In early 2003, Secretary Abraham requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) form a subcommittee to review the Department's laboratory competition policy to determine what criteria the Department should consider when it makes a decision either to extend or to compete its laboratory M&O contracts. The scope of the review by the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Use of Competitive Procedures for the Department of Energy Laboratories is defined by the Terms of Reference approved by the Secretary. The Blue Ribbon Commission was chaired by Francis S. Blake and consisted of six distinguished external members. The Blue Ribbon Commission completed its Final Report, which was approved by the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board on December 10, 2003. The final report, Competing the Management and Operations Contracts for DOE's National Laboratories: Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Use of Competitive Procedures for the Department of Energy Laboratories, dated November 24, 2003, was approved by the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and forwarded to the Secretary of Energy for action.

In the late 2002, Secretary Abraham requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) form a subcommittee to provide the Board and the Secretary of Energy with appraisals and recommendations regarding the content and structure of science programs at DOE. The Task Force was charged in its Terms of Reference to identify current and future opportunities to advance DOE's mission through coordinated and focused scientific research; address strategies for positioning the Department's science program to meet future critical needs in terms of scientific opportunities in the 21st Century; and assess the Department's performance in coordinating science efforts within DOE and focusing them on the research needed to develop or advance technologies that support its energy and national security missions. The Task Force on the Future of Science Programs was chaired by Dr. Charles M. Vest, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and consisted of fourteen distinguished members. The final report, Critical Choices: Science, Energy, and Security: Final Report of the Task Force on the Future of Science Programs at the Department of Energy, dated October 13, 2003, was approved by the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board and forwarded to the Secretary of Energy for action.

The Openness Advisory Panel is one of two standing subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. The Openness Advisory Panel is responsible for the ongoing oversight of the policies, procedures, and practices governing the Department of Energy's classification, declassification, and openness activities. The panel has produced two reports which were subsequently approved by the the Board, Responsible Openness: An Imperative for the Department of Energy, dated August 25, 1997 and Relations between DOE Facilities and their Host Communities: A Pilot Review, dated November 17, 2000. In December 2000, the Panel submitted its second report to the Board assessing the state of community relations between Department of Energy facilities and their host communities. The Board currently has no issues before the Openness Advisory Panel for consideration.

In 2000, Secretary Richardson requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) form a subcommittee to provide an appraisal and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy regarding the policy priorities to pursue cooperative nonproliferation and nuclear safety programs with Russia and the other countries of the Newly Independent States (NIS). The Task Force on DOE Nonproliferation Programs with Russia was chaired by Mr. Lloyd Cutler and Mr. Howard Baker and was charged with with identifying crucial program areas that may not have been addressed in the past. The Task Force was tasked to provide an assessment of the performance of DOE's programs in achieving national security and nonproliferation missions including but not limited to the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention program, the Nuclear Cities Initiative, the Material Protection Control and Accounting program, the Second Line of Defense program, the HEU Purchase Agreement, the International Nuclear Safety program, and the Plutonium Disposition program. The Task Force addressed key questions such as: Are we achieving U.S. nonproliferation and national security goals with Russia and the NIS? Given Russia's current political and economic environment, how can DOE best achieve these goals? What other practicable opportunities might exist to promote these goals? How can DOE maximize programmatic self-sustainability? The task force held three meetings and issued a final report documenting its findings and recommendations. The final report, A Report Card on the Department of Energy's Nonproliferation Programs with Russia, dated January 10, 2001 was approved by the SEAB on January 18, 2001.

On June 2000, Secretary Richardson requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) form a subcommittee to conduct an independent evaluation of emerging nonincineration technologies for the treatment and disposal of mixed waste. The Panel on Emerging Technological Alternatives to Incineration was chaired by Mr. Ralph Cavanagh and was formed to evaluate and recommend emerging nonincineration technologies for treatment and disposal of mixed waste on which the Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management's Office of Science and Technology should focus efforts for development, testing, permitting and deployment. The Panel also evaluated technologies to treat low-level, alpha low-level and transuranic wastes containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hazardous constituents, including the up to 14,000 cubic meters of such wastes that the DOE had planned to incinerate in the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility (AMWTF) at INEEL. The Panel evaluated whether these technologies could be implemented in a manner that would allow the department to comply with all the legal requirements, including those contained in the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order signed by the State of Idaho, DOE and the Navy, in October 1995. That agreement requires the Department to remove 65,000 cubic meters of waste at the INEEL from Idaho by the end of 2018. The Panel held five formal meetings and issued a final report documenting its findings and recommendations. The final report, Report of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board's Panel on Emerging Technological Alternatives to Incineration, dated December 2000 was approved by the SEAB on December 14, 2000.

