Consensus
Modern materials science builds on knowledge from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, computer and data science, and engineering sciences to enable us to understand, control, and expand the material world. Although it is anchored in inquiry-based fundamental science, materials research is strongly focused on discovering and producing reliable and economically viable materials, from super alloys to polymer composites, that are used in a vast array of products essential to today's societies and economies.
Frontiers of Materials Research: A Decadal Survey is aimed at documenting the status and promising future directions of materials research in the United States in the context of similar efforts worldwide. This third decadal survey in materials research reviews the progress and achievements in materials research and changes in the materials research landscape over the last decade; research opportunities for investment for the period 2020-2030; impacts that materials research has had and is expected to have on emerging technologies, national needs, and science; and challenges the enterprise may face over the next decade.
294 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-48387-5
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-48388-3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25244
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Frontiers of Materials Research: A Decadal Survey. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Fusion offers the prospect of virtually unlimited energy. The United States and many nations around the world have made enormous progress toward achieving fusion energy. With ITER scheduled to go online within a decade and demonstrate controlled fusion ten years later, now is the right time for the United States to develop plans to benefit from its investment in burning plasma research and take steps to develop fusion electricity for the nation's future energy needs. At the request of the Department of Energy, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized a committee to develop a strategic plan for U.S. fusion research. The final report's two main recommendations are: (1) The United States should remain an ITER partner as the most cost-effective way to gain experience with a burning plasma at the scale of a power plant. (2) The United States should start a national program of accompanying research and technology leading to the construction of a compact pilot plant that produces electricity from fusion at the lowest possible capital cost.
340 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-48743-9
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-48744-7
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25331
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Final Report of the Committee on a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The past decade has delivered remarkable discoveries in the study of exoplanets. Hand-in-hand with these advances, a theoretical understanding of the myriad of processes that dictate the formation and evolution of planets has matured, spurred on by the avalanche of unexpected discoveries. Appreciation of the factors that make a planet hospitable to life has grown in sophistication, as has understanding of the context for biosignatures, the remotely detectable aspects of a planet's atmosphere or surface that reveal the presence of life.
Exoplanet Science Strategy highlights strategic priorities for large, coordinated efforts that will support the scientific goals of the broad exoplanet science community. This report outlines a strategic plan that will answer lingering questions through a combination of large, ambitious community-supported efforts and support for diverse, creative, community-driven investigator research.
186 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-47941-X
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-47942-8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25187
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Exoplanet Science Strategy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Understanding of protons and neutrons, or "nucleons"—the building blocks of atomic nuclei—has advanced dramatically, both theoretically and experimentally, in the past half century. A central goal of modern nuclear physics is to understand the structure of the proton and neutron directly from the dynamics of their quarks and gluons governed by the theory of their interactions, quantum chromodynamics (QCD), and how nuclear interactions between protons and neutrons emerge from these dynamics. With deeper understanding of the quark-gluon structure of matter, scientists are poised to reach a deeper picture of these building blocks, and atomic nuclei themselves, as collective many-body systems with new emergent behavior.
The development of a U.S. domestic electron-ion collider (EIC) facility has the potential to answer questions that are central to completing an understanding of atoms and integral to the agenda of nuclear physics today. This study assesses the merits and significance of the science that could be addressed by an EIC, and its importance to nuclear physics in particular and to the physical sciences in general. It evaluates the significance of the science that would be enabled by the construction of an EIC, its benefits to U.S. leadership in nuclear physics, and the benefits to other fields of science of a U.S.-based EIC.
152 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-47856-1
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-47857-X
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25171
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. An Assessment of U.S.-Based Electron-Ion Collider Science. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) is tasked with monitoring the progress of the recommended priorities of the astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and providing an independent, authoritative forum for identifying and discussing issues in astronomy and astrophysics between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public. This publication reviews NASA's plans for delivering mission concept studies (large and medium) to the Decadal Survey Committee. The CAA assessed the appropriateness of NASA's plans and provided findings for the purpose of improving the value of NASA's preparations to the Decadal Survey Committee.
11 pages
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-48239-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/25212
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Report Series: Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics: Mission Concept Studies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Interim
In January 2003, President George W. Bush announced that the United States would begin negotiations to join the ITER project and noted that "if successful, ITER would create the first fusion device capable of producing thermal energy comparable to the output of a power plant, making commercially viable fusion power available as soon as 2050." The United States and the other ITER members are now constructing ITER with the aim to demonstrate that magnetically confined plasmas can produce more fusion power than the power needed to sustain the plasma. This is a critical step towards producing and delivering electricity from fusion energy.
