**University of Colorado at Boulder**

**W. Carl Lineberger**

**Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry**

**JILA**

440 UCB

Boulder, CO 80309-0440

\(303\) 492-7834

FAX: (303) 492-8994

Internet:WCL@JILA.Colorado.edu

April 24, 2005

Dr. Michael S. Turner, Assistant Director

Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences

National Science Foundation

4201 Wilson Blvd.

Arlington, VA 22230

Dear Dr. Turner,

I am very pleased to inform you officially of the formal acceptance by
the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Advisory Committee (MPSAC) of the
report of the Committee of Visitors (COV) for the Division of Materials
Research (DMR). This report was considered by the Mathematical and
Physical Sciences Advisory Committee during its April 7-8, 2005 meeting.
The report was presented by the Chair of the COV, Dr. Horst Stormer of
Columbia University. The report strongly endorsed the programs and work
of the Division of Materials Research, especially noting the fashion in
which the Division has assembled an outstanding portfolio of
world-class, materials-inspired research programs. The COV found that
the program directors of the DMR have been especially mindful of the
People, Ideas and Tools multiple foci of NSF, and that they have managed
their programs very effectively to optimize productivity within the
substantial financial constraints that the Division faces. The COV was
extremely pleased with the management of the division, the mechanisms by
which decisions were made and the thoroughness with which those
decisions were documented.

The COV noted the budget challenges faced by DMR in the near future,
especially the significant cut in the current fiscal year. The COV
supports strongly the intent of the Division Director to maintain
funding for each DMR grant at a viable level, and the COV reiterated the
cautionary note of previous COVs to pay very careful attention to the
balance between center and individual investigator funding. The COV
urged the DMR leadership to do everything possible to maintain or
increase the fraction of individual investigator grants in DMR's funding
spectrum. The COV noted that DMR will face severe challenges in the
coming years to maintain its excellent research portfolio in the face of
a difficult funding environment. The COV expressed confidence that the
DMR staff has the expertise and perspective to optimally manage its
program within these severe constraints. In all of these areas, the
MPSAC fully endorsed the COV recommendations.

The MPS Advisory Committee members had read the report carefully prior
to our meeting, and Dr. Stormer's presentation provided an opportunity
for the Advisory Committee to ask further questions about various topics
in the report. At the end of this exchange, the MPS Advisory Committee
members were firmly convinced that the COV Report provided a fair and
balanced perspective on the operation of the Division of Materials
Research, and had articulated the important issues facing DMR in the
near future. We are very grateful to the COV and its Chair for this
excellent, in-depth review of the Division of Materials Research, and we
are grateful to the DMR staff for their thorough preparations for this
review and for their commendable performance.

> Sincerely,
>
> ![](media/image2.png){width="2.692361111111111in"
> height="0.5076388888888889in"}
>
> W. Carl Lineberger, Chair
>
> MPS Advisory Committee

cc: Dr. Horst Stormer

> Dr. Thomas Weber
>
> Dr. Morris Aizenman