Department of Energy Announces $10 Million for Particle Accelerator Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $10 million in funding for 13 research awards in particle accelerator science and technology.

“Particle accelerators play a key role not just in scientific research, but also in a range of important medical, industrial, and national security applications,” said James Siegrist, DOE Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics. “By bringing together researchers from universities, national laboratories, and the private sector, this program helps ensure that our economy and society as a whole benefit from advances in this critical technology.”

The projects involve scientists at 27 U.S. institutions, including 19 universities, 8 national laboratories, and 7 companies, who are working to solve some of the most challenging technical problems in accelerator design and performance.

Projects range from efforts to increase the power of ultrafast lasers, to research on new ways to manufacture superconducting cavities, to the study of accelerators as a tool for eliminating contaminants from drinking water.   

The Department’s Accelerator Stewardship program seeks to advance accelerator technology in a manner that is broadly beneficial to both science and society. The program is coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation to ensure a federal-government-wide investment strategy in accelerator science and technology that provides maximum impact for taxpayer dollars.

This year’s projects were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement for Research Opportunities in Accelerator Stewardship, sponsored by the Office of High Energy Physics within the DOE Office of Science.

Total funding is $10 million for projects lasting up to three years in duration. The list of projects and more information can be found here.