SCHUMER ANNOUNCES CORNELL’S STATE-OF-THE-ART PARTICLE ACCELERATOR THAT WAS RECENTLY IN DANGER OF CLOSING ITS DOORS WILL NOW RECEIVE $100 MILLION IN LONG-TERM FEDERAL FUNDING – HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED MACHINE & LAB CONTRIBUTE TO GROUND-BREAKING MEDICAL DISCOVERIES & SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES
Schumer Announces NSF Will Provide $100 Million in Funding Over 5 Years To Keep Lab Running – After Schumer’s Effort in 2012, Senator Got the Nat’l Science Foundation To Keep Cornell’s High Energy Synchrotron Light Source (CHESS) Lab Open
Agreement Ensures That One Of The Only Particle Accelerators in The Entire Country is on Firm Financial Footing and Will Continue To Be A Boon To Local Economy And A Key Resource For The Thousands of Scientists That Rely On It
Schumer A Long-Time Advocate of the CHESS Lab – Over Several Years, Senator Has Personally Weighed In on Behalf of Lab Funding With Heads of Nat’l Science Foundation, Office of Management & Budget & Senior White House Officials
Earlier this week, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that Cornell’s High Energy Synchrotron Light Source (CHESS) Lab has secured $100 million in funding over the next 5 years from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CHESS Lab, home of one of only two high-energy synchrotron X-ray sources in the entire country, has played a pivotal role in a multitude of medical discoveries and scientific breakthroughs, including the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In his efforts to secure funding, Senator Schumer spoke personally with the Director of the NSF, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and the Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In 2012, the NSF considered cutting funding to the CHESS lab entirely – which would have forced the facility to close – until Senator Schumer intervened and got NSF to agree to honor the cooperative agreement it had signed with CHESS and continue funding the lab. At the time, Schumer urged all parties to work together to establish a long-term funding framework to put the CHESS lab on solid financial ground. This new agreement means that Cornell’s CHESS Lab has secured long sought-after financial stability, and that it can continue its groundbreaking research for the foreseeable future.
“The National Science Foundation’s commitment of $100 million over five years for Cornell’s CHESS lab means the long-term future of the lab and its state-of-the-art particle accelerator is secure, and that we were successful in making the lab a national priority. This lab plays an incredibly important role for the entire scientific community, and I am pleased that the NSF has recognized this. It’s absolutely great news for Cornell and all of Tompkins County because the lab attracts the best and brightest to the region, and supports the local economy,” said Schumer.
Schumer continued, “When we were in the trenches two years ago fighting to keep funding for the lab from being cut, and the crucial research they do along with it, I went to the top brass at NSF, OMB and the White House to beat back those cuts. Today, we bear the fruits of those labors. We are now on the front foot and can look forward to years of stable funding, groundbreaking research, and untold scientific achievements.”
"The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source is a tremendous asset, not just to Cornell but to the nation,” said Cornell president David J. Skorton. "For over three decades, CHESS has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, including Nobel Prize-winning science in chemistry and development of new technologies that are being built into accelerators around the world. NSF’s decision, based on a rigorous peer review process, to renew the cooperative agreement ensures that this work will continue for years to come. Senator Schumer has long recognized the national significance of CHESS and has been a tireless advocate for its future.”
CHESS Director Joel Brock said, “This award will enable CHESS to continue to support innovative research programs in critical areas including better batteries, materials for fuel efficient aircraft, and designer drugs for human health. Equally important, the next generation of critically needed scientists will gain invaluable hands-on experience and training with state of the art facilities. Senator Schumer is a strong supporter of frontier scientific research. His support of the National Science Foundation enables research in New York State and across the country that advances knowledge and has the potential to address some of the pressing problems facing society.”
Every few years, the NSF and Cornell University reassess the terms of the arrangement that allows Cornell to operate CHESS. This agreement is the road map by which Cornell receives approximately $20 million every year in operating assistance to do federally-sponsored and private industry research. After an extensive review on the merits, the NSF has committed to funding the CHESS lab at $20 million per year for the next five years.
In 2012, Senator Schumer was contacted by Cornell with the news that NSF was considering not funding light sources like CHESS, and that only the Department of Energy labs would serve the scientific community. Without NSF funding, the CHESS facility would not have been able to keep running. After speaking with the Director of NSF, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and the Acting Director of the OMB, Senator Schumer was able to secure commitments that Cornell’s CHESS lab would not lose its NSF funding, and that all of the parties would work together to map out a long-term plan for the facility.
The five-year deal provides continued assurance that the thousands of scientists who depend on Cornell’s CHESS Lab for physics, chemistry, biology and engineering research will be able to utilize the much needed facility. This means CHESS can continue its work with the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop new tools to ensure that military and commercial planes stand up to stress and fatigue. CHESS can also continue its work with the Energy Materials Center (EMC2) at Cornell to ensure that lithium ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are working longer and performing better. And this means that CHESS can continue its life-saving work with pharmaceutical companies and the NIH to develop new drugs. These projects and many more will continue now that the NSF has agreed not to cut CHESS’ funding.
The CHESS lab is a high-energy synchrotron light source, which in basic terms is a highly-sophisticated x-ray machine. CHESS is one of only five national hard x-ray facilities in the country, and the only one located at a research university. For that reason, CHESS serves the nation as a unique training ground for the scientific work force needed to keep the U.S. competitive. CHESS is a multi-disciplinary facility that supports critical research in physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, engineering, and even art history. The facility, which also carries out basic research in accelerator science, is used by universities, the government and private industries across New York, the country and world.