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What’s Ahead
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| Scientists have not had a close look at Uranus, pictured here, and Neptune since the Voyager 2 probe flew by them in the 1980s. An extended visit to one or the other planet could become a priority if it is ranked highly by the planetary science decadal survey being released on Tuesday. (Image credit – NASA / JPL-Caltech) |
Decadal Survey for Planetary Science Arrives
The National Academies is releasing the latest decadal survey for planetary science on Tuesday. For the past two years, the survey committee has been synthesizing input from the research community to identify compelling questions for pathbreaking research and prioritize future space missions. The recommendations of decadal surveys are not binding, but NASA and the National Science Foundation treat them as a critical input into their decision-making. Following recommendations in the last planetary science survey 10 years ago, NASA committed to two flagship missions: the Europa Clipper, which is aiming to launch in 2024, and the Perseverance rover, which is already caching samples on Mars that another mission currently in development will return to Earth. NASA has not yet committed to pursue the survey’s third-ranked flagship recommendation, an orbiter mission to Uranus, and budget demands of the Mars Sample Return mission could make it difficult to fund the exploration of that planet or the other “ice giant” Neptune if the new survey recommends it. The survey will also address ambitions for studying the Solar System’s “ocean worlds,” such as by sending a mission to study Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus or a lander to conduct further studies on Europa, which is an icy moon of Jupiter.
The investigation of ocean worlds is motivated in part by an interest in discovering whether they could harbor life, a goal that has also motivated intensified efforts to identify life-supporting conditions on other bodies in the Solar System and beyond. While efforts to detect habitable exoplanets are not within the scope of this latest survey, it will be the first to look in-depth at issues across astrobiology, including theoretical questions and Earth-based field and laboratory work, as well as how to look for alien life directly. This survey will also be the first to consider means of protecting Earth against impacts from objects such as asteroids, and it will expand on the prospects for combining science with crewed exploration of the Moon and other deep-space destinations. In addition, it will follow the recently released decadal survey for astronomy and astrophysics in examining the state of the planetary science profession, including issues involving diversity, equity, and inclusion.
DOE to Discuss Priorities in Earth and Life Sciences, Energy Justice
The advisory committee for the Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research program is meeting on Thursday and Friday, during which top DOE officials will discuss the Biden administration’s proposal to sharply increase the program’s budget. Priority initiatives include establishing Urban Integrated Field Laboratories, which will observe and model climate impacts in cities, and building out DOE’s ability to mobilize its bioscience capabilities in response to crises. The meeting will also include presentations on the recently released “physics of living systems” decadal survey and the international benchmarking study the committee is conducting, which follows a similar exercise conducted by DOE’s Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. The committee will also discuss an external review of DOE’s Biological Systems Science Division that was held last summer. Separately, the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board is meeting on Tuesday at Berkeley Lab, where DOE Deputy Director for Energy Justice Shalanda Baker will discuss the administration’s Justice 40 initiative, which aims to provide disadvantaged communities with 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal clean energy projects. The board will also hear reports from its working groups focused on “place-based initiatives,” clean energy deployment, and grid modernization.
Science Committee Talks Critical Minerals Strategy in Illinois
Members of the House Science Committee are traveling to Woodridge, Illinois this week for a field hearing on “electric vehicle batteries and the critical minerals supply.” They will hear from Venkat Srinivasan, deputy director of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research at nearby Argonne National Lab, University of Chicago molecular engineering professor Chibueze Amanchukwu, and representatives from two electric vehicle manufacturers, Lion Electric Company and Rivian. Woodridge is part of the districts represented by two Democrats on the committee, Reps. Bill Foster and Sean Casten. The event follows two hearings the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee recently convened on the subject.
