  Among the top priorities for high-energy astronomy in the coming decade are
sensitive surveys in the hard X-ray/soft \gamma-ray (10-600 keV) and
medium-energy \gamma-ray (0.2-80 MeV) bands. Historically, observations in the
soft and medium energy \gamma-ray bands have been conducted using detectors
based on inorganic scintillators read out by photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs).
These observations were limited by the modest energy and time resolution of
traditional scintillator materials (e.g. NaI and CsI), and by the demands on
mission resources imposed by the bulky, fragile, high-voltage PMTs. Recent
technological advances in the development of both new scintillator materials
(e.g. LaBr3:Ce, L(Y)SO) and new scintillation light readout devices (e.g.
Silicon Photo-Multipliers) promise to greatly improve the observational
capabilities of future scintillator-based \gamma--ray telescopes, while
retaining the relative simplicity, reliability, large collection volumes, and
low-cost of scintillator instruments. We present initial results of a study on
the use of silicon photomultipliers in the calorimeter module design of the
proposed GRIPS astrophysics mission.
