What’s Ahead

The underground tramway connecting the Senate office buildings to the Capitol. (Image credit – Senate Democrats)

Pandemic Relief Talks Stalled As August Recess Arrives

As negotiations over the next pandemic relief bill drag on, many members of Congress have left Washington, D.C., though leaders in the House and Senate indicate lawmakers could be summoned back on short notice if a deal is reached. However, as of last week Republicans and Democrats remained far apart on various parameters of the legislation, and President Trump’s unilateral move over the weekend to extend unemployment benefits could make it less likely an agreement will be reached quickly. Proposals for research recovery funds have not been subject to partisan dispute, though the amounts included in the main bills under discussion fall short of those sought by university groups.

When Congress does return, it will have little time left for other pressing legislative business, especially given the approaching election. As the Senate has yet to release its fiscal year 2021 spending proposals, it is almost certain Congress will resort to passing a stopgap measure before current funding expires at the end of fiscal year 2020 on Oct. 1. In recent presidential election years, such stopgaps have always extended past the beginning of December. It is also possible the Senate may not publicly release its spending proposals before reaching a deal with the House on a final spending package. However, the lead Republican appropriator for several science agencies has told reporters the Senate still hopes to advance its proposals after the August recess.

In Case You Missed It

Image credit – DOE

Mark Menezes Sworn In as Deputy Energy Secretary

The Senate confirmed Mark Menezes as deputy energy secretary by a vote of 79 to 16 on Aug. 4, filling the post left vacant when Dan Brouillette was elevated to the position of secretary in December. Menezes had been serving as under secretary of energy since 2017, with a portfolio encompassing matters of national energy policy as well as the Department of Energy’s applied energy programs. Previously, he was a lawyer in the energy industry and vice president of federal relations at the investment firm Berkshire Hathaway Energy. He also served as chief counsel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee when Congress was developing the Energy Policy Act of 2005. DOE does not list anyone as currently acting in the role of under secretary of energy and President Trump has not yet nominated anyone to succeed Menezes in the position.

Democrats Propose Major Ramp Up in Clean Energy R&D

On July 29, a group of 48 House Democrats led by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) introduced the “Clean Energy Innovation Funding Act,” which would recommend five year funding ramp ups across the following Department of Energy offices:

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, from $2.85 billion to $6.2 billion
Science, from $7 billion to $9.5 billion
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, from $425 million to $1 billion
Electricity, from $190 million to $349 million
Indian Energy Policy and Programs, from $22 million to $48 million

While the bill does not specify uses for the additional funding, it broadly frames the increases as investments in research, development, and demonstration efforts targeted to address climate change. It further states DOE should shape such efforts by “engaging broadly with stakeholders, including industries, utilities, labor unions, and impacted communities, especially environmental justice communities.” The bill is one of several proposals circulating in Congress to markedly increase DOE funding. With no Republican votes, the House has approved an appropriations bill that would channel $23.5 billion in one-time “emergency” funds to DOE, and Democrats on the House Climate Crisis Committee have recommended increasing federal energy innovation spending to $35 billion per year within the next 10 years. Among Republicans, the Senate’s lead appropriator for DOE, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), has said he wants to double energy research spending over five years. In addition, Republicans on the House Science Committee have introduced a bill proposing to roughly double research spending over 10 years at several federal agencies, including ARPA–E and the DOE Office of Science.

APS Issues Position Statements on Racism, Nuclear Weapons

The American Physical Society’s board of directors released three position statements last month respectively condemning racism, supporting moves to extend the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, and cautioning against any resumption of explosive nuclear testing. Noting the percentage of physics bachelor’s degrees earned by Black Americans has decreased from around 5% in the late 1990s to under 4% now and that only about 1% to 2% of APS members identify as members of the African diaspora, the board states, “These appalling statistics cannot be attributed solely to the pipeline and inequities in K–12 education.” Citing findings of the AIP TEAM UP report, it calls for transforming the culture and practices within the physics community to better welcome and support Black participation in the field and concludes by stating that “Black talents matter.” On nuclear weapons, the board calls on the U.S. and Russia to extend New START, noting that if it is allowed to expire in February 2021, both countries will be left “without any nuclear arms limitations treaty or agreement in place for the first time in nearly fifty years.” The board also reaffirms its 2018 statement on nuclear testing, which maintains that explosive testing is “not required to retain confidence in the safety and reliability of the remaining nuclear weapons in the U.S. stockpile” and that resuming such tests “may have serious negative international consequences, particularly on the nonproliferation regime.” (APS is an AIP Member Society.)

NSF Announces New Engineering Research Centers

The National Science Foundation announced last week it has awarded four new engineering research centers, which together are slated to receive $104 million over the next five years, joining 14 previously awarded engineering centers:

The Center for Quantum Networks, led by the University of Arizona, aims to create the building blocks for a “quantum internet” by developing key enabling technologies.
The Center for Advanced Technologies for Preservation of Biological Systems, led by the University of Minnesota, aims to “stop biological time” by designing cryogenic methods for storing and moving biological materials.
The Center for Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification, led by Utah State University, seeks to “create sustainable, equitable, and widespread electrification of vehicles by creating low-cost, ubiquitous, and worry-free charging.”
The Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture, led by the University of Pennsylvania, seeks to “ensure food, energy and water security with new systems to increase crop production while minimizing energy and water use and environmental impacts of agricultural practices.”

