Computing Research Policy Blog

DOE FY2011 Budget Details

The President’s Budget Request (PBR) included a 6.8%increase in the overall budget of the Department of Energy for FY2011, for a total budget of $28.4 billion. Both President Obama in his recent State of the Union address and Secretary of Energy Chu at the budget briefing emphasized the necessity of funding research to fulfill our future energy needs.

Overall, the Office of Science, the area that does the majority of basic research and computing research, would receive a 4% increase over FY10, bringing the research budget to $5.12 billion. The Advanced Scientific Computing Research program does very well in the request with an increase of 8.1% for a total of $426 million. Basic energy sciences would get a 12% increase, a total of $1.835 billion.

Another large request this year in the Office of Science is for Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. That request is for a 72% increase to $35.6 million. This would include $16 million for additional Early Career Research Program awards and $10 million for additional graduate fellowships.

The FY11 budget request for ARPA-E is $300 million, which is the starting budget since the FY2010 budget did not include funding for ARPA-E, though it did have funding from the ARRA.

The presentations and detailed budget information for the Department is available online.

FY 11 Budget: First Look Looks Good!

[We're having blog issues as we're in the midst of a big site migration/redesign that will be rolled out, we hope, in hours. So, while we'll try to post all the latest budget news here, we'll also post everything we learn via Twitter. Just follow us at @CRATweets. Hopefully, we'll be back to normal shortly!]

Despite some early concerns in the science community over some dicey reported funding levels for some key science agencies, the President's FY 2011 budget, released today, demonstrates a continued commitment to doubling the budgets of the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Here's some relevant bits. We'll have more as we plow through it and get briefed by the relevant agencies.

Investment in science and basic research is critical to long-term economic growth. That’s why the Budget invests $61.6 billion in civilian research and development, an increase of $3.7 billion, a 6.4 percent increase, and an amount that continues the commitment to double funding for three key basic research agencies—the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. This funding includes $1.8 billion for research in basic energy sciences to discover novel ways to produce, store, and use energy to address energy independence and climate change and $300 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, to accelerate game-changing energy technologies in need of rapid and flexible experimentation or engineering. The Budget includes increased funding for research to help create the foundation for the industries and jobs of the future, such as nano-manufacturing, advanced robotics, and new tools for the design of biological systems.

Under the President's plan, NSF would grow by 8 percent to $7.4 billion in FY 11. NSF's research accounts would also grow by 8 percent, $455 million over FY 10.

The Department of Energy's Office of Science would see a 4.6 percent increase to $5.1 billion in FY 11. DOE's new ARPA-E would see $300 million in funding.

Watch this space (and our Twitter) for more info!

Update: More coverage from Science.