Status of Scientific Simulation Program and the
Accelerated Climate Prediction Initiative

As of now, DOE and NSF are leading an interagency effort to get the SSP
included in the FY 2000 administration budget request to Congress.  The
Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget
are reviewing the options that may be contained in a new initiative, and will
make the final recommendations to the President.  Some of the issues that
are under consideration that directly affect the ACPI are:

1.  How much money does the administration (and ultimately Congress)
want to spend and in which agencies do they want to spend it.

2.  The relative emphasis on "basic" research in computer science vs.
effort on demanding and challenging applications in the scientific fields.

3.  Should Earth System modeling be one of the primary application
areas.

These issues will not be finalized until the administration makes
its request to Congress in January or February.

In the meantime, the positive review from JASON and the desparate
need for computing resources by the community have been sufficient
to continue the planning for a climate modeling component, even though there
is a chance that there will be not be a new initiative.  Dr. Larry Gates has
been
asked by Bob Corell and Ari Patrinos to develop an implementation strategy.
Larry will carry out a series of trips over the next several months to collect
information and solicit the opinions of the scientific community, and he will
then develop a implementation strategy for consideration by the USGCRP.

We plan to keep you informed as new information becomes available.

Dave


Dave Bader
david.bader@pnl.gov
202-646-7801