the NSF has conducted a number of studies of the problem of scientific computing in general and large-scale scientific computing in particular (Panel on Large Scale Computing in Science and Engineering, P. Lax, Chairman, December 1982; and Working Group on Computers in Research, K. Curtis, Chairman, July 1983~. The NSF has created four centers for computation in order to make large computers available to the scientific community. The national laboratories play a vital role in advancing physics in the United States. They carry forward basic research missions and fill a variety of special needs. Often they can provide necessary facilities and services in cases where the size or cost is beyond the scale possible for individual research groups. They can also provide facilities that are too hazardous or too specialized for local laboratories. In developing, maintaining, and making these facilities available to outside researchers, the national laboratories play an important stewardship role. In order for these laboratories to maintain the quality of expertise necessary to perform this role, it is important for their staffs to be permitted and encouraged to spend a reasonable fraction of their time pursuing their own independent research. In addition to providing the essential tools for many areas of basic research, the national laboratories carry out diverse missions of programmatic research in areas such as metrology, environmental monitoring, and calibration and standardization. Because of continuing changes in these missions and their priorities, there has recently been discussion* of the appropriate roles of these * See, for example, The Department of Energy Multiprogram Laboratories, E.R.A.B. Report DOEtS-0015 (September 1982), and Report of the Federal Laboratory Review Panel (D. Packard, Chairman), White House Science Council (May 1983).

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 1 17 laboratories and of the best way for the federal government to manage these resources, while maintaining the flexibility to respond to changing research needs and to exploit new scientific and technical developments. The Packard report makes a number of recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of the laboratories. The recommendations are particularly con- cerned with giving the laboratories more financial stability and flexibility. It is suggested that a substantial part (5 to 10 percent) of the laboratories' budgets be earmarked as discretionary funds for the director to use in exploiting innovative scientific opportunities. While seeking in this way to reduce the level of micromanagement by the funding agencies, the recommendations would at the same time make directors more accountable for the quality, productivity, and relevance of their laboratories. The Packard report is also concerned with the establishment of clearly defined missions for each laboratory (beyond simple self-preservation) and with the strengthening of the interaction of federal laboratories with their users and with both industrial and university scientists and laboratories. Maintaining strong national laboratories is vital to the future of physics research in the United States. University Research In addition to their role in educating and training graduate students who will be the next generation of research scientists, university faculty and their laboratories carry out much of the basic physics research in the United States. Free of the responsibilities for programmatic research, the encumbrances of commercial justification, and, generally, restrictive commitments to large in-house facilities, the university component of physics research can be imaginative and flexible in pursuing new ideas. Because of this flexibility, and because of the diversity resulting from the large number of independent university researchers with interests covering the full range of physics, university laboratories have been able to compete successfully with national and industrial laboratories in spite of the overwhelming advantage that the other two components frequently have in terms of instrumentation and facilities. Industrial Research Industrial research in the United States is concentrated in condensed-matter physics; in atomic, molecular, and optical physics; and in interdisciplinary areas such as materials science and biophysics. In condensed-matter physics, industrial research constitutes nearly one third of the total effort in the United States. Industrial interest in these fields is due to the close relationship between basic discoveries in these areas and commercial application in electronics and optics. Industrial laboratories in the United States are responsible for much basic research, and they also provide a bridge between the research commu- nity and the development of new technologies. Such advances have allowed the United States to lead the world in the area of high technology. Industrial laboratories like those at Bell and IBM are unique in the world, and they represent a national resource that could not easily be replicated. In interface areas, industrial research laboratories can provide unique opportuni- ties and instrumentation for basic research. Industrial laboratories can fre-

