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The article reports that studies with beam and neutrons in the U.S. will be delayed for months after an accident in February 2021 has shut down a diminutive nuclear reactor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Topics covered include the role played by staff turnover and institutional culture in the accident, the impact of the shutdown on research projects by the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR), and efforts to restart the reactor.

The article reports that the United States Congress legislature approved the climate, health care, and tax reform bill in August 2022. It mentions that physics projects and national laboratory infrastructure were funded through the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and discusses the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) funding strategy for projects.

The article reports on the plan of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to launch an initiative to address the climate crisis and to increase diversity in the scientific workforce in 2021. Topics discussed include the ability of the proposed urban integrated field laboratories (IFL) of DOE to foster collaboration with minority-serving universities, the need for the DOE to help improve the research capacity of minority institutions, and the political risk taken by the DOE with its plans.

The article discusses the physics laboratory Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota and the risks involved in the state's investment in the project as of July 2012. Topics include how South Dakota officials hoped to construct a national laboratory funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and how chemist Raymond Davis Jr. measured neutrinos in a mine shaft. Additional information is presented on U.S. Department of Energy projects which received funding from states for laboratories and research facilities.

The article discusses negotiations involved in funding and construction of an underground physics laboratory called the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL). The laboratory would be built by conversion of the Homestake gold mine in South Dakota. The laboratory is designed for research on dark matter, antimatter, and protons. Physicist Kevin Lesko is cited regarding the promise that the envisioned research holds. To proceed, the laboratory plans must be approved by the U.S. National Science Board (NSB), the policy arm of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

The article discusses a rebirth of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, née Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and its use of an X-ray laser, reportedly the world's first. It notes director and particle physicist Persis Drell and SLAC's redefined mission including X-ray studies, materials science, and structural biology. Relations between SLAC and the U.S. Department of Energy, its owner, are noted. The X-ray laser, called the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), was started on April 10, 2009 and experiments reportedly were initiated a week before publication of the article. Criticism by unnamed particle physicists is noted regarding the decision to abandon SLAC's last particle collider called PEP-II.

The article discusses the value of cosmology research in the U.S. According to the author, cosmologists will never figure out what the axis of evil is by remeasuring the cosmic microwave background (CMB), as researchers have measured the temperature variations in the CMB so precisely that the biggest uncertainty called cosmic variance. Several researchers believe that to get one for the axis is to press on creating new models, while others suggest looking for evidence of the axis in galaxy surveys and other types of data. All agreed that in the end, it is hard to determine whether the axis signifies anything.

The article provides information on the Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program which comprises of research on materials science, condensed-matter physics, chemistry and nanotechnology supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). For half a century after World War II the department channelized funds for the research of nuclear and high-energy particle physics. It informs of the building of "user facilities" by the department for the carrying out of research on various fields. It provides information on ongoing research on materials science in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. It also provides information on the controversies that have ensued over the DOE's BES program.

Many foreign-born scientists who succeed in the U.S. are helping those they left behind without leaving their new home. Geneticist Bruce Lahn has studied and worked in the U.S. for more than a decade, but a piece of his heart remains in his native China. Chinese scientists have tremendous potential, says Bruce Lahn who came to the U.S. in 1988 as an undergraduate. Although the numbers remain small, foreign-born researchers are reaching out to colleagues back home while remaining anchored in the U.S., says Paula Stephan, an economist at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Physicists working with Cornell University's Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) particle collider of Cornell University, Ithace, New York, embark on the venerable machine's final mission: to decipher the strong force that binds quarks to one another. In a circular tunnel, electrons and their antimatter partners, positrons, whirl at near light speed through the 768-meter-long CESR. Speeding in opposite directions, the electrons and positrons slam into each other to produce more massive particles in the heart of the accelerator's mate, the three-story-tall particle detector CLEO, which squats in a cavernous hall on the other side of a cement wall. Those exotic particles quickly explode into more-familiar ones, and barrellike CLEO faithfully tracks the shards. INSET: Laurels for CESR and CLEO.

The article discusses the discovery of gravitational wave by the physicists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Louisiana. It states that the researchers sensed a wave that extended space by one part and made the entire Earth expand and contract by 1/100,000 of a nanometer. It mentions that the gravitation wave came from objects as massive as sun spiraling to within 210 kilometers before merging.

The article discusses the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) role in researching neutrinos, antiparticles and nuclear decay. An overview of the DOE's nuclear physics budget, including its forecast to increase above the rate of inflation, is provided.

The article focuses on Hawaiian governor David Ige's proposed elimination of a quarter of the existing telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii in exchange for allowing construction to proceed on the Thirty Meter Telescope. It states demonstrators vowed to continue blocking access to the construction site despite the proposal. It mentions the international political concerns of decommissioning the telescopes and comments on the possible decommissioning of radio telescopes (RT) surpassed by RTs in Chile.

