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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The Office of Science is now using The Department of Energy e-Center Industry
Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) for the electronic submission of applications. Please
reference
Notice: Directions on the Use of IIPS, Tailored to the Office of Science, are available at Instructions on the Use of IIPS Click Here to Access Electronic Submission Instructions and Forms For more information about the Office of Science Grant Program, go to the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site.
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Notice DE-FG01-05ER05-01
Annual Notice U.S. Department of Energy Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program - Notice DE-FG01-05ER05-01
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy ACTION: Annual Notice of Continuation of Availability of Grants and Cooperative Agreements SUMMARY: The Office of Science (SC) of the Department of Energy (DOE) hereby announces its continuing interest in receiving grant applications for support of work in the following program areas: Basic Energy Sciences, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Physics, Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, Biological and Environmental Research, and Planning and Analysis. 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. Information about submission of applications, eligibility, limitations, evaluation and selection processes and other policies and procedures are specified in 10 CFR Part 605. DATES: Applications may be submitted at any time in response to this Notice of Availability. ADDRESSES: Formal applications referencing Program Notice DE-FG01-05ER05-01 must be sent electronically by an authorized institutional business official through DOE's Industry Interactive Procurement System (IIPS) at: http://e-center.doe.gov (see also http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/). IIPS provides for the posting of solicitations and receipt of applications in a paperless environment via the Internet. In order to submit applications through IIPS your business official will need to register at the IIPS website. IIPS offers the option of using multiple files-please limit submissions to one volume and one file if possible, with a maximum of no more than four files. Color images should be submitted in IIPS as a separate file in PDF format and identified as such. These images should be kept to a minimum due to the limitations of reproducing them. They should be numbered and referred to in the body of the technical scientific application as Color image 1, Color image 2, etc. Questions regarding the operation of IIPS may be E-mailed to the IIPS Help Desk at: HelpDesk@pr.doe.gov, or you may call the help desk at: (800) 683-0751. Further information on the use of IIPS by the Office of Science is available at: http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Notice is published annually and remains in effect until it is succeeded by another issuance by the Office of Science, usually posted after the beginning of the Fiscal Year. This annual Notice DE-FG01-05ER05-01 succeeds Notice DE-FG01-04ER04-01, which was published October 27, 2003. It is anticipated that approximately $400 million will be available for grant and cooperative agreement awards in Fiscal Year 2005. 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. The following program descriptions are offered to provide more in-depth information on scientific and technical areas of interest to the Office of Science: 1. Basic Energy Sciences The Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program supports fundamental research in the natural sciences and engineering leading to new and improved energy technologies and to understanding and mitigating the environmental impacts of energy technologies. The four long-term measures of the program are: The science areas and their objectives are as follows:
The objective of this program is to increase the fundamental understanding of phenomena,
properties, and behavior important to materials that will contribute to improving current
energy technologies and developing new energy technologies. Disciplinary areas where basic
research is supported include materials physics, condensed matter physics, materials
chemistry, engineering physics, and related disciplines where the emphasis is on the science
of materials. Product development, demonstration, and surveys and process optimization
studies for existing commercial materials are not within the scope of this solicitation.
(b) Chemical Sciences
The objective of this program is to develop and enhance fundamental understanding in the
chemical sciences that contributes to the overall goal of developing new sources of energy
and improving processes for using existing energy resources in an efficient and
environmentally sound manner. Disciplinary areas where experimental and
theoretical/computational basic research are supported include atomic, molecular, and optical
sciences; physical, inorganic, and organic chemistry; chemical physics; photochemistry;
radiation chemistry; analytical chemistry; separations science; actinide chemistry; and
chemical engineering sciences.
(c) Geoiences
The objective of this program is to develop a quantitative and predictive understanding of
geologic processes related to energy and environmental quality. The program emphasizes
cross-cutting basic research that will improve understanding of reactive geochemical
transport and other subsurface processes and properties and how to image them using
techniques ranging from electrons, x-rays or neutrons to electromagnetic and seismic waves.