118 PHYSICS THROUGH THE ~990s: AN OVERVIEW quently apply a broader range of techniques to a particular problem than is possible in universities. This can be crucial in materials work, where several characterization measurements are important in uncovering the physics of a specific problem. THE COMPLEMENTARY ROLES OF OUR RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS Industrial laboratories, national laboratories, and university laboratories have their particular strengths, which complement each other and should be used to ensure the vitality of our national research effort. As discussed further in the last section of this supplement, an important strength of U.S. physics research is the flexibility that results from the collaborative interaction and constructive cross-fertilization among the university, industrial, and national laboratory sectors. A constructive, complementary relationship also exists between the large national facilities and the independent individual research groups. As dis- cussed in Chapter 3, balances must be achieved and maintained between the needs of large national facilities and those of individual group researchers and between a several-billion-dollar, 20-40 TeV Superconducting Super Collider to explore the nature of matter and energy and a $200,000, ultrahigh-vacuum system for hyperthermal (1-1000 eV) ion-beam studies of the atomic structure of metal surfaces. One difficulty in maintaining such balances is the different visibility inherent in the different components and the absence of opportunities for launching major research initiatives in small-group research. A new, larger accelerator or a major new telescope can have an invigorating effect on an entire field, which extends far beyond the immediate users. It is difficult, if not impossible, to launch such an initiative when the goals of a field are diverse and the major need is not for a central facility but for increased support of small groups. The growing role of research in the user mode at large national facilities can cause tensions. The situation was summarized in the 1970 report of the Physics Survey Committee,* and the description is just as valid today: . . . As experimental work shifts from smaller local facilities to larger ones of national or international significance, it is clear that the pressures for the greatest possible efficiency in the use of the facility mount rapidly, as does competition for access to it. Under these circumstances it is difficult to allow a student a major role in the overall design of an experiment, its execution, and its analysis. It also is difficult, when scheduling is tight and long-term, to offer sufficient time and flexibility to allow a student to follow his curiosity into whatever new channels unfold during the course of an experiment. What is involved here is a different style of experimental educational experience and one that is intrinsically more specialized than has been traditional in physics. But there is little or no choice; physics departments must accept such changes if they are to remain active at the research frontiers that attract some of the most able students. * Physics in Perspective (National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1972), Vol. I, p. 599.

ORCAN/ZA7~ON AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 1 19 1.0 - =0 0.8 ~5 o o 0.6 . _ . _ Q - Cl) z 0.4 o - ~ 0.2 J m o o _ ..... ....... ........... / ..... , . ..... : .... \ it\ ....... ...... ,, . _ .:..:... .......... _ if/ / in ..... ..... ., / / it ..... .... ...... L ........ .......... , . . ........ ...... ...... ' /A ace,., .: 1 ..... 1 ... ~ i ~1 ~1 ~1 ~1 ~1 Wall K41 1 ,l, [ ! 1 I. ... ..t t::::::::::l I : 3 . 1 . 3 ,:::::::::1 1 1 ~ : 3 1 I ~ i ' ~ 1::::::::::1 I::::::::::il I ,. . ,.' , . .... ,::::::::::1 r/; r/; I ..... 1'..:.': I ] ,:::::::::i 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 YEAR NSF ~ DOE ~ NASA ~ DOD ~ Other FIG U RE S3. I Federal obligations; for basic research in physics. FY I 967-FY I 9X4. FUNDING SUPPORT FOR PHYSICS RESEARCH As shown in Figure S3. 1 and Table S3. 1' during the 14 years since the last Physics Survey, federal funding for basic research in physics (when expressed in c an.st``nt dollars ) went through an initial decline from which it has gradually ~ In order to provide what we hope is ~ consistent set of rc w duct and to make the connection with historical records more convenient. the tables in this supplement list the various detailed funding data in current dollars (referenced to the fiscal ye or tor which they were appropriated). For the purposes of making meaningful comp`~ri,;vnx between the data for different years. wherever rea>;on`~ble and possible throughout this; >;upple- ment we have tabulated and gr speed c~ggregc~te finc~nci`~l support figures referenced to FY 19X3 dollars. To make this conversion. we h eve m ode use of the CPI-W index (urban and clerical workers); this decision was made partly On the b axis th it the largest fraction of this support is directly or indirectly rel Ted to these ~ dories and p tartly on the b axis of consistency since this index has been widely used in previou.`; studies. A much more detailed index has been developed (His,~l' Lamp Pl'!.si<.s An~'l.~.si.s `'f C`~.s~ `~n~1 Pri< `, CI'`'n~,,~.s. HEP-X14()2 Division of High Energy Physics DOE). which tracks sep or lately the inflation of salaries. power scientific equipment. construction. etc. A comp orison Of these two indices (CPI-W versus HEP) shows th it ~Ithough the weighted ever age of the HEP (Operc~ting/Capital Equipment/Cvn~itruction) indices m By differ trom the CPI-W index by a!< much ~s +~/ percent in any given ye or when averaged Over the period 1976-l9XI (tor which complete comp orison dot ~ exist). the two indices agree tv within les!; th In (). I percent.

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ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 121 0.04 0.03 LL o UJ 0.02 By UJ 0.01 o if. 1 . : 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1 978 1980 1982 1 984 YEAR FIGURE S3.2 Federal obligations for basic research in physics (as percentage of GNP FY 1967-FY 1984). recovered in recent years. This pattern, and particularly the recovery, has not been uniform among the subfields. Furthermore, it should be realized that the CPI-W price index, like all such indices, does not adequately account for inflation, because of the need for more sophisticated and expensive equipment. Thus a constant level of funding over a decade can actually portray a deteriorating research condition. While the overall federal support for basic physics research appears to have largely recovered to its level in the late 1960s and early 1970s when expressed in FY 1983 dollars, this support has not kept pace with the increasing GNP (Figure S3.21. Since 1967, federal support for basic physics research has fallen from nearly 0.044 percent of the GNP (1967) to a current level of 0.027 percent (1984~. Federal support for applied physics research (Figure S3.3 and Table S3.2) shows an initial decline after 1967, followed by a very striking real increase to a level that in FY 1984 is nearly twice what it was in FY 1970 (when expressed in constant dollars). It should be noted, however, that this real increase in support for applied physics is not broad; it is almost all due to the increase in the DOE fusion program beginning in FY 1976 and to more recent increases at DOD. Without these specific projects, the overall trend in Figure S3.3 would look similar to that portrayed in Figure S3.1. It should also be noted that these two sets of data (basic research and applied research) are aggregates reported as such by the individual agencies; they are not summations of the subfield data