The article discusses protests held in Hawaii that stopped work on the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which if completed would be one of the largest optical telescopes in the world. Topics discussed include the activists' claim that Hawaii is sovereign and being occupied by the U.S., the role of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), and the activists' contention that the site of the TMT, on the dormant volcano of Mauna Kea, is a sacred site.

The article presents an overview of the impacts of U.S. federal budget sequestration on research agencies in 2013. National Institutes of Health (NIH) reduced funding of research grants and cancelled clinical trials, leading to layoffs at research institutions. National Science Foundation (NSF) funded fellowships, interdisclipinary research, and construction while cutting spending in other fields. The Department of Energy (DOE) was able to avoid cuts and layoffs, but limited new projects.

The article discusses warnings by officials with U.S. science agencies about the consequences of mandatory spending cuts, called sequestration, which go into effect March 1, 2013. The author argues that the lower spending required under the 2011 Budget Control Act, would affect activities central to science agencies' missions and delay or terminate projects regarded as less important unless the U.S. Congress passes a regular spending bill for the remainder of 2013. Topics include fears among science agency officials that Congress will apply the lower spending ceilings stipulated by the 2011 law, the impact of sequestration on agencies such as the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and the approaches taken by agencies to combat the effects of sequestration.

The article discusses the legacy of director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Nobel-prize winning scientist Steven Chu. Chu offered his letter of resignation in January 2013, after four years in office. Topics include an overview of the issues addressed by Chu in his letter, such as the DOE's accomplishments, its future, and its efforts at expanding research programs aimed at developing cleaner energy technologies, the mixed results of his tenure as DOE's director, such as his support of basic research related to energy, but his poor political skills, and DOE budget issues that plagued Chu's ability to advance energy research and led to the shelving of particle physics, nuclear physics, and fusion research programs.

In this article the author discusses Illinois's 2012 district 11 contest for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives between physicist and Democrat candidate Bill Foster and Republican incumbent Judy Biggert, who served on the House science committee her entire career. The author argues that science features heavily in the contest because the district includes part of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) multipurpose laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory. Topics include a debate between Foster and Biggert in which they accused each other of voting against science-related issues, scientists' preference of Foster, and Biggert's voting record, such as her role in garnering support for the 2007 America COMPETES Act authorizing budget increases for several science agencies.

The article discusses the dilemma facing the U.S. fusion program. According to the author, U.S. researchers must participate in an international experiment being built in Cadarache, France, called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), if they want to remain on the cutting edge of fusion research, but that doing so will jeopardize the community of researchers that would use the machine when it is ready. Topics include the impact of a 2013 budget proposal by U.S. president Barack Obama that would cut funding to the fusion program while increasing the U.S. contribution to ITER, such as the closure of a U.S. Department of Energy-supported experimental device at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, called a tokamak.

The article reports that funding for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Long Island, New York is endangered by budget cuts for 2013 at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Officials at the DOE Office of Science fear that budget constraints will force them to close RHIC or the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) in Newport News, Virginia, or cancel the construction of Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in East Lansing, Michigan. Scientists at RHIC point to their research into quark-gluon plasma as a reason to continue their funding.

The article discusses the cost of constructing an underground particle physics laboratory in the U.S. by the Department of Energy (DOE). According to a DOE report submitted to the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP), the cost of converting the abandoned Homestake gold mine in the Black Hills of South Dakota would range between $1-2 billion. According to the author, the cost arises from a combination of the $875 million that the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) would spend to convert Homestake into a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) plus the money spent by DOE to conduct experiments there.

The article discusses the controversy over plans by the U.S. National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) to carry a massive particle detector, called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), to the international space station via NASA's space shuttle Endeavor. According to the author, the AMS is expected to provide physicists with the best measurements thus far of electrically charged particles streaming in from space, but some cosmic ray physicists question its value. Topics include an overview of the AMS, the likelihood that AMS will find dark matter, and the scientific controversy involving both the AMS and AMS project manager Samuel C. C. Ting.

The article discusses a U.S. budget cut associated with a fiscal 2011 continuing resolution (CR) approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that would curtail research spending by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Ten U.S. laboratories and hundreds of universities reportedly would be affected by the proposed budget cut. The article indicates that enactment of the legislation, pending U.S. Senate approval, would affect DOE research well beyond that associated with clean energy, characterized as the focal point of the budget cut among Republican party congressmen who support it.

The article discusses the future of particle physics research in the U.S. in the aftermath of the shutdown of the Tevatron particle collider located at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). The recent history of the planning and budgeting of U.S. particle physics research by the U.S. Department of Energy is discussed, including delays and expenses that hinder implementation. A chart is presented on categories of future physics research and their leadership by researchers at the Large Hadron Collider, Fermilab, and within the U.S. physics community.

