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What’s Ahead
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| An image of Mars captured and transmitted by the experimental MarCO CubeSat mission as it flew past the planet in November 2018. (Image credit – NASA / JPL-Caltech) |
Boosters and Scientists Convene for Mars Exploration Summit
The advocacy organization Explore Mars is holding its annual Humans to Mars Summit Monday through Thursday in a virtual format. Sessions will explore issues such as potential mission architectures, biomedical challenges, utilization of in situ resources, and methods of providing surface power on the Moon and Mars. A number of sessions will also explore the social and political dimensions of interplanetary exploration. One on “Black lives in the space industry” will feature a panel of prominent figures including former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden; another will focus on improving the inclusion of women in Mars exploration endeavors. Other sessions will address issues such as engagement through social media and maintaining political support for crewed deep-space efforts. Separately, NASA’s technology, innovation, and engineering advisory committee is holding a meeting on Tuesday that will include an update on the agency’s nuclear technology portfolio, which is expected to play a significant role in enabling lunar and Mars exploration.
Academies Launches New Planetary Protection Committee
The Planetary Protection Committee, a new long-term panel set up under the National Academies Space Studies Board, is holding its first meeting on Friday. The committee’s purpose is to guide NASA as it updates policies for protecting Earth and extraterrestrial planetary environments from cross-contamination. The agency has increased its attention to this problem in recent years in view of planetary science’s growing emphasis on astrobiology and sample return missions, new plans for crewed deep-space exploration, and burgeoning international and commercial space activity. Last year, an independent review board proposed requirements for new protection policies and NASA issued two interim directives in July. The new Academies committee will provide more continual feedback as updates continue, satisfying a recommendation in the Academies’ response to NASA’s independent review. Former Space Studies Board Director Joseph Alexander, who chaired that response, is leading the new committee as well.
Computer Scientist to Take Helm of DARPA
The Department of Defense announced on Monday that computer scientist Victoria Coleman is the new director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which manages a $3.5 billion portfolio spanning from fundamental research to technology development. Coleman currently serves as a senior advisor at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society within the University of California System and as a member of the Defense Science Board and DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council. Coleman earned a doctorate in computer science from the University of Manchester in 1988 and has worked at a number of technology companies, including SRI International, Intel, Samsung, Nokia, HP, and Yahoo!. DARPA has been led by Peter Highnam on an acting basis since Steven Walker stepped down as director in January.
Gender Gap in Science Project Members Discussing Findings
The National Academies is hosting a webinar on Tuesday on the results of a three-year international project to measure and reduce gender disparities in the STEM workforce. The project consisted of a global survey of more than 30,000 scientists, a study of publication patterns by gender, and development of a database of best practices to address the issue moving forward. Four of the contributing authors will discuss the project and next steps at the webinar: Susan White, interim director of AIP’s Statistical Research Center; Helena Mihaljevic, a professor of data science at the University of Applied Science Berlin; Merrilyn Goos, director of the National Centre for STEM Education at the University of Limerick in Ireland; and Mei-Hung Chiu, a professor of science education at the National Taiwan Normal University.
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In Case You Missed It
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| The IBM Q Lab at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in New York. IBM is participating in three of the five new quantum research centers established by the Department of Energy. (Image credit - IBM, CC BY-ND 2.0) |
DOE Establishes Five Flagship Quantum Research Centers
The Department of Energy announced last week it will establish quantum information science research centers based at five national laboratories, implementing a centerpiece provision of the National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018. The centers will each receive $115 million over five years, subject to congressional appropriations, and involve contributions from dozens of universities and companies, who have together committed an additional $340 million:
- The Next Generation Quantum Science and Engineering Center led by Argonne National Lab in Illinois will focus on developing secure quantum communication links and networks of sensors. The center will also create two “national foundries” for standardized quantum materials and devices, one at Argonne and one at SLAC National Accelerator Lab.
- The Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center led by Fermilab in Illinois will work to lengthen the lifetime of quantum states, known as the coherence time, in order to develop next-generation quantum computers and sensors. The center will leverage Fermilab’s expertise in building superconducting radiofrequency cavities with record coherence times for particle accelerators.
- The Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage led by Brookhaven National Lab will design software and components for quantum computers, leveraging materials characterization facilities at Brookhaven’s Center for Functional Nanomaterials and the National Synchrotron Light Source II.
- The Quantum Systems Accelerator led by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab will develop new ways to control quantum computing platforms and design algorithms that are tailored to solving scientific problems.
- The Quantum Science Center led by Oak Ridge National Lab will explore the use of topological materials in quantum computers, test algorithms for quantum computers and sensors, and develop sensors for discovery science applications.
White House Stands Up National Quantum Initiative Advisory Panel
Shortly after DOE awarded its quantum centers, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced the 23 inaugural members of the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee, which will be co-chaired by Charles Tahan, director of the National Quantum Coordination Office, and Kathryn Ann Moler, dean of research at Stanford University. Of the other members, 10 are from universities, eight from industry, and three from federal labs. Congress directed the president to establish the committee through the National Quantum Initiative Act, which charges it with periodically assessing implementation of the initiative, trends in quantum information science and technology, and opportunities for international collaboration.