122 PHYSICS THROUGH THE I990s: AN OVERVIEW 1 .0 - o 0.8 ~5 o o 0.6 . _ . _ Q - z 0.4 o - 0.2 o o NSF ~3 DOE it. ~ _ ) ~ . . _ . ~ ,....... / / 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 YEAR NASA ~ DOD ~ Other FIGURE S3.3 Federal obligations for applied research in physics FY 1967-FY 1984. presented below. The two different sets of data (basic and applied versus subfields) are each internally consistent; inconsistencies between the two sets are largely due to questions of definition. With this disclaimer in mind, we can use Figures S3. 1 and S3.3 and their respective tables (Tables S3. 1 and S3.2) to characterize the trends in the overall support for basic and applied physics research. As discussed earlier, research is also performed in industrial laboratories and supported by private industry, particularly in the areas of condensed-matter physics and of atomic molecular, and optical physics. Because of the problem of distinguishing between basic and applied research and development, finan- cial support in this sector is generally not so easy to identify and define. The expenditures plotted in Figure S3.4 and listed in Table S3.3 were compiled by the NSF Division of Resource Studies. While the absolute level of this support may be open to question because of problems associated with definition, the level represented by these NSF statistics is quite consistent with the facts, noted earlier in this supplement, that 21 percent of the working physicists are in industry and that approximately 26 percent of the papers by U.S. authors published in Play sic Cal Ret it's Letters and Applied Phi sic s Letters are written by industrial physicists. In any case. these statistics should be internally consistent. They indicate that the 30 percent decline over the period 1970-1981 is real. This is a particular cause for concern in areas where the support is concentrated, such as in condensed-matter physics and atomic, molecular, and optical physics, because industry may in fact represent as much as one third of the total basic research.

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124 PHYSICS THROUGH THE 1990s: AN OVERVIEW 240 200 160 o . _ `,, 1 20 CC 0 80 40 o YEAR FIGURE S3.4 Industrial expenditures on basic research in physics, 1970-1981. _~ 1970 1972 it, 1974 1 976 1978 ; ~ _ 1980 1981 Two subfields for which complete, detailed data are available covering this entire period (FY 1970-FY 1984) are elementary-particle physics and nuclear physics; the data for these subfields are presented in Figure S3.5 and Table S3.4, and Figure S3.6 and Table S3.5, respectively. These data include the operating and equipment funds for both the experimental and theoretical components of the fields. Because of the different ways in which the agencies organize and report their research support, it was necessary to work with the program officers to separate out the different components and combine them in consistent ways. NSF normally reports Theory as a separate aggregate undifferentiated by subfield, and so we had to develop a consistent way of apportioning this. Although it would be desirable to present investments in TABLE S3.3 Industrial Expenditures for Basic Research in Physics, 1971-1981 (in Millions of Dollars) 71 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 81 81 Physics 111 112 Physics Deflated 258 251 94 83 91 92 116 223 186 181 171 185 SOURCE: NSF Division of Science Resource Studies. a Parentheses indicate estimated amounts. 121 (133) 146 (155) 165 197 (212) 211 (189) 181