On October 6, 1999, Secretary Richardson requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) form a subcommittee to conduct an independent review of the engineering and management aspects of the assembly and installation of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser system. This request followed the revelation that, contrary to earlier reports, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Laser System at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory would require more funds and time for completion than had been previously planned. The NIF Laser System Task Force, a subcommittee of SEAB, was chaired by Dr. John McTague and was comprised of board members and individuals with expertise in ultra-clean manufacturing, systems engineering, laser science, and large-scale project management. The NIF Laser System Task Force held seven open meetings and issued two reports documenting its findings and recommendations: the Interim Report of the National Ignition Facility Laser System Task Force, dated January 10, 2000 and approved by the SEAB on January 20, 2001; and the Final Report of the National Ignition Facility Laser System Task Force, dated October 19, 2000 and approved by the SEAB on November 20, 2000.

In March 1999, Secretary Richardson requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board form the Fusion Energy Task Force to conduct a thorough review of all the Department's fusion energy technologies, both inertial and magnetic. The Task Force was chaired by Dr. Richard A. Meserve and was requested to analyze and provide recommendations on the role of both inertial and magnetic fusion energy technologies within the national fusion energy research program. The review was to also address whether the current and planned resources within the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences budget were appropriately balanced among the concepts to provide the scientific basis for an informed selection of the best option for development as a fusion energy source. The final report of the Task Force, Realizing the Promise of Fusion Energy: Final Report of the Task Force on Fusion Energy, was submitted on August 9, 1999.

In March 1999, Secretary Richardson requested that the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board form the Working Group on Foreign Visits and Assignmentsto review the Department of Energy's Foreign Visits and Assignments program.. The Working Group was made up of representatives from the Laboratory Operations Board and the Openness Advisory Panel -- both subcommittees of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board. The Working Group was chaired by Dr. John McTague, Vice President for Technical Affairs of the Ford Motor Company (Retired) and charged with assessing the policies and practices related to foreign visitors at the Department's laboratories, and assessing the balance between security and science. The Working Group submitted its final report on June 8, 1999.

In 1998, Secretary of Energy Federico Peña asked the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board to form a Task Force on Education to investigate ways to make the Department's scientific, technical and supercomputing capabilities more available to our Nation's schools, colleges and universities, and to provide recommendations on how the Department can best enhance science, mathematics, technology, and engineering education in the United States. Dr. Hanna Gray, the Harry Pratt Judson Distinguished Service of History at the University of Chicago, chaired the Task Force which met five times in 1998. The Task Force submitted its final report to the Board on December 2, 1998, which was subsequently endorsed and forwarded to the Secretary during the Board's 18th Plenary Session on December 16, 1998.

The Task Force on Electric System Reliability was formed to advise the Department on critical institutional, technical, and policy issues necessary to maintain bulk electric system reliability in the context of a more competitive industry. Dr. Phil Sharp, former U.S. Congressman, and Director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics, chaired the Task Force which met eleven times from January 1997 to September 1998. At their final meeting, the Task Force forwarded its final report to the Board: Maintaining Reliability in a Competitive U.S. Electricity Industry: Final Report of the Task Force on Electric System Reliability (in PDF)* The Board subsequently endorsed and forwarded the report to the Secretary during its18th Plenary Session on December 16, 1998.

The Tennessee Valley Electric System Advisory Committee was formed to provide advice, information, and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) on a legislative proposal to define the role of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in a restructured competitive electric industry. Former South Carolina Congressman Butler Derrick served as Chairman of the Advisory Committee. The Committee submitted its final report to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, which subsequently endorsed and forwarded it to the Secretary during its Seventeenth Plenary Session (teleconference) on March 31, 1998.

Task Force on Nonproliferation and Arms Control Implications of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material Storage and Plutonium Disposition Alternatives (letter report dated September 1996). In the summer of 1996, the Secretary directed the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board to form a Task Force to obtain independent verification that the widest possible range of technical and policy factors associated with the nonproliferation aspects of fissile material disposal were being addressed. The Task Force completed their review and sent a letter report to the full Board on September 26, 1996. The letter report became a part of the Department's Final Assessment and Record of Decision on the issue. Dr. Allen L. Sessoms, president of Queens College of the City University of New York, was Chairman of the subcommittee.

Task Force on Strategic Energy Research and Development (report dated June 1995). This subcommittee was headed by Daniel Yergin, president of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. The Task Force presented its final report at an open meeting of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board on June 13, 1995. The report assessed the rationale for Federal Government support of energy R&D, reviewed the priorities and management of the overall program, and recommended how it can be made more efficient and effective, delivering more value to American taxpayers. In addition, the report provided the Secretary an independent assessment of whether the Department possessed a coherent and effective plan for delivering energy technologies into the marketplace.