Applications of this fundamental understanding might include transport of contaminant
fluids, hydrocarbons, sequestered carbon dioxide, or performance prediction for repository
sites. The emphasis is on the disciplinary areas of geochemistry, geophysics, geomechanics,
and hydrogeology with a focus on the upper levels of the earth's crust. Particular emphasis is
on processes taking place at the atomic and molecular scale. Specific topical areas receiving
emphasis include: high resolution geophysical imaging; rock physics, physics of fluid
transport, and fundamental properties and interactions of rocks, minerals, and fluids.
(d) Energy Biosciences
The objective of this program is to generate an understanding of fundamental biological
mechanisms in plants and microorganisms. The emphasis is on understanding biological
processes that will be the foundation for technology developments related to DOE's mission
to achieve environmentally responsible production and conversion of renewable resources for
fuels, chemicals, and other energy-enriched products. This program has special requirements
for the submission of preapplications, when to submit, and the length of the applications.
Applicants are encouraged to contact the program regarding these requirements.
The primary objectives of this program are to explore the fundamental interactions of matter and energy, including the unseen forms of matter and energy that dominate the universe; to understand the ultimate unification of fundamental forces and particles; to search for possible new dimensions of space; and to investigate the nature of time itself. The research falls into three broad categories: experimental research, theoretical research, and a program of advanced R&D in accelerator and particle detector science and technology. The goal of the R&D program is to enable the design and fabrication of the instrumentation needed for the physics research. In support of these broad scientific objectives, the High-Energy Physics program has established specific long-term goals that correspond very roughly to current research priorities, and are representative of the program:
3. Nuclear Physics PLEASE NOTE THE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS BELOW. Office of Science Financial Assistance Program Notice DE-FG01-04ER04-22, Annual Notice for Continuation of Availability of Grants and Cooperative Agreements for Nuclear Physics, was posted to the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Website on August 31, 2004. It may be accessed at the following web address: http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/FAPN04-22.html. The purpose of that Notice is to request that all applications for new grants be submitted prior to November 1, 2004, to permit consideration for award in Fiscal Year 2005. If the Applicant is unable to meet this deadline, the application will most likely not be considered for funding until the following Fiscal Year. Any new applications submitted after November 1 may be submitted in response to this Notice - Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program. 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 recently 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 fundamental symmetries by using neutrinos from the sun and nuclear reactors and by using radioactive decay measurements. The program is organized into the following four subprograms:
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. 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. (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. (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.
4. Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) The mission of the Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program is to deliver forefront computational and networking capabilities to scientists nationwide that enable them to extend the frontiers of science, answering critical questions that range from nanoscience to astrophysics and include nuclear structure, the function of living cells and the power of fusion energy. In order to accomplish this mission, this program fosters and supports fundamental research in advanced computing research (applied mathematics, computer science and networking), and operates supercomputer, networking, and related facilities to enable the analysis, modeling, simulation, and prediction of complex phenomena important to the Department of Energy. The Mathematical, Information, and Computational Sciences Subprogram This subprogram is responsible for carrying out the primary mission of the ASCR program: discovering, developing, and deploying advanced scientific computing and communications tools and operating the high performance computing and network facilities that researchers need to analyze, model, simulate, and -- most importantly -- predict the behavior of complex natural and engineered systems of importance to the Office of Science and to the Department of Energy. The computing, networking middleware required to meet Office of Science needs exceed the state-of- the-art by a wide margin. Furthermore, the algorithms, software tools, the software libraries and the distributed software environments needed to accelerate scientific