NSF Awards $11.5 Million To Stony Brook University for the Earth Science Research

STONY BROOK, NY - Stony Brook University has received $11.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), starting from May 2007 extending through the next five years, to support the Consortium for Materials Properties Research in Earth Sciences (COMPRES).

Founded in May 2002, COMPRES a community-based consortium of 50 US academic institutions and national laboratories, and 28 foreign affiliate members that supports research in the materials properties of Earth and planetary interiors, and advocates for science and educational programs to the various funding agencies.

The consortium conducts Earth science research materials properties and planetary interiors. COMPRES facilitates the operation of beam lines, emphasizes the development of new technologies for high-pressure research.

The NSF funding is a renewal of support from the Instrumentation and Facilities Program of the Division of Earth Sciences. It includes over $3 million for the two beamline operations at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) of the Brookhaven National Laboratory, overseen by Professors Donald Weidner, Jiuhua Chen, and Michael Vaughan of Stony Brook's Mineral Physics Institute.

"This funding allows continued exploration of material properties that help us understand the evolution of our planet, and also in materials design that leads to energy efficient and use-driven materials fabrication," said Provost Robert McGrath. "That the NSF chooses to ask Stony Brook once more to lead the national effort attests to the quality and stature of our scientists, and particularly to Professor Liebermann's skill in leading the national effort."

Since September 2003, Dr. Robert Liebermann, Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Geosciences has served as President of COMPRES. Stony Brook's Mineral Physics Institute currently serves as the administrative headquarters for the consortium, which is charged with the oversight and guidance of laboratories at several US institutions. The research carried out in these facilities is applied in the study of earthquakes, the creation of continents, and interplanetary exploration.