| Potential Research Areas | |
| Yucca Mountain Research | |
| Not all individual, departments, or institutions that would like
to receive funding under the Cooperative Agreement will be funded. The following
information is provided to give potential researchers a better understanding
of which types of tasks are more likely to receive funding. This however
is not meant to imply that all tasks that address the issues below will be
funded, nor that tasks that do not address these issues will not be funded.
It is provided as guidance only.
Funding is made available on a task by task basis. Many factors are weighed when deciding which tasks will be funded. These factors include Project needs, available funding, schedule constraints, and how well the task fits within the mission of the Cooperative Agreement. With regards to Project needs, the Department of Energy (DOE) has contracted with Bechtel SAIC Corporation (BSC) and Sandía National Laboratory (SNL) to perform work required to support a license to construct and operate a geologic repository. As such, DOE already pays BSC and SNL to do much of the work that NSHE researchers may be capable of performing. Also, because contractual obligations are different under a cooperative agreement than they are under a typical sub-contract, incorporating NSHE products into the YMP baseline is problematic. As such, it is not recommended that NSHE researchers propose studies that are "critical path" (i.e. studies that are absolutely necessary to support a license). It must also be noted that the Cooperative Agreement is not a procurement contract. DOE may not use the Cooperative Agreement to purchase equipment from the University System or other entities. In other words, a task whose sole purpose is to procure or construct equipment for use by DOE or its contractors will not be funded. The purpose of the Cooperative Agreement is to produce an independently derived body of un-biased scientific and engineering data. As such, potential researchers are discouraged from directly soliciting DOE personnel for ideas regarding potential areas of research. Instead, researchers are encouraged to independently review work conducted by DOE and its contractors, as well as work performed by oversight bodies, to determine areas for possible work. Potential researchers are also encouraged to attend the many public meetings and conferences held each year related to Yucca Mountain. The following are links to some resources that may be useful for identifying areas of possible research:
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