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December 20, 2007

The Honorable Richard J. Durbin
United States Senate
309 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
FAX: 202-228-0400

Dear Senator Durbin:

The news of large budget cuts to many basic science programs, including programs at the National Science 
Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology 
in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for FY08 that was just passed by the Senate and House of Representatives is 
very distressing.  I know that there are the difficult constraints surrounding this year's budget deliberations.  In the 
haste of the omnibus bill, cuts imposed upon the DOE Office of Science and NSF will drastically impact 
individual programs in physical science research and education.  As a student who is participating in high energy 
physics research at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), I am excited about fundamental research in  
the physical sciences, but I am now very concerned about the future of my field.

Bipartisan initiatives in the Congress have recognized the importance of basic research, particularly in the physical 
sciences, and had incorporated increases for research funding at key agencies into their budgetary plans for FY08 
as part of the Innovation Agenda or the American Competitiveness Initiative.  The funding called for in these 
initiatives utilized the best available peer-reviewed plans for scientific programming, and called for support in a 
portfolio of programs ranging from applied sciences to fundamental research.  We are all familiar with the strong 
connection between basic research and economic growth, a connection that other countries have also accepted and 
are acting upon vigorously.

Fundamental research and development fuel the economy both on the national and local levels.  The high energy 
physics research we carry out has given rise to elements that have radically changed our lifestyle, such as the 
World Wide Web and accelerator technology for the treatment of cancer.    Through our research program, we are 
also educating the next generation of leaders in math, science, engineering and technology.  Just last year, over 110 
PhD students got their degrees using data from Fermi National Accelerator laboratory (Fermilab) - this number is 
10% of all the PhD's in physics in the United States.    

At the local level, significant funding from both the US DOE Office of Science and National Science Foundation 
come into our state and our district to carry out basic research and development in the physical sciences.  The 
dramatic cuts enacted in the FY08 appropriation will have severe consequences for many research programs at 
institutions in our state.  These cuts will also cripple the experimental program at Fermilab.  Fermilab is facing 
layoffs and rolling furloughs due to this budget crisis, while construction and R&D on new scientific endeavors 
grinds to a halt.   Unless corrective action is taken soon, we will see irreparable harm to our educational and 
scientific infrastructure.    The generation that follows me will hesitate to choose the path into science and 
technology that I have chosen.

As one of your constituents, I am proud of your record in supporting basic scientific research.  I hope that you will 
work to restore funding for the basic research in the Department of Energy Office of Science and National Science 
Foundation. 

Sincerely,



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