DUSEL project status fact sheet

December 15, 2010

The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) has enormous potential to advance our understanding of the physical universe through transformational discoveries across physics and other fields of science. For more information, please refer to dusel.org.

Preliminary Design and Other Ongoing Activities

On September 24, 2009, the National Science Board (NSB) authorized the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide $29.1 million to fund project design efforts through its Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled to be completed in April 2011.

The Project is well on the path to complete the Preliminary Design for DUSEL and its suite of experiments according to the schedule and terms of the existing Cooperative Agreement. The DUSEL team is not requesting additional funding to complete the PDR.

NSF funding has been used exclusively for PDR preparation and the access to the facility to enable that design work. Over $120 million in public and private funding secured by the State of South Dakota has supported all other operations costs, including continued water pumping and treatment. Early science activities have also been funded through South Dakota. The Department of Energy has also been funding early design work toward major experiments.

Funding Committed to Date

To date as much as $300 million has been committed to DUSEL:

$80 million from the National Science Foundation
Over $120 million from the State of South Dakota (including $70 million from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford)
As much as $100 million from DOE
Enabling support from the UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Full Design and Maintaining Infrastructure

The funding the NSB approved in September 2009 supports the design efforts through the PDR, so the project requires funding for the period between April and when it enters Final Design Stage, anticipated at the end of 2011. Similarly, the funding the State of South Dakota raised will be exhausted by summer, so federal investment will be required to maintain not only design and access but also operations and early science. The money South Dakota has raised is incredible for a state its size, and we do not expect it to be able to augment that sum further.

To address these needs through FDR, a $29 million proposal for “bridge” funding was submitted to the National Science Board for consideration at its meeting on December 2, 2010. This proposal supports three primary activities for the DUSEL team:

Advancing the DUSEL design. The facility design requires extensive design and engineering integration activities with the NSF-funded scientific collaborations, since the DUSEL experiments are being developed in parallel with the facility design efforts. Advanced geotechnical site investigations and other activities also must be supported for a smooth transition to final design.
Ensuring safe access. To enable advancement of these design activities, safe access to the underground must be maintained. Risk mitigating design activities benefit significantly from frequent and regular access to the underground to enable full investigation of infrastructure and geotechnical aspects of the proposed sites.
Maintaining the infrastructure. Finally, funds are required to preserve and maintain the significant infrastructure already established, reflecting an investment of over $120 million by the State of South Dakota. This support directly empowers the early science program at the State's Sanford Laboratory, where two sizable physics experiments (LUX and Majorana Demonstrator) are currently preparing their experimental installations to advance the search for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay.

This proposal provided detailed justifications for these funds after months of preparation by the DUSEL team and NSF. Unfortunately, in December the NSB declined to fund the proposal.

Looking Forward

The DUSEL team hopes and believes that the issues and concerns raised by the National Science Board can be addressed quickly to the satisfaction of all parties involved in this important initiative. DUSEL has enormous potential to broaden our understanding of the physical universe, unlock mysteries that may be responsible for our very existence and advance our knowledge in a diverse array of other scientific fields including engineering, geology and biology.

We are working with our stakeholders, investigating paths to maintain project momentum and to ensure that DUSEL’s science program would be not be affected by significant delays.


Homepage SURF Science Safety and Environment Education and Outreach Sanford Laboratory Newsletters Reference Workshops DocuShare Contacts	DUSEL project status fact sheet December 15, 2010 The Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) has enormous potential to advance our understanding of the physical universe through transformational discoveries across physics and other fields of science. For more information, please refer to dusel.org. Preliminary Design and Other Ongoing Activities On September 24, 2009, the National Science Board (NSB) authorized the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide $29.1 million to fund project design efforts through its Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled to be completed in April 2011. The Project is well on the path to complete the Preliminary Design for DUSEL and its suite of experiments according to the schedule and terms of the existing Cooperative Agreement. The DUSEL team is not requesting additional funding to complete the PDR. NSF funding has been used exclusively for PDR preparation and the access to the facility to enable that design work. Over $120 million in public and private funding secured by the State of South Dakota has supported all other operations costs, including continued water pumping and treatment. Early science activities have also been funded through South Dakota. The Department of Energy has also been funding early design work toward major experiments. Funding Committed to Date To date as much as $300 million has been committed to DUSEL: $80 million from the National Science Foundation Over $120 million from the State of South Dakota (including $70 million from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford) As much as $100 million from DOE Enabling support from the UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Full Design and Maintaining Infrastructure The funding the NSB approved in September 2009 supports the design efforts through the PDR, so the project requires funding for the period between April and when it enters Final Design Stage, anticipated at the end of 2011. Similarly, the funding the State of South Dakota raised will be exhausted by summer, so federal investment will be required to maintain not only design and access but also operations and early science. The money South Dakota has raised is incredible for a state its size, and we do not expect it to be able to augment that sum further. To address these needs through FDR, a $29 million proposal for “bridge” funding was submitted to the National Science Board for consideration at its meeting on December 2, 2010. This proposal supports three primary activities for the DUSEL team: Advancing the DUSEL design. The facility design requires extensive design and engineering integration activities with the NSF-funded scientific collaborations, since the DUSEL experiments are being developed in parallel with the facility design efforts. Advanced geotechnical site investigations and other activities also must be supported for a smooth transition to final design. Ensuring safe access. To enable advancement of these design activities, safe access to the underground must be maintained. Risk mitigating design activities benefit significantly from frequent and regular access to the underground to enable full investigation of infrastructure and geotechnical aspects of the proposed sites. Maintaining the infrastructure. Finally, funds are required to preserve and maintain the significant infrastructure already established, reflecting an investment of over $120 million by the State of South Dakota. This support directly empowers the early science program at the State's Sanford Laboratory, where two sizable physics experiments (LUX and Majorana Demonstrator) are currently preparing their experimental installations to advance the search for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay. This proposal provided detailed justifications for these funds after months of preparation by the DUSEL team and NSF. Unfortunately, in December the NSB declined to fund the proposal. Looking Forward The DUSEL team hopes and believes that the issues and concerns raised by the National Science Board can be addressed quickly to the satisfaction of all parties involved in this important initiative. DUSEL has enormous potential to broaden our understanding of the physical universe, unlock mysteries that may be responsible for our very existence and advance our knowledge in a diverse array of other scientific fields including engineering, geology and biology. We are working with our stakeholders, investigating paths to maintain project momentum and to ensure that DUSEL’s science program would be not be affected by significant delays.