| |
What’s Ahead
 |
| Seattle is hosting a key particle physics strategy workshop this week, called Snowmass, after the first iteration of the workshop held in Snowmass, Colorado, in 1982. (Image credit – Sounder Bruce, CC BY-SA 4.0) |
Particle Physicists Meet in Seattle for Pivotal Strategy Meeting
Over 1,200 scientists are gathering in Seattle and online this week to discuss the future of high energy physics at a workshop organized by the American Physical Society. Called Snowmass, the workshop is a key component of the U.S. particle physics community’s strategic planning process. The community has been preparing for the workshop for more than a year, generating numerous white papers to help assess the state of the field and identify potential research priorities. These inputs will be distilled into a consensus report that will inform the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), which will recommend a 10-year research agenda for the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation. Community members heard from workshop organizers and federal officials at an introductory plenary yesterday, and will devote the rest of the week to discussing ten “frontiers,” which are organized around various scientific questions and experimental techniques. Following the workshop, the National Academies will hold a kickoff meeting for its decadal survey of elementary particle physics, another component of the field’s strategic planning process. This year’s Snowmass workshop was originally scheduled for summer 2021 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The P5 process is expected to conclude about a year from now.
OSTP Director Nominee Arati Prabhakar to Testify
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is holding the nomination hearing for Arati Prabhakar, President Biden’s pick to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Pending her Senate confirmation, Biden also plans to appoint her as his science adviser, a Cabinet member, and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Prabhakar previously served as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology from 1993 to 1997 and director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from 2012 to 2017, and she is the first woman and person of color to be nominated to lead OSTP. While many of the questions she will field at the hearing are apt to revolve around her perspective on the Biden administration’s science and technology agenda, she is also likely to be asked about the scandals that engulfed OSTP during the brief tenure of its previous director, geneticist Eric Lander. Lander resigned in February after it became public he had often verbally abused office staff members, including members of its legal team who clashed with him over ethics rules. Some Republicans have pressed the White House on whether the workplace climate and ethics concerns that arose during Lander’s tenure have been adequately addressed since his departure.
‘CHIPS-Plus’ Bill Possible as Democrats Narrow Reconciliation Push
The Senate may vote as soon as this week on legislation that would allocate tens of billions of dollars for semiconductor R&D and manufacturing incentives to implement programs authorized by the CHIPS for America Act. Congress had aimed to pass the CHIPS Act funds as part of broader bipartisan innovation policy legislation, but Republicans walked away from negotiations on that package after Democrats advanced plans to use Congress’ reconciliation procedure to pass partisan legislation focused on tax reform, climate change mitigation, and lowering healthcare costs. However, Democrats have since significantly narrowed their ambitions for the reconciliation bill after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced last week he would oppose legislation that goes beyond healthcare reform on the grounds that the other measures could exacerbate inflation. That retreat clears the way for Republicans to support the CHIPS legislation, according to Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a lead negotiator on the semiconductor funds. Lawmakers are now aiming to craft a “CHIPS-plus” package that would salvage elements of the broader innovation policy legislation, which sought to reconcile the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act with the House’s America COMPETES Act of 2022. The package could also include tax credits specific to the semiconductor sector, though there is still active debate over their appropriate scope.
Science Committee Examines Misconduct in Scientific Publishing
On Wednesday, the House Science Committee is holding a hearing on “the challenges of scientific publishing,” such as research misconduct and “paper mills,” organizations that generate fake publications. The witnesses include Jennifer Byrne, a cancer researcher known for flagging errors in papers; neuroscientist Brandon Stell, president of the PubPeer Foundation; and Chris Graf, research integrity director at Springer Nature. Graf also chairs the governance board of the STM Integrity Hub, a tool for finding research integrity issues in submitted papers that was launched earlier this year by a coalition of academic publishers. PubPeer, which Stell co-founded in 2012, allows users to anonymously discuss published papers and has led to corrections and retractions of some papers.
DOE Spending Legislation Arrives on House Floor
This week, the House plans to consider a package of fiscal year 2023 appropriations bills that includes funding for the Department of Energy. The House’s draft proposal for DOE roughly tracks the Biden administration’s request for large spending increases on clean energy technology R&D and deployment and a moderate increase for the Office of Science. While the House significantly exceeds the requested amount for the office, its proposal still falls well short of the level recommended in the House-passed America COMPETES Act of 2022. Both Democrats and Republicans on the House Science Committee have also argued research facility projects are significantly underfunded in the budget request. Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) has submitted an amendment for consideration that would raise the bill’s allocation for the Office of Science by more than $1.5 billion, matching the recommendation in the COMPETES Act. Outside the Office of Science, the House’s draft bill includes no funding for the Office of Nuclear Energy’s proposed Versatile Test Reactor facility. Congress defunded the project in its appropriation for fiscal year 2022, but the administration is seeking to keep the project alive at a low funding level to continue early planning work. House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has said she is aiming for the House to pass bills covering the entire federal budget by the end of the month, while the Senate Appropriations Committee aims to publicly release its counterpart drafts within the same timeframe. All proposals are subject to significant revision in view of the continued lack of agreement between Democrats and Republicans over total federal spending levels.
|
|
In Case You Missed It
 |
| President Biden received a briefing on the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope at a White House event on July 11. (Image credit – Bill Ingalls / NASA) |
Politicians Reflect on First Webb Telescope Images
NASA unveiled the first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope last week at a brief public event with President Biden and Vice President Harris, who hailed the telescope as an exemplar of the benefits of federal support for science and international collaboration. NASA released additional images the next day at an event at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, which played a lead role in the telescope’s development. Several members of Maryland’s congressional delegation spoke at the event, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who reflected on the legacy of former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), an influential appropriator who is widely credited with saving the Webb telescope from cancellation after it had incurred a series of cost increases. Speaking with reporters at the Goddard event, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson suggested the telescope’s success could help the agency secure more funds. “The president says to me last night, ‘Hey, Bill, do you need any money?’ I said, ‘Mr. President, I could use a little help with the Office of Management and Budget in your White House,’” he recounted.
