Developing the Preliminary Design for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL)

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

Studies funded by NSF are underway at the Homestake Mine, a former gold mine, located approximately 45 miles northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota, to better understand and define the scope, schedule and cost for establishing a world-class underground research facility in the mine. The proposed Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) would use land, existing buildings and infrastructure, and underground mine workings donated by the Homestake Mining Company to the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority (SDSTA) in 2006. The SDSTA was created by the South Dakota legislature to accept the Homestake donation, to re-open the Homestake Mine, and convert the mine to a dedicated center for science, engineering and education. This award provides $29.019 million over 2 years to support ongoing studies with the goal of completing a Preliminary Design Report for the proposed DUSEL facility by the end of calendar year 2010. The DUSEL Preliminary Design is expected to allow appropriately informed consideration by NSF of DUSEL for Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) funding. Highly sensitive experiments envisioned for DUSEL require the massive amounts of overburden available at the Homestake Mine to shield cosmic rays. The experimental programs envisioned for DUSEL are intended to answer a rich array of scientific and engineering questions, constituting a program of strong intellectual merit. Physics and astrophysical research thrusts will explore the nature of dark matter; advance the understanding of neutrinos; study matter-antimatter asymmetry evident today relative to the early universe; probe the fundamental stability of matter through study of proton decay; investigate how the universe evolved through studies of the solar neutrino flux; and pursue other topics of fundamental interest. Also of interest are studies of life underground that evolves in extreme conditions; studies of rock porosity, strength, stresses, internal heat flow and other characteristics; in situ studies of coupled thermal, hydrological, chemical, mechanical, and biological processes on a large dimensional scale, at unprecedented depth, and with little anthropological interferences; and the creation of opportunities for important new intellectual synergies across these various disciplines. An education and outreach program is planned for DUSEL to enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research and education opportunities to under- represented persons, including American Indians, as well as to the local public and those who will be drawn to the area by the underground lab. Outreach efforts will be needed to engage historically underrepresented groups in areas of science and technology; to make science education available for the general public; to create DUSEL-related research opportunities for students and teachers; and seek to be partners with regional institutions. Outreach at national and international scales is envisioned using virtual environments to facilitate broader, intellectual and educational connections.