The U.S. Department of Energy announced a new round of federal stimulus funding this week for scientific research, including boosts for two Bay Area research facilities.
The $327 million of designated funds include $37.8 million for Berkeley’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and $21.8 million for the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in Menlo Park, according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Before joining President Barack Obama’s cabinet, Chu served as director of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.
“These initiatives will help create new jobs while allowing the U.S. to maintain its scientific leadership and competitiveness,” Chu said in a statement. “The projects provide vital funding and new tools for research aimed at strengthening America’s energy security and tackling some of science’s toughest challenges.”
The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act approved by Congress in February. Saturday’s announcement marks the third and final round of funding for scientific research, instrumentation and laboratory infrastructure projects, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Of the $37.8 million awarded to the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, $13.1 million is slated to upgrade equipment at the DOE Joint Genome Institute. Another $11 million will support fusion energy research, and $8.8 million will upgrade equipment at the Advanced Light Source.
The remaining funds will provide new instruments for the DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute and support mathematical analysis relating to the development of “smart grid” technology, according to the DOE.
At SLAC, $20 million will pay for an experimental end station at the Linac Coherent Light Source to study high energy density plasmas. The remaining $1.8 million will help improve the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, according to the DOE. The laboratory is home to the world’s longest linear accelerator.
Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, whose district includes the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, expressed excitement about this “significant funding” for research and science.
“These targeted resources will create jobs and further SLAC’s important research in energy and material science using high-intensity light sources,” Eshoo said in a statement.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore also received $810,000 for fusion energy research, according to the DOE. All three Bay Area facilities are national laboratories overseen by the DOE’s Office of Science.
