Help Shape the Future of the DOE Major Facilities Roadmap

Published: 18 August 2026

Facilities subcommittee is hosting a community town hall and soliciting written input

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (SC) Advisory Committee (SCAC) Facilities Subcommittee invites the community to participate in a virtual town hall from noon to 6 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, September 17, 2026, to help inform the development of a roadmap for SC investments and activities in major facilities.

Registration is now open for the town hall. Written input is also welcomed from community members wishing to provide more detailed input.

The SCAC Facilities Subcommittee has been charged with reviewing a summary of proposed facilities and upgrades, identifying any gaps, and, in a constrained budget environment, prioritizing the new or upgraded facilities that are most crucial to the needs of the nation for the next 10 years (2026-2036).

Pages 17 and 18 of the summary include three proposed Biological and Environmental Research facilities of relevance to the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility:

• Drizzle, Aerosol, and Cloud Observation Chamber (DRACO): a new unique laboratory designed for controlled research and testing of cloud, aerosol, and precipitation microphysical processes
• Biological and Environmental Research Data Center: a federated data science ecosystem to deliver curated, open, artificial intelligence-ready data, integrated analytics, and models to accelerate scientific discovery for advance biotechnology, environment and energy
• Integrated Mobile Field Facility: an advanced “intelligent” network of automated field instruments and sensors to capture targeted real-time phenomena for genotype to phenotype, vegetation, atmosphere, and soil dynamics.

The subcommittee presented an update on its process at the July 2026 SCAC meeting, and its report is to be presented to the SCAC for consideration at its November 2026 meeting.

In addition to delivering world-leading scientific capabilities to SC missions, the prioritization should consider how the proposed facilities integrate with and support the Genesis Mission as well as other administration priorities.

To accomplish its task, the subcommittee is seeking input from universities, national laboratories, and the scientific user communities on topics including:

• As you consider the challenges and opportunities facing science broadly in the United States, what advice do you have for the subcommittee as it approaches its charge?
• What should be the subcommittee’s highest-priority consideration? What would you do if you were in the subcommittee’s shoes?
• What gaps do you see in the list of proposed facilities the subcommittee has been tasked to prioritize?

Participation is strongly requested through both written input and the town hall discussion.

1. Submit a speaking request by Thursday, September 10, 2026.
2. Submit a written response by Tuesday, September 15, 2026. (Responses will be limited to 2,500 words.)