§18654 Midscale instrumentation and research equipment program

Summary

Create a program for medium-sized research instruments and equipment to develop, buy, and commercialize tools that the Department needs and that can be used by the wider science community. The Director must run the program so it supports new, state-of-the-art instruments that cost between $1,000,000 and $20,000,000 each and that would speed up scientific breakthroughs at user facilities. The program must strongly encourage partnerships between National Laboratories, user facilities, and colleges or universities that get EPSCoR funding, historically Black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, or rural higher education institutions. The Director must coordinate this program with all other Office of Science programs. The Director must also promote teamwork among the Office of Science, the National Laboratories, the Office of Technology Transitions, and relevant colleges and private companies to find, share, and commercialize research instruments and related technologies that support basic science and the Department’s mission. Up to $150,000,000 is authorized for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 from funds for the Office of Science.