Exonerated Scientists Speak Out Against Research Security Crackdown
The American Physical Society is holding a webinar on Monday featuring three scientists who were prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s campaign against alleged academic espionage orchestrated by the Chinese government: University of Tennessee nanoengineer Anming Hu, MIT nanoengineer Gang Chen, and Temple University physicist Xiaoxing Xi. Chen and Hu were charged through DOJ’s China Initiative for allegedly concealing their ties with Chinese institutions from U.S. agencies funding their research, while Xi’s case predates the initiative and involved an accusation of illicit technology transfer. DOJ dropped the charges against Chen and Xi after information came to light indicating they had done nothing wrong, and a judge acquitted Hu after concluding prosecutors had presented no convincing evidence his actions entailed any sort of criminal scheme. Although DOJ has since dropped the China-specific framing of the initiative and pledged to refrain from bringing future criminal cases lacking clear links to national or economic security, some cases are still pending. All three scientists speaking this week have called for the government to be held to account for upending their lives, and APS has also proposed that the government compensate researchers who are not convicted to help them reestablish their research careers. (APS is an AIP Member Society.)
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In Case You Missed It
NSF Dissects Outcomes of Grant Review Process
Last week, the National Science Foundation released its annual analysis of the agency’s grant review process, providing summary statistics on the roughly 35,000 research proposals submitted to the agency in fiscal year 2020. The agency reports funding 28% of full proposals, totaled across all research areas, up from the 26% rate for the previous year and well above the rate closer to 20% that prevailed as recently as five years ago. In a preface to the report, the agency’s governing board commends NSF for its efforts to manage proposal intake and increase funding rates, such as by implementing no-deadline policies for grant applications. However, it argues that a funding rate closer to 30% would benefit the “long-term health of the research community,” and notes the rate increase for 2020 is partly due to the large number of rapid-response grants NSF funded to support research related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board also draws attention to resolutions it passed in February 2021 that recommend NSF implement mandatory bias mitigation training for all proposal reviewers and that each of the external panels that assess agency programs should include an expert in NSF’s “broader impacts” criterion.
Science Agencies Release Equity Action Plans
Responding to an executive order by President Biden, dozens of federal agencies released action plans last week outlining steps to infuse equity considerations into their programs, including NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy. Among the most notable actions, this fiscal year DOE will add at least one “DEI-specific program policy factor” to all funding opportunity announcements, expanding on a pilot conducted by its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy that granted program officers “flexibility to consider factors other than technical merit.” DOE’s plan further sets a goal of increasing the fraction of awards allocated to minority-serving institutions to 15% by 2025. The department also will implement mandatory implicit bias awareness and mitigation training for its employees, contractors, and grant peer reviewers, and it will annually post aggregate demographic data on its awardees. Among NSF’s planned actions are to expand collection and tracking of awardee demographic data. Although agencies cannot require the submission of such information, NSF notes that a new prompt it has piloted on its data-collection form has sharply increased response rates.
Interagency Council Churns Out Science Strategy Reports
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, April 18
Tuesday, April 19
Wednesday, April 20
Thursday, April 21
Friday, April 22
Monday, April 25
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Opportunities FYI Hiring Science Policy Writer
Join our team! The American Institute of Physics is hiring a science policy writer to produce and edit content for FYI’s science policy newsletters and tracking resources. The writer will be responsible for reporting on science agency budgets and initiatives, legislative activity, and other relevant policy developments. Applicants should have a bachelor’s degree and at least three years of experience in science policy analysis, policy reporting, or science writing.
Export Control Advisory Panels Seeking Members
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is seeking members for its Technical Advisory Committees, which assess prospective export controls on dual-use technologies in specific domains: telecommunications and security, materials and equipment, sensors and instrumentation, transportation and related equipment, and emerging technologies. Committees consist of representatives from industry, academia, and the federal government, who serve terms of up to four years and must obtain secret-level clearances prior to their appointment. Applications are open through June 6.
Inaugural Endless Frontier Fellowship Seeking Applicants
The Endless Frontier Fellowship is seeking recent graduates to spend a year embedded as “policy entrepreneurs” at either the Institute for Progress, the Federation of American Scientists, or the Lincoln Network. Fellows will focus on issues such as artificial intelligence, biosecurity, high-skilled immigration, industrial strategy, and research management. Applicants must be graduating seniors or have within the last two years received a bachelor’s or master’s degree, which does not have to be in a traditional STEM field. Applications are due May 2.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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