discovery through modeling and simulation are beyond the realm of commercial interest. To establish and maintain DOE's modeling and simulation leadership in scientific areas that are important to its mission, the MICS subprogram employs a broad, but integrated research strategy. The basic research portfolio in applied mathematics and computer science provides the foundation for enabling research activities, which includes efforts to advance high-performance networking, to develop software tools, software libraries and software environments. Results from enabling research supported by the MICS subprogram are used by computational scientists supported by other Office of Science and other DOE programs. Research areas include: (a) Applied Mathematics Research on the underlying mathematical understanding and numerical algorithms to enable effective description and prediction of physical systems, such as fluids, magnetized plasmas, or protein molecules. This includes, for example, methods for solving large systems of partial differential equations on parallel computers, techniques for choosing optimal values for parameters in large systems with hundreds to hundreds of thousands of parameters, improving our understanding of fluid turbulence, and developing techniques for reliably estimating the errors in simulations of complex physical phenomena. (b) Computer Science Research in computer science to enable large scientific applications through advances in massively parallel computing such as scalable and fault tolerant operating systems for parallel computers, programming models, performance modeling and assessment tools, interoperability and infrastructure methodology, and large scale data management and visualization. The development of new computer and computational science techniques will allow scientists to use the most advanced computers without being overwhelmed by the complexity of rewriting their codes with each new generation of high performance architectures. (c) Network Environment Research
Research to develop and deploy high-performance network and collaborative technologies to
support distributed high-end science applications and large-scale scientific collaborations. The
current focus areas include but are not limited to ultra high-speed transport protocols, dynamic
bandwidth allocation services, network measurement and analysis, cyber security systems, and
advanced application layer services that make easy for scientists to effectively and efficiently
access and use distributed resources, such as advanced services for group collaboration, secure
services for remote access of distributed resources, and innovative technologies for sharing,
controlling, and managing distributed computing resources. 5. Fusion Energy Sciences The Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program supports the Department's Energy Security and World-Class Scientific Research Capacity goals. The FES program goal is to advance plasma science, fusion science, and fusion technology -- the knowledge base needed for an economically and environmentally attractive fusion energy source. FES supports basic and applied research, encourages technical cross-fertilization with the broader U.S. Science community, and uses international collaboration to accomplish this goal. The FES program contributes to the Energy Security goal through participation in ITER, an experiment to study and demonstrate the sustained burning of fusion fuel. This proposed international collaboration will provide an unparalleled scientific research opportunity and will test the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power; ITER is also the penultimate step before a demonstration fusion power plant. Assuming a successful outcome of ongoing ITER negotiations, in Fiscal Year 2005, FES scientists and engineers will be supporting the technical R&D and preparations to start project construction as early as Fiscal Year 2006. The FES program contributes to the World-Class Scientific Research Capacity goal by managing a program of fundamental research into the nature of fusion plasmas and the means for confining plasma to yield energy. This includes: 1) exploring basic issues in plasma science; 2) developing the scientific basis and computational tools to predict the behavior of magnetically confined plasmas; 3) using the advances in tokamak research to enable the initiation of the burning plasma physics phase of the FES program; 4) exploring innovative confinement options that offer the potential of more attractive fusion energy sources in the long term; 5) advancing our understanding of high energy density physics and exploring attractive pathways to attaining states of high energy density matter, (in collaboration with NNSA and NSF); 6) developing the cutting edge technologies that enable fusion facilities to achieve their scientific goals; and 7) advancing the science base for innovative materials to establish the economic feasibility and environmental quality of fusion energy. The overall effort requires operation of a set of unique and diversified experimental facilities, ranging from smaller-scale university experiments to large national facilities that involve extensive collaborations. These