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Wednesday, July 3, 2024

American Chemical Society

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Chemical_Society
 
American Chemical Society
FormationApril 6, 1876; 148 years ago
TypeScientific society
Legal status501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
HeadquartersWashington, D.C.
Location
  • United States
Membership
more than 155,000
Mary K. Carroll
Key people
Albert G. Horvath (CEO)
Budget (2016)
US$528 million
Websitewww.acs.org

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all degree levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related fields. It is one of the world's largest scientific societies by membership. The ACS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code. Its headquarters are located in Washington, D.C., and it has a large concentration of staff in Columbus, Ohio.

The ACS is a leading source of scientific information through its peer-reviewed scientific journals, national conferences, and the Chemical Abstracts Service. Its publications division produces over 80 scholarly journals including the prestigious Journal of the American Chemical Society, as well as the weekly trade magazine Chemical & Engineering News. The ACS holds national meetings twice a year covering the complete field of chemistry and also holds smaller conferences concentrating on specific chemical fields or geographic regions. The primary source of income of the ACS is the Chemical Abstracts Service, a provider of chemical databases worldwide.

The ACS has student chapters in virtually every major university in the United States and outside the United States as well. These student chapters mainly focus on volunteering opportunities, career development, and the discussion of student and faculty research. The organization also publishes textbooks, administers several national chemistry awards, provides grants for scientific research, and supports various educational and outreach activities.

The ACS has been criticized for predatory pricing of its products (SciFinder, journals and other publications), for opposing open access publishing, as well as for initiating numerous copyright enforcement litigations, often with meaningless outcomes, despite its non-profit status and its chartered commitment to dissemination of chemical information.

History

American Chemical Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Creation

In 1874, a group of American chemists gathered at the Joseph Priestley House to mark the 100th anniversary of Priestley's discovery of oxygen. Although there was an American scientific society at that time (the American Association for the Advancement of Science, founded in 1848), the growth of chemistry in the U.S. prompted those assembled to consider founding a new society that would focus more directly on theoretical and applied chemistry. Two years later, on April 6, 1876, during a meeting of chemists at the University of the City of New York (now New York University) the American Chemical Society was founded. The society received its charter of incorporation from the State of New York in 1877.

Charles F. Chandler, a professor of chemistry at Columbia University who was instrumental in organizing the society said that such a body would "prove a powerful and healthy stimulus to original research, ... would awaken and develop much talent now wasting in isolation, ... [bring] members of the association into closer union, and ensure a better appreciation of our science and its students on the part of the general public."

Although Chandler was a likely choice to become the society's first president because of his role in organizing the society, New York University chemistry professor John William Draper was elected as the first president of the society because of his national reputation. Draper was a photochemist and pioneering photographer who had produced one of the first photographic portraits in 1840.[8] Chandler would later serve as president in 1881 and 1889.

In the ACS logo, originally designed in the early 20th century by Tiffany's Jewelers and used since 1909, a stylized symbol of a kaliapparat is used.

Growth

The Journal of the American Chemical Society was founded in 1879 to publish original chemical research. It was the first journal published by ACS and is still the society's flagship peer-reviewed publication. In 1907, Chemical Abstracts was established as a separate journal (it previously appeared within JACS), which later became the Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of ACS that provides chemical information to researchers and others worldwide. Chemical & Engineering News is a weekly trade magazine that has been published by ACS since 1923.

The society adopted a new constitution aimed at nationalizing the organization in 1890. In 1905, the American Chemical Society moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. ACS was reincorporated under a congressional charter in 1937. It was granted by the U.S. Congress and signed by president Franklin D. Roosevelt. ACS's headquarters moved to its current location in downtown Washington in 1941.

Organization

Divisions

ACS first established technical divisions in 1908 to foster the exchange of information among scientists who work in particular fields of chemistry or professional interests. Divisional activities include organizing technical sessions at ACS meetings, publishing books and resources, administering awards and lectureships, and conducting other events. The original five divisions were 1) organic chemistry, 2) industrial chemists and chemical engineers, 3) agricultural and food chemistry, 4) fertilizer chemistry, and 5) physical and inorganic chemistry.

