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Given below are short descriptions of some of the Basic Energy
Sciences Advisory Committee's (BESAC's) latest activities (FY 1992 to FY 1997). All
of BESAC's official publications, 1987 to present, are
available.
FY 1997
• BESAC considered the future of the High
Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven National Laboratory and provided advice on the scientific need for the HFBR, the capabilities
that would be lost should the HFBR be closed permanently, and the complementarity of the
four neutron sources operated by BES.
• In the spring of 1997, BESAC established the Panel on Synchrotron
Radiation Sources and Science "to help in the reassessment for the need for and the
opportunities presented by each of the four synchrotron light sources operated by the
Office of Basic Energy Sciences". This Panel was chaired by Prof. Robert J.
Birgeneau of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the vice-chair was Prof. Zhi-Xun
Shen of Stanford University. Sixteen additional members who were leading scientists
and technologists working in academia, industry, and the national laboratories were
appointed. Two members of the Panel also served on BESAC. This study
represents the first major review of synchrotron radiation light sources since the 1984
Seitz-Eastman Report.
 . Click here to
download the 7-megabyte Postscript Data Formatted (PDF) file of the "Report of the
BESAC Panel on D.o.E. Synchrotron Radiation Sources and Science," November
1997. This file can be read after downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader, free
software.
FY 1996
• BESAC was asked in June 1995 to advise DOE on upgrades for neutron sources and
the characteristics of a new source. Three BESAC panels were established--the first to
consider upgrades to the two spallation sources (the Aeppli Panel); the second to consider
upgrades to the two high-flux reactors (the Birgeneau Panel); and the third to review the
scope of the new spallation source (the Russell Panel). Findings were presented to DOE in
February 1996.
The advice provided by BESAC had signficant outcomes. First, based on advice by the
Aeppli Panel on spallation sources that a short-pulse spallation source equivalent to ISIS
was needed immediately in the U.S., BES aggressively went forward with negotiations with
DOE/DP to upgrade the short-pulse spallation source at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The LANSCE (Los Alamos Neutron Science
Center) upgrade is now in progress and will result in a world-class capability.
Second, based on the advice by the BESAC panel on the technical specifications of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), the ORNL-led
collaboration designed the SNS so that it would incorporate conservative technology
initially, that it would have the potential to be expandable and upgradeable in the
future, and that it would be commissioned in FY 2005.
FY 1995
• BESAC assessed the value of basic research to the public through the impact on
the quality of life, the economy (through the creation of new technologies, jobs, etc.),
the environment (reduction of pollution sources as well as environmental cleanup), and the
sustainability of the standard of living. The "Moore Report", named for
the BESAC Panel Chairman, economist John H. Moore of George Mason University (currently,
the President of Grove City College), has had signficant
interest and formed the basis for the introduction to the BES booklet "Basic Energy Sciences -- Serving the Present, Shaping the Future."
• BESAC assessed the fuel alternatives for the Advanced Neutron Source.
• BESAC reviewed the Basic Energy Sciences Programs at Ames Laboratory, Los Alamos
National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories.
FY 1994
• BESAC reviewed the future of neutron sources and related scientific and
technological applications in the United States. Their recommendations supported the
Advanced Neutron Source project being in the President's budget in FY 1994.
• BESAC also provided recommendations for greater effectiveness in contributing to
U.S. competitiveness, which increased coordination with the technology offices of the
Department, established an industrial fellowship and sabbatical program, and encouraged
collaborations with industry.
FY 1993
• BESAC reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of the two methods for producing
neutrons and how and where they complement or duplicate one another. The Committee
concluded that a reactor based source was the highest priority. This review was the
key recommendation leading to a decision to request the initiation of the construction for
the Advanced Neutron Source.
FY 1992
• BESAC reviewed the area of combustion sciences and its importance. Specifically,
they reviewed a proposed activity termed the Combustion Dynamics Initiative. BESAC
concluded that combustion research represents an area where scientific advances can have a
rapid impact on society. Fundamental research in combustion, connected to improved
modeling and design of physical devices and systems, can result in major advances in
energy conversion efficienty, pollutant reduction, and environmental remediation
techniques. The Combusion Dynamics Initiative recognized this linkage, and proposed
a multifaced program which extends from the most fundamental research to advanced modeling
of combustion systems to applications.
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