NSF Announces Inaugural AI Research Institutes
Alongside DOE’s quantum center awards, the National Science Foundation announced last week it will provide $100 million over five years to establish a network of artificial intelligence research institutes. Five NSF-led institutes will receive $20 million each to advance AI research across a broad range of topics:
Fresh Scientific Integrity Scandals Hit COVID-19 Response
Two U.S. public health agencies came under fire last week as actions they took came under immediate suspicion of being politically motivated. On Aug. 23, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to convalescent blood plasma as a COVID-19 treatment, which President Trump hailed as a “historic breakthrough” at a press conference that day, on the eve of the Republican National Convention. Both Trump and FDA head Stephen Hahn cited statistics about the survival rates of patients who receive the treatment, which experts quickly blasted as contrary to published data. Hahn recanted the statistics the next day, and, in a reported bid to shore up its credibility, FDA removed its new chief spokesperson, who was previously a journalist at a right-wing news outlet. Although plasma therapy is generally considered safe, top officials at the National Institutes of Health had resisted the authorization on the grounds that evidence for the therapy’s efficacy for COVID-19 is limited.
In a separate incident, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came under fire for revising its COVID-19 testing guidelines to state that asymptomatic individuals “do not necessarily need a test,” even though the disease is understood to transmit asymptomatically. The change reportedly originated with Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir, a Trump appointee, who has said it was aimed at prioritizing testing for individuals more likely to have the disease and not motivated by instructions from the White House. However, the move raised suspicions that political considerations were at play, particularly because Trump has incorrectly blamed high levels of testing for the higher numbers of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. versus other countries. Many state and local public health authorities indicated they would not follow the revised guidelines and the agency has since updated them again to state that individuals who have had close contact with an infected individual should be tested.
Astronomers Chart Impacts of Large Satellite Constellations
The American Astronomical Society and the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab released a report last week summarizing the outcomes of a workshop they convened earlier this summer to assess the impact of large constellations of low Earth orbit satellites on optical astronomy. With tens of thousands of satellites expected to be deployed in the next few years, astronomers are concerned bright trails of reflected sunlight will severely contaminate astronomical observations, potentially threatening to undermine the work of current and planned ground-based observatories. The report warns no combination of actions will fully eliminate the problem, but recommends various mitigation strategies for both satellite operators and astronomers. These include keeping satellites below 600 kilometers, designing satellites to be less reflective, providing astronomers with open access to precise information on satellite orbits, and developing software to remove trails from images. At a press conference to mark the report’s release, workshop organizers praised the willingness of the company SpaceX, which has already launched hundreds of satellites, to modify them to address the issue. (AAS is an AIP Member Society.)
Senate Democrats Release Strategy to Address ‘Climate Crisis’
Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis released a 255 page report last week outlining spending and policy plans for the U.S. to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The report arrives less than two months after Democrats on the House Climate Crisis Committee released a detailed legislative framework to achieve the same goal. Among its proposals, the Senate report broadly states that the U.S. “needs an innovation agenda that explicitly supports industrial decarbonization,” calling for the federal government to “substantially increase and better target appropriations and grant funding, loans, and tax incentives to support clean energy and other climate-related RD&D and deployment.” The committee was established in March 2019 and, unlike its House counterpart, is an initiative of the Senate Democratic caucus with no Republican members.
Input Sought on Export Controls for ‘Foundational Technologies’
On Aug. 27, the Commerce Department released a long-awaited advance notice of proposed rulemaking for its plans to strengthen export controls on “foundational technologies,” in accord with the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2019. The department seeks public comment by Oct. 26 on how foundational technologies should be defined, the criteria for determining whether stricter export controls are warranted for particular technologies, and how such controls might impact technology development in the U.S., among other issues. Specific technology areas of interest mentioned in the notice include semiconductor manufacturing tools, lasers, sensors, and underwater systems. The department states it does not intend to apply new controls to technologies that are not currently subject to the Export Administration Regulations, including “fundamental research.” The department released an analogous request for input on export controls for “emerging technologies” in late 2018.
Research Association Presents Pandemic Impact Assessment Model
The Council on Governmental Relations, an association of almost 200 U.S. universities and research institutes, released a report on Aug. 25 presenting a model for quantifying the cost impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on research activities. Called the “research impact metric,” the model is designed to account for factors such as reduced work, lost laboratory supplies, and inability to travel under differing impact and recovery scenarios. The report uses five case studies to illustrate the state of research under what it terms the “pandemic normal,” noting that, expressed in terms of money, reductions in research output at individual institutions are apt to range between 20% and 40%. It also appeals to policymakers and research institutions to provide “new and sustained investment,” which it argues is needed to prevent a weakening of U.S. research capabilities and the dispersal of the current cohort of graduate students and postdocs.
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Events This Week Monday, August 31
Tuesday, September 1
Wednesday, September 2
Thursday, September 3
Friday, September 4
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Opportunities NASA Accepting Science Ideas for Artemis Mission
NASA is accepting white papers proposing science work to be accomplished with the human crew it is aiming to land on the Moon’s South Pole in 2024 through its Artemis program. The solicitation notes the two-member crew will conduct multiple walking excursions, which can involve collecting lunar samples, using cameras, and deploying payloads. Submissions are due Sept. 8.
NSF Hiring Large Facilities Advisor
The National Science Foundation is seeking a large facilities advisor to support the Large Facilities Office in the agency’s Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management. The advisor will be responsible for developing “policies and procedures for all major facility lifecycle stages, with a primary focus on design and construction” as well as assisting with external reviews of project cost, scope, schedule, and performance, among other duties. Applications are due Sept. 15.
Draft Geospatial Data Strategy Open for Comment
The Federal Geographic Data Committee is seeking comments on its draft strategic plan for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The Geospatial Data Act of 2018 defined this infrastructure to encompass “the technology, policies, criteria, standards, and employees necessary to promote geospatial data sharing throughout the federal government, state, tribal, and local governments, and the private sector (including nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education).” Comments are due Sept. 17.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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