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 1 25 capital equipment separately from operating expense, neither NSF nor DOE handle Equipment consistently as a separable item. DOE has an equipment category, but this is used primarily for its national laboratories; the purchase of similar items by its contract universities is included inextricably in their operating funds, as in the case of NSF grants. Therefore, in order to be consistent in our tables and graphs, we have included all equipment funds together with operating funds. Although NSF likewise does not differentiate its Construction funds in its reports, these funds are usually more easily identifi- able, and we have been able to separate them from the operating funds. Construction funds are discussed separately later in this supplement. The elementary-particle physics data, Figure S3.5, reveal a more uniform level of support for operating funds than is shown for all of physics in Figure S3. 1, although there were large fluctuations in the equipment fund. For nuclear physics, the plot of funding data in Figure S3.6 also shows a relatively more uniform pattern of support over the 15-year period than Figure S3. 1 shows for physics as a whole. The relatively constant funding levels ~$370 million (+10 percent) for elementary-particle physics and ~$157 million (+7 percent) for nuclear physics during this period should not be taken to mean that the facilities and operations have been static. In fact, in both of these subfields, there have been major facility closings and realignments of funding support. Of the seven elementary- particle accelerators operating in the United States in 1970, four (PPA, CEA, 400 _ 300 o . _ . _ - cn 200 cr J o Hi 100 o , ,............ - ...... ............ _ // i....... ................ ::::::::::::: ,/ // ............. ............. .... 7, ., ........... ........... ...... , ........... :::::: by, r// / ' . ~ ..... , . _ a/ a/ ~ . —.... ........... ........... ~ . ......... _ , ~ . ..... ......... ... _ ~ . ....... ! /,~ l Ail : :::::: 1 / ............ ,........... - ............ ............ - 1970 1972 1974 1976 1 978 1980 1982 1 984 YEAR DOE Op. ~ DOE Eqpt. ~ NSF Op. FIGURE S3.5 NSF and DOE funding for elementary-particle physics, FY 1970-FY 1984. Funding is expressed in FY 1983 dollars using CPI-W inflation factor. Construction funds are not included.

126 en o Do I so Ct Ct Cal ._ in Cal ._ Cal - ._ Ct so: ~ _ 52: cn ~ - o of o Sly cn o ._ _ ~ ._ - O ~ _ Ct ~ I C,.4 Z ~ ._ Cal - V) o - 1 ~ in: me ~ 0 Ct _ Ct C) cn . 00 Car IN 00 - 0= - 00 - r~ - Cal a _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ cry 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . _ _ ~ ~ ~ _ O — ~ rid rid rid rid ~ ~ 00 00 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Car . . . . . . . . . . . . Oo r. ~ ~ ~ ~ oo v~ ~ r~ ~ ~ O — ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ r~ O O oo ~ ~ o ~ ~ oo oo ~ oo ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~ '$ 45~ d- ~ — 1— ~D r~ O 00 ~C 0c C~ ~— ~ ~ _ ~ ~ ~ - - ~ ~ ~D C~ ~ ~ ~ 0 0\ ~ ~ 00 ~ ~ ~ O ~ ~ O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oo a~ ~ c~ ~ ~ ~ r~ ~ O ~ ~ O ~ ~ ~ 1— 00 00 ~ ~ — — ~ ~ ~ v~ ~ oo - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ oO O ~ ~ — ~D ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~ - oo o o - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '= ~— oo ~ —; — — ~ c - - ~ ~ O ~ r~ oo ~ — . . . . . . . . . l 00 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~C) ~ 0~ tA~ _ ~ 1~ t— — ~ — _ ~ ~ _ _ ~ _. ~ ~ r~ ~ _ ~ . . . . . — a~ r~ ~ _ _ _ ~ ~ * E 04 G * LU o,0 0£ 00 ~ _ ~ ~ c: ~At , _ ~ _ ~ _ _ A ~ LI ~ [ O ~ ~ 00 ~ . . . . . . ~ ~ ~ ~ O ~ _ _ ~ 00 0N t_ ~ — ~ O . . . . . . ~ ~ ~ 00 _ _ - O ~ ~ ~ . . . . 1 ~ CN _ _ ~D ~ oC . . . . ~ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ — ~ _ * a' Ct ~: G) to 04 ~ ~ c: ~ . - · - - — c<S 'e |_ $_ A~ O O O 0 00 . . . . . 00 ~ r~ ~ ~D _ ~ ~ O O O ~ . . . . . ~ 00 0 00 ~ _ ' —) O O 0 00 . . . . . ~ ~ O o r~ oo :I F_ ~c ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ ° ~ ~ ~ ~ U ~ ·- ~.L] ~,L] ~.L) C.~ p.L] ~ ~,L [L. ~,L~ ~.L, ~ ~ 3 ~ ~ Ct :t S~ O O O O O O ~ O O Z Z ~ ~ O ~ Z E_ E_ O ~ · {~> .m ~ S_ · — Ct 3 3 o SO~ ~ ~_ o .= Ct o ~ cn ' C~ ~ ~ 5 O ~ C) — C~ I_ ·— ._ ~ — O .. ~e O C) Z ~