As of 2016, there are 32 technical divisions of ACS.

Division of Organic Chemistry

This is the largest division of the Society. It marked its 100th anniversary in 2008. The first Chair of the Division was Edward Curtis Franklin. The Organic Division played a part in establishing Organic Syntheses, Inc. and Organic Reactions, Inc. and it maintains close ties to both organizations.

The Division's best known activities include organizing symposia (talks and poster sessions) at the biannual ACS National Meetings, for the purpose of recognizing promising Assistant Professors, talented young researchers, outstanding technical contributions from junior-level chemists, in the field of organic chemistry. The symposia also honor national award winners, including the Arthur C. Cope Award, Cope Scholar Award, James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods.

The Division helps to organize symposia at the international meeting called Pacifichem and it organizes the biennial National Organic Chemistry Symposium (NOS) which highlights recent advances in organic chemistry and hosts the Roger Adams Award address. The Division also organizes corporate sponsorships to provide fellowships for PhD students and undergraduates. It also organizes the Graduate Research Symposium and manages award and travel grant programs for undergraduates.

Local sections

Local sections were authorized in 1890 and are autonomous units of the American Chemical Society. They elect their own officers and select representatives to the national ACS organization. Local sections also provide professional development opportunities for members, organize community outreach events, offer awards, and conduct other business. The Rhode Island Section was the first local section of ACS, organized in 1891. There are currently 186 local sections of the American Chemical Society in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

International Chemical Sciences Chapters

International Chemical Sciences Chapters allow ACS members outside of the U.S. to organize locally for professional and scientific exchange. There are currently 24 International Chemical Sciences Chapters.

Educational activities and programs

Chemical education and outreach

ACS states that it offers teacher training to support the professional development of science teachers so they can better present chemistry in the classroom, foster the scientific curiosity of our nation's youth and encourage future generations to pursue scientific careers. As of 2009, Clifford and Kathryn Hach donated $33 million to ACS, to continue the work of the Hach Scientific Foundation in supporting high school chemistry teaching.

The Society sponsors the United States National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO), a contest used to select the four-member team that represents the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO).

The ACS Division of Chemical Education provides standardized tests for various subfields of chemistry. The two most commonly used tests are the undergraduate-level tests for general and organic chemistry. Each of these tests consists of 70 multiple-choice questions, and gives students 110 minutes to complete the exam.

The ACS also approves certified undergraduate programs in chemistry. A student who completes the required laboratory and course work—sometimes in excess of what a particular college may require for its Bachelor's degree—is considered by the Society to be well trained for professional work.

The ACS coordinates two annual public awareness campaigns, National Chemistry Week and Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, as part of its educational outreach. Since 1978 and 2003 respectively, the campaigns have been celebrated with a yearly theme, such as "Chemistry Colors Our World" (2015) and "Energy: Now and Forever!" (2013).

Green Chemistry Institute

The Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) supports the "implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemistry enterprise." The GCI organizes an annual conference, the Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, provides research grants, administers awards, and provides information and support for green chemistry practices to educators, researchers, and industry.

The GCI was founded in 1997 as an independent non-profit organization, by chemists Joe Breen and Dennis Hjeresen in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2001, the GCI became a part of the American Chemical Society.

Petroleum Research Fund

The Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) is an endowment fund administered by the ACS that supports advanced education and fundamental research in the petroleum and fossil fuel fields at non-profit institutions. Several categories of grants are offered for various career levels and institutions. The fund awarded more than $25 million in grants in 2007.

The PRF traces its origins to the acquisition of the Universal Oil Products laboratory by a consortium of oil companies in 1931. The companies established a trust fund, The Petroleum Research Fund, in 1944 to prevent antitrust litigation tied to their UOP assets. The ACS was named the beneficiary of the trust. The first grants from the PRF were awarded in 1954. In 2000, the trust was transferred to the ACS. The ACS established The American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund and the previous trust was dissolved. The PRF trust was valued at $144.7 million in December 2014.

