Government & Policy Roundup

The University of Chicago has selected Jacobs Engineering Group as its partner in a bid for a new management contract at Argonne National Laboratory. The university's existing contract at Argonne—which the school has managed since its founding in 1946—will expire next September.

The Department of Energy has awarded $2 millionin funding for five research projects that will assess theenergy potential, safety, and environmental aspects of methane hydrate exploration and development. Methane hydrates are considered a huge potential source of hydrocarbon energy and could be a key element in meeting natural gas demand in the U.S., which is expected to increase nearly 50% by 2025.

Nations that are party to the Chemical Weapons Convention were given an additional year to enact domestic implementing legislation making it illegal to conduct any activity banned by the treaty (C&EN, Nov. 14, page 14). All 175 treaty members were to have done so by Nov. 11, but only 105 had passed legislation by the deadline.