OR GANIZA TION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 127 180 160 140 - C~ o 120 . _ 100 80 40 20 o .......... ............... ...... : . 1'.. ............ .. ..... ............. .......... .... _ ..... 1 ..,:, .,., 1 ....,,.,.. 1 ............ 1 .... _ ....... : ....... .......... .:....... ..... ,.: : : : : : : Am, ..... ..::. . .. . , .. .. ..:.... ... K/: , .. .. , ....... .... . ..... . , ..... ... .—.,.. ... .... ...... ........ ........ :-:::-:-:-::: _ :< ...... ............. ..... .............. , .. ........... ........ - ,, '/' ...,—.,.,., , ... . . :........ .. . ... . ...... ...... K~ ....... ............. .. ... ....... ...... ............. ..~,..... ,....... ........ ....... ....... ,_ // ~ _ . . . . ........ .. ... ....... ..... - 1// r t..... I.......... I......... I............ I.......... I............ I........... 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 YEAR DOE Op. ~1 DOE Eqpt. FIGURE S3.6 NSF and DOE funding for nuclear physics, FY 1970-FY 1984. Funding is expressed in FY 1983 dollars using CPI-W inflation factor. Construction funds are not included. ZGS, and Bevatron) were retired from research in elementary-particle physics, while one new one (FNAL) began active research. This centralization of elementary-particle physics facilities is expected to continue. In nuclear physics, there was a reduction in the number of active accelerator facilities, from 89 in 1969-1970 to 27 in 1984; of these 27 remaining nuclear-physics facilities, 14 have had or are now undergoing major upgrades or have installed completely new accelerators. The current proposals for constructing two new large nuclear-physics facilities (CEBAF and RNC) indicate that the trend toward centralization will undoubtedly continue. The funding trends for the six subfields are plotted in Figure S3.7 (Table S3.6) for the past 5 years (1980-1984~; this is the only period for which we were able to extract consistent data for all the subfields. While it is clear from this plot that over the 5-year period there have been real increases in each of these subfields, it should be remembered that in general these do not represent the funding patterns over the entire 15-year period (1970-1984) since the last Physics Survey. The real growth shown in Figure S3.7 is in general only a partial recovery from the funding reductions experienced earlier in this period (Figures S3. 1, S3.5, and S3.6). The real growth in the past 5 years ranges from +9 percent for nuclear physics to +42 percent for cosmic and gravitational physics and +43 percent for plasma and fluid physics. Cosmic and gravitational physics is an emerging subfield that has just begun to develop facilities for gravitational radiation detection and satellite experi-

128 o Ct _4 s~ ~o V, a~ o oo C~ - o - V) - C~ - C) V) . _ ~n ._ s~ C~ - 3 z 5 =0, 0 ._ ~ 5~ Ct ~= o LU 00 O ~: O ct · _ ~_ V) Z ~ ._ - . - , _ V) ~ 0D .= _ _ _ Ct ~ .= ~ O O O ~ r~ ~ oo ~ r~ r~ ~ . . . . . . . . . . . <N =\ — ~ — o o ~] ~ - , ~ _ _ - , ~ - , 1_ _ _ _ _ Cr~ ~] _ _ ~ ~ . . . . . ~ oo ~ ~ o C o _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ oc . . . . . . ~ r— ~1 ~ CJ~ ~ r~) ~ o _ _ r`, _ _ _ ~ — X ', r' . . . . X ~ _ ~ ', o - ~ o ~ ~ ~ . . . . r~ ~ 0N o - ~ oo '. ~ ~ . . . . _ —, ~ ~ o - r~ ~ ~ ~ ~D . . . . . ~ ~ oo ~ ~D ', _ _ ~ 00 r~ ~ . . . . ~ o X ~ - cr~ ~ I — 0 . . . . _ 0 r x ~ ', ~ r~l ~ c`' ~D X r~ ', ~ ~ ~] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] ~ ~ ~ ~] ~ o ~ ~ - ~] v~ o ~ x —] ~= ~) — — —) - - ~ ~ O r~ ~ — ', O v~ ~ ~ O ~ r~ — — . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ', ~l x ', '. ~ ~ — r~ ~ 0 ~ ~N — — ~ ~ ~t c~ D ~} — ~ ~\ - - x * r~ 04 ~ * ce 3 ~ ~ ~ C) sm ~ ~ c~ _ ~ ~ S: C.) ·~ Ct Ct C;5 ~ ·~ v o >, ~ O ~ E ~° o o a ~ ·- ~ L~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ s:: t~ 3 ~ ~ —— Ct O O O O O O C~ V) V: V: Ct Ct ~ O V) o, o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ C) ~ Z Z Z Z ~ C) O ~ Z E- E- O ~ . ~ C~ ~ _ ~ C.) . ~ ~ 3 . o ~ . ~ ~ o . 5Ct 3 0 s~ .~7 .= 5: - ~ ce ~ o c:= .. ~ oo z~'