Other programs

The ACS International Activities is the birthplace of the ACS International Center, an online resource for scientists and engineers looking to study abroad or explore an international career or internship. The site houses information on hundreds of scholarships and grants related to all levels of experience to promote scientific mobility of researchers and practitioners in STEM fields.

The Society grants membership to undergraduates as student members provided they can pay the $25 yearly dues. Any university may start its own ACS Student Chapter and receive benefits of undergraduate participation in regional conferences and discounts on ACS publications.

Awards

National awards

Main article: List of American Chemical Society national awards

The American Chemical Society administers 64 national awards, medals and prizes based on scientific contributions at various career levels that promote achievement across the chemical sciences. The ACS national awards program began in 1922 with the establishment of the Priestley Medal, the highest award offered by the ACS, which is given for distinguished services to chemistry. The 2019 recipient of the Priestley Medal is K. Barry Sharpless.

Other awards

Additional awards are offered by divisions, local sections and other bodies of ACS. The William H. Nichols Medal Award was the first ACS award to honor outstanding researchers in the field of chemistry. It was established in 1903 by the ACS New York Section and is named for William H. Nichols, an American chemist and businessman and one of the original founders of ACS. Of the over 100 Nichols Medalists, 16 have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Willard Gibbs Award, granted by the ACS Chicago Section, was established in 1910 in honor of Josiah Willard Gibbs, the Yale University professor who formulated the phase rule.

The Georgia Local Section of ACS has awarded the Herty Medal since 1933 recognizing outstanding chemists who have significantly contributed to their chosen fields. All chemists in academic, government, or industrial laboratories who have been residing in the southeastern United States for at least 10 years are eligible.

The New York Section of ACS also gives Leadership Awards. The Leadership Awards are the highest honors given by the Chemical Marketing and Economic Group of ACS NY since December 6, 2012. They are presented to leaders of industry, investments, and other sectors, for their contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives. Honorees include Andrew N. Liveris (Dow Chemical), P. Roy Vagelos (Regeneron, Merck), Thomas M. Connelly (DuPont) and Juan Pablo del Valle (Mexichem).

The ACS also administers regional awards presented annually at regional meetings. This includes the E. Ann Nalley Regional Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society, Regional Awards for Excellence in High School Teaching, and the Stanley C. Israel Regional Award for Advancing Diversity in the Chemical Sciences.

Journals and magazines

Main category: American Chemical Society academic journals

ACS Publications is the publishing division of the ACS. It is a nonprofit academic publisher of scientific journals covering various fields of chemistry and related sciences. As of 2021, ACS Publications published the following peer-reviewed journals:

In addition to academic journals, ACS Publications also publishes Chemical & Engineering News, a weekly trade magazine covering news in the chemical profession, inChemistry, a magazine for undergraduate students, and ChemMatters, a magazine for high school students and teachers.

ACS also created ChemRxiv, which is an open access preprint repository for the chemical sciences, co-owned, and collaboratively managed by the American Chemical Society (ACS), German Chemical Society (GDCh), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the chemistry community, other societies, funders, and non-profits; open for submissions and available for all readers at ChemRxiv.

Controversies

Open access

In debates about free access to scientific information, the ACS has been described as "in an interesting dilemma, with some of its representatives pushing for open access and others hating the very thought." The ACS has generally opposed legislation that would mandate free access to scientific journal articles and chemical information. However it has recently launched new open access journals and provided authors with open access publishing options. Nevertheless, the actual percentage of open-access publications in ACS journals is the lowest among the 8 major scientific journal publishers (see figure below):

Open access by year according to Web of Science

Journals

The mid-2000s saw a debate between some research funders (including the federal government), which argued that research they funded should be presented freely to the public, and some publishers (including the ACS), which argued that the costs of peer-review and publishing justified their subscription prices. In 2006, Congress debated legislation that would have instructed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to require all investigators it funded to submit copies of final, peer-reviewed journal articles to PubMed Central, a free-access digital repository it operates, within 12 months of publication. At the time the American Association of Publishers (of which ACS is a member) hired a public relations firm to counter the open access movement. In spite of publishers' opposition, the PubMed Central legislation was passed in December 2007 and became effective in 2008.

