Earth Sciences 



• Oceanographic experiments (using 

 direct links between research vessels 

 and satellite remote sensing systems) 



• Environmental sensor systems (in 

 situ) 



• Environmental effects of laser and 

 infrared technology 



Materials 



• Less expensive and less sophisticat- 

 ed equipment for chemical analysis 

 and surface chemistry (existing 

 equipment is frequently beyond the 

 means of innovative young scientists 

 just beginning their careers) 



• Amorphous metals (major impact in 

 the magnet applications area is 

 seen) 



Ocean Science 



• Physical oceanography (on the 

 threshold of a breakthrough in under- 

 standing of ocean weather, i.e., the 

 synoptic or instantaneous picture of 

 ocean variability) 



• Oceanic biology and chemistry (in- 

 creased understanding of life cycles 

 of boring and fouling organisms and 

 the chemical properties of sea wa- 

 ter). 



Air Force 



The Department of the Air Force funding for 

 the next 3 years places the most funds in the 

 areas of materials, mechanics, electronics, chem- 

 istry, mathematics, and physics. An intermediate 

 level of funding is provided for energy conserva- 

 tion, atmospheric sciences, astronomy, and astro- 

 physics. Research in biological and medical sci- 

 ences, human resources, and terrestrial sciences 

 receives the lowest level of funding. These alloca- 

 tions do not suggest the absolute priority of each 

 area, but rather an appropriate mix of areas of 

 priority. 



List of Priorities 



Aerospace Sciences 



• Turbulence and transonic dynamics 



• Heat transfer, turbine blade cooling, 

 and temperature distribution 



• Environmental effects on compos- 

 ites, and crack and failure mecha- 

 nisms in metallic and composite 

 structures 



Chemistry and Materials Sciences 



• Surface phenomena and interactions 

 between surfaces 



• High-temperature, high-strength ma- 

 terials 



• Relationship of processability to 

 morphology and microstructure 

 which control the properties of poly- 

 meric materials 



Electronic and Solid State Sciences 



• High-power microwave lube re- 

 search 



• Low-cost inertial sensing 



• Structural materials processing 



Life Sciences 



• Human operator performance model- 

 ing 



• Environmental protection and toxi- 

 cologica! hazards 



• Simulators for training 



Mathematical and Information Sciences 



• Logistics/reliability 



• Applications of microprocessors 



• Software technology 



Physics 



• High-energy charged particle beams 



• High-average power tunable lasers 



• High-power incoherent sources. 



List of Gap AreasS 



Greater growth in the turbulence and 

 composite structure programs 

 Research in adhesion to understand 

 the nature of bonding between pro- 

 tective coatings and films and various 

 substrates 



Dynamics and spectroscopy of new 

 molecular systems for new electron- 

 ic transition lasers 



Nondestructive evaluation of both 

 metals and ceramics 

 Human factors in the design of 

 aerospace systems 



Identification of factors influencing 

 simulator training effectiveness 

 Probability theory and statistics ap- 

 plied to logistics and reliability prob- 

 lems 



Fault-tolerant systems design 

 Conventional weapons phenomenolo- 

 gy 



Visible and near-IR laser optics in 

 the areas of sources, tunability, and 

 geometry. 



■^The Air Force submission (Pari I) stated that these areas 

 warranted increased emphasis. Some of the areas are repeated 

 from the priorities list because it was felt that even more re- 

 sources could be piofitably expended on them. 



PRIORITIES AND GAP AREAS 307 



