BBS 



318 



• Initiation of the West Antarctic Ice 

 Stream Project (to determine wheth- 

 er the stream is stagnant or on the 

 brink of a catastrophic collapse) 



Polar Sciences (long-term) 



• Continued emphasis on the southern 

 oceans, as above 



• Major geological drilling in the Du- 

 fek Mountains 



• Ronne Ice Shelf Project (similar to 

 the Ross Ice Shelf Project scheduled 

 to close in FY 1979). 



Physiology. Celluhir Biology, and Molecu- 

 lar Biology 



• Plant cell biology and physiology 



• Mechanisms of photosynthesis and 

 nitrogen fixation 



• Plant and animal virology 



• Somatic cell genetics 



• Gene expression 



• Structure and interaction of chromo- 

 somes and parts of cells 



• Mechanisms of enzyme activity and 

 protein structure 



• Structure and motion of membranes, 

 ribosomes, cells 



• Research on large animals 



• Advanced instrumentation for study 

 of biological molecules and compo- 

 nents of cells 



Behavioral and Neural Sciences 



• Analysis of human and animal be- 

 havior during development 



• Genetic and hormonal determinants 

 of behavior 



• Research on human memory, learn- 

 ing, concept formation, and other 

 cognitive processes 



• Anthropological research collections 



• Access to technologies for archeo- 

 logical dating 



Social Sciences 



• Economics 



• Social/political processes in ad- 

 vanced industrial societies 



• Sociology of the family 



• Sociology of the complex organiza- 

 tion 



• Human modifications of environmen- 

 tal conditions 



Environmental Biology 



• Ecosystems studies 



• Tropical and population biology 



• Physiological ecology. 



PRIORITIES AND GAP REAS 



List of Gap Areasi^ 



• Social sciences (large-scale data re- 

 sources, collaborative efforts among 

 the disciplines) 



• Environmental biology (equipment 

 for quantitative methodologies and 

 analytical approaches). 



MPE 



List of Priorities''* 



• Turbulence (large-scale coherent 

 structure, turbulent energy spec- 

 trum, turbulent motion controls 

 phenomena such as the difTusion of 

 momentum and the diffusion of sca- 

 lar quantities such as temperature) 



• Theory of nonlinear waves 



• Oscillating chemical reactions 



• Electronic and structural properties 

 of liquids 



• Transport and other properties of 

 systems with two or more material 

 phases 



• Analysis of large, complex, man- 

 made dynamic systems 



• Relationships between mechanical 

 properties of materials and their 

 chemistry and internal structure 

 (e.g., crack propagation, stress cor- 

 rosion, hydrogen embrittlement) 



• Added computational capability for 

 theoretical chemistry 



• Work on "intelligent systems'" 



• Dedicated instrumentation for com- 

 puter research 



• Fuller utilization of existing elemen- 

 tary particle accelerators. 



Research Applications 

 List of Priorities (short-term) 



• Earthquake studies 



• Soil studies 



• Identification and quantification of 

 chemical pollutants 



I'NSF says funding levels in these areas are relatively low 

 and scaled to individual project support. 



'■♦The MPE adds this caveat in listing the topics helow: 

 "Priorities in basic research are difficult, maybe even danger- 

 ous, to attempt to establish, given the unpredictable nature of 

 future discoveries. About the best that can be done is to iden- 

 tify areas of emphasis based on the most promising research 

 directions presently perceived." 