As the open access issue has continued to evolve, so too has the ACS's position. In response to a 2013 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy directive that instructed federal agencies to provide greater access to federally funded research, the ACS joined other scholarly publishers in establishing the Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States (Chorus) to allow free access to published articles. The ACS has also introduced several open access publishing options for its journals, including providing authors the option to pay an upfront fee to enable free online access to their articles. In 2015, the ACS launched the first fully open access journal in the society's history, ACS Central Science. The ACS states that the journal offers the same peer-review standards as its subscription journals, but without publishing charges to either authors or readers. A second open access title, ACS Omega, an interdisciplinary mega journal, launched in 2016. In December 2020, the ACS launched a series of 9 open access journals under the name ACS Au (chemical symbol for gold) which include ACS Bio & Med Chem Au, ACS Engineering Au, ACS Environmental Au, ACS Materials Au, ACS Measurement Science Au, ACS Nanoscience Au, ACS Organic & Inorganic Au, ACS Physical Chem Au and ACS Polymers Au.

Databases

In 2005, the ACS was criticized for opposing the creation of PubChem, which is an open access chemical database developed by the NIH's National Center for Biotechnology Information. The ACS raised concerns that the publicly supported PubChem database would duplicate and unfairly compete with their existing fee-based Chemical Abstracts Service and argued that the database should only present data created by the Molecular Libraries Screening Center initiative of the NIH.

The ACS lobbied members of the United States Congress to rein in PubChem and hired outside lobbying firms to try to persuade congressional members, the NIH, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) against establishing a publicly funded database. The ACS was unsuccessful, and as of 2012 PubChem is the world's largest free chemical database.

The ACS is also the only provider of a major scientific publication database (SciFinder) that imposes a restriction on the number of records that can be exported. None of the competing products, such as Web of Science (owned by Clarivate), Scopus (owned by Elsevier) and The Lens (owned by Cambia) has similar restrictions.

Litigations

The ACS has been involved in numerous lawsuits regarding access to its databases, trademark rights, and copyrighted material. In many of these cases, the ACS lost or ended up with an unenforceable judgement. These include:

Dialog v. American Chemical Society, a suit claiming antitrust violations in access to ACS databases, settled out of court in 1993;,

American Chemical Society v. Google, a suit claiming trademark violation, settled out of court in 2006;

American Chemical Society v. Leadscope, a suit alleging stolen trade secrets, concluded in 2012 with ACS losing its trade secrets claim and Leadscope losing its counterclaim of defamation;

against ResearchGate, where a German court refused to award monetary compensation to the ACS and Elsevier;

against Sci-Hub, which resulted in a non-enforceable judgement.

The ACS was also found guilty in several lawsuits brought against the Society by its employees.

Executive compensation

In 2004, a group of ACS members criticized the compensation of former executive director and chief executive officer John Crum, whose total salary, expenses, and bonuses for 2002 was reported to be $767,834. The ACS defended the figure, saying that it was in line with that of comparable organizations, including for-profit publishers.

As of 2016, two employees were reported to have a total compensation exceeding $900,000, while 694 had a compensation exceeding $100,000.

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Federally funded research and development centers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Federally funded research and development centers

Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are public-private partnerships that conduct research and development for the United States Government. Under Federal Acquisition Regulation § 35.017, FFRDCs are operated by universities and corporations to fulfill certain long-term needs of the government that "...cannot be met as effectively by existing in-house or contractor resources." While similar in many ways to University Affiliated Research Centers, FFRDCs are prohibited from competing for work. There are currently 42 FFRDCs, each sponsored by one or more U.S. government departments or agencies.

History

Since the 1960s, private businesses in the U.S. have provided an increasing share of funding for research and development, as direct federal funding waned.

