The Office of Nuclear Physics (NP), within the Office of Science (SC) of the Department
of Energy (DOE), hereby announces its continuing interest in receiving NEW
applications for support of research in Nuclear Physics.
On September 3, 1992, DOE published in the Federal Register the Office of Energy
Research Financial Assistance Program (now called the Office of Science Financial
Assistance Program), 10 CFR Part 605, Final Rule, which contained a solicitation for this
program. The purpose of this solicitation is to request that all NEW applications for the
Office of Nuclear Physics be submitted in response to this Notice instead of the "Annual
Notice - Continuing Solicitation for all Office of Science Programs". If the deadline of
this solicitation is not met, the application will probably not be considered for funding
until the next Fiscal Year. This does not change the process for renewal and supplemental
applications. All renewal and supplemental applications should still be submitted in
response to the "Annual Notice - Submission of Renewal and Supplemental Applications
for Office of Science Grants". Information about submission of applications, eligibility,
limitations, evaluation and selection processes and other policies and procedures are
specified in 10 CFR Part 605 which can be accessed at:
http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/. Additional requirements for applicants to the Office
of Nuclear Physics can be found at
http://www.sc.doe.gov/np/grants/grants.html.
LETTERS OF INTENT: October 1, 2008, 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time
A Letter-of-Intent (LOI), consisting of information on collaborators and a brief summary
of proposed research (one paragraph), is encouraged (but not required) and should be
submitted by October 1, 2008, by e-mail directly to the Office of Nuclear Physics to one
of the addresses listed above under PART I - FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
DESCRIPTION. Please include the phrase "New Application Letter of Intent" in the
subject line of the e-mail.
APPLICATION DUE DATE: November 15, 2008, 8:00 p.m., Eastern Time
Applications must be submitted using Grants.gov, the
Funding Opportunity Announcement can be found using the CFDA Number, 81.049 or the Funding
Opportunity Announcement number, DE-PS02-08ER08-32. Applicants must follow the
instructions and use the forms provided on Grants.gov.
Formal applications submitted in response to this Announcement must be received by
November 15, 2008, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, to permit timely consideration of awards in
Fiscal Year 2009. You are encouraged to transmit your application well before the
deadline. APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE
REVIEWED OR CONSIDERED FOR AWARD. Any new applications not able to
meet this deadline may be submitted in response to the "Annual Notice - Continuing
Solicitation for all Office of Science Programs" mentioned above for consideration in the
subsequent Fiscal Year.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
THE TECHNICAL CONTACT/PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THIS PROGRAM IS:
Dr. Eugene Henry (Low Energy Nuclear Physics)
Phone: (301) 903-6093
E-mail: Gene.Henry@science.doe.gov
ADDITIONAL PROGRAM CONTACTS:
Dr. W. Bradford Tippens (Medium Energy Nuclear Physics)
Phone: 301-903-3904
E-mail: Brad.Tippens@science.doe.gov
Dr. Gulshan Rai (Heavy Ion Nuclear Physics)
Phone: 301-903-4702
E-mail: Gulshan.Rai@science.doe.gov
Dr. Eugene Henry (Nuclear Theory and Nuclear Data)
Phone: 301-903-6093
E-mail: Gene.Henry@science.doe.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The following program descriptions are offered to provide more in-depth information on
scientific and technical areas of interest to the Office of Science.
Nuclear Physics
The Nuclear Physics program supports basic research, technical developments and world-
class accelerator facilities to expand our fundamental understanding of the interactions
and structures of atomic nuclei and nuclear matter, and an understanding of the forces of
nature as manifested in nuclear matter. Today, the reach of nuclear physics extends from
the quarks and gluons that form the substructure of the once-elementary protons and
neutrons, to the most dramatic of cosmic events-supernovae. These and many other
diverse activities are driven by five broad questions articulated in 2002 by the Nuclear
Science Advisory Committee (NSAC) in the Opportunities in Nuclear Science: A Long-
Range Plan for the Next Decade. The four subprogram areas and their objectives are
organized around answering these five key questions. Research activities supported by
the Office of Nuclear Physics are aligned with and contribute to the overall progress of
the following long term performance measures:
Make precision measurements of fundamental properties of the proton, neutron and
simple nuclei for comparison with theoretical calculations to provide a quantitative
understanding of their quark substructure.
Recreate brief, tiny samples of hot, dense nuclear matter to search for the quark-gluon
plasma and characterize its properties.
Investigate new regions of nuclear structure, study interactions in nuclear matter like
those occurring in neutron stars, and determine the reactions that created the nuclei of
atomic elements inside stars and supernovae.
