What’s Ahead
Senate Energy Innovation Hearings Turn to Geothermal Energy
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing on geothermal energy on Thursday, continuing its ongoing look at energy sector innovation. The heads of the Department of Energy’s renewable energy office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s geothermal program will testify alongside representatives from industry and the New Mexico state director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. At the end of May, DOE released a report on geothermal energy that finds U.S. electricity production using geothermal sources could reach 60 gigawatts by 2050, a more than 26-fold increase over current installed capacity. It notes that such growth would require improvements in “tools, technologies, and methodologies used to explore, discover, access, and manage geothermal resources.”
Science Committee Focuses In on Fossil Energy R&D
Following hearings earlier this year on nuclear and renewable energy, the House Science Committee is turning its attention to fossil energy at a subcommittee hearing on Wednesday. Officials from the Carbon Utilization Research Council, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Carbon180, and Environmental Defense Fund will testify along with Erik Webb, senior manager for geoscience research and applications at Sandia National Laboratories. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee already examined the subject earlier this year and introduced bipartisan bills to expand research in coal and natural gas R&D , including carbon capture, as well as extraction of rare earth metals from coal .
Harassment and Diversity Bills Set for Science Committee Vote
The House Science Committee is meeting Thursday to consider four bipartisan bills, including the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act and the STEM Opportunities Act . Sponsored by Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK), the bills would require science agencies to identify and disseminate best practices for addressing harassment and underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM fields. The bills would also direct science agencies to develop a uniform approach to, respectively, handling harassment investigations and collecting demographic data on grant applicants. The committee will also vote on a bill to name the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope after dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin and a bill that would direct the National Science Foundation to support research on opioid addiction.
NDAA Reaches Full Senate as House Advances Its Counterpart
The Senate’s version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is arriving on the floor this week, with more than 300 amendments vying for inclusion in the must-pass legislation, many based on other bills introduced earlier this year. Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee approved its version of the bill last week by a vote of 33 to 24. Among the many changes it adopted prior to advancing the bill, the committee incorporated the Securing American Science and Technology Act via an amendment and added two other measures focused on protecting sensitive research from exploitation by foreign governments. The Senate bill currently includes no counterparts to these provisions, but they could be incorporated via amendments or in final negotiations with the House.
House Continues Consideration of Science Spending Bills
The House is scheduled to vote this week on a spending package that incorporates proposals for the National Institutes of Health and the Departments of Energy, Defense, and Education, among other agencies. Once approved, attention will turn to the Senate, which is expected to begin advancing its own versions of the spending bills this month. Meanwhile, Congress and the White House have not yet come to an agreement for raising caps on discretionary spending and apportioning the budget between defense and non-defense programs. The White House has objected to various increases for non-defense R&D programs included in the House bill, while arguing it underfunds defense research and engineering. Later in the week, the House will begin considering a separate package that includes funding for NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institutes of Standard and Technology, U.S. Geological Survey, and Environmental Protection Agency.
NSF Officials to Discuss New Overseas Outreach Program
This week’s meeting of the National Science Foundation’s advisory committee for international programs will feature an extended discussion of the agency’s new approach to seeding partnerships with other countries. Called MULTIPLIER , the program sends scientists to particular countries for short periods to identify collaboration opportunities in specific research areas. NSF created the program after closing its three international offices in 2018 on the grounds that a more “nimble” approach to collaboration was needed. The meeting will spotlight MULTIPLIER missions dedicated to synthetic biology and quantum research. A discussion of “science and security” led by the head of NSF’s international programs office is also on the agenda.
Draft NOAA R&D Strategy Up for Review
The Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is providing feedback on the agency’s draft R&D plan at a meeting this Tuesday. Covering the period from 2020 to 2026, the plan outlines three “vision areas” for NOAA: “reducing societal impacts from severe weather and other environmental phenomena, sustainable use and stewardship of ocean and coastal resources, and a robust and effective R&D and transition enterprise.” The draft identifies objectives for the agency spanning climate science, space weather, ocean exploration, and earth observations, among other areas.