During World War II scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and other specialists became part of the massive United States war effort—leading to evolutions in radar, aircraft, computing and, most famously, the development of nuclear weapons through the Manhattan Project. The end of armed conflict did not end the need for organized research and development in support of the government.

As the Cold War became the new reality, government officials and their scientific advisors advanced the idea of a systematic approach to research, development, and acquisitions—one independent of the ups and downs of the marketplace and free of the restrictions on civil service. From this idea arose the concept of FFRDCs—private entities that would work almost exclusively on behalf of the government—free of organizational conflicts of interest and with a stable workforce of highly trained technical talent.

The U.S. Air Force created the first FFRDC, the RAND Corporation, in 1947. Others grew directly out of their wartime roles. For example, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, founded in 1951, originated as the Radiation Laboratory at MIT, and the Navy's Operation Research Group evolved into the Center for Naval Analyses. The first FFRDCs served the Department of Defense. Since then, other government organizations have sponsored FFRDCs to meet their specific needs. In 1969, the number of FFRDCs peaked at 74.

List

The following list includes all current FFRDCs:

Facility Administrator Location Sponsor
Aerospace FFRDC The Aerospace Corporation El Segundo, California;
Chantilly, Virginia;
Colorado Springs, Colorado 		Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
Ames Laboratory Iowa State University of Science and Technology Ames, Iowa Department of Energy
Argonne National Laboratory UChicago Argonne, LLC Lemont, Illinois Department of Energy
Arroyo Center RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense, Department of the Army
Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC Upton, New York Department of Energy
Center for Advanced Aviation System Development MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration
Center for Communications and Computing Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, Virginia Department of Defense, National Security Agency
Center for Enterprise Modernization MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service;
Department of Veterans Affairs;
Social Security Administration
Center for Naval Analyses The CNA Corporation Arlington County, Virginia Department of Defense, Department of the Navy
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses Southwest Research Institute San Antonio, Texas Nuclear Regulatory Commission
CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Fermi Research Alliance, LLC Batavia, Illinois Department of Energy
Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Leidos Biomedical Research Frederick, Maryland Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health
Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center RAND Corporation Crystal City, Virginia Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute MITRE McLean, Virginia Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Idaho National Laboratory Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC Idaho Falls, Idaho Department of Energy
Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Judiciary Engineering and Modernization Center MITRE McLean, Virginia United States Courts
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory University of California Berkeley, California Department of Energy
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Livermore, California Department of Energy
Lincoln Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lexington, Massachusetts Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Los Alamos National Laboratory Triad National Security, LLC Los Alamos, New Mexico Department of Energy
National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center Battelle National Biodefense Institute Frederick, Maryland Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
National Center for Atmospheric Research University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Boulder, Colorado National Science Foundation
National Cybersecurity FFRDC MITRE Rockville, Maryland Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Defense Research Institute RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Tucson, Arizona National Science Foundation
National Radio Astronomy Observatory Associated Universities, Inc. Socorro, New Mexico;
Charlottesville, Virginia 		National Science Foundation
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC Golden, Colorado Department of Energy
National Security Engineering Center MITRE Bedford, Massachusetts;
McLean, Virginia 		Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
National Solar Observatory Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. Boulder, Colorado National Science Foundation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory UT-Battelle, LLC Oak Ridge, Tennessee Department of Energy
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Battelle Memorial Institute Richland, Washington Department of Energy
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Princeton University Princeton, New Jersey Department of Energy
Project Air Force RAND Corporation Santa Monica, California Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force
Sandia National Laboratories National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC Albuquerque, New Mexico;
Livermore, CA 		Department of Energy
Savannah River National Laboratory Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC Aiken, South Carolina Department of Energy
Science and Technology Policy Institute Institute for Defense Analyses Washington, D.C. National Science Foundation
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Stanford University Stanford, California Department of Energy
Software Engineering Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Systems and Analyses Center Institute for Defense Analyses Alexandria, Virginia Department of Defense, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Jefferson Science Associates, LLC Newport News, Virginia Department of Energy
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Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey

The Milky Way as viewed from La Silla Observatory

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey is a review of astronomy and astrophysics literature produced approximately every ten years by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. The report surveys the current state of the field, identifies research priorities, and makes recommendations for the coming decade. The decadal survey represents the recommendations of the research community to governmental agencies on how to prioritize scientific funding within astronomy and astrophysics. The editing committee is informed by topical panels and subcommittees, dedicated conferences, and direct community input in the form of white papers summarizing the state of the art in each subdiscipline. The most recent report, Astro2020, was released in 2021.

