| |
What’s Ahead
 |
| Cicadas from Brood X gather on a tree near the U.S. Capitol. (Image credit – Architect of the Capitol) |
Senate Poised to Pass Endless Frontier Legislation
The Senate is expected to pass the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act as soon as Tuesday after considering a final set of amendments. The legislation includes the Endless Frontier Act proposal to focus R&D funding on ten strategic technology areas as well as a provision allocating $52 billion in “emergency” appropriations for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and R&D. Once the Senate approves the legislation, attention will turn to the House, where Democratic leaders have not yet announced their stance on the bill and the top Republicans on all House committees have called for the House to develop its own competitiveness package through a full legislative process. House Republicans have also pointed to the report published by their China Task Force last year as a repository of ideas that should be considered for inclusion. The House Science Committee has already done extensive bipartisan work on alternative R&D policy proposals, advancing bills for the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. In addition, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee has also introduced an analogue to Senate provisions setting out U.S. foreign policy with respect to China.
Science Committee Spotlights Regional Innovation, ‘OceanShots’
The House Science Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday to discuss methods for “building regional innovation economies.” The witnesses are Dan Berglund, CEO of the State Science and Technology Institute; Paula Nas, director of the Office of Economic Development at the University of Michigan-Flint; and Erica Fuchs, a professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Engineering and Public Policy and an expert on advanced manufacturing. The hearing comes as Congress is considering major proposals to build R&D capacity in regions that are not already leading centers of innovation, such as the Endless Frontier Act’s provision creating a Commerce Department program that would aim to seed at least 20 “regional technology hubs.” Separately, a hearing on Monday is exploring options for a national “OceanShot,” meaning a “bold, ambitious vision for advancing ocean science and technology to address major challenges such as climate change.” A National Academies panel has begun to solicit ideas for OceanShots in support of the U.N. Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The panel launched in February and is currently co-chaired by President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rick Spinrad. NOAA’s acting chief scientist Craig McLean is testifying at this week’s hearing alongside three leading oceanographers.
NIST to Brief Advisory Panel on Reactor Incident, Diversity Efforts
On Tuesday, the main advisory committee for the National Institute of Standards and Technology is holding its first meeting since a radiation release occurred at the NIST Center for Neutron Research in February. Center Director Robert Dimeo will provide an update on the incident, which NIST has stated likely resulted from a failure to secure a fuel element in the center’s nuclear reactor, which generates neutron beams for neutron-scattering research. The center is one of three national neutron-scattering user facilities and remains shut down pending the development of a corrective action plan that NIST is expecting to complete by Sept. 1. NIST officials will also brief the committee on the agency’s ongoing efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which will include a discussion with NIST’s new DEI Director Sesha Joi Moon, who joined the agency in May from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Other subjects on the agenda include proposals to expand NIST’s Manufacturing Extension Program and the Manufacturing USA institute network, standards development for emerging technologies, and new National Academies reviews of NIST’s Engineering Laboratory and Material Measurement Laboratory.
Astronomers Gather for AAS Meeting
The American Astronomical Society’s annual summer meeting runs through Wednesday this week. The town hall sessions will include an update from AAS on efforts to mitigate interference from emerging satellite constellations, such as the upcoming SATCON 2 workshop. Representatives from NASA and the National Science Foundation will also provide program updates through town halls and a session on NASA’s new Scientific Information Policy. Among the plenary sessions, on Monday Rowan University physicist Tabbetha Dobbins is presenting on the AIP TEAM-UP report, which identified strategies for increasing the participation of African Americans in physics and astronomy. The scientific program includes a session on Tuesday on the “legacy and future” of the Arecibo radio telescope, which collapsed unexpectedly last year and is now being dismantled. An NSF workshop is also underway this month to develop ideas for future uses of the Arecibo site.
Top US Officials Discussing Role of R&D Alliances
A series of events this week will explore the U.S. approach to developing international R&D partnerships. On Wednesday, a National Academies committee examining the R&D needs of the intelligence community is holding a virtual workshop on U.S. collaboration with allied nations. Speakers include the chief scientist of NATO, the head of the Office of Naval Research’s international arm, the director of the Pentagon’s arm for international outreach on R&D, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s lead for national security issues, Jason Matheny. The next day, Matheny is participating in a webinar on cooperation in artificial intelligence R&D among the “Quad” countries: India, Japan, Australia, and the U.S. The event will include officials from each country and a member of the National Security Commission on AI, which submitted its final report to Congress in March. Next month, the commission is convening a Global Emerging Technology Summit to discuss a section of its report that calls for creating an “international rules-based order” that upholds democratic values in technology development. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is a keynote speaker for the event.
Droegemeier Reflecting on Tenure as OSTP Director
The Center for Innovation Policy at the Duke University School of Law is hosting a discussion with former White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier on Wednesday. Droegemeier served in the role for the last two years of the Trump administration, shaping efforts to promote emerging technologies, develop new disclosure policies for scientists, and uphold “American values” within the research enterprise. At the same time, he often sidestepped the administration’s controversy-laden record on matters such as climate change and scientific integrity. This week’s discussion will both look back at OSTP’s activities under Droegemeier’s tenure as well as ahead to the office’s future under the Biden administration.
|
|
In Case You Missed It
 |
| Image credit – The White House |
OSTP Director Lander Stresses Science’s Social Obligations
Vice President Kamala Harris swore in Eric Lander as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on June 2, allowing him to take up his role as a Cabinet member and the face of science policy in the Biden administration. Later that day, Lander released a message emphasizing the opportunities and challenges the U.S. faces in the realm of science and technology. He wrote, “To succeed, America will need to draw on all of its assets — chief among them, our unrivaled diversity. After all, scientific progress is about someone seeing questions or answers that no one has seen before — because they bring a different lens, different experiences, different questions, different passions. Yet, science and technology have too often been unwelcoming or inaccessible to many Americans, due to their gender, race, resources, or geography. We must ensure that all Americans can participate fully, including having a voice in shaping our nation’s priorities. And we must ensure that all Americans share equally in the benefits of science and technology.”