In Case You Missed It
Science Committee Reviews Reports on Sexual Harassment
The Government Accountability Office released preliminary findings last week from its ongoing study on sexual harassment policies at five federal science agencies and the prevalence of harassment complaints by their university grantees. Testifying before the House Science Committee at a June 12 hearing , GAO science team lead John Neumann reported that the National Science Foundation received 14 complaints of harassment over the last four years, while NASA received three and the Department of Energy received two. Neumann noted that NSF has seen an increase in the number of reports after the agency adopted a policy requiring institutions to disclose findings of harassment, and that NASA plans to implement a similar policy. The hearing coincided with the one-year anniversary of the release of a landmark National Academies report on sexual harassment, which noted research suggests that less than 7% of graduate students and faculty who are sexually harassed formally report the incident to their institution. House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) called this rate “shockingly low,” attributing it to a research culture that discourages reporting.
Trump Puts Agency Advisory Committees on Chopping Block
President Trump issued an executive order last Friday afternoon mandating that federal agencies eliminate “at least one-third” of their non-statutory advisory committees by October 2019. The order applies to committees created under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), though agencies can petition the White House for waivers. The order also includes an exemption for committees that review research grant proposals or whose primary function is to “provide scientific expertise to support agencies making decisions related to the safety or efficacy of products to be marketed to American consumers.” Grant review panels aside, several science agencies make extensive use of FACA committees to perform strategic planning exercises and to explain key decisions to the research community. For instance, the Department of Energy’s advisory committees for high energy physics and fusion energy sciences are currently gearing up to produce long-range strategic plans for the department. A database of FACA committees is available here .
DOE Researchers Barred from Rival Nations’ Talent Programs
The Department of Energy implemented a new policy last week that prohibits employees and most contractor personnel from participating in talent recruitment programs operated by certain foreign countries. Although the directive does not name specific countries, officials have said it is currently limited to China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The directive charges DOE’s counterintelligence office with maintaining a list of specific programs of concern. The FBI and some lawmakers have warned that foreign governments use such programs as an avenue for misappropriating U.S.-backed research and advancing their rival interests. DOE regards them as not only a threat to the security of research but also as a conflict of interest for researchers who may be receiving funding from them without reporting it. The department is planning to implement a separate policy, potentially later this year, that will apply to university-based recipients of DOE grant funding.
NIH Director Shuns ‘Manels’
National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins announced last week he would actively work to decrease the prevalence of all-male speaking panels, also known as “manels,” at scientific conferences and meetings. Citing recent calls for science community leaders to address cultural factors that limit women’s advancement in the sciences, Collins said he will decline speaking invitations if “attention to inclusiveness is not evident in the agenda.” Collins himself was recently chided by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for the lack of gender representation among the NIH witnesses at an April hearing , to which Collins replied, “Yes, look at our panel. Just take a snapshot here — this is a good example of what we need to change.”
Science Committee Wary Moon Program May Siphon Science Funds
At a hearing on June 11, House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) aired concerns that the Trump administration’s goal of returning Americans to the Moon by 2024 could end up “starving” NASA’s science programs, citing remarks by an agency official indicating that internal cuts may be required to support an accelerated lunar return. Several witnesses at the hearing also urged that NASA commit to implementing the priorities of the science communities’ decadal surveys, criticizing the administration’s proposed cancellation of flagship missions recommended in previous surveys. Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, declined to offer an estimate of the new moon program’s total cost, but assured the committee he has not been directed to plan for major cuts to science programs. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has repeatedly insisted the agency will not “cannibalize” science programs or other agency activities to fund the venture, named Artemis after the sister of Apollo. Bridenstine offered the first official cost estimate for Artemis on June 14, putting it in the range of $20 to $30 billion over the next five years.
FCC Chair Dismisses Spectrum Interference Concerns
At a Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing last week, Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai defended his agency’s plans to open a 24 GHz spectrum band for 5G telecommunications providers, rejecting concerns raised by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA. A joint NOAA-NASA study found that interference from new uses of the band could severely degrade satellite observations critical for weather forecasting and research, but Pai asserted the FCC’s proposed protection limits “have been and will continue to be appropriate for the protection of passive weather sensors.” The two Democratic-appointed commissioners declined to weigh in on the matter, citing a lack of familiarity with the details of the dispute, but lamented that it was not resolved before the auction took place. Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced the committee will hold a separate hearing dedicated to the matter.