facilities provide scientists with the means to test and extend theoretical understanding and computer models-leading ultimately to an improved predictive capability for fusion science. Scientists from the U.S. also participate in leading edge experiments on fusion facilities abroad and conduct comparative studies to supplement the scientific understanding they can obtain from domestic facilities. In Fiscal Year 2005, operation of the major fusion facilities will be focused on science issues relevant to ITER design and operation. The United States is an active participant in the International Tokamak Physics Activity (ITPA), which facilitates identification of high priority research for burning plasmas in general, and for ITER specifically, through workshops and assigned tasks. Fabrication of the National Compact Stellarator, an innovative new confinement system that is the product of advances in physics understanding and computer modeling, will continue with a target for the initial operation in Fiscal Year 2008. In addition, there will be continuing efforts to investigate simulations of fusion plasmas in collaboration with the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research. There are three measures that will be used to demonstrate that progress is being made towards meeting the overall program goal over the next ten years. These performance measures are:
2. Configuration Optimization: Demonstrate enhanced fundamental understanding of magnetic confinement and improved basis for future burning plasma experiments through research on magnetic confinement configuration optimization. 3. Inertial Fusion Energy and High Energy Density Physics: Develop the fundamental understanding and predictability of high energy density plasmas for potential energy applications. The Science and Facility Operations Subprograms The science subprogram seeks to develop the physics knowledge base needed to advance the FES program. Research is conducted on small to large-scale confinement devices to study physics issues relevant to fusion and plasma physics and to the production of fusion energy. Experiments on these devices are used to explore the limits of specific confinement concepts, as well as study associated physical phenomena. Specific areas of interest include: (1) reducing plasma energy and particle transport at high densities and temperatures; (2) understanding the physical laws governing stability of high pressure plasmas; (3) investigating plasma wave interactions; (4) studying and controlling impurity particle transport and exhaust in plasmas; and (5) understanding the interaction and coupling among these four issues in a fusion experiment. Research is also carried out in the following areas: (1) basic plasma science directed at furthering the understanding of fundamental processes in plasmas; (2) theory and modeling to provide the understanding of fusion plasmas necessary for interpreting results from present experiments, planning future experiments, and designing future confinement devices; (3) atomic physics and the development of new diagnostic techniques for support of confinement experiments; (4) innovative confinement concepts; and (5) high energy density physics and issues that support the development of Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE). The high energy density physics necessary for IFE target development is carried out by the Office of Defense Programs in the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Agency. The Enabling R&D Subprogram The Enabling R&D subprogram supports the advancement of fusion science in the nearer-term by carrying out research on technological topics that: (1) enable domestic experiments to achieve their full performance potential and scientific research goals; (2) permit scientific exploitation of the performance gains being sought from physics concept improvements; (3) allow the U.S. to enter into international collaborations gaining access to experimental conditions not available domestically; and (4) explore the science underlying these technological advances.
The Enabling R&D subprogram supports pursuit of fusion energy science for the longer-term by
conducting research aimed at innovative technologies, designs and materials to point toward an
attractive fusion energy vision and affordable pathways for optimized fusion development. 6. Biological and Environmental Research Program For over 50 years the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program has been investing to advance environmental and biomedical knowledge connected to energy. The BER program provides fundamental science to underpin the business thrusts of the Department's strategic plan. Through its support of peer-reviewed research at national laboratories, universities, and private institutions, the program develops the knowledge needed: (1) to identify, understand, and anticipate the long-term health and environmental consequences of energy production, development and use; and (2) to develop biology based solutions that address DOE and National needs. The following indicators establish specific long term goals in Scientific Advancement that the BER program is committed to, and progress can be measured against.
