Office of Science; Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice 00-17: Advanced Detector Research Program

AGENCY:

Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION:

Notice inviting grant applications.

SUMMARY:

The Division of High Energy Physics of the Office of Science (SC), U.S. Department of Energy, hereby announces its interest in receiving grant applications for support under its Advanced Detector Research Program. Applications should be from investigators who are currently involved in experimental high energy physics, and should be submitted through a U.S. academic institution. The purpose of this program is to support the development of the new detector technologies needed to perform future high energy physics experiments.

DATES:

To permit timely consideration for award in fiscal year 2001, formal applications submitted in response to this notice should be received before December 5, 2000.

Applicants are requested to submit a letter of intent by November 1, 2000, which includes the title of the proposal, the name of the principal investigator(s), the requested funding and a one-page abstract. Failure to submit a letter of intent will not negatively prejudice a responsive formal application submitted in a timely manner. Electronic submissions of letters of intent are acceptable.

ADDRESSES:

Completed formal applications referencing Program Notice 00-17 should be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Grants and Contracts Division, SC-64, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874-1290, ATTN: Program Notice 00-17. The above address must also be used when submitting applications by U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, any other commercial mail delivery service, or when hand carried by the applicant. An original and seven copies of the application must be submitted. Due to the anticipated number of reviewers, it would be helpful for each applicant to submit an additional four copies of the application.

Letters of intent referencing Program Notice 00-17 should be forwarded to: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Division of High Energy Physics, SC-221, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, ATTN: Michael Procario. Letters of intent can also be submitted via E-mail at the following E-mail address: michael.procario@science.doe.gov

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Michael Procario, Division of High Energy Physics, SC-221 (GTN), U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874-1290. Telephone: (301) 903-2890. E-Mail: michael.procario@science.doe.gov

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Future high energy physics experiments will require higher performance detectors to exploit the higher beam energies and intensities of new or upgraded accelerators. Higher performance detectors are also needed to probe for new physical processes in both accelerator and non-accelerator based experiments. Proposed detector research should be driven by the anticipated needs of experiments to be built within the foreseeable future, as well as upgrades to current experiments. Interesting technologies would include but not be limited to charged particle track detectors, calorimeters or particle identification detectors that are less sensitive to radiation, have higher resolution, are lower in cost, or can be read out faster than currently available detectors.

It is anticipated that in fiscal year 2001 approximately $500,000 will be awarded in total, subject to availability of appropriated funds. The number of awards will be determined by the number of excellent applications and the total funds available for this program. Multiple year funding of grant awards is possible, with funding provided on an annual basis subject to availability of funds. Cost sharing is encouraged but not required. It is expected that the final development or fabrication of detectors for specific experiments will not be funded by this program.

Applicants are encouraged to collaborate with researchers in other institutions, such as universities, industry, non-profit organizations, federal laboratories and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), including DOE National Laboratories. In the case of collaborative applications submitted from different institutions which are directed at a single research activity, each application must have a different scope of work and a qualified principal investigator who is responsible for the research effort being performed at his or her institution. Further information on preparation of collaborative proposals may be accessed via the Internet at http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/Colab.html

Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer review) and will be evaluated against the following criteria, which are listed in descending order of importance as set forth in 10 CFR 605.10 (d):

1. Scientific and/or technical merit of the project;

2. Appropriateness of the proposed method or approach;

3. Competency of applicant's personnel and adequacy of proposed resources; and

4. Reasonableness and appropriateness of the proposed budget.

General information about development and submission of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluations and selection processes, and other policies and procedures are contained in the Application Guide for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program and 10 CFR part 605. Electronic access to the application guide and required forms is available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.sc.doe.gov/production/grants/grants.html

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number for this program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.