By Andy Pasztor

(Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2010) The White House has decided to begin funding private companies to carry NASA astronauts into space, but the proposal faces major political and budget hurdles, according to people familiar with the matter.  The controversial proposal, expected to be included in the Obama administration’s next budget, would open a new chapter in the U.S. space program. The goal is to set up a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit—and eventually deeper into the solar system.  Congress is likely to challenge the concept’s safety and may balk at shifting dollars from existing National Aeronautics and Space Administration programs already hurting for funding to the new initiative. The White House’s ultimate commitment to the initiative is murky, according to these people, because the budget isn’t expected to outline a clear, long-term funding plan.

The White House’s NASA budget also envisions stepped-up support for climate-monitoring and environmental projects, along with enhanced international cooperation across both manned and unmanned programs.

Press officials for NASA and the White House have declined to comment. Industry and government officials have talked about the direction of the next NASA budget, but declined to be identified.

The idea of outsourcing a portion of NASA’s manned space program to the private sector gained momentum after recommendations from a presidential panel appointed last year. The panel, chaired by former Lockheed Martin Corp. Chairman Norman Augustine, argued that allowing companies to build and launch their own rockets and spacecraft to carry American astronauts into orbit would save money and also free up NASA to focus on more ambitious, longer-term goals.  Click here to read more…

By White House and ARNEWS

(Army News Service, January 21, 2010) — President Obama Wednesday announced his intentions to nominate Katherine G. Hammack as assistant secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment.  Hammack has more than 25 years of experience as an energy and sustainability professional with private industry. Currently she is a leader in Ernst & Young’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services, an international professional services firm.  The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations & Environment has oversight of the design, construction, operations, maintenance and management of Army installations. It is involved in the privatization of Army family housing, real estate and utilities. The office is responsible for the Army’s environmental compliance and clean-up programs; and management of the Army’s safety and occupational health programs. It is also responsible for the Army’s Energy Security Implementation Strategy.

Hammack has focused on the evaluation of energy-conservation projects at Ernst and Young, including green buildings, energy-efficiency strategies, demand side management programs, and marketing electricity in deregulated markets. In that capacity she worked with clients to obtain Energy Star or LEED certification for their new construction or existing buildings.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a set of standards for “green” buildings or environmentally sustainable construction. LEED-certified buildings are designed to use resources more efficiently than conventional buildings. Since LEED standards were developed in the 1990s, more than 14,000 projects in 30 countries have adhered to the standards. Click here to read more…

(ScienceDaily, January 25, 2010) — Ever wanted to see a nuclear reactor core in action? A new computer algorithm developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory allows scientists to view nuclear fission in much finer detail than ever before. A team of nuclear engineers and computer scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are developing the neutron transport code UNIC, which enables researchers for the first time to obtain a highly detailed description of a nuclear reactor core.  The code could prove crucial in the development of nuclear reactors that are safe, affordable and environmentally friendly. To model the complex geometry of a reactor core requires billions of spatial elements, hundreds of angles and thousands of energy groups — all of which lead to problem sizes with quadrillions of possible solutions.  Such calculations exhaust computer memory of the largest machines, and therefore reactor modeling codes typically rely on various approximations. But approximations limit the predictive capability of computer simulations and leave considerable uncertainty in crucial reactor design and operational parameters.

“The UNIC code is intended to reduce the uncertainties and biases in reactor design calculations by progressively replacing existing multilevel averaging techniques with more direct solution methods based on explicit reactor geometries,” said Andrew Siegel, a computational scientist at Argonne and leader of Argonne’s reactor simulation group.

UNIC has run successfully at DOE leadership computing facilities, home to some of the world’s fastest supercomputers, including the energy-efficient IBM Blue Gene/P at Argonne and the Cray XT5 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Although still under development, the code has already produced new scientific results.

In particular, the Argonne team has carried out highly detailed simulations of the Zero Power Reactor experiments on up to 163,840 processor cores of the Blue Gene/P and 222,912 processor cores of the Cray XT5, as well as on 294,912 processor cores of a Blue Gene/P at the Jülich Supercomputing Center in Germany. With UNIC, the researchers have successfully represented the details of the full reactor geometry for the first time and have been able to compare the results directly with the experimental data.  Click here to read more…

By Alisa Machalek

(NIH, January 25, 2010) The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has awarded a $27 million, five-year contract to the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, N.J., to continue and expand operation of the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository (HGCR). Under the new contract, the HGCR plans to enhance its collection of carefully maintained human cell lines by adding induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that carry disease gene mutations.  “The addition of iPS cells will make the repository an even more valuable resource,” said Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D., director of NIGMS. “In addition to teaching important lessons about biology, these cells hold great promise for studying — and maybe one day treating — a wide range of diseases.”

While not derived from embryos, iPS cells offer the same scientifically desirable properties as embryonic stem cells. They reproduce indefinitely and have a similar potential to become any of the more than 200 cell types in the body. The iPS cells will enable scientists to more readily examine normal cell development and study the effect of one or more disease genes in many different cell types. The iPS cells will be available to researchers in about six months.

Established by NIGMS in 1972, the HGCR provides human cell lines and DNA for use in genetic and genomic research. Scientists use the cells and DNA to identify genes and biochemical changes associated with a wide range of conditions and to study rare genetic diseases. The repository’s materials have helped scientists gain important insights into a number of disorders, including Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis and Fragile X syndrome.  Click here to read more…

Joint Hydrographic Center – The purpose of this notice is to solicit proposals for a cooperative agreement between NOAA and an institution of higher learning to operate a Joint Hydrographic Center as authorized in the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act and the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act.  Proposals submitted in response to this announcement should advance the purposes of the Acts including development of hydrographic technologies necessary to ensure safe and efficient navigation; research and development of innovative ocean and coastal mapping technologies, equipment, and data products; mapping of the United States Outer Continental Shelf and other regions; data processing for nontraditional ocean mapping data and uses; advancing the use of remote sensing technologies, for related issues, including mapping and assessment of essential fish habitat and of coral resources, ocean observations, and ocean exploration; and providing graduate education and training in ocean and coastal mapping sciences. Eligibility: Universities and Colleges.  This will be a 5-year, multiyear award. Total anticipated funding for this award is approximately $32,500,000 with approximately $6,500,000 to be released in FY 2010 and each subsequent year of the 5 years.  Letters of Intent Due: February 3, 2010, Full Proposals Due: March 5, 2010.

Posted Date: January 20, 2010

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCS-2010-2002245