Douglas Isbell
Headquarters, Washington, DC                   July 12, 1995
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

RELEASE: 95-110

DIAZ NAMED TO LEAD PLANNING EFFORT FOR SCIENCE INSTITUTES

      NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin has named Alphonso Diaz, 
NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Science, to lead 
the development of plans for the Science Institutes proposed by 
the U.S. space agency.  Diaz will define the scope and 
organizational framework of the institutes, including their 
staffing and financial requirements, and will report directly 
to the administrator, effective immediately.

      NASA officials have previously announced plans in 
conjunction with the Zero Base Review to create Science 
Institutes to help streamline the agency's management structure 
and improve the quality of its scientific research.  As 
envisioned by NASA, the institutes would be privatized 
arrangements in which government-owned assets are managed by an 
external entity, such as a university, an industrial 
organization or a consortium. 

      Two institutes are being defined at this time as 
pathfinders for institutes in other areas of science and 
technology that NASA may establish in the future.  An institute 
affiliated with NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston would 
conduct biomedical research, and one affiliated with NASA Ames 
Research Center in Mountain View, CA, would focus on research 
related to the origins and evolution of life, and planetary 
biology.  

      "These institutes are an excellent way to simultaneously 
invigorate the peer review process and broaden our ties to the 
scientific community," Goldin said.  "This should lead to the 
highest quality space science in the decades to come.  I am 
pleased with the enthusiastic response to this concept that 
we've received, both internally and externally."

      Supported by representatives from the relevant offices at 
NASA Headquarters and the Field Centers, the initial planning 
effort is expected to take approximately 90 days.  Once NASA 
has consulted with the Administration and Congress, and secured 
appropriate authority, the Agency will inform interested 
parties about how to become formally involved as the plan is 
implemented.

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      "The effort is expected to include reviews of similar 
organizations, looking for successful models that can be 
adapted by NASA to guide the increasingly international and 
collaborative nature of space science," Diaz said.  

                        -end-

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