The funds will allow CHESS to continue the development of experimental techniques using high-energy Xray beams, which have applications in fields such as medicine and aerospace engineering, according to a University press release.
Currently, CHESS receives 20 percent of its funding from the NSF, according to Schumer.
President David Skorton, who introduced the senator, emphasized Schumer’s efforts to maintain and increase funding for several agencies — including the Department of Energy and the NSF.
“I want to stress that Cornell and universities like Cornell have no better friend than Senator Charles Schumer,” Skorton said.
Schumer said the United States’ dominance in the tech and pharmaceutical industries are due to government investments in agencies such as the NSF and the National Institute for Health.
“If you care about middle-class incomes declining — which I do and most other politicians talk about — then to cut investments in NSF and NIH didn’t make any sense,” Schumer said. “We need more, not less, of this type of funding.”
Schumer said the accomplishments that CHESS has made — and will continue to make — are of national importance.
“CHESS has played a pivotal role in medical discoveries that are keeping people alive,” he said. “It has also has had scientific breakthroughs that have been responsible for two Nobel prizes.”
According to Schumer, investment in CHESS is vital because it means that researchers can make long-term plans for the future and not fear that their budgets will suddenly be cut.
“This investment means that CHESS is on firm financial ground,” he said. “The people that work here can plan their research for the next five to 10 years. It means that the federal government believes that Cornell and the CHESS lab are a worthy and substantial investment, and that the work done here is a national priority.”
Schumer said that research done at the facility could even work to solve issues such as global warming.
“Research done here could also solve our global warming problem because if we can develop a hydrogen fuel cell, then we won’t need gasoline,” he said. “The by-product of a hydrogen fuel cell is not [carbon dioxide], but [water].”
According to Schumer, CHESS also has the technology and resources to create medicines that battle a wide range of diseases.
“It is one of the few X-ray stations in the U.S. equipped to study toxic viruses. Drugs that fight both AIDS and the common cold are here in the pipeline,” he said. “How could anyone want to stop this?”
One hundred milion is a large sum of money, but a relatively small amount in federal budget terms, according to Schumer. He added that this investment in the synchrotron could help boost the economy.
“Science does not exist in a vacuum,” he said. “Research performed at CHESS has led to the development of commercial products, new businesses, and new jobs.”
Director of CHESS Prof. Joel Brock, applied and engineering physics, took the podium to explain more about the facility’s mission and thank Schumer for his support.
“CHESS’ mission is to provide unique X-ray facilities to researchers, from all over the U.S. and around the world, to enable their research in important areas,” he said. “[These areas] include next-generation batteries, novel catalytic, electronic and magnetic materials, low-weight composites for fuel efficient aircraft, environmental science and the discovery of new pharmaceuticals.”
CHESS also is an international leader in training scientists and in the development of x-ray technology, according to Brock.
He ended his speech by thanking the senator for his commitment to CHESS.
“Senator Schumer has been a consistent supporter of CHESS, and most importantly, a good friend of science and basic research,” Brock said.