September 8, 2005
Dear Colleagues,
The devastating loss of life and suffering caused by Hurricane
Katrina has shocked and saddened us all. Our thoughts are with
those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihood.
We are writing to you as part of the DOE Office of Science family.
Many have already begun to welcome into their institutions
colleagues in the science community who have been displaced by the
effects of the Hurricane Katrina. The Office of Science would like
to help in the effort to ensure that faculty and students displaced
by the disaster may continue their research and studies at other
institutions.
The Office of Science has established a temporary program to match
interested displaced students and faculty researchers - who may be
eligible regardless of current DOE funding status - with research
programs that currently receive grants from our office and that wish
to host such displaced individuals. The Office of Science has set
up a clearinghouse through DOE Oak Ridge Institute for Science and
Education (ORISE) to match displaced individuals with host grant
recipients, and will consider on a case-by-case basis modest
supplemental funding to existing programs in order to facilitate
this process.
For grantees wishing to host displaced individuals and grantees
whose work has been affected by issues resulting from this disaster,
the Office of Science will consider special needs requests for
supplements to ongoing grants and field work proposals (FWPs). The
fastest way to obtain information about a specific proposed activity
is to contact the DOE Office of Science Program Manager responsible
for the ongoing grant or FWP. If there is any question about whom
you should contact at DOE Headquarters, feel free to contact Chris
Yetter, who will route your inquiry to the right person. He can be
contacted by emailing Christopher.Yetter@science.doe.gov or by
calling (301) 903-4353.
Displaced students and faculty researchers from affected
universities will be able to indicate their interest in being hosted
by a current grant recipient and complete request for assistance
forms on-line at the clearinghouse website. Office of Science
supported Principal Investigators and Office of Science Program
Manages will be able to log-in online to support and view the
individual requests for assistance. All contact information for the
students and faculty will be provided on the assistance forms which
will enable timely contact with students and faculty by the
potential host. We encourage interested individuals to visit the
ORISE clearinghouse website.
Our colleagues in science have historically been a close-knit,
generous community. This has been one of the joys of working in
this community for so many years. I know that you will now want to
reach out to those who have suffered from Hurricane Katrina and help
them rebuild their futures.
Sincerely,
Dr. Raymond L. Orbach
Director, Office of Science
United States Department of Energy