Secretary of Energy Announces Approval and Funding for Facilities Upgrade at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and Highlights Lab's Successful Education Program

NEWPORT NEWS , VA — Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today announced that President Bush's Fiscal Year 2007 budget request includes $7 million for the upgrade of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) at Department of Energy’s (DOE) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The secretary also visited with students and teachers from the Newport News area who participate in the lab's highly successful Becoming Enthusiastic about Math and Science (BEAMS) educational program, designed to motivate at-risk middle schoolers to continue learning about math and science.

The funding request announced by Secretary Bodman is tied to his approval of the Critical Decision One (CD-1) package. The approval of this upgrade is a key milestone for the CEBAF project and will help position the Jefferson lab as a world-class scientific facility.

“Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory is one of the crown jewels of our national laboratory system,” Secretary Bodman said. “This funding will allow the researchers here to break new ground in nuclear science – and bring a whole new world of discovery to reality.”

DOE’s approval of the CD-1 allows for Project Engineering and Design efforts to begin, which will double the amount of energy in the CEBAF. The accelerator is used to examine particles a million times smaller than an atom, allowing scientists to study both the nucleus of atoms and the particles that comprise it. The upgrade of CEBAF will enable the lab’s scientists to explore the mechanism that confines particles that form together in the nucleus, called quarks.

The president’s FY 2007 budget requests $4.1 billion for DOE’s Office of Science, a 14 percent increase from FY 2006, to support the advancement of innovations including the CEBAF, high-end computing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy sources, and other material science research. The Office of Science is the principal supporter of DOE’s world-class national laboratory system.

While at Jefferson lab, Secretary Bodman spoke with students in the BEAMS program about the importance of their math and science education. BEAMS provides students and their teachers with engaging, educational activities based on the science and technology at Jefferson Lab. The lab has proven the success of the program, measuring the math and science test scores of participating students against a control group. Results indicate that the BEAMS students consistently perform better in these subject areas through their involvement with the lab’s program.

During his visit today, Secretary Bodman also discussed with the students and teachers, as well as lab employees at an all-hands meeting, the importance of maintaining a competitive edge in the development of new technology through the new American Competitiveness Initiative. Announced by President Bush in his State of the Union Address, the American Competitiveness Initiative is a multi-agency commitment to ensure that America remains competitive in the global marketplace. Its $10.66 billion investment in Fiscal Year 2007 puts America’s science budget on the path to doubling over the next ten years. Funding would increase investments in research and development, strengthen education in math and science, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

President Bush also announced in his State of the Union address the Advanced Energy Initiative and requested $2.1 billion, a 22 percent budget increase, to develop new technologies and alternative sources of energy to help diversify and strengthen our nation's energy mix.

As part of the Bush Administration’s broader effort to promote production and use of alternative and renewable sources of energy, Administration officials are traveling the country to promote President Bush’s energy initiatives. Energy Secretary Bodman will make a total of four stops around the country this week, promoting the Advanced Energy and American Competitiveness Initiatives, in addition to highlighting a number of energy efficiency programs, notably biomass (including cellulosic ethanol), solar, and hydrogen.

Tomorrow, February 23, 2006, Secretary Bodman will visit GT Solar Manufacturing Company in Merrimack, New Hampshire, to promote the Solar America Initiative and to highlight solar tax credits made available as a result of the recently enacted Energy Policy Act. Also tomorrow, Secretary Bodman will visit General Motors Advanced Technologies Facility in Honeoye Falls, New York, to promote the Advanced Energy Initiative.

Also this week, DOE Assistant Secretary Karen Harbert will visit green manufacturer Steelcase in Grand Rapids, and provide remarks at the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, in Muskegon, Michigan; Assistant Secretary Jeff Jarrett will visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia; and Assistant Secretary John Shaw will deliver remarks at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Acting Assistant Secretary Doug Faulkner will make two stops, the first to deliver remarks at a biofuels conference in Auburn Alabama, the second to deliver remarks at the Gerdau Ameristeel Steel Mill Energy Savings Assessment in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.