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because it sits directly on the Hekpoort basalt, an extensive basalt formation that was extruded 2.3 to 2.4 billion years ago. Ohmoto said, "Because we can trace the basalt all the way across, even to a
depth of 2,600 feet, we know that the lat e n t e deposits directly above are only slightly y o u n g e r than the b a s a l t s . " Geologists currently are involved in a debate as to when significant amounts of
oxygen appeared in the Earth's atmosphere. These latentes suggest that oxygen was plentiful 2.3 billion years ago, both for the generation of land-based biota and to convert iron to iron oxides. D
WASHINGTON NEWS
Officials Largely Support NRC Report on Materials Facilities Management Although operating the nation's major materials research facilities will present some tough challenges in the Coming years, the responsible federal agencies seem to be approaching the future with a cooperative spirit. Their differences appear to be manageable—but not necessarily minor. That is the rough consensus of several top officials involved in materi als research issues, following release of the recent report by the National Research Council's Committee on Developing a Federal Materials Facilities Strategy. The report, "Cooperative Stewardship" (see MRS Bulletin, December 1999), calls for expanded management responsibilities for the three agencies responsible for the facilities: D e p a r t m e n t of Energy (DOE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the N a t i o n a l Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It also recommends more formal coordination with other agencies representing facilities users—especially the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which represents biomaterials researchers, the fastest-growing segment of users at the major facilities. The report calls for a permanent interagency working group to handle materials research-related issues. Despite the growth in bioresearch, there is no support for giving NIH any direct operational responsibilities, even though that agency—with a research budget that dwarfs current operational funding for all 12 of the nation's major materials facilities—is capable financially of handling the task. "As I perceive the arrangement, DOE, NIST, and NSF will remain undiluted in their basic stewardship, but NIH will have a significant say over funding levels and Operations," according to A r t h u r Bienenstock, associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. NIH is expected to have plenty of opportunity to develop beam lines, complementary detectors,
MRS BULLETIN/JANUARY 2000
protein handlers, and necessary instru mentation. NIH envisions a slightly different approach. Marvin Cassman, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), said it may be time to rethink how the facilities are funded. "Somebody needs to make the case that these [facilities] can't be considered offshoots of [scientific] disciplines," Cassman said. "These are not just materials science resources. They are national sc
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