Partial Core Support of the Board on Physics and Astronomy

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA) serves as the focal point in the National Academies of Sciences and the National Research Council (NRC) for activities related to physics and astronomy and their interactions with engineering, medicine, chemistry, biology, and other sciences. The BPA's principal objectives are to maintain an awareness of the status of research in physics and astronomy, to identify emerging needs, and to initiate studies that address problems and that foster continued progress. The BPA fulfills these objectives by working closely with the physics and astronomy communities in academia, federal agencies and their advisory committees, government laboratories, industry, relevant scientific and technical societies, and other boards and committees of the NRC.Among the important mechanisms used by the BPA to achieve impact are periodic decadal assessments of the fields. The surveys of astronomy and astrophysics and subfields in physics, which the BPA initiates and oversees, have been very effective in establishing a consensus on priorities for major facilities and for addressing broader issues in these fields. By facilitating progress in physics and astronomy, the BPA helps to enrich the nation's intellectual enterprise in academe, industry, and government laboratories.