Measure fundamental properties of neutrinos and test fundamental symmetries of nature
that are relevant to the field of nuclear physics or that use the atomic nucleus as a
laboratory.
Contribute to the theoretical understanding of any of the above.
The program is organized into the following four subprograms:
(a) Medium Energy Nuclear Physics
This subprogram supports experimental research primarily at the Thomas Jefferson
National Accelerator Facility and with the polarized proton collision program at the
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC-Spin), directed at answering the first key question:
What is the structure of the nucleon? Detailed investigations of the structure of the
nucleon are aimed at understanding how these basic building blocks of matter are
constructed from the elementary quarks and gluons of Quantum Chromo-Dynamics
(QCD) and how complex interactions among them generate all the properties of the
nucleon, including its electromagnetic and spin properties. New knowledge in this area
would also allow the nuclear binding force to be described in terms of QCD, thus
providing a path for understanding the structure of atomic nuclei from first principles.
Program Contact: Dr. W. Bradford Tippens (301) 903-3904
(b) Heavy Ion Nuclear Physics
This subprogram supports experimental research primarily at the Relativistic Heavy Ion
Collider (RHIC) directed at answering the second question: What are the properties of
hot nuclear matter? At extremely high temperatures, such as those that existed in the
early universe immediately after the "Big Bang," normal nuclear matter is believed to
revert to its primeval state called the quark-gluon plasma. This research program aims to
recreate extremely small and brief samples of this high energy density phase of matter in
the laboratory by colliding heavy nuclei at relativistic energies. At much lower
temperatures, nuclear matter passes through another phase transition from a Fermi liquid
to a Fermi gas of free roaming nucleons; understanding this phase transition is also a goal
of the subprogram.
Program Contact: Dr. Gulshan Rai (301) 903-4702
(c) Low Energy Nuclear Physics
This subprogram supports experimental research directed at understanding the remaining
three questions: What is the structure of nucleonic matter? Forefront nuclear structure
research lies in studies of nuclei at the limits of excitation energy, deformation, angular
momentum, and isotopic stability. The properties of nuclei at these extremes are not
known and such knowledge is needed to test and drive improvement in nuclear models
and theories about the nuclear many-body system. What is the nuclear microphysics of
the universe? Knowledge of the detailed nuclear structure, nuclear reaction rates, half-
lives of specific nuclei, and the limits of nuclear existence at both the proton and neutron
drip lines is crucial for understanding the nuclear astrophysics processes responsible for
the production of the chemical elements in the universe, and the explosive dynamics of
supernovae. Is there new physics beyond the Standard Model? Studies of fundamental
interactions and symmetries, including those of neutrino oscillations, are indicating that
our current "Standard Model" theory which explains what the universe is and what holds
it together is incomplete, opening up possibilities for new discoveries by precision
experiments.
Program Contact: Dr. Eugene A. Henry (301) 903-6093
(d) Nuclear Theory (including the Nuclear Data subprogram)
Progress in nuclear physics, as in any science, depends critically on improvements in the
theoretical techniques and on new insights that will lead to new models and theories that
can be applied to interpret experimental data and predict new behavior. The Nuclear
Theory program supports theoretical research directed at understanding all five of the
central questions identified in the NSAC 2002 Long Range Plan.
Included in the theory program are the activities that are aimed at providing information
services on critical nuclear data and have as a goal the compilation and dissemination of
an accurate and complete nuclear data information base that is readily accessible and user
oriented.
Program Contact: Dr. Eugene Henry (301) 903-6093
Program Funding
It is anticipated that approximately $60 million will be allocated for all Nuclear Physics
grant and cooperative agreement awards in Fiscal Year 2009. A total of approximately
25%-30% of that amount will be available for new awards under this notice and for
renewals of existing grants in response to the "Annual Notice - Continuing Solicitation
for all Office of Science Programs". All new grant applications received before
November 15, 2008 under this solicitation will be acted on during the fiscal year. The
DOE is under no obligation to pay for any costs associated with the preparation or
submission of an application. DOE reserves the right to fund, in whole or in part, any, all,
or none of the applications submitted in response to this Notice.
Merit Review Criteria
Applications will be subjected to scientific merit review (peer review) and will be
evaluated against the following evaluation criteria which are listed in descending order of
importance codified at 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.
The evaluation process will also include program policy factors such as the relevance of
the proposed research to the terms of the announcement and the agencies' programmatic
needs. Note that external peer reviewers are selected with regard to both their scientific
expertise and the absence of conflict-of-interest issues. Both Federal and non-Federal
reviewers may be used, and submission of an application constitutes agreement that this
is acceptable to the investigator(s) and the submitting institution.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number for this program is 81.049, and the
solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.
Posted on the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site
September 18, 2008.