NSF to award up to $4 million to DUSEL

A statement from Principal Investigator Kevin Lesko:

The National Science Foundation has indicated its intention to award up to $4 million in additional funding for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. These funds would cover four months of dewatering and associated costs between June and September of 2011, as the DUSEL project considers stewardship options with the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. The funds would be awarded to UC Berkeley, which would work with the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority to manage the dewatering activities.

The President's budget released this week requests $15 million for the Department of Energy in fiscal year 2012 to maintain the DUSEL site, including dewatering and other facility maintenance that would begin in October. At a budget-related briefing this week, William Brinkman, the Director of DOE's Office of Science, said the Department will seek input from the Sanford Laboratory and the DUSEL stakeholder communities as it assesses options for its underground research program.

This announcement comes at a time when the DUSEL project is finalizing its Preliminary Design Report.

The DUSEL team looks forward to working with the agencies to promote joint participation in DUSEL's exciting multidisciplinary science opportunities.