BPA: Helium Study

The National Research Council is assessing the impact of selling the Federal Helium Reserve. The study committee will review the report "The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve" (NAP, 2000); examine the availability and reliability of worldwide helium supply, technical opportunities to increase that supply and the relationships among supply, demand, and market price; assess the current and projected helium marketplace; assess the role that organizational and financial factors play in meeting the goals of the Federal Helium Program ; and identify measures that would enable the Program to respond more effectively to the dynamics of the helium industry.

The study will determine whether selling off the U.S. Helium Reserve in the manner prescribed by law has had any adverse effect on U.S. scientific, technical, biomedical, and national security users of helium. To provide a meaningful context for this effort, the study will examine the helium market and the helium industry supply chain.

Review the report "The Impact of Selling the Federal Helium Reserve" (NAP, 2000) and compare projected expectations with actual outcome. Determine the reasons for the differences.
Examine the availability and reliability of worldwide supply, technical opportunities to increase that supply—such as through improved recovery—and the relationships among supply, demand, and market price.
Assess the current and projected U.S. marketplace for refined helium, including worldwide helium demand by industrial and other users. Assess the role of private industry in future conservation efforts.
Assess the current "flywheel" concept for operating the Reserve. Develop scenarios for how the Reserve might be used to meet future helium demand.
Assess the role that organizational and financial factors play in meeting the goals of the Federal Helium Program. Identify measures that would enable the Program to respond more effectively to the dynamics of the helium industry.


Committee and Staff Members
Committee Membership	Charles G. Groat, University of Texas at Austin, Co-Chair Robert C. Richardson, Cornell University, Co-Chair Avinash K. Dixit, Princeton University Carol Dahl, Colorado School of Mines David C. Mowery, University of California, Berkeley W. John Lee, Texas A&M University Michael Prats, Michael Prats & Associates, Inc. J. Benjamin Reinoehl, RMW Solutions, John R. Campbell, J. R. Campbell & Associates, Inc. Igor Sekachev, TRIUMF Robert R. Beebe, Independent Consultant Norman E. Hartness, Independent Consultant Moses H. Chan, Pennsylvania State University Allen M. Goldman, University of Minnesota, Thomas A. Siewert, National Institute of Standards and Technology Thomas Elam, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NRC Staff	Donald C. Shapero, Director, Board on Physics and Astronomy (BPA) Gary Fischman, Director, National Materials Advisory Board (NMAB) Michael Moloney, Senior Program Officer, NMAB James C. Lancaster, Program Officer, BPA Caryn Knutsen, Senior Program Assistant, BPA

Future Meetings		Past Meetings
No meetings have been planned at this time.

To send comments or suggestions to the committee, please send e-mail to bpa@nas.edu. Feedback will be posted on this website as it is received.

The project is pleased to acknowledge support from the Bureau of Land Management.