Ground-Based Astronomy: A Ten-Year Program, 1964

The first report, Ground-Based Astronomy: A Ten-Year Program, was released in 1964. The authoring committee was chaired by Albert Whitford. The report recommends construction of national observing facilities, including especially mid-sized ground-based optical telescopes.

Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1970s, 1972

The second report, Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1970s, was released in 1972. The committee was chaired by Jesse L. Greenstein. It recommends priorities for both space- and ground-based programs, and was instrumental in the eventual construction of the Very Large Array.

Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980s, 1982

The third report, Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980s, was released in 1982. The committee was chaired by George B. Field. It recommended the launch of the "Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility", which was realized in 1999 as the Chandra X-ray Observatory. It also identified construction of the Very Long Baseline Array as a priority, in addition to briefly mentioning the Hubble Space Telescope (before it received that name) and the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility (later Spitzer).

The Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1991

The fourth report, The Decade of Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics, was released in 1991. The committee was chaired by John N. Bahcall. It recommended the launch of the "Space Infrared Telescope Facility", realized in 2003 as the Spitzer Space Telescope, the fourth and final in NASA's Great Observatories program.

Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium, 2001

The fifth report, Astronomy and Astrophysics in the New Millennium, was released in 2001. The committee was co-chaired by Christopher McKee and Joseph H. Taylor. It gives highest priority to the construction and launch of Next Generation Space Telescope, now known as the James Webb Space Telescope which launched on 25 December 2021. The report reaffirms the 1991 recommendation for the completion of the Millimeter Array, now part of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array international collaboration. It also examines the benefits of a robust astronomy research program to the nation, and expresses concern regarding the percentage of funding tied to a few large projects.

New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2010

The sixth report, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, was released in 2010. The committee was chaired by Roger D. Blandford. Recommendations for scientific questions to be answered include: the nature of dark energy; the structure, distribution, and evolution of exoplanetary systems; detailed examination of extreme processes including supernovae and the merger of superdense objects; and how galaxies and galaxy clusters formed from the early hot universe.  The report also examines technical readiness, scheduling, and funding issues as well as basic science. The recommendations consider a range of funding scenarios based on projected budgets for the major funding agencies, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. The top priorities identified by the report include:

Other priorities include Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) for measuring gravitational waves and International X-ray Observatory for investigating black holes and the evolution of large scale structure in the universe. The report also recommends augmenting the Explorer program for small and medium-sized missions with rapid turnaround and high scientific return, and the creation of a Midscale Innovations Program within the National Science Foundation for funding projects in the $4–135 million range.

Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s

The seventh report, released to the public at 11 am ET on Thursday, November 4, 2021, recommended scientific priorities and investments for the next decade to help achieve the following primary goals: search for habitable exoplanets and extraterrestrial life, study black holes and neutron stars and study the growth and evolution of galaxies. The top priority recommended to the NSF was to combine the Thirty Meter Telescope and Giant Magellan Telescope programs into one United States Extremely Large Telescope program. The top priority recommended to NASA was to establish a new Great Observatories Mission and Technology Maturation program that would conduct studies into 2030s-launched telescopes, with a hybrid of LUVOIR (successor to Hubble) and HabEx (successor to Spitzer) as the first major project with an estimated cost of US$11 billion, to be followed by cheaper far-infrared astronomy and X-ray astronomy designs (the Origins Space Telescope and Lynx X-ray Observatory) with an estimated cost from US$3 billion to US$5 billion each.
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