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 129 TABLE S3.6 Federal Obligations (Excluding Construction) for Subfields of Physics, Fiscal Years 1980-1984 (in Millions of Dollars) Fiscal Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Elementary-Particle Physics DOE Operations 207.2 235.0 255.6 308.6 324.6 DOE Theory 10.7 12.4 13.6 17.2 17.9 DOE Equipment 36.0 37.5 40.7 47.5 51.5 DOE Subtotal 253.9 284.9 309.9 373.3 394.0 NSF Operations + Equipment 22.6 25.2 26.2 28.7 35.9 NSF Theory 3.7 4.5 4.7 5.2 6.0 NSF Subtotal 26.3 29.7 30.9 33.9 41.9 Total Current 280.2 314.6 340.8 407.2 435.9 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 345.1 348.9 352.5 407.2 422.2 Nuclear Physics DOE Operations 88.2 95.7 104.7 107.9 122.0 DOE Theory 6.1 7.0 7.7 8.2 9.0 DOE Equipment 8.7 9.9 9.5 10.4 11.3 DOE Subtotal 103.0 112.6 121.9 126.5 142.3 NSF Operations + Equipment 21.3 23.2 23.5 25.6 30.8 NSF Theory 1.8 1.8 2.3 2.2 2.5 NSF Subtotal 23.1 25.0 25.8 27.8 33.3 NASA Int. Energy 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 Total Current 126.2 137.8 147.8 154.4 175.7 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 155.4 152.8 152.9 154.4 170.2 Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics DOE 5.3 5.7 6.0 6.4 6.9 NSF 5.6 7.1 8.0 8.7 10.9 NASA 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.5 ONR 6.0 7.4 7.7 7.3 9.3 AFOSR 4.4 5.0 6.1 6.4 7.0 ARO 8.3 9.5 10.1 10.1 10.3 DOD Subtotal 18.7 21.9 23.9 23.8 26.6 Total Current 29.9 34.8 38.3 39.4 44.9 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 36.8 38.6 39.6 39.4 43.5 Condensed-Matter Physics DOE 34.9 38.9 40.6 46.0 50.3 NSF 30.7 34.6 36.2 36.4 43.7 NASA 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.5 ONR 11.4 14.5 16.0 17.2 19.9 AFOSR 1.5 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.2 ARO 5.8 7.9 8.4 8.9 9.1 DOD Subtotal 18.7 24.2 26.3 28.1 31.2 Total Current 84.6 97.8 103.5 111.0 125.7 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 104.2 108.5 107.1 111.0 121.8

1 30 PH YS/CS THROUGH THE / 990.s: A N O VER V/K W TABLE S3 .6 Continued Fiscal Year t980 198' 1982 1983 1984 Plasmc' and Fluid Physics DOE 287.7 325.1 417.3 491.2 529.4 NSF 1.7 1.9 1.6 1.5 1.6 NASA 12.7 14.4 15.5 17.3 17.3 ONR 1.8 1.7 2.3 3.4 4.2 AFOSR 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 DOD Subtotal 2.7 2.7 3.4 4.6 5.5 Total Current 304.8 344.1 437.8 514.6 553.8 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 375.4 381.6 452.8 514.6 536.3 Gravitation, Cosmology, and Cosmic -Ray Phy s it s NSF 3.2 3.8 4.5 4.8 6.0 NASA 1.4 1.3 1.9 2.3 2.3 Total Current 4.6 5.1 6.4 7.1 8.3 Total Deflated (CPI-W) 5.7 5.7 6.6 7.1 8.0 meets, for example; the increases over the past years are a continuation of real increases over the past decade, which have approximately tripled the funding support in this subfield since FY 1974. Although Figure S3.7 shows substantial real growth in the subfield of plasma and fluid physics, there is concern (discussed more specifically in the Plasma and Fluid Physics volume of this Survey) that because of the mission-oriented goals of a large part of this subfield, most of the growth is directed toward the applied and development aspects of the work, with the result that sound basic research programs are not keeping pace with the rest of the subfield. Although the approach may be effective in achieving short-term goals, it is clearly not a wise long-term policy. The weakening of the interface between the Department of Defense (DOD) and basic physics research was triggered by the Mansfield Amendment in 1969. The reduction of DOD sponsorship for basic research had an effect on most of the subfields in physics, but it seems to have been particularly severe in atomic, molecular, and optical physics (~20 percent funding loss) because the initial DOD support had been such a large fraction (~33 percent) of atomic, molecular, and optical physics funding and because other agencies did not pick up many of those grants and contracts. Although the Mansfield Amendment was no longer in effect by 1971, the connections between basic scientific research and national defense have still not been re-established. This problem has also been compounded by the shift of the defense research agencies away from long-range research or even development, so that not only has the quantity of effort been reduced, but at the same time a smaller fraction of the reduced effort is directed toward long-range research. This is an important concern both to the basic science community and to the national defense community; and it is important for both communities that their interconnection be re-established as expeditiously as possible, not only to provide much- needed support for basic research to expand man's horizons, but, just as

