Office of the Director
December 18, 2012
TO: Division Directors and Associate Laboratory Directors
FROM: A. Paul Alivisatos, Director
SUBJECT: Laboratory Directed Research and Development FY 2014 Call
for Proposals
With this Call for Proposals, I am initiating the FY 2014 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. The LDRD program constitutes one of the principal means to seed innovative science and new research directions.
An important factor in judging proposals will be their support of competencies aligned with the Laboratory’s and DOE’s strategic directions. Multi-investigator and multi-divisional initiatives are particularly encouraged. For the FY 2014 cycle, we will review a first subset of proposals as Lab-initiatives, and a second subset as Area proposals.
Successful Lab-initiative related proposals will likely be:
- cross-disciplinary projects aimed at reducing human interference with the natural carbon cycle;
- projects from all divisions that advance the boundaries of ultrafast photon science;
- projects that address the development of a biological manufacturing capability to create advanced energy sources, chemicals, and materials; and,
- projects that address the use of large-scale computation and data science.
Additionally, the ALDs, Deputy Lab Director, and I have agreed on a set of high-priority topics for Area LDRD submissions:
- Biosciences: i) solutions to reduce the cost and impacts of energy production; ii) ecosystem research to improve environmental quality and sustainably optimize natural resource usage; and, iii) determining the interdependence between the environment and organismal health.
- Computing Sciences: i) mathematics applied to new science areas; ii) advanced networking for data-intensive sciences; and, iii) computing technology for “beyond CMOS” performance growth.
- Energy & Environmental Sciences: i) Mesoscale science; ii) sustainable chemistry and materials; iii) integrated assessment of water, energy, and climate; iv) technology for the developing world; and, v) ultrafast science.
- General Sciences: novel scientific ideas, interdivisional proposals, and those topics that could lead to a major new initiative in the General Sciences.
- Photon Sciences: light source science and advanced hardware concepts.
All projects should have: a clearly stated problem (addressing a challenging scientific question, DOE mission, or national need), coherent objectives, and a well-considered plan for leadership, organization, and budget. Lab initiative proposals should support the high-level strategic goals of the Lab. Area proposals will be evaluated on their novelty and scientific quality and may involve higher-gain, higher-risk ideas.
For the FY 2014 cycle, Lab-initiative related proposals will be reviewed by a broad representation of all senior managers. The Area LDRD submissions will be reviewed and assessed this year by scientific Area priority; i.e. the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) and the Division Directors within each Area will rank proposals within that Area, and then make recommendations to the Deputy Laboratory Director and Laboratory Director. It will be important to read the full Call for Proposals for further guidance and detailed instructions.
The total funding level of the FY 2014 LDRD program should be about $23M for operating and capital equipment expenses (including G&A). Capital equipment funding requests in LDRDs must support a project that receives LDRD operating funds. This Call for Proposals (CFP) will be announced in Today at Berkeley Lab, and a copy of this memo will be emailed directly to Berkeley Lab scientists and engineers. The complete call, schedule, guidance, and forms will be available on the Web (http://www.lbl.gov/DIR/LDRD/). All proposals are to be submitted through a web-based submission system that can be accessed via the CFP website.
Proposals should be put into the submission system by Monday, March 11, 2013. For any other questions or assistance, please e-mail Darren Ho (DHo@lbl.gov).
Attachments
C: Senior, Staff, and Faculty Scientists & Engineers via email (w/o Attachments)
Deputy Laboratory Director
Chief Operating Officer
Chief of Staff
Business Managers
Chief Financial Officer
D. Ho