The article discusses a debate whether the U.S. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, should continue to run the Fermilab's 25-year-old atom smasher, the Tevatron collider, for another 3 years. The extension, which would end in 2014, would allow Fermilab researchers to challenge their European rivals in detecting the Higgs boson. Topics include an overview of Higgs boson research and the economic aspects of extending the Tevatron, such as the necessity of stalling other projects to pay for Tevatron's operation including Fermilab's research project NOvA that will begin studying neutrinos in 2013.

The article discusses 2011 budget limitations at the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) that could interfere with plans to establish a deep-underground science and engineering laboratory (DUSEL) at a converted Homestake mine near Lead, South Dakota. Estimated cost resources needed to implement the project and associated budget shortfalls are reported.

The article discusses an accelerator that smashes exotic atoms called muons, which are radioactive particles heavier than electrons. According to the author, the U.S. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) has lost its status as the world’s highest-energy particle smasher and physicists there are hoping that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will fund their plans to design and construct a machine that could smash muons. Topics include an overview of the two types of particle colliders and how they work, such as those that smash protons-antiprotons, and what kind of challenges building a muon collider poses, such as generating and collecting muons.

The article discusses the impact that the shortage of helium-3 is having on low-temperature research. An example is given of a physicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel who is having difficulty finding enough helium-3 to fill a dilution refrigerator where he stores tiny electronic devices. Helium-3 is the lightest helium (He) isotope and according to the author, demand for it has increased since 2002 when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began using it in plutonium detectors. Topics include the use of helium-3 in medical imaging, what researchers are doing to ease the demands, such as searching for alternatives, and efforts by the U.S. government to guide the distribution of helium-3.

The article discusses the ways in which U.S. astronomers are trying to make their list of priorities more effective. Astronomers have produced a list of priority projects every decade since the 1960s to inform funding agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Congress what projects communities want most. Topics include unfinished projects from the 2001 survey such as the construction of a giant segmented-mirror telescope and a far-infrared space telescope, their cost, and the choices the astronomers must make as to which ones they will keep on track. Also discussed are how the size and cost of the projects have increased and the problems with underestimating a project's budget which affects a project's credibility.

The article reports that the 2008 U.S. government aid program supports the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) by focusing on jobs before research. Lobbyist Michael Lubell and congressional staff gave emphasis on the importance of using the budget on workforce as well. The report shows that the there was a high employee layoff in December 2008 due to small budget increase which only ended in late May 2008 after a donor gave $5 million to the University of Chicago to be spent in Fermilab. An alleged political benefits of the laboratory is also presented. Furthermore, high-energy physics gets $32 million to be spent at Fermilab while the ITER, a fusion reactor experiment being built in France, gets a $15-5 million slice on the supplemental.

The article provides information about the different measures on creating a new collider being established by competing teams from Japan, United States, and Italy. It is stated that physicists and scientists from various countries are planning to push an existing machine to its limits and upgrade its features, use an idea of cobbling together old parts of the machine, and put precision physics to work to be able to build a new particle smasher. Information regarding the features of entries are discussed in the article.

The article reports on Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's plan to lay off seven percent of their staff due to decreased funding. According to the report, officials of the particle physics laboratory submitted their final plans for the layoffs to the U.S. Department of Energy on April 25, 2008. The layoff will cease about 140 scientists, engineers, technicians and other staff of the research laboratory. Cuts were forced when the U.S. Congress passed a budget for fiscal year 2008 that slashed the lab's funding from a requested $372 million to $320 million, $22 million less than it had received the previous year.

The article outlines the launching of U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) multimillion-dollar program to develop optical-lattice emulators in the U.S. The move is geared in solving some of the toughest problems in condensed-matter physics or even enable researchers to design materials from scratch. Some scientists are concerned that making the emulators work may be harder than expected. Such equipment are vital to the industry because it could bridge the gap between the abstraction of theory and idiosyncrasies of experiments with real solids.

The article reports on the budget problem of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that affects the Basic Energy Science (BES) programs. Malcolm Stocks, a theoretical physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and his team has applied to the DOE for a $3 million grant, but legislators removed most of the requested increase for its Office of Science as part of an omnibus spending bill to fund most government agencies. The decision of the legislators affect the BES program proposal to pursue the use-inspired science of solar energy, hydrogen fuel, and advanced nuclear reactors.

The article reports that some robotics engineer and researchers in the U.S. are trying to analyze a system to figure out how to develop a self-replicating robots. It relates that a handful of researchers are working to develop simple robots that can self-replicate out of a few relatively complex parts. Accordingly, these researchers are defining precisely what it means for a machine to self-replicate based on the scientific principles of self-replication, and some are making efforts to emulate the nature's process for reproduction.

The article highlights the 2007 Urban Challenge robotic car competition which is sponsored by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It relates the competition is the third and the most demanding in the series that aims to spur the development of autonomous vehicles, which the U.S. military hopes to incorporate into service by 2015. It is also noted that the competition showcases some of the world's best talent in robotics, in which they must navigate the streets of an abandoned air base in the Mojave Desert in California, without colliding with one another or with human guided vehicle.