Since the international establishment of the ITER project, ITER's construction schedule has slipped and ITER's costs have increased significantly, leading to questions about whether the United States should continue its commitment to participate in ITER. This study will advise how to best advance the fusion energy sciences in the United States given developments in the field, the specific international investments in fusion science and technology, and the priorities for the next ten years developed by the community and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) that were recently reported to Congress. It will address the scientific justification and needs for strengthening the foundations for realizing fusion energy given a potential choice of U.S. participation or not in the ITER project, and develops future scenarios in either case.
This interim report assesses the current status of U.S. fusion research and of the importance of burning plasma research to the development of fusion energy as well as to plasma science and other science and engineering disciplines. The final report will present strategies that incorporate continued progress toward a burning plasma experiment and a focus on innovation.
60 pages
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-46931-7
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/24971
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Interim Report of the Committee on a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The laser has revolutionized many areas of science and society, providing bright and versatile light sources that transform the ways we investigate science and enables trillions of dollars of commerce. Now a second laser revolution is underway with pulsed petawatt-class lasers (1 petawatt: 1 million billion watts) that deliver nearly 100 times the total world's power concentrated into a pulse that lasts less than one-trillionth of a second. Such light sources create unique, extreme laboratory conditions that can accelerate and collide intense beams of elementary particles, drive nuclear reactions, heat matter to conditions found in stars, or even create matter out of the empty vacuum.
These powerful lasers came largely from U.S. engineering, and the science and technology opportunities they enable were discussed in several previous National Academies' reports. Based on these advances, the principal research funding agencies in Europe and Asia began in the last decade to invest heavily in new facilities that will employ these high-intensity lasers for fundamental and applied science. No similar programs exist in the United States. Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers assesses the opportunities and recommends a path forward for possible U.S. investments in this area of science.
346 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-46769-1
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-46770-5
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/24939
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers: Reaching for the Brightest Light. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The radio frequency spectrum is a limited resource with ever increasing demand from an expansive range of applications—all the way from commercial, such as mobile phones, to scientific, such as hurricane monitoring from space. Since radio waves do not stop at national borders, international regulation is necessary to ensure effective use of the radio spectrum for all parties.
Every 2 to 5 years, the International Telecommunication Union convenes a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) to review and revise the international radio regulations. This report provides guidance to U.S. spectrum managers and policymakers as they prepare for the WRC in 2019. While the resulting document is targeted primarily at U.S. agencies dealing with radio spectrum issues, other Administrations and foreign scientific users may find its recommendations useful in their own WRC planning.
74 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-46565-6
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-46566-4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/24899
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Views of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on Agenda Items of Interest to the Science Services at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The 2010 astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey, New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, laid out an exciting portfolio of recommended activities to guide the agencies' research programs over the period 2012-2021. The newly constituted Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics (CAA) is tasked with monitoring the progress of the survey's recommended priorities.
The CAA met in conjunction with Space Science Week 2017 in Washington, D.C., on March 28- 30, 2017. This was the first meeting at which the CAA could produce a report, and in advance of that meeting, the CAA received a question from NASA about an upcoming Small Explorer (SMEX) mission call. This report addresses whether there may or may not be sufficient compelling science motivations for a SMEX-sized mission to justify a SMEX Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in 2018 or 2019 (as is currently planned).
32 pages
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-46152-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/24808
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Report Series: Committee on Astronomy and Astrophysics: Small Explorer Missions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NWNH), the report of the 2010 decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics, put forward a vision for a decade of transformative exploration at the frontiers of astrophysics. This vision included mapping the first stars and galaxies as they emerge from the collapse of dark matter and cold clumps of hydrogen, finding new worlds in a startlingly diverse population of extrasolar planets, and exploiting the vastness and extreme conditions of the universe to reveal new information about the fundamental laws of nature. NWNH outlined a compelling program for understanding the cosmic order and for opening new fields of inquiry through the discovery areas of gravitational waves, time-domain astronomy, and habitable planets. Many of these discoveries are likely to be enabled by cyber-discovery and the power of mathematics, physics, and imagination. To help realize this vision, NWNH recommended a suite of innovative and powerful facilities, along with balanced, strong support for the scientific community engaged in theory, data analysis, technology development, and measurements with existing and new instrumentation. Already in the first half of the decade, scientists and teams of scientists working with these cutting-edge instruments and with new capabilities in data collection and analysis have made spectacular discoveries that advance the NWNH vision.