Research is focused on using DOE's unique resources and facilities to develop fundamental
knowledge of biological systems that can be used to address DOE needs in clean energy,
carbon sequestration, and environmental cleanup and that will underpin biotechnology based
solutions to energy challenges. The objectives are: (1) to develop the experimental and,
together with the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, the computational
resources, tools, and technologies needed to understand and predict the complex behavior of
complete biological systems, principally microbes and microbial communities; (2) to take
advantage of the remarkable high throughput and cost-effective DNA sequencing capacity at
the Joint Genome Institute to meet the DNA sequencing needs of the scientific community
through competitive, peer-reviewed nominations for DNA sequencing; (3) to develop and
support DOE national user facilities for structural biology at synchrotron and neutron
sources; (4) to develop novel research and computational tools that provide the basis for
understanding and predicting the responses of complex biological systems, information
needed to develop biotechnology solutions for energy and environmental challenges; (5) to
use model organisms to understand human genome organization, human gene function and
control, and the functional relationships between human genes and proteins at a genomic
scale; (6) to understand and characterize the risks to human health from exposures to low
levels of radiation; and (7) to anticipate and address ethical, legal, and social implications
arising from BER-supported biological research. (b) Medical Applications and Measurement Sciences
The research is designed to develop the beneficial applications of nuclear and other energy-
related technologies for bio-medical research, medical diagnosis and treatment. The objectives
are: (1) to utilize innovative radiochemistry to develop new radiotracers for medical research,
clinical diagnosis and treatment; (2) to develop the next generation of non-invasive nuclear
medicine instrumentation technologies, such as positron emission tomography; (3) to develop
advanced imaging detection instrumentation capable of high resolution from the sub-cellular to
the clinical level; (4) to utilize the unique resources of the DOE in engineering, physics,
chemistry and computer sciences to develop the basic tools to be used in biology and medicine,
particularly in imaging sciences, photo-optics and biosensors. (c) Environmental Remediation Research
This research delivers the scientific knowledge, tools, and enabling discoveries in biological and
environmental research to reduce the costs, risks, and schedules associated with the cleanup of
the DOE nuclear weapons complex; to extend the frontiers of biological and chemical methods
for remediation; to discover the fundamental mechanisms of contaminant transport in the
environment; to develop cutting edge molecular tools for investigating environmental processes;
and to develop an understanding of the ecological impacts of remediation activities. Research
priorities include bioremediation, contaminant fate and transport, nuclear waste chemistry and
advanced treatment options, and the operation of the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular
Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). The research
performed for this program will provide fundamental knowledge on a broad range of remediation
problems. (d) Climate Change Research
The program seeks to understand the basic physical, chemical, and biological processes of the
Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans and how these processes may be affected by energy
production and use. The research is designed to provide data that will enable an objective
assessment of the potential for, and the consequences of, human-induced climate change at
global and regional scales. It also provides data and models to enable assessments of mitigation
options to prevent such a change. The program is comprehensive with an emphasis on: (1)
understanding and simulating the radiation balance from the surface of the Earth to the top of the
atmosphere (including the effect of clouds, water vapor, trace gases, and aerosols); (2) enhancing
and evaluating the quantitative models necessary to predict natural climatic variability and
possible human-caused climate change at global and regional scales; (3) understanding and
simulating both the net exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere, terrestrial and
ocean systems, and the effects of climate change on the global carbon cycle; (4) understanding
ecological effects of climate change; (5) improving approaches to integrated assessments of
effects of, and options to mitigate, climatic change; and (6) basic research directed at
understanding options for sequestering excess atmospheric carbon dioxide in terrestrial
ecosystems and the ocean, including potential environmental implications of such sequestration.
This program develops methodologies and tools designed to improve program management and
evaluation. Specific objectives include assessments to identify the outcomes of basic research,
impartial and independent evaluations of scientific and technical research efforts, and analyses
designed to improve management efficiency and effectiveness. Consistent with these overall
objectives, this program conducts numerous research studies to assess directions in science and
to identify new policy/programmatic directions that improve the overall management of basic
research programs. 8. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR)
The objective of the EPSCoR program is to enhance the capabilities of EPSCoR states to
conduct nationally competitive energy-related research and to develop science and engineering
manpower to meet current and future needs in energy-related fields. This program addresses
basic research needs across all of the Department of Energy research interests. Research
supported by the EPSCoR program is concerned with the same broad research areas addressed
by the Office of Science programs that are described in this notice. The EPSCoR program is
restricted to applications, which originate in 21 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii,
Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and
Wyoming) and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is anticipated that only a limited number of
new competitive research grants will be awarded under this program subject to the availability of
funds.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for this program is 81.049, and the solicitation control number is ERFAP 10 CFR Part 605.
Martin Rubinstein
Posted on the Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site
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