B. McSwain

In late 1996, the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC), an advisory group to the Department of Energy's Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), began the formation of a subcommittee (referred to as the BESAC Panel on Synchrotron Radiation Sources and Science) to review the four BES-supported synchrotron radiation facilities. This Panel was given the charge of studying a broad range of issues of importance to the need for and the opportunities presented by each of the four light sources. The Panel's purview included topics such as: the scientific and technological demand for synchrotron radiation, the size and distribution of the user community, the capacity of the facilities, the funding needs of the facilities, and the vision of the future.

By mid 1997, the Panel (a group of 18) had been organized and the review process had begun. Dr. Robert Birgeneau of MIT served as Chairman, Dr. Z.-X. Shen of Stanford was Vice Chairman, Dr. Gordon Brown and Dr. Ewan Patterson from Stanford were Panel members and Dr. Keith Hodgson was SSRL's non-voting delegate to the Panel.

Before making site visits, the panel sent out a set of twelve questions that each facility was asked to address. The panel inquired about scientific and technological impacts of research, future trends and opportunities, educational impact, user demand, technical facilities, and budget issues. The synchrotron facilities prepared detailed responses to these questions that provided an in-depth look at the past and present status of synchrotron radiation-related science and technology as well as a projection of what the future may hold.

Following an initial meeting in May, the Panel visited each facility. They arrived at SSRL on July 8^th for a day and a half of presentations and tours. After visiting the other three facilities the Panel met at the end of August to formulate their conclusions and recommendations. They presented their findings and recommendations to the full BESAC Committee at a meeting on October 8 and 9, 1997.

The full report of the Panel will be available to the public shortly after this Newsletter goes to press; a few of the highlights can be summarized very briefly as follows:

• The Panel concluded that over the past 20 years synchrotron radiation research has evolved into a mainstream activity which provides essential information for a number of fields of science.

• The Panel concluded that shutdown of any one of the four BES-supported synchrotron light sources would do significant harm to the nation's science research programs.

• The Panel was very impressed by the outstanding performance of the second generation facilities (SSRL and NSLS).

• The Panel strongly recommended an R&D program on 4th generation sources.

The Panel recommended specific priorities for facility operations and improvements. The highest priority recommendation was for continued effective operation of SSRL, NSLS and APS including inflationary growth in FY99 and beyond. Also included in their recommendations was funding for 4th generation R&D with proposals to be evaluated by a peer review group. SPEAR3 received strong support but DOE was urged to seek partnerships in funding this major upgrade given the strong growth and use of synchrotron radiation by communities like the life and molecular environmental sciences.

Overall, the Panel viewed SSRL in a very positive light. It was noted that in the user survey, SSRL was unique in having its users be "remarkably and astoundingly happy".