New Worlds, New Horizons: A Midterm Assessment reviews the responses of NASA's Astrophysics program, NSF's Astronomy program, and DOE's Cosmic Frontiers program to NWNH. This report describes the most significant scientific discoveries, technical advances, and relevant programmatic changes in astronomy and astrophysics over the years since the publication of the decadal survey, and assesses how well the Agencies' programs address the strategies, goals, and priorities outlined in the 2010 decadal survey.
138 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-44510-8
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-44511-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/23560
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. New Worlds, New Horizons: A Midterm Assessment. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The electromagnetic spectrum is a vital part of our environment. Measures of radio frequency emissions from natural phenomena enable both practical applications, such as weather predictions and studies of the changing of Earth's climate here at home, and reveal the physical properties of cosmic sources. The spectrum is therefore a resource to be used wisely now and to be protected for future generations.
Handbook of Frequency Allocations and Spectrum Protection for Scientific Uses: Second Edition sets forth the principles for the allocation and protection of spectral bands for services using the radio spectrum for scientific research. This report describes the radio frequency bands used by scientific services and includes relevant regulatory information and discussion of scientific use of frequency bands. This reference will guide spectrum managers and spectrum regulatory bodies on science issues and serve as a resource to scientists and other spectrum users.
280 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-37659-9
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-37660-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/21774
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Handbook of Frequency Allocations and Spectrum Protection for Scientific Uses: Second Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Active remote sensing is the principal tool used to study and to predict short- and long-term changes in the environment of Earth - the atmosphere, the oceans and the land surfaces - as well as the near space environment of Earth. All of these measurements are essential to understanding terrestrial weather, climate change, space weather hazards, and threats from asteroids. Active remote sensing measurements are of inestimable benefit to society, as we pursue the development of a technological civilization that is economically viable, and seek to maintain the quality of our life.
A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Spectrum describes the threats, both current and future, to the effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum required for active remote sensing. This report offers specific recommendations for protecting and making effective use of the spectrum required for active remote sensing.
247 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-37305-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-37306-9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/21729
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. A Strategy for Active Remote Sensing Amid Increased Demand for Radio Spectrum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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New astronomical facilities, such as the under-construction Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and planned 30-meter-class telescopes, and new instrumentation on existing optical and infrared (OIR) telescopes, hold the promise of groundbreaking research and discovery. How can we extract the best science from these and other astronomical facilities in an era of potentially flat federal budgets for both the facilities and the research grants? Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System provides guidance for these new programs that align with the scientific priorities and the conclusions and recommendations of two National Research Council (NRC) decadal surveys, New Worlds, New Horizons for Astronomy and Astrophysics and Vision and Voyages for Planetary Sciences in the Decade 2013-2022, as well as other NRC reports.
This report describes a vision for a U.S. OIR System that includes a telescope time exchange designed to enhance science return by broadening access to capabilities for a diverse community, an ongoing planning process to identify and construct next generation capabilities to realize decadal science priorities, and near-term critical coordination, planning, and instrumentation needed to usher in the era of LSST and giant telescopes.
134 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-37186-4
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-37187-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/21722
National Research Council. 2015. Optimizing the U.S. Ground-Based Optical and Infrared Astronomy System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Evaluation of the Implementation of WFIRST in the Context of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics assesses whether the proposed Astrophysics Focused Telescope Assets (AFTA) design reference mission described in the April 30, 2013 report of the AFTA Science Definition Team (SDT), WFIRST-2.4, is responsive to the overall strategy to pursue the science objectives of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, and in particular, the survey's top ranked, large-scale, space-based priority: the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). This report considers the versions of WFIRST-2.4 with and without the coronagraph, as described in the AFTA SDT report. The report compares the WFIRST mission described in New Worlds, New Horizons to the AFTA SDT WFIRST-2.4 design reference mission, with and without the coronagraph, on the basis of their science objectives, technical complexity, and programmatic rationale, including projected cost. This report gives an overview of relevant scientific, technical, and programmatic changes that have occurred since the release of New Worlds, New Horizons, and assesses the responsiveness of the WFIRST mission to the science and technology objectives of the New Worlds report.
70 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-30129-7
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30130-0
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18712
National Research Council. 2014. Evaluation of the Implementation of WFIRST/AFTA in the Context of New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The field of condensed matter and materials research has played a key role in meeting our nation's needs in a number of areas, including energy, health, and climate change. Harvesting the Fruits of Inquiry highlights a few of the societal benefits that have flowed from research in this field. This report communicates the role that condensed matter and materials research plays in addressing societal needs. The report uses examples to illustrate how research in this area has contributed directly to efforts to address the nation's needs in providing sustainable energy, meeting health needs, and addressing climate change issues. Written in an accessible style, this report will be of interest to academia, government agencies, and Congress.
