[IGSMAIL-4408]: NSF/NSB approves EarthScope

[William Prescott]

******************************************************************************
IGS Electronic Mail      29 May 10:26:13 PDT 2003      Message Number 4408
******************************************************************************

Author: Will Prescott,  President, UNAVCO, Inc


Subject:  NSF/NSB approves EarthScope
Date:     29 May 2003

For your information.  At its May 21st and 22nd meeting, the National
Science Board approved EarthScope. This approval paves the way for
the National Science Foundation to establish cooperative agreements
with UNAVCO, IRIS and Stanford University for implementation of this
project.

The following is a Media Advisory from the National Science Foundation.

Regards,
Will




National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
"Where discoveries begin"

MEDIA ADVISORY
May 28, 2003
PA/M 03-31 (NSB 03-77)

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD APPROVES SEVERAL LARGE AWARDS AND PROJECTS

The National Science Board (NSB), the 24-member policy body for
the National Science Foundation (NSF), approved several large
awards on May 22 that will allow NSF to fund new projects and to
continue existing projects and major partnership agreements.  NSF
is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental
research and education programs in all areas of science and
engineering.

NSB actions on major NSF funding priorities included:

   á  EarthScope - NSB approved an award, not to exceed $218.6
      million over five years, for this integrated observational
      facility that will address fundamental questions about the
      evolution of continents and the causes and processes of
      earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.  Listed as one of NSF's
      highest priority projects, EarthScope received funding in
      the current fiscal 2003 budget.  The NSB action allows NSF
      to establish five-year cooperative agreements for
      acquisition, construction and facilities management, with
      separate agreements for operations and maintenance.

   á  Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR) - NSB
      approved funding for four years, up to a total of $44
      million, for this mobile atmospheric observatory.  AMISR
      provides opportunities for scientists and students from all
      parts of the globe to undertake research and education
      projects in atmospheric sciences, and react to new research
      priorities as they surface. Board action allows NSF to fund
      final design and construction of the system over four years
      through a cooperative agreement with SRI International,
      which has been working on design, development, prototyping
      and testing.

   á  IceCube - NSB approved up to $24.54 million for the
      University of Wisconsin and U.S. Antarctic Program logistics
      and support contractors to complete the first phase of the
      IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole.  IceCube
      will expand the ability for scientists to understand how
      nature accelerates cosmic rays to the high energies that are
      observed, opening a new window on the inner workings of
      supermassive black holes, gammaray bursts and other
      cosmological phenomena.  IceCube received an initial $15
      million in fiscal 2002.  The total funding for this phase of
      the project will reach more than $39.5 million over two
      years.

   á  University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) -
      NSB extended support to UCAR in Boulder, Colo. to manage and
      operate the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
      over a five-year period starting in fiscal 2004.  NSF will
      provide up to $498 million.  Another $50 million is expected
      from interagency and other agreements that will bring NCAR's
      total support to $548 million from fiscal 2004-2008.  NCAR
      is currently the primary source of research in the
      atmospheric sciences, with a staff that includes 130 Ph.D.
      scientists who study the vast range of atmosphere and
      climate dynamics, plus a range of educational and public
      outreach programs.

   á  PACI - The science board also extended NSF's cooperative
      agreements under the Partnerships for Advanced Computational
      Infrastructure (PACI).  The extension allows time for NSF to
      consider recommendations of the Advisory Committee on
      Cyberinfrastructure and to formulate a future proposal to
      the NSB on "a coordinated set of activities that will serve
      the NSF community's needs for cyberinfrastructure for the
      coming decades."  Starting in 2004, NSF will integrate
      several ongoing terascale and computational research
      activities under an NSF-wide cyberinfrastructure priority
      area.

For other details of the NSB meeting, see:
<http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/meetings/mtg_list.htm#recent>http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/meetings/mtg_list.htm#recent

For more information:
Media contact:  Bill Noxon, (703) 292-7750,
<mailto:wnoxon at nsf.gov>wnoxon at nsf.gov

                               # # #

The National Science Board (NSB) was established by Congress in
1950 to serve both as an independent national science policy
body, and to oversee and guide the activities of the National
Science Foundation.  See:
<http://www.nsf.gov/home/nsb/start.htm>http://www.nsf.gov/home/nsb/start.htm.