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 131 (a} 120 100 80 60 40 20 o (b) 9 8 7 6 5 a o (+ 17%) ~ . , , 1980 1981 1982 YEAR 3 2 1 1983 1984 - . . c>6~ o (+ 40%) 1980 1981 1982 YEAR 1983 1 984 FIGURE S3.7 Federal funding support (excluding construction) for subfields of phys- ics, FY 1980-FY 1984. This is the only period for which complete and consistent data could be extracted for all six subfields. Funding is expressed in FY 1983 dollars using CPI-W inflation factor. Percentages in parentheses are cumulative change^in funding from FY 1980 to FY 1984. (a) Condensed matter; (b) cosmology, gravitation, and

132 PHYSICS THROUGH THE 1990s: AN OVERVIEW (C) o . _ . _ - ~n c:: o 40 30 20 10 o {d} 600 500 o 400 . _ = . _ - 300 200 100 (+ 18%) 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 YEAR o (+ 43%) 1980 1981 1982 YEAR 1983 1984 cosmic rays; (c) atomic, molecular, and optical; (d) plasmas and fluids; (e) elementary particles; (f) nuclear. Note: Because of different definitions (e.g., what is '`basic" versus what is "applied") the data in Figure S3.7, although internally consistent, do not add up to give the data in Figures S3. 1 and/or Figure S3.3. [The data in Table S3.6 and Figure S3.7 were supplied

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 133 (e} 400 300 An CE: 200 100 t~,~-7oJ o ~~ o (I) 180 160 140 In o 120 . _ . _ - cn o 00 80 60 40 20 o 1980 1981 1982 YEAR (+ 22%) 1980 1981 1982 YEAR (+ 10%) 1983 1 984 ;~ 1983 1 984 directly by the relevant program officers or administrators who are closer to the actual detailed disbursement of the funds than are the sources of Tables S3. 1 and S3.2 (Figures S3.1 and S3.3, respectively).]

134 PHYSICS THROUGH THE 19g0s: AN OVERVIEW TABLE S3.7 Construction Projects Fiscal Year Total Construction Cost (Millions of Dollars) PlasmalFusion Physics Inertial Fusion Shiva (LLNL) 74-76 25.0 Antares (LANL) 75-82 62.3 NOVA (LLNL) 78-82 176.0 Particle Beam Fusion Accelerator (SNL): PBFA I PBFA II Target Fabrication Facilities: (LANL) (LLNL) Magnetic Fusion Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL): Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor PDX Neutral Beams Mirror Fusion Test Facility (LLNL) Doublet III Neutral Beams (General Atomic) Elmo Bumpy Torus (ORNL) Elementary Particle Physics Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL): 200 GeV Accelerator Energy Saver/Doubler Tevatron I Tevatron II Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC): 75-78 81 -85 14.2 45.7 80-82 15.3 80-82 7.6 76-84 79-80 78-86 79-80 80-82 68-74 79-82 81 -86 82-85 313.6 15.1 246.2 20.9 17.8 243.5 50.8 82.5 49.0 Positron-Electron Project (PEP) 76-83 80.3 SLAC Linear Collider (SLC) 84-86 112.0 Cornell Electron-Positron Storage Ring (Cornell) 77-79 19.6 Isabelle/CBA~ (BNL) . 78-83 124.0 Nuclear Physics SuperHILAC/Bevalac Upgrades (LBL) 70-80 12.4 Holifield Heavy-Ion Research Facility (ORNL): 75-79 17.2 National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab. (MSU): Phase I 75-79 2.9 Phase II 80-85 33.0 SUNY (Stony Brook) 77-82 4.1 Bates Linear Electron Accelerator (M1T): Experimental Facilities 77-79 5.0 Beam Recirculator 80-83 1.9 Argonne Tandem-Linac (ATLAS) (ANL) 82-83 7.7 Florida State University 83-85 2.8 Indiana University Cyclotron Facility 83-86 6.0 University of Washington 84-87 8.0 Yale University 84-87 11.0