Academies Panel Reweights Planetary Science Destinations

The National Academies’ Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science released a report last week reevaluating some of the destinations recommended by the last planetary science decadal survey for NASA’s next New Frontiers mission. New Frontiers is the most expensive class of planetary science mission that NASA opens to competition and since creating the program in 2003 the agency has made four awards through it. The report finds the survey’s recommendations remain compelling and endorses the Ocean Worlds category of mission candidates that NASA later added at the direction of Congress. It suggests, though, that NASA consider dropping Trojan asteroids and Saturn’s moon Titan from consideration for a mission award in view of the agency’s recent selection of other spacecraft bound for those destinations. Other mission concepts on the table include a comet sample return mission, probes to Saturn or its icy moon Enceladus, a Venus lander, and a probe to Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, which is also in the running for a smaller mission. Two other candidates would overlap with NASA’s reinvigorated lunar exploration program: a sample return mission to the lunar south pole and an in situ geophysical monitoring network. NASA anticipates opening its next New Frontiers competition in 2022 with an eye toward making a final selection in 2025.

Mike Freilich, Former NASA Earth Science Director, Dies at 66

Mike Freilich speaking at an Earth Day event in 2017. (Image credit – Joel Kowsky / NASA)

Mike Freilich, who led NASA’s Earth Science Division for more than 12 years, died on Aug. 5 of pancreatic cancer. Freilich received a doctorate from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1982 and then worked as a researcher and flight mission leader at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 1983 to 1991 before becoming a professor at Oregon State University. There he served as principal investigator for three wind-measuring satellites that NASA launched between 1996 and 2002 and as associate dean of the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences. In 2006, Freilich rejoined NASA as director of the Earth Science Division, where he oversaw the agency’s response to the first National Academies Earth science decadal survey and led a shift toward the use of larger numbers of smaller, less expensive spacecraft. By the time he retired in 2019, Freilich had seen 16 missions and major instrument projects through to launch. This January, NASA and its partner agencies named their ocean altimetry satellite Sentinel-6A, scheduled for launch this fall, in his honor.

Events This Week

Monday, August 10

Hudson Institute: “How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom” 12:00 - 12:45 pm

Tuesday, August 11

National Academies: “Committee on Long-Term Environmental Trends in the Gulf of Mexico,” kickoff meeting (continues through Thursday) Committee of 100: “Scientific Collaboration in the Age of US–China Tensions” 11:00 am - 12:00 pm National Academies: “Review of the SBIR/STTR at NSF,” meeting three 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Wednesday, August 12

Astroscale/Secure World Foundation: “On Orbit, Off Campus: A Virtual Primer in On-Orbit Services” 1:00 - 3:30 pm American Nuclear Society: “Spotlight on the National Labs: Oak Ridge National Laboratory” 1:30 - 3:00 pm National Academies: “Resilience of the Research Enterprise During the COVID-19 Crisis: Economic Impacts of the Pandemic and Projections for Recovery” 2:00 - 4:00 pm C2ES: “Tackling Twin Crises: A Path Toward Economic Recovery and Climate Mitigation” 1:15 - 2:45 pm CSIS: “Countering Chinese Espionage” 3:00 - 4:00 pm

Thursday, August 13

CSET: “U.S. Tech Leadership in an Era of Competition: A Conversation With Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios” 8:00 am AAAS: “Race to the Future? Values and Vision in the Design of Technology and Society” 11:30 am - 12:30 pm National Academies: “Forecasting Costs for Preserving, Archiving, and Promoting Access to Biomedical Data: Approaches for Researchers” 12:00 - 1:00 pm Aerospace Corporation: “Responsible Use of PNT for National Resilience” 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Friday, August 14

Bipartisan Policy Center: “COVID-19’s Impact on Hurricane Evacuation and Sheltering” 10:00 - 11:15 am

Monday, August 17

American Chemical Society: Virtual Fall Meeting and Expo (continues through Thursday) NASA: Planetary Science Advisory Committee meeting (continues Tuesday) National Academies: “Advancing a Systems Approach to Studying the Earth: A Strategy for NSF,” kickoff meeting 1:30 - 3:30 pm National Academies: “Assessment of NASA Aeronautics University Leadership Initiative Virtual,” meeting five 2:00 - 5:30 pm National Academies: “High-Impact Educational Practices in Uncertain Times” 2:30 - 4:00 pm

Opportunities

APS Querying Scientists on Pandemic Experiences

The American Physical Society is asking scientists to share their experiences returning to offices and labs amid the coronavirus pandemic. Questions that can be addressed include, “What plans have you made to keep yourself or your group safe? How is distancing affecting your interactions? How have months away from the lab affected your perspective?” Submissions should be brief (100-200 words) and can include pictures.

Space Missions Diversity Committee Seeking Members

The National Academies is accepting nominations for a new study committee that will “recommend actions to increase diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility in the leadership of space mission proposals submitted to the NASA Science Mission Directorate competed space mission programs.” Among its responsibilities, the committee will “identify humanistic elements of the [mission proposal system] that may present impediments to applicants, limiting the diversity of the competitive pool.” Nominations are due Aug. 17.

AMS Hiring Policy Associate

The American Meteorological Society is hiring an assistant/associate for policy, communication, and collaboration. The position will launch new activities in the AMS Policy Program and contribute to ongoing projects that seek to deliver actionable climate change information and help meet weather and climate workforce needs. Applicants should have at least a bachelor’s degree in the humanities, liberal arts, social sciences, natural sciences, physical sciences, or engineering.

For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities. Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.