32 pages
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ISBN Ebook: 0-309-30222-6
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18734
National Research Council. 2014. Harvesting the Fruits of Inquiry: How Materials Discoveries Improve Our Lives. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The Committee to Assess the Current Status and Future Direction of High Magnetic Field Science in the United States was convened by the National Research Council in response to a request by the National Science Foundation. This report answers three questions: (1) What is the current state of high-field magnet science, engineering, and technology in the United States, and are there any conspicuous needs to be addressed? (2) What are the current science drivers and which scientific opportunities and challenges can be anticipated over the next ten years? (3) What are the principal existing and planned high magnetic field facilities outside of the United States, what roles have U.S. high field magnet development efforts played in developing those facilities, and what potentials exist for further international collaboration in this area?
A magnetic field is produced by an electrical current in a metal coil. This current exerts an expansive force on the coil, and a magnetic field is "high" if it challenges the strength and current-carrying capacity of the materials that create the field. Although lower magnetic fields can be achieved using commercially available magnets, research in the highest achievable fields has been, and will continue to be, most often performed in large research centers that possess the materials and systems know-how for forefront research. Only a few high field centers exist around the world; in the United States, the principal center is the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL).
High Magnetic Field Science and Its Application in the United States considers continued support for a centralized high-field facility such as NHFML to be the highest priority. This report contains a recommendation for the funding and siting of several new high field nuclear magnetic resonance magnets at user facilities in different regions of the United States. Continued advancement in high-magnetic field science requires substantial investments in magnets with enhanced capabilities. High Magnetic Field Science and Its Application in the United States contains recommendations for the further development of all-superconducting, hybrid, and higher field pulsed magnets that meet ambitious but achievable goals.
232 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-28634-4
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-28635-2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18355
National Research Council. 2013. High Magnetic Field Science and Its Application in the United States: Current Status and Future Directions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) is a meeting of official delegations from over 140 nations and is organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Delegates meet every few years to negotiate proposals to changes in international radio spectrum regulations; changes that would be enforced by the ITU internationally if approved. Proposals are brought up during a WRC and then negotiated at the next WRC. The time in between each WRC allows for national governments to work internally and with their regional counterparts to develop a consensus position on each proposal. The consensus position can then be presented at the next WRC.
Each proposal is referred to as an agenda item and agenda items are specific and propose narrow yet potentially substantial changes to the use of the spectrum that can have significant impact on its users. Most agenda items support the active use of the spectrum, so it is important for vulnerable, passive services to voice their concerns about potentially adverse effects on their operations. Two U.S. passive services, the passive Radio Astronomy Service (RAS) and the Earth Exploration-Satellite Service (EESS), provide scientific observations of the universe and Earth through the use of advanced receiver technology with extreme sensitivity and the employment of complex noise reduction algorithms. Even with such technology, RAS and EESS are seriously adversely affected by what most active services would consider extremely low noise levels.
Views of the U.S. NAS and NAE on Agenda Items at Issue at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 present the NAS and NAE's views on agenda items that affect RAS and EESS. This report includes a list of each agenda item, how it affects the programs, and the committee's recommendations.
50 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29112-7
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29113-5
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/18447
National Research Council. 2013. Views of the U.S. NAS and NAE on Agenda Items at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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Workshop
The passive, receive-only Radio Astronomy Service (RAS) and the Earth Exploration-Satellite Service (EESS) provide otherwise impossible scientific observations of the Universe and Earth through the use of advanced receiver technology with extreme sensitivity and the employment of complex noise reduction algorithms. Even with such technology, RAS and EESS are quite adversely affected by what most active services would consider low noise levels.
To ensure their ability to use the radio spectrum for scientific purposes, scientists must be party to the discussion in the lead-up to the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), which will next be held in January and February 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland. By request of the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Research Council was convened to provide guidance to the U.S. spectrum managers and policymakers as they prepare for the WRC in order to protect the scientific exploration of the Earth and Universe using the radio spectrum. While the resulting document is targeted at U.S. agencies, representatives of foreign governments and foreign scientific users will find its contents useful as they plan their own WRC positions.
56 pages
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ISBN Paperback: 0-309-16105-3
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-16106-1
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17226/13000
National Research Council. 2013. Views of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering on Agenda Items at Issue at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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