Goddard Science Director Picked to Lead NASA Astrophysics
NASA announced on July 14 that Mark Clampin, head of the Science and Exploration Directorate at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, will lead the agency’s Astrophysics Division, starting Aug. 15. Clampin previously led the Astrophysics Division at Goddard and worked on the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. He holds a doctorate in physics from the University of Saint Andrews. NASA’s Astrophysics Division was previously led by Paul Hertz for over a decade. Hertz will continue to serve at NASA as senior advisor within the Science Mission Directorate.
Meteorologist Michael Morgan Confirmed to Top NOAA Job
By a voice vote on July 14, the Senate confirmed meteorologist Michael Morgan to serve as assistant secretary for environmental observation and prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a role that oversees terrestrial and satellite-based observation systems and the integration of observations into weather and climate forecasts. NOAA announced that Morgan will also serve as the agency’s deputy administrator, a dual-hatted role that has been held by the assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere in the past. Morgan was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the time of his nomination, and he has held several leadership roles in the meteorology community, including as director of the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation from 2010 to 2014. Morgan outlined his priorities for the agency at his nomination hearing and in written responses to questions from the Senate Commerce Committee. They include building up NOAA’s computation and modeling capabilities, improving data collection and dissemination, and increasing the diversity of the agency’s workforce.
House Attaches Scientist Visa Pathway to Defense Policy Bill
The House passed its version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act last week on a vote of 329 to 101 after incorporating hundreds of amendments, including one that would create a special visa pathway for individuals who will contribute to research or technology development relevant to national security. The number of visas available through the pathway would be capped at 10 per year for ten years and then rise to 100 per year afterwards. The House adopted the amendment on a vote of 226 to 201, with 11 Republicans joining all but one Democrat in voting yes. Notably, the House included the proposal in last year’s NDAA but lawmakers ultimately removed it following negotiations with the Senate, encouraging the Department of Defense to leverage existing authorities. Several other STEM immigration amendments were offered this year but not allowed a vote, including measures to waive green card caps for advanced STEM degree graduates and expedite visas for Russian scientists. Various amendments pertaining to research security were also not given a vote.
Senators Propose S&T Trend Analysis Office, Undersea UAP Reporting
Bipartisan legislation reported out of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week includes a provision that would direct the president to establish an “Office of Global Competition Analysis” to monitor U.S. competitiveness in critical technology sectors relative to other countries. The office would also assess how elements of the U.S. “science and technology ecosystem” compare with those of other countries, especially “strategic competitors.” The provision is based on a proposal by Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA), Sen. Mike Bennet (D-CO), and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE). Among other technology-focused measures in the legislation is a requirement that the Department of Defense explicitly expand its efforts to catalog “unidentified aerial phenomena” to include undersea objects. The House Intelligence Committee is advancing its version of the legislation on Tuesday. (Update: The House meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday.)
ESA Ends Partnership With Russia, Rogozin Replaced
European Space Agency head Josef Aschbacher announced on July 12 that ESA has officially terminated its partnership with Russia on the ExoMars rover in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The rover was due to launch in September from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome along with a Russian-built landing platform. ESA suspended the partnership shortly after the invasion and indicated it would explore opportunities to reconfigure the mission with NASA, targeting a launch in 2026 or 2028. ESA’s decision to formally pull out from the partnership prompted Russian space agency head Dmitry Rogozin to threaten to suspend operation of a European-made robotic arm that is in the Russian segment of the International Space Station, one of several threats he has made in response to sanctions implemented since the invasion. Rogozin was dismissed from the agency directorship on July 15 without explanation and replaced by Yuri Borisov, a defense and aerospace official.
|
|
Events This Week
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, July 18
Tuesday, July 19
Wednesday, July 20
Thursday, July 21
Friday, July 22
Monday, July 25
|
|
Opportunities DOE Hiring Nuclear Physics Facilities Office Director
The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Physics is hiring a director for its Facilities and Project Management Division. The division oversees the construction, upgrading, and operations of the program’s user facilities in coordination with DOE national laboratories and other institutions. Candidates should have experience leading a large-scale R&D facility and a background in nuclear physics. Applications are due July 26.
Heliophysics Decadal Seeking White Papers
The National Academies is soliciting white papers to inform its decadal survey of solar and space physics. White papers should focus on science goals, proposals for instruments and missions, or “issues of broad concern to the community.” Submissions are due Aug. 18.
Nuclear Threat Reduction Group Hiring Coordinator
The Arms Control Association is hiring a coordinator to manage policy and outreach activities for the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction. The coalition is a joint initiative with the American Physical Society dedicated to “informing and mobilizing physical scientists” around opportunities to reduce threats posed by nuclear weapons. Applicants should have strong research and communications skills and at least two years of experience working in nuclear nonproliferation or a related policy field. Applications are due Aug. 9.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
|
|
Around the Web
News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.
White House
Congress
Science, Society, and the Economy
Education and Workforce
Research Management
Labs and Facilities
Computing and Communications
Space
Weather, Climate, and Environment
Energy
Defense
Biomedical
International Affairs
|
|
|
| |
| |
|