ORCA NIZA TI ON A ND S UPPOR T OF PH YSI CS 1 3 5 TABLE S3.7 Continued Fiscal Year Total Construction Cost (Millions of Dollars) Multidisciplinary Facilities National Synchrotron Light Source (BNL) Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (ANL) Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lab (SSRL) Aladdin Synchrotron Radiation Center (SRC) 78-80 79-80 73-80 77-80 24.0 8.8 7.9 3.5 a Canceled. important, to provide expert advice and communication between these sectors and to provide new ideas and concepts for future technological developments. Construction fund budgets are subject to large fluctuations in response to other pressure in the federal budget process. For example, the budget in 1974 was ~$15 million compared with ~$190 million in 1979. For this reason, it is not useful to plot construction funding on a year-by-year basis. Instead, in Table S3.7 we have listed the major facility construction projects over the past 15 years together with the period of their construction and their total cost in current (i.e., actual) dollars. Several large new projects for construction during the next 10-12 years are in the planning and proposal stages. These are listed earlier in Table 3.2; their characteristics are discussed in the appropriate panel reports of this Survey. The BCX facility is proposed as the next major step in magnetic fusion research beyond the TFTR tokamak. The SSC, CEBAF, and RNC accelerator facilities are proposed as the next steps in upgrading the energies available for elementary-particle physics and nuclear physics' respectively. ORGANIZATION AND DECISION MAKING As each of the subfields of physics continues to evolve toward more centralized big science, the specific decisions made by funding organizations have a larger and more direct effect on the subfield. In a broad research program, each group inevitably tends to regard its own efforts as undersup- ported relative to their importance, and thus there is constant pressure to reallocate resources. The simplest administrative response is to maintain the status quo, and it requires intelligent, objective oversight to recommend constructive changes. There is, therefore, a need for the individual subfields to take on more active and responsible roles in developing a consensus within the subfield itself about priorities and directions of development in order to provide the funding organizations with the informed critical advice that they need to make allocation decisions. At the highest level this involves advisory groups such as the White House Science Council, the National Science Board (NSF), and the Energy Research Advisory Board (DOE). Each of the funding agencies also frequently makes use of ad hoc advisory committees related to specific decisions affecting specific subfields. For example' beginning in the 1950s with the need for

136 PHYSICS THROUGH THE Riggs: AN OVERVIEW making decisions about new accelerator facilities at MURA, Argonne, and Stanford, the government found it necessary to seek advice from so many ad hoc advisory panels in the area of elementary-particle physics that, in 1967, the AEC formed the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) as a standing committee to provide advice and expertise regarding the issues to be con- fronted in making decisions in this subfield. Ad hoc panels and committees are still frequently formed when necessary, but these are now generally advisory to HEPAP, which considers reports and then funnels its own conclusions to the agencies. It is also worth noting that the European particle-physics . CERN is governed by a council comprising scientific and political representatives from the CERN member community has analogous institutions nations. A Scientific Policy Committee is advisory to the CERN administra- tion. In addition, there is a standing European Committee on Future Acceler- ators (ECFA), which considers long-range planning issues for Europe. In 1977, following one of the recommendations of the NRC Ad Hoc Panel on the Future of Nuclear Science in its report Future of Nuclear Science (National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1977, p. 791: In a frontier field such as nuclear science, priorities and directions change rapidly with time, new discoveries spawn new programs and may make old ones obsolete, and funding constraints are not immutable. All these factors make it essential that a Nuclear Science Advisory Panel be established to advise the funding agencies on a continuing rather than an ad hoc basis.... We believe that nuclear science has suffered by not having had an active body to advise, on a continuing basis, on the needs and status of the field and on the balance between various programs. ERDA and the NSF established the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) to play the same role for the subfield of nuclear physics that HEPAP plays for elementary-particle physics. More recently a similar Magnetic Fusion Advisory Committee (MFAC) has also been formed. Advisory committees such as these can provide funding agencies with evaluations and recommendations concerning both the long-range objectives and priorities of their subfield and its specific needs for funding, manpower, instrumentation, and facilities. It seems clear, from our discussions within the Steering Committee for the Physics Survey, that the other areas and subfields of physics would benefit by having an active body to advise, on a continuing basis, on the needs and status of the subfield and on the balance between various programs. It is also important (on a broader scale) for the various Divisions of the American Physical Society (APS) to monitor the needs of their subfields as well as any changes in the budgets of the various funding agencies and to develop their own expertise in analyzing and understanding such information. It is a healthy sign that in some subfields the respective APS Divisions have started to take more active roles in policy issues. In comparing research in Europe and in the United States, the 1982 NRC report Outlook for Science and Technology: The Next Five Years (Chapter 13) notes that one organizational difference between Europe and the United States is that the European countries generally have many more centralized funding and decision-making processes. This can have the advantage of providing greater funding stability (something that many research groups in this country would like to see), but at the same time it has the disadvantage of reducing the

ORGANIZATION AND SUPPORT OF PHYSICS 137 flexibility and diversity of the system. By removing decisions from the local operating level, the more centralized European mode has the disadvantage of reducing its ability to respond readily to new, unexpected opportunities. In the trade-off between greater budgetary stability and flexibility, the U.S. system shows greater diversity and competitiveness, which gives us a greater ability to respond to new research opportunities and provides a wider range of oppor- tunities for young scientists.

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An Overview: Physics Through the 1990's is part of an eight-volume research assessment of the major fields of physics that reviews the developments that have taken place and highlights research opportunities. An Overview summarizes the findings of the panels discussed in the other seven volumes and addresses issues that broadly concern physics.

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