Task Force on Alternative Future of the Department of Energy National Laboratories (report dated February 1995). This subcommittee, headed by Robert Galvin, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Motorola Inc., presented its Final Report at an open meeting of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board on February 1, 1995. The Secretary established the Laboratory Operations Board (an ongoing subcommittee of SEAB) in response to recommendations in the report.

Task Force on Radioactive Waste Management (report dated November 1993). This subcommittee, chaired by Dr. Todd La Porte, Professor of Political Science at U.C. Berkeley, was created to recommend measures for the Department to strengthen public trust and confidence in the Department's civilian radioactive waste management program. Information was gathered from public meetings with federal, state, and local government officials and public stakeholders, studies contracted with National Academy of Science and National Association of Public Administration, and through broad survey of parties affected by the Department's radioactive waste management activities. The report found that trust and confidence had been undermined by past activities of the Department and its predecessor agencies, and recommended a number of specific actions to help restore public trust and confidence through openness and involvement of all stakeholders in future planning and operations. The report is availble in PDF* format: Earning Public Trust and Confidence: Requisites for Managing Radioactive Wastes.

Task Force on Space Nuclear Systems (report dated May 1993). This Task Force, chaired by Lew Allen, was established to review and consider policy guidance for the Department's role in interagency activities related to space nuclear power and propulsion systems. Recommendations included:

• De facto policies on safety requirements for space nuclear systems be formalized.
• DOE should take the lead in formulating jointly funded technology development programs to meet emerging needs.
• Mechanisms for oversight and interagency cooperation need to be established or improved
  Given ill-defined requirements, programs for space based reactors and for nuclear propulsion.

Fuel Cycle Peer Review Panel (report dated August 1993). In 1989, the Department of Energy's Office of Domestic and International Energy Policy commissioned a study of the external environmental damages and benefits of the major fuel cycles involved in electric power generation. The review panel was charged to review the fuel cycle study and background documents for technical content, methodological adequacy, and potential usefulness for decision makers. The review panel provided the Secretary guidance on what insights could be gained and the policy significance of the study. They found the study had made considerable progress on collating the science necessary to make better judgments concerning the environmental effects of several of the important electric fuel cycles, which account for approximately 40% of all energy consumed in the United States. This task force was headed by J. Christopher Bernabo of Science Policy, Inc.

Task Force on DOE's Role in Education (report dated January 1993). This subcommittee proposed policy guidance to institutionalize math and science education initiatives, explored the DOE's role in developing education technologies and assessed the effect of DOE's math and science initiatives in encouraging participation by under-represented groups. The task force was chaired by Dr. David Hamburg, then President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Task Force on the DOE National Laboratories (report dated July 1992). This subcommittee, chaired by Edward A. Frieman, then Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was established to develop a set of guiding principles for the Department's management of the National Laboratories with emphasis being given to an overall strategic vision within the context of national security policy and national energy strategy. The task force found that the missions of the laboratories needed to be clarified and focused to optimize constrained resources. It further recommended a more effective working relationship between DOE headquarters and the National Laboratories to alleviate strained management conflicts over business and administrative practices. It found that these conflicts stemmed primarily from a lack of shared vision concerning the role of the Laboratories within the larger DOE Complex.

Task Force on Energy Research Priorities (report dated May 1992). This subcommittee operated from August 1991, until it was disestablished and later replaced by the Galvin and Yergin Task Forces (above). It was chaired by Charles H. Townes, Professor of Physics at U.C. Berkeley. The purpose of the subcommittee was to prioritize programs within the Office of Energy Research given the incompatibility of projected growth of many of the programs with an overall flat funding outlook for the Department. Priorities were to be given to research either at the cutting edge of science and technology, or technology most likely to make major contributions to DOE's missions. A draft letter report dated October 1991 was the basis for dramatic rethinking about large-scale R&D facilities in view of the budget cutbacks and priorities and led to disestablishment of such major facilities as Bevelac, LAMPF, BPX and several large projects at Fermilab. The final letter report dated May 1992 led to reshaping the fusion energy program with encouragement of a smaller and more cost effective fusion R&D program.

Task Force on Economic Analysis and Modeling Related to Energy (reports dated 1991 through 1993). This Task Force, with Co-chairs Roger Noll, Professor of Economics, Stanford University, and Dr. Kenneth L. Lay, Chairman and CEO of Enron Corporation, was established to advise the Secretary on how economic models and tools of analysis could better be used by the Department. The subcommittee provided advice on important Departmental issues by reviewing ongoing modeling activities, recommending new models and data requirements, and by reviewing the relevant modeling activities of outside groups and agencies. The activities of the Task Force extended from early 1991 through mid-1993, and resulted in three reports on: 1) emerging issues facing DOE; 2) a peer review of DOE's fuel cycle modeling; and 2) a summary of Task Force recommendations. Several additional papers resulted from a Task Force workshop on economic modeling and analysis