INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT (MRE) ACCOUNT THROUGH WHICH SUCH PROJECTS MAY BE FUNDED The Major Research Equipment account was established in FY 1995 to provide funding for the construction and acquisition of major research facilities that provide unique capabilities at the cutting edge of science and engineering. Projects supported by this account are intended to expand the boundaries of technology and will offer significant new research opportunities, frequently in totally new directions, for the science and engineering community. Operations and maintenance costs of the facilities are provided through the Research and Related Activities (R&RA) account, which supports research grants to Facilities and Universities. In FY 2000, funding for six projects is requested through the Major Research Equipment account: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the Millimeter Array (MMA), the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES), Terascale Computing Systems, Polar Support Aircraft Upgrades and the modernization of South Pole Station. LIGO construction was funded through the MRE account. R&D efforts leading to an MRE can also be supported by this account. ======================================== **PANEL TO EVALUATE MAJOR EPP PROJECT POSSIBILITIES** MRE Panel Meeting of 29 November-1 December (Noon) at SLAC- Room TBA. AGENDA TBA AS OFFICIAL NSF PROPOSALS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS WILL BE REVIEWED, THE MEETING WILL BE CLOSED TO ALL BUT AGENCY PEOPLE, THE PANELISTS AND THE APPROPRIATE PRESENTATION TEAM. Projects Considered: RSVP (Rare Symmetry Violating Processes) at BNL. (K0PI0 and MECO) Presenters: Kirk, Molzon, Zeller, -MONDAY PRESENTATION BTeV: B-Physics at the Tevatron at Fermilab. Presenters: Stone, Butler, Time TBA Muon Storage Rings Presenters: Tigner, Sessler, McDonald ;Time TBA ==================================== Charge: Please consider the questions below in evaluating each of the the projects. In formulating the answer to each question, please note any special strengths and weaknesses that you may find in each project. We understand that these projects may have substantially different costs, and are at different levels of maturity, ranging from a status report to a capital construction proposal. We ask you to attempt to normalize your evaluations to these differences, as you find appropriate. The MRE account has been utilized to fund outstanding projects-those that fall into the category of "must-do." In your overall conclusions, we ask you to judge if each of these projects rise to that generally understood level. I. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? A. How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? B. How well qualified is the team of proposers to conduct the project? How broadly based is the team within its community? Is there potential for an expanded base? C. To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How does the proposed activity compete with similar projects? D. How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? To what extent is the proposal based on plausible expectations for achieving the performance required to meet the goals of the proposed activity? E. Are the proposed costs and schedules reasonable at this stage of the project? F. Is there sufficient access to necessary resources? II. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? (INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT AT NSF) A. How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? B. How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? C. To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? D. Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? ================== To date the panelists are: Jonathan Bagger George Kalmus Vera Luth Roberto Peccei Harrison Prosper Stan Wojcicki (Chair) ---------- Email addresses are : bagger@jhu.edu, sgweg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU, luth@slac.stanford.edu, peccei@physics.ucla.edu harry@hep.fsu.edu ============================== Local Contact Person: Judy Meo, her number at SLAC is (650) 926 2805, her E-mail jlmeo@slac.stanford.edu. ========================================== Marv Goldberg 703-306-1894 Elementary Particle Physics Program FAX 0566 Physics Division Suite 1015 mgoldber@nsf.gov National Science Foundation Program Assistant: 4201 Wilson Blvd. Kimberly Humphries Arlington, VA 22230 khumphri@nsf.gov