Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics Basic Research for Tomorrow's Technology (1999) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
8 The Next Decade
8 The Next Decade
Pages 288-308
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 288... ...
The new era holds the promise of revolutionary developments in condensed-matter and materials physics that will contribute to economic growth, national security, and the quality of life. Success will require investing in human capital and research infrastructure, establishing partnerships across disciplines and institutions, integrating research and education, and maintaining excellence with relevance.
|
From page 289... ...
Additional pressure on condensed-matter and materials physics funding comes from the field's responsibility to develop and operate large national facilities for materials research, such as synchrotrons and neutron sources, that are heavily utilized by a growing community of users from many scientific and engineering disciplines. As a result, although the resources available to condensed-matter and materials physics are substantial, there are severe constraints in comparison to the overall need to maintain the nation at the forefront of fundamental research in this technologically critical area.
|
From page 290... ...
These investments are needed to develop the human capital essential for leadership in condensed-matter and materials physics and related technologies. Facilities and Infrastructure Condensed-matter and materials physics encompasses a broad array of institutions and research modes, ranging from individual investigators to multidisciplinary teams, from bench science to large national facilities, and from fundamental to applications-oriented research.
|
From page 291... ...
An integrated solution, combining revitalization of university laboratories with modernization and increased community utilization of government laboratories, seems to provide the most cost-effective option to serve the infrastructure needs of the condensed-matter and materials physics community (see Box 8.1~. Materials Microcharacterization and Processing Facilities The dozens of materials microcharacterization and processing centers distributed among universities and government laboratories provide access to electron microscopes, accelerators, and other microanalytical and processing equipment that is beyond the means of individual investigators.
|
From page 292... ...
Neutron and Synchrotron Facilities In recent years, federal expenditures for the operation of large materials research facilities, such as neutron-scattering and synchrotron radiation sources, have received considerable attention because of the magnitude of these expenditures in comparison to the core research budgets of the agencies that fund them. In FY 1998, the estimated U.S.
|
From page 293... ...
. · Upgrade existing neutron scattering facilities at the High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory, the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Los Alamos Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
|
From page 294... ...
· Consideration of the broad utilization of synchrotron and neutron-scattering facilities across scientific disciplines and sectors when establishing budgets for the agencies that operate these facilities. synchrotron radiation over the next decade, determine the size and nature of the user community both globally and by facility, and assess the operation of the facilities including their plans and vision for the future.
|
From page 295... ...
Their conclusion was that this is not practical. Rather, the panel endorsed BES's stewardship of synchrotron radiation sources, and urged BES to build on the broad impact of these facilities, especially in fields related to health and the environment, to increase its own base budget.
|
From page 296... ...
They are embedded in our communities with a holistic mission in knowledge creation, integration, and transfer. The desired outcomes are increased human capital (particularly in the form of trained students)
|
From page 297... ...
Within condensed-matter and materials physics, government laboratories conduct multidisciplinary research related to national missions in energy, defense, commerce, and space. These laboratories also develop and operate the nation's most powerful research tools for materials research, including synchrotrons, neutron sources, and microcharacterization facilities.
|
From page 298... ...
Today, with industry focusing on global competitiveness and nearer-term development, government laboratories represent the principal national resource for research on this scale. Realizing the full potential of this resource requires a continuing commitment to long-term, multidisciplinary research and development at the laboratories and effective research integration with universities and industry.
|
From page 299... ...
As a first step, physics departments should become more involved in the industrial liaison programs at their universities, and government laboratories should engage in cost-shared research in their competency areas with industry to provide a window on technology. These interactions should not drive condensed-matter and materials physics research at universities and government laboratories, but they can provide a context for appreciating the broader implications of the research.
|
From page 300... ...
Government laboratories are similar to universities, although legislation authorizing cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) for jointly sponsored research between government laboratories and industries has helped to facilitate IP negotiations.
|
From page 301... ...
The elements of this fertile ground still exist in condensed-matter and materials physics in the form of potential partnerships among universities, government laboratories, and industry. Federal R&D agencies should encourage partnerships that recreate BOX 8.4 Recommendations for R&D Partnerships The committee encourages R&D partnerships among universities, government laboratories, industry, and government agencies in order to · Optimize the use of infrastructure and facilities, Enable cross-disciplinary research, Improve university and government laboratory appreciation of industry pri orities and needs, · Share the risks and returns of long-term research, and · Assemble teams that can emulate the fertile research environment of the large industrial research laboratories of the past half century.
|
From page 302... ...
The experience gained from these efforts, as well as the intrinsic nature of condensed-matter and materials physics research, should allow physics, applied physics, and materials-oriented faculty to make key contributions to campus-wide
|
From page 303... ...
6. Applied physics departments and programs can serve as a critical link to industrial liaison programs, which generally are strong in colleges of engineering.
|
From page 304... ...
The strategic context of a research area encompasses the related technological issues and opportunities. A broad appreciation of strategic context is important both in planning research and in recognizing significant potential research developments.
|
From page 305... ...
· The realm of reduced dimensionality includes thin films, surfaces and interfaces, artificially structured materials, polymer chains, and nanoclusters. An improved understanding of thin-film growth, self-assembly, and materials properties at reduced dimensions is essential to technological advances ranging from BOX 8.5 Strategic Scientific Themes in Condensed-Matter and Materials Physics · The quantum mechanics of large, interacting systems · The structure and properties of materials at reduced dimensionality · Materials with increasing complexity in composition, structure, and function · Nonequilibrium processes and the relationship between molecular and me soscopic properties · Soft condensed matter and the physics of large molecules, including biolog ical structures · Controlling electrons and photons in solids on the atomic scale · Understanding magnetism and superconductivity · Properties of materials under extreme conditions · Materials synthesis, processing, and nanofabrication · Moving from empiricism toward predictability in the simulation of materials properties and processes
|
From page 306... ...
· Continued progress in condensed-matter and materials physics depends on the ability to understand materials at increasing levels of compositional, structural, and functional complexity. Advances in atomic-scale visualization, synchrotron and neutron sources, and computational capabilities are providing opportunities to extend fundamental understanding beyond model systems to the structure and properties of real materials.
|
From page 307... ...
Enormous societal benefits have been derived from condensed-matter and materials physics research. The continued impact of condensed-matter and materials physics depends on maintaining leadership across the broad spectrum of condensedmatter and materials physics research activities.
|
From page 308... ...
It is a time of exceptional opportunity to perform pioneering research at the technological frontier a frontier enabled by advances in condensed-matter and materials physics.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.