Schumer-Led Push Saves Cornell Research Lab Funding from Chopping Block - Secures Commitment to Keep Chess Lab Open After Fears that Research Facility Would Lose Approximately $28 Million in Federal Funding

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by Cornell University President Dr. David J. Skorton, announced that he had secured commitments from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to keep funding for Cornell's CHESS lab in place. In his efforts to secure funding, Senator Schumer spoke personally with the Director of the NSF, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and the Acting Director of the OMB.

The month's long effort to save the lab began when NSF told school officials they were seriously considering cutting off funding for all research of this type.

"The importance of the work done by the CHESS lab cannot be understated, and it would be unbelievably short sighted to shut it down, both for our nation's scientific research and for Cornell and the local economy," said Schumer. "We don't need to take an x-ray machine to this problem to understand that shutting the lab down was the wrong choice. Thankfully, the officials at the White House and the National Science Foundation have seen the light of day, and funding for the lab is once again safe and secure."

Reacting to the news Cornell President David J. Skorton said, "Senator Schumer is a good friend of higher education. We very much appreciate his efforts to secure continued funding for Cornell's CHESS that is so vital to the scientific community. We are committed to working with Senator Schumer to realize the full potential of this critical program."

While the CHESS facility is of critical importance, there was a real danger that it's funding would be cut. Every few years, the NSF and Cornell University reassess the terms of the arrangement that allows Cornell to operate CHESS. This agreement is the road map by which Cornell receives approximately $28 million every year in operating assistance to do federally-sponsored and private industry research.

A few months back, Senator Schumer was contacted by Cornell with some bad news that NSF was considering not funding light sources like CHESS, and that only the Department of Energy labs should serve the scientific community. Without NSF funding, the CHESS facility would not have been able to keep running.

"Shutting down the CHESS facility would have meant abandoning nearly a billion dollars of infrastructure built with taxpayer dollars and decades of federal investment," said Schumer. "Most importantly, it would have left the scientific community and a hub for innovation in the Southern Tier without a critical resource. High-tech companies like GE, IBM, and entities like the Air Force, populate the neighborhoods around the CHESS facility -- losing them would have been a big loss for the Southern Tier economy.

After speaking with the Director of NSF, the White House Office of Science and Technology, and the Acting Director of the OMB, Senator Schumer was able to secure commitments that Cornell's CHESS lab would not lose its NSF funding, and that all of the parties would work together to map out a long-term plan for the facility. This means CHESS can continue its work with the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop new tools to ensure that military and commercial planes stand up to stress and fatigue. CHESS can also continue its work with the Energy Materials Center (EMC2) at Cornell to ensure that lithium ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells are working longer and performing better. And this means that CHESS can continue its life-saving work with pharmaceutical companies and the NIH to develop new drugs. These projects and many more will continue now that the NSF has agreed not to cut CHESS' funding.

The CHESS lab is a high-energy synchrotron light source, which in basic terms is a highly-sophisticated x-ray machine. CHESS is one of only five national hard x-ray facilities in the country, and the only one located at a research university. For that reason, CHESS serves the nation as a unique training ground for the scientific work force needed to keep the U.S. competitive. CHESS is a multi-disciplinary facility that supports critical research in physics, materials science, chemistry, biology, engineering, and even art history. The facility, which also carries out basic research in accelerator science, is used by universities, the government and private industries across New York, the country and world.

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