National R&D Infrastructure Strategy Under Consideration
At a National Science and Technology Council conference last week, National Science Foundation Chief Officer for Research Facilities Jim Ulvestad spoke about the council’s nascent plans to develop a “strategic overview” of federal R&D infrastructure. He explained that, while no effort to assemble a complete “inventory” is imminent, the council is looking to assemble “guidance” on how such an effort could be undertaken. He went on to say that defining “infrastructure” is essential to developing a strategic plan, given the wide variety of scientific materials that are considered infrastructure, ranging from collections of biological specimens to major telescopes. Ulvestad highlighted the UK’s Research and Innovation Infrastructure Roadmap as an approach NSTC has looked at in contemplating a U.S. analogue.
NIST-Led Technology Transfer Initiative Turns Toward Congress
At the same conference, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Walter Copan discussed an ongoing initiative to update policies related to commercializing technology developed by federally funded researchers. NIST released a “green paper” this year identifying 15 policy options for improving the federal technology transfer system, many of which would require legislative or regulatory action. Copan reported that NIST is now leading an interagency effort to develop a “legislative and regulatory reform package” that it aims to release this fall. Copan told FYI the agency plans to work with the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the House Science Committee to initiate congressional action.
Events This Week
Monday, June 17
Niskanen Center: “Recruiting, Retaining, and Capitalizing on Foreign Students at U.S. Universities,” congressional briefing 10:00 - 11:00 am, 188 Russell Senate Office Building
Tuesday, June 18
NSF: International Science and Engineering Advisory Committee meeting (continues Wednesday) NSF headquarters (Alexandria, VA) National Academies: “Women in the Innovation Ecosystem: A Workshop on Women and Entrepreneurship” 9:00 am - 5:00 pm PDT, Beckman Center (Irvine, CA) AT&T: “Emerging Technologies Symposium: Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and 5G” 10:00 - 12:00 pm, Webcast available Commerce Department: American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting 11:15 am - 2:00 pm, Foundation for the Carolinas (Charlotte, NC) Teleconference available ASME: Congressional briefing on large-scale energy storage 12:00 - 1:30 pm, 2044 Rayburn House Office Building NOAA: Science Advisory Board teleconference 1:00 - 4:00 pm CSIS: “Implementing Innovation: The Army’s IP Strategy” 1:30 - 2:30 pm, CSIS headquarters (1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW, DC) Webcast available
Wednesday, June 19
DOE: Electricity Advisory Committee meeting (continues Thursday) Arlington, VA CRES: “Real Clean Energy and Climate Change Solutions” 8:30 am - 12:00 pm, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center (First St. NE, DC) Hudson Institute: “Fostering American Innovation: A Conversation with USPTO Director Andrei Iancu” 12:00 - 1:30 pm, Hudson Institute headquarters (1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC) AAAS: Webinar on S&T policy fellowship application 1:00 - 2:00 pm House: “Fossil Energy Research: Enabling our Clean Energy Future” 2:00 pm, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) CHLI: “Energy Transition and its Implications in Today’s Workforce,” congressional briefing 3:00 - 5:00 pm, 2045 Rayburn House Office Building Congressional Chemistry Caucus: Annual Exposition and Reception 5:00 - 7:00 pm, Rayburn House Office Building Foyer Smithsonian: “The Future of Lunar Exploration” 8:00 pm, National Air and Space Museum (Independence Ave at 6th St. SW, DC) Webcast available
Thursday, June 20
NSF: Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering meeting (continues Friday) NSF headquarters (Alexandria, VA) House: Full committee markup of STEM diversity, sexual harassment, and telescope designation bills 10:00 am, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) Senate: Hearing on geothermal energy development 10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building) DNFSB: “Safety Management of Waste Storage and Processing in the Defense Nuclear Facilities Complex” 12:00 - 4:00 pm, DNFSB headquarters (625 Indiana Ave. NW, DC) Coalition for the Life Sciences: Celebrate Life Sciences Congressional Fair 5:00 - 7:00 pm, 2043 Rayburn House Office Building
Friday, June 21
No events start today.
Monday, June 24
EU: International Future Circular Collider Conference (continues through Friday) Brussels, Belgium NASA: Small Bodies Assessment Group meeting (continues Tuesday) College Park, MD Carnegie Endowment: “Closing the Gender Gap in Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament” 2:00 - 3:30 pm, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, DC)
Opportunities
NSF Seeking Judges for ‘Big Idea’ Competition
The National Science Foundation has narrowed down the more than 800 entries to its “Idea Machine” to 33 and is now requesting input on which submissions should advance to the next round of judging. The winning entries will inform NSF’s development of future programs within the “Big Ideas” framework adopted in 2017. Comments are due June 26.