In a separate message, Lander discussed the book he used in the ceremony, a 500-year-old fragment of the first printed edition of the Jewish Mishnah that includes the Pirkei Avot, a text containing the aphorism: “It is not required that you complete the work, but neither may you refrain from it.” Applying the imperative to the ethical concept of Tikkun Olam, or “repairing the world,” Lander wrote, “At OSTP, our mission will be to maximize the benefits of science and technology to advance health, prosperity, security, environmental quality, and justice for all Americans. It is no small task. Importantly, we must continue to repair the world even knowing that we will never perfect it.”
NASA Picks Two Venus Missions, Ending 30-Year Gap
Last week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced during his first State of NASA address that the agency has selected two missions to Venus as its next Discovery-class planetary science projects: DAVINCI+, which will measure the composition of Venus’s atmosphere and includes a descent probe, and VERITAS, which will map the planet’s surface to study its geologic history. In addition to their main scientific payloads, DAVINCI+ will carry an experimental high-resolution spectrometer and VERITAS a new kind of atomic clock as technology demonstrations. Both missions will aim to launch in the late 2020s with each expected to cost about $500 million to develop. NASA has not undertaken a mission to Venus since its Magellan orbiter, which operated from 1989 to 1994, and researchers focused on the planet have been repeatedly disappointed as NASA selected other destinations in various mission selection competitions. DAVINCI+ and VERITAS were chosen from among four finalists, which also included missions to Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io and Neptune’s icy moon Triton. In its last Discovery-class competition in 2017, NASA selected asteroid missions Lucy and Psyche, which are respectively scheduled for launch in 2021 and 2022.
NASA Considering Case for Renaming Webb Telescope
At a meeting last week, NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz provided an update on the agency’s pending response to calls to rename the James Webb Space Telescope. A group of scientists has pointed to historical evidence suggesting James Webb, who led NASA from 1961 to 1968, advanced or was complicit with the firing of federal employees as part of the government persecution of LGBTQ individuals now known as the Lavender Scare. A petition to rename the telescope has since gained more than 700 signatures. Hertz noted that NASA is working with historians to examine Webb’s career as a federal official and explained the original decision to name the telescope after Webb was in recognition of his contributions to the success of the Apollo lunar program and NASA’s science programs. Hertz declined to comment on NASA’s timeline for deciding whether to rename the telescope but noted it would be an agency-level decision. The telescope is expected to launch this fall.
Implementation of Technology Export Control Law Draws Scrutiny
The congressionally chartered U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission published a staff report last week that argues the Commerce Department has failed to adequately advance export controls on “emerging and foundational technologies” as required by a 2018 law. The report states the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security has to date only advanced a limited set of controls on emerging technologies and notes that for foundational technologies the only public action it has taken is to solicit input on how to define them. The report arrives as some Republican lawmakers have pressured the bureau to do more to implement the law. President Biden has yet to nominate a director for the bureau, and observers are anticipating his selection will be a bellwether of how aggressively his administration will employ export controls.
|
|
Events This Week Monday, June 7
American Astronomical Society: 238th meeting
(continues through Wednesday)
Tuesday, June 8
Acoustical Society of America: 180th meeting
(continues through Thursday)
Wednesday, June 9
Thursday, June 10
Friday, June 11
Saturday, June 12
Monday, June 14
American Nuclear Society: Annual meeting
(continues through Wednesday)
|
|
Opportunities USGEO Seeking Input on Commercial Earth Observations
The U.S. Group on Earth Observations is seeking public input on “best practices for federal government procurement of commercial Earth observation and geospatial data and services.” USGEO is preparing a report on the subject pursuant to the 2019 National Plan for Civil Earth Observations. Written comments are due June 30, and USGEO is also holding public forums to inform the report on June 9, 16, and 23.
CSET Seeking Policy Communications Analyst
The Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University is hiring a policy communications analyst to “help advance our written and visual products by advising researchers on report clarity, narrative flow, cogency, presentation effectiveness and parsimony.” Additional responsibilities include co-authoring policy memos and op-eds with researchers and tailoring other written products for various audiences including legislators and other government officials. Applicants should have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field. Applications are due June 14.
AAAS Seeking Science and Human Right Scholars
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is accepting applications for its SciTech and Human Rights FutureGen Scholars program, which supports undergraduate and graduate students who have a “plan of action for addressing the intersection of SciTech and Human Rights on their campus or in their community during the 2021-2022 academic year.” Up to three selected scholars will work with a volunteer mentor and receive a $5,000 stipend to support their project. Applications are due June 16.
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
Endless Frontier Act
Congress
Science, Society, and the Economy
Education and Workforce
Research Management
Labs and Facilities
Emerging Technologies
Space
Weather, Climate, and Environment
Energy
Defense
Biomedical
International Affairs
|
|
|
| |
| |
|