To: csteams@newton.ncsa.uiuc.edu, atteams@newton.ncsa.uiuc.edu,
        eotpaci@newton.ncsa.uiuc.edu, rp@newton.ncsa.uiuc.edu
From Larry Smarr, pls@ncsa.uiuc.edu Thu Mar 27 10:20:00 1997
Subject: apology

Partners-I sincerely apologize for the appended note from me to jim that
jim included in the update to you.  I certainly  meant no disrespect to any
of you, it is just so hectic for jim and me right now in the final minutes
of the competition, that I was being telegraphic to him about what I wanted
to get out to you (both of us are on the road and communicating thru
cyberspace).  

So let me not give you a watered down, non scary note, but I do think we
should all feel good!  It has been a very trying and difficult month of
discussions with the NSF, but I am very hopeful that the National Science
Board will decide thurs evening or friday morning to announce the Alliance
as a winner.  The NSB is a full part of the peer review process and
therefore I take nothing for granted until they weigh the choices and make
their decision.  Whatever that decision is, NSF will presumably issue a
press release on friday and that will be pointed to by the NCSA home page.
We have prepared a backgrounder, drawn largely from prose in the Alliance
proposal, that will also be released and made available on the web.  

At this point in time, NSF has not given NCSA a budget number, even though
I provided them with a possible set of numbers over a year ago.  The NSF
have been completely tied up with making the tough decisions they have to
make and getting the board package ready. Clearly with a $65 million/year
budget for the program and at least two winning proposals, the Alliance
will not receive all the resources we proposed. However, I am very hopeful
that most of what we proposed can be accomplished.  Once the NSB makes its
decision, NSF will begin serious negotiations with the Alliance Executive
Committee in April.  During that time we will fight for the strongest
program we can define, but we will have to reduce the scope of work to
equal the budget available.  As a result, the Executive Committee felt the
best approach was just to list the co-PIs of the Alliance proposal in the
backgrounder and then have a separate release listing all Partners once the
NSF negotiations are complete.  I hope this meets with your approval. 

We are almost there, so keep your fingers crossed for the next 48 hours!
We will email you with the NSF press release as soon as it released.  Once
again, I apologize for the snafu in the email.