Geosciences Congressional Visit Day Seeking Participants
The American Geophysical Union is accepting applications for its Congressional Visit Day to be held on September 10 and 11. After attending a workshop on communicating with policymakers, participants will meet with congressional staffers the following day on Capitol Hill. Financial support is available for students, community college faculty, and underrepresented candidates. Applications are due July 24.
Nature Surveying Doctoral Students
Nature is seeking STEM doctoral students to participate in its fifth biennial survey of graduate students. The latest survey examines topics related to career development, quality of life, and relationships with advisors, among other areas, and is available in five languages. Submissions are due July 9.
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.
Around the Web
News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.
White House
- Emails: Trump official pressed NASA on climate science (AP)
- Implementation of federal prize and citizen science authority: FY17-18 (White House, report)
- Democrats’ climate debate debate is not going away (Washington Post)
Congress
- Letter to acting OMB director on Information Quality Act memorandum (Science Committee Majority)
- The Congressional Futures Office (Harvard Belfer Center, report by Justin Warner and Grant Tudor)
- Congress’ tech policy knowledge gap (Cato Institute, perspective by Kevin Kosar)
- GOP in disarray as budget impasse threatens shutdown, deep cuts, and default (Washington Post)
- One-year spending cap option, warts and all, gains momentum (Roll Call)
Political Engagement
- How to woo Capitol Hill? Johns Hopkins is putting on a research extravaganza (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Science, Society, and the Economy
- New report reveals economic benefits from private sector use of GPS (RTI)
- Federally funded university research transforms lives (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, perspective by Eric Barron)
- Hyped-up science is a problem. One clever Twitter account is pushing back. (Vox)
- How to combat overhyped science news (Vox, perspective by Brian Resnick)
- Chernobyl, with helping hand from TV, becomes an unlikely tourism magnet (New York Times)
- If only we could be as anxious about climate change as we can be about nuclear catastrophe (Slate, perspective by Rebecca Onion)
Education and Workforce
- The US is purging Chinese cancer researchers from top institutions (Bloomberg)
- Emory scientist was told to vacate his office. He says move is reprisal for activism on Asian ties (ScienceInsider)
- How to lose a technology cold war: Restrict visas (The Hill, perspective by Weiyi Shi and Charlie Vest)
- Something you didn’t know: H-1B visa fees pay for STEM research, education for Americans (Marketplace)
- An unhelpful study about women in physics (Quillette, perspective by Sebastian Cesario)
- Decolonizing physics: Learning from the periphery (Physics in Perspective, paper by Robert Crease, et al.)
- Past efforts to reshape American science education offer lessons for future reformers (Science, book review)
- Trials by fire: Stories about difficult paths to science (Story Collider, audio)
Research Management
- NIH head calls for end to all-male panels of scientists (New York Times)
- NIH leader shuns all-male panels. Many applaud the gesture, but not all (Chronicle of Higher Education)
- The war to free science (Vox)
- ‘Broken access’ publishing corrodes quality (Nature, perspective by Adriano Aguzzi)
- To save the science poster, researchers want to kill it and start over (NPR)
- The campus innovation myth (Chronicle of Higher Education, perspective by Matthew Wisnioski and Lee Vinsel)
- Reimagining investing in frontier technology (Harvard Belfer Center, report by Ash Carter, et al.)
