NSF awards Cornell $100 million in funding to continue operating CHESS lab, Schumer says

ITHACA — The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Cornell University $100 million in funding over the next five years for its high-energy synchrotron light source (CHESS) lab.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) made the announcement earlier this week.

The CHESS Lab, which includes one of two high-energy synchrotron X-ray sources in the country, has played a “pivotal” role in medical discoveries and scientific breakthroughs, including the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Schumer’s office said.

Every few years, the NSF and Cornell reassess the terms of the arrangement that allows the school to operate CHESS.

Under the agreement, NSF provides Cornell about $20 million every year in operating assistance to conduct federally sponsored and private-industry research, Schumer’s office said.

After an extensive review on the merits, the NSF has committed to funding the CHESS lab at $20 million annually for the next five years.

In his efforts to secure funding, Schumer spoke with the NSF, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and its Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“When we were in the trenches two years ago fighting to keep funding for the lab from being cut, and the crucial research they do along with it, I went to the top brass at NSF, OMB and the White House to beat back those cuts. Today, we bear the fruits of those labors,” Schumer contended in a news release.

The NSF in 2012 considered cutting funding to the CHESS lab, which would have forced the facility to close, according to Schumer.

The Senator said he intervened and asked the NSF to honor the cooperative agreement it had signed with CHESS to continue funding the lab.

At the time, Schumer urged all parties to work together to establish a long-term funding framework to put the CHESS lab on “solid” financial ground. This new agreement means that Cornell’s CHESS lab has secured financial stability and can continue its research, Schumer contended.

The five-year deal provides “continued assurance” that the thousands of scientists who depend on Cornell’s CHESS lab for physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering research will still have access to the facility, he added.

It means CHESS will continue its work with the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop new tools that ensure military and commercial planes stand up to stress and fatigue.

CHESS can also carry on its work with the Energy Materials Center (EMC2) at Cornell to ensure that lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen-fuel cells work longer and perform better.

The funding also means that CHESS can continue its work with pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop new drugs, according to the news release.

The NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com