NSF gets ready for lab site visits

BY WENDY PITLICK, Black Hills Pioneer
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LEAD - The National Science Foundation has announced that it has approximately $6 million in funding for scientists interested in conducting experiments in a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, Dr. Kevin Lesko, principal investigator for Homestake told members of the S.D. Science and Technology Authority Wednesday.

That is a very promising sign, Lesko said, as it shows the NSF is confident that Congress will ultimately fund the proposed laboratory. Approximately $6 million was allocated for those DUSEL science experiments, which include a wide range of disciplines from physics to earth science and geology.

But before anyone can conduct experiments in the federally funded, $300 million DUSEL, the NSF must first choose one of four proposed sites for the lab. A committee of experts in all different fields of science will represent the National Science Foundation on site visits to each of the four states vying for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, Homestake Principal Investigator Kevin Lesko said Wednesday. While a specific date has not yet been nailed down, Lesko said the scientists which represent a small part of the NSF's Deep Underground Science and Engineering

Laboratory selection panel will visit the Homestake Mine for one full day between March 8 and March 18. The officials who visit Lead will be the same group that visits the Henderson Mine in Colorado, the Pioneer Tunnel in Washington, and the former Soudan Iron Mine in Minnesota. All site visits will be for eight hours and will be conducted within that 10-day timeframe.

The purpose of the site visits, Lesko said will be for a technical review. During this time the scientists will be interested in the entities' plans to build the lab, safety plans, and plans for dealing with environmental issues.

Following the site visits, Lesko said representatives from each proposed site will visit NSF officials in Washington D.C. for a "reverse site visit," April 18-22. During this time Lesko said each contender will have four hours to present a condensed version of the Conceptual Design Report which was submitted Jan. 9. According to the NSF's original solicitation, site representatives will likely be asked about the infrastructure necessary to support the initial science and engineering program, the initial suite of experiments, the site's commissioning, operations and management plan for the DUSEL, and any additional groundwork in the form of engineering, studies, or infrastructure required for the long term science and engineering program.

During this process, Lesko said some of Homestake's strengths will be its extensive history. Infrastructure for entering the mine at the desired levels already exists, which is a huge advantage. Other strengths include the community, state and outside support of the former mine as a federally funded laboratory, including a recent $70 million gift to develop the lab from Sioux Falls philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. But Lesko said NSF officials are being very careful to make sure they are fair to all sites that submitted proposals.

"They want this decision to stand," Lesko said. "They want to be fair. They want no conflict of interest with this decision."

While Lesko said the NSF has not yet announced who will serve on the panel or subcommittee that will make site visits, he stressed that it will not be anyone who may have a conflict of interest. For example, since Lesko is the principal investigator for Homestake and his primary office is at the University of California-Berkeley, nobody from Berkeley will be allowed to serve on the selection panel. Thus, no representatives from the University of Minnesota, the University of Washington, or Colorado will be allowed on the panel. However, Lesko said NSF panel and subcommittee members could be from international locations.

Shortly after the reverse site visit in Washington D.C., Lesko said the NSF will issue its final decision to the principal investigators. Following the site selection, Lesko said the NSF plans to have a "baseline project" with a working laboratory in place by the end of 2007. Once science is up and running in the lab the NSF hopes to present that "baseline project," along with a full development schedule and cost estimates to Congress to fund the full Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory by March of 2008.

The selected site will receive up to $5 million a year for three years to develop that site plan, cost estimates and development schedule for Congress' approval. "It's a lot of work and I think we are going to be very, very busy preparing for that," Lesko said of the timeline.

While members of the S.D. Science and Technology Authority are optimistic about the DUSEL selection, some members expressed reservations about whether the NSF would actually choose one site this time. After submitting one conceptual design report that was to be the initial basis for the DUSEL selection in 2005, Dr. Wick Haxton of the University of Washington complained that the NSF was unfair when it denied the Washington site and selected Homestake and Henderson Mines for further funding and review. As a result, the NSF agreed to open up the final round of design proposals to all interested universities, and promised that each institution would be given equal consideration in the selection process. Members of the S.D. Science and Technology Authority expressed concern about the same thing happening again.

However, Lesko assured the board that due to the NSF timeline to have a working lab in place by the end of this year, the decision will be made this time. "The NSF should create a robust decision making process that should not be susceptible (to turnover,)" he said. "The NSF is a very careful organization."

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