Labs and Facilities
- Hundreds of USDA jobs headed to KC after ‘united effort’ by Kansas and Missouri (Kansas City Star)
- Employees turn their back on agriculture secretary over being relocated to Kansas City (CNN)
- ASA maintains USDA’s upheaval of research arm not in the best interest of rural america, US food and agriculture (American Statistical Association)
- Demarteau to head ORNL Physics Division (Oak Ridge)
- Basic research needs for dark matter small projects (DOE, report)
- Letter on potential divestment from GPS/GNSS stations (NSF)
- Officials make last-ditch plea to US Supreme Court about MOX, plutonium (Aiken Standard)
- Atomic bomb factory could produce more than 1,000 jobs for SC. But how safe is it? (Charlotte Observer)
- Error led to DOE under-reporting of Portsmouth radiation contamination (Exchange Monitor)
- Building a better electron gun (Berkeley Lab)
- INL celebrates 70th anniversary (Idaho National Lab)
Energy
- Innovating a Green Real Deal (Science, perspective by Ernest Moniz)
- Oak Ridge and PPPL manage new DOE program designed to speed development of fusion energy with private-public partnerships (PPPL)
- The long-shot science that attracted Brad Pitt and Neil Woodford (Financial Times)
- The front end of the nuclear fuel cycle: Current issues (CRS, report)
- Parties anticipate legal fight over DOE high-level waste reinterpretation (Exchange Monitor)
Quantum Science and Technology
- £1 billion investment makes UK a frontrunner in quantum technologies (UK Government)
- When will quantum computers outperform regular computers? (Gizmodo)
- JPMorgan years away from seeing quantum-computing dividends (Wall Street Journal)
- Industry adopts quantum computing, qubit by qubit (Chemistry World)
- Yale science hits the stage with ‘Quantum Sound’ (Yale News)
Space
- Astrophysicists gear up for 2020 decadal survey (SpaceNews)
- Open letter responding to AAS statement on Artemis program (Lunar Exploration Analysis Group)
- Psyche mission clears review (SpaceNews)
- Spitzer Space Telescope to be switched off in January 2020 (NASA)
- NASA to adjust SOFIA operations to improve productivity (SpaceNews)
- NASA tries to commercialize the ISS, again (Space Review)
- International experiments selected to fly on Chinese space station (SpaceNews)
- German-Russian telescope to chart first map of the universe in high-energy X-rays (Nature)
- Light pollution from satellites will get worse. But how much? (Astronomy Magazine)
- Who speaks for the night sky? (Space Review, perspective by A.J. Mackenzie)
Weather, Climate, and Environment
- A software upgrade (after 40 years) aims to improve US weather forecasts (New York Times)
- Take that, Europe. Computer modeler aims to give US lead in weather predictions (ScienceInsider)
- COSMIC-2 weather data key to better forecasts, NOAA says (SpaceNews)
- Keep Landsat data free, panel urges Department of the Interior (ScienceInsider)
- EPA administrator targets ‘worst-case’ climate scenario (E&E News)
- EPA sought advice from Myron Ebell over its own experts (E&E News)
- Opportunities to reduce federal fiscal exposure to climate change (GAO, report)
- To fight climate change, we need more powerful supercomputers (New York Times, perspective by Sabine Hossenfelder)
- Michael Mann took climate change deniers to court. They apologized. (National Observer)
Defense
- General Dynamics CEO ‘alarmed’ by tech industry reaction to Pentagon (DefenseNews)
- Inside DARPA’s DARPA (NextGov, interview with Valerie Browning)
- How weapons secrets often fall into enemy hands (New York Times Magazine)
- Low-yield nukes lose partisan fight in House committee’s NDAA markup (DefenseNews)
- Compensation related to exposure to radiation from atomic weapons testing and uranium mining (CRS, report)
- The Navy is trying to figure out how to dispose of the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (Task and Purpose)
- DOD needs to assess risk and provide guidance on use of climate projections in installation master plans and facilities designs (GAO, report)
Biomedical
- Executive order on modernizing the regulatory framework for agricultural biotechnology products (White House)
- Draft bill reignites US debate over patenting human genes (Science)
- House votes to overturn Trump administration ban on fetal tissue research (STAT)
- More research labs are retiring monkeys when studies finish (AP)
- Inhumane or unavoidable? As Congress scrutinizes an increase in monkey research, scientists defend its necessity (STAT)
- Russian biologist plans for CRISPR-edited babies (Nature)
International Affairs
- Amid polarization, bipartisanship emerges on China, big tech (Wall Street Journal)
- US universities reconsider links with Chinese AI company (Financial Times)
- The new Moon race (Politico)
- China’s space program continues to grow, but will NASA ever work with them? (Houston Chronicle)
- India plans to launch own space station: space agency (Reuters)
- India to launch a defense-based space research agency (DefenseNews)
- US military intelligence steps up accusation against Russia over nuclear testing (Washington Post)
- X-ray telescope keeps Russia’s space science hopes alive (Science)
- UK’s quality-related funding, the invisible hand that supports quality research (Wonkhe)
- Science minister’s job ‘made difficult’ by Whitehall boundaries (*Research)
- The US is waging a quiet scientific war against Iran (Mint Press News, perspective by Ivan Kesic)
- Iran threatens to increase enriched uranium stockpile beyond limits set by nuclear deal in 10 days (Washington Post)
- Physicist Serkan Golge, on his release from prison in Turkey (Physics Today)