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What’s Ahead
Budget Hearings Resume as Congress Returns from Recess
The House and Senate are back in session for the next four weeks and have scheduled additional hearings to examine President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget request. Budget hearings for the science agencies this week, all of which will be webcast, include:
- NSF: The House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee will hear from National Science Foundation Director France Córdova on Wednesday. The administration has requested an 11 percent cut to NSF, distributed roughly evenly across the agency’s six research directorates.
- NASA: The House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee will hear from NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot on Thursday. The budget proposes a 1 percent cut to NASA Science, with cuts to several Earth Science missions and a boost to Planetary Science. Lightfoot will also testify on the budget before the House Science Committee on Thursday.
- NOAA/NIST: The Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee is hearing budget testimony from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Institute of Standards and Technology, both of which fall within the Commerce Department, are facing the prospect of 16 percent and 13 percent budget cuts, respectively.
- USGS: The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee will hear budget testimony on Thursday from Ryan Zinke, secretary of the Interior Department, home to the U.S. Geological Survey that faces a 15 percent cut.
National Academies Launching Study of US Fusion Research
On Monday and Tuesday, the National Academies will hold the first meeting of a new two-year study on the present and future of U.S. burning plasma research and its importance to fusion energy development. The study, which is funded by the Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences program, comes as the fusion research community grapples with challenges that some view as a crisis. The study committee, co-chaired by physicists Michael Mauel and Melvyn Shochet, will ultimately produce a final report that is intended to inform a multi-decade strategic plan for a national program of burning plasma research. The report will consider scenarios in which the U.S. is and is not a partner in the France-based ITER magnetic confinement fusion project.
Forum Aims To Further US–Japan Science Cooperation
The 22nd annual Science in Japan forum will be held at the Cosmos Club in Washington on Friday, with a focus on ground-based astronomy. Former National Science Foundation Director Rita Colwell, current NSF Director France A. Córdova, and Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-TX), who is co-founder and co-chair of the US–Japan Congressional Caucus, are all providing opening remarks. The director of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, David Silva, and the director general of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Masahiko Hayashi, will also speak. The agenda is available here, and registration is open here.
High Energy Physics Advisory Panel To Meet
On Monday and Tuesday, the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel, which serves the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, will meet in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Jim Siegrist, who heads the DOE Office of High Energy Physics, will present his first budget update since the Trump budget proposed to cut the office’s budget by 18 percent. NSF Physics Division Director Denise Caldwell will offer an update on the agency’s Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, which the Trump budget would cut by 10 percent. Other presentations on the agenda include reviews of particle accelerator R&D and a report on the recent Dark Matter Cosmic Visions Workshop.
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In Case You Missed It
Scientific Community Responds to US Withdrawal from Paris Agreement
President Trump announced in a White House speech on June 1 that he will cease federal implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and begin withdrawing the U.S. from the international pact. The process could take up to four years if the letter of the law is followed. The president’s decision is prompting widespread consternation in national and international communities, including in the U.S. scientific community. American Meteorological Society Executive Director Keith Seitter responded in a statement that,
Zacharia Selected as Oak Ridge National Lab Director
On May 31, Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced that Thomas Zacharia has been chosen to succeed Thom Mason as director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Zacharia, who holds a Ph.D. in engineering science, is currently the deputy director for science and technology at the laboratory. He first joined Oak Ridge in 1987 as a postdoctoral researcher and from 2001 to 2009 was the lab’s first associate director for its Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate. From 2012 to 2015, he took a leave of absence to serve as executive vice president of research and development for the Qatar Foundation. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) welcomed the selection, saying in a statement that Zacharia “has already helped steer the lab to excellence in supercomputing, science and energy research, and advanced manufacturing.” Zacharia’s appointment is effective July 1.
Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Talks Budget
On June 2, the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, which advises both the Department of Energy Office of Science and National Science Foundation, heard from agency leaders about the impact of the president’s proposed budget on their nuclear physics programs. Timothy Hallman, associate director for nuclear physics at DOE, said working under the parameters set by the budget generates no scenario that could avoid a significant impact. Hallman listed the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider Spin project and the Large Hadron Collider Heavy Ion program as areas targeted for the cuts. Acting assistant director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Jim Ulvestad said certain vacancies at NSF will continue indefinitely. Ulvestad emphasized that there will need to be a “clear articulation of priorities” in deciding where to make the cuts. Presentations from the meeting are posted here.
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Events This Week
American Astronomical Society: 230th Meeting (continues through Thursday)
JW Marriott Austin (Austin, TX)
Selected policy events:
—National Science Foundation Town Hall, 12:45 - 1:45 pm CDT, Mon.;
—New AAS Governance Model Town Hall, 12:45 - 1:45 pm CDT, Tue.;
—NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program Update, 2:00 - 3:30 pm CDT, Tue.;
—Laboratory Astrophysics Division Town Hall, 6:30 - 7:30 pm CDT, Tue.;
—NASA Town Hall, 12:45 - 1:45 pm CDT, Wed.
House: NSF FY18 budget hearing
10:30 am, Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee
(2359 Rayburn Office Building)
House: NASA FY18 budget hearing
2:00 pm, Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee
(2359 Rayburn Office Building)
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Opportunities NAS Board on Physics and Astronomy Hiring Program Officer
The National Academies Board on Physics and Astronomy is seeking to hire a program officer to collaborate with senior staff and manage several of the board’s projects. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in physics, astronomy, or related field, and apply by June 13.
AMS Seeks Input for Climate Change Statement Update
The American Meteorological Society is updating its “Information Statement on Climate Change” to reflect the advances in understanding and modeling of climate variability and change since the last statement was issued in 2012. To be considered for the drafting committee, send your name and contact information with a brief description of your background to the AMS Council at drafting_committee@ametsoc.org. More information is available here.
DOE Requesting Information on Reducing Regulatory Burden
The Department of Energy is seeking information to assist in identifying regulatory obligations that can be modified or repealed to achieve meaningful burden reduction while maintaining the department’s statutory obligations. The request for information is part of the implementation of President Trump’s executive order on “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” issued on Jan. 30. Interested parties should submit information by July 14.
NSF Seeking Feedback on Grants and Awards Proposal Guide
The National Science Foundation is accepting public comment on the latest update to its Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, a draft of which is available here. The primary purpose of the revision is to incorporate a number of recent policy-related changes. Comments are due by July 24.
Know of an upcoming science policy opportunity? Email us at fyi@aip.org.Know of an upcoming science policy event? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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