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What’s Ahead
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| Image credit – ARPA–E |
ARPA–E Hosts Annual Innovation Summit
The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is convening its annual summit this week in Denver. The agenda includes conversations with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Michael Bennett (D-CO) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) will make remarks by video. On Tuesday, the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank is holding a launch event for its American Energy Innovators Network, which aims to help emerging energy technology companies provide input into federal policymaking. A session on Wednesday will examine emerging government business models for advancing technology concepts into the market, with speakers from ARPA–E, the National Science Foundation’s new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate, the Department of Transportation, and the European Innovation Council. Following Granholm’s appearance at the summit on Wednesday, she will visit the nearby National Renewable Energy Lab to announce a new initiative that will encompass all 17 of DOE’s national labs.
Fusion Panel to Discuss Path Forward From White House Summit
At a meeting on Wednesday, the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) will discuss the recent White House summit on commercial fusion energy with Department of Energy official Scott Hsu. DOE announced during the summit that Hsu would steer a new department-wide initiative to accelerate development of the U.S. fusion energy industry in coordination with private partners, and the department is hosting a three-day workshop to discuss public-private partnership opportunities next week. Another item on FESAC’s meeting agenda is the launch of a study on international fusion facility collaborations. DOE currently is involved with a number of fusion facilities abroad, including the international ITER tokamak facility under construction in France as well as other tokamak facilities in Europe and Asia. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory recently announced it is restructuring its tokamak research programs, in part to better prepare for ITER operations, pilot plant design activities, and “growing collaborations on spherical tokamaks outside of PPPL.”
Planetary Science Decadal Survey Chairs to Testify
The House Science Committee is holding a hearing on Thursday to discuss the recently released National Academies decadal survey for planetary science and astrobiology. The witnesses will be the survey’s co-chairs, Arizona State University geological sciences professor Philip Christensen and Robin Canup, assistant vice president for the Planetary Science Directorate at the Southwest Research Institute. The survey prescribes future mission priorities, including flagship-scale missions to Uranus and Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. In addition, it is the first iteration of the exercise to offer detailed discussion of how to search for life in extraterrestrial environments, mitigate threats to Earth from asteroids, and integrate scientific research with crewed exploration. It also follows the recent decadal survey for astronomy and astrophysics in examining issues related to the vitality of the scientific community. The Science Committee held a hearing on that survey in December.
Spectrum Management Reform Bills Move Ahead
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is meeting Wednesday to advance the bipartisan Improving Spectrum Coordination Act, which aims to reform procedures for reallocating radiofrequency bands to new users. Pushing to open up spectrum for 5G telecommunications, the Federal Communications Commission has repeatedly clashed with other agencies, who argue certain spectrum reallocations will unacceptably interfere with uses such as weather satellite observations and the GPS system. The bill would require the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which represents federal spectrum users, to update their 2003 memorandum of understanding to embody certain principles. Among them are that NTIA expertise should be considered in reallocation actions and that frequencies not required for present or “identifiable future needs” of the federal government should be reallocated to other users “wherever possible.” The agencies have already pledged to update the memorandum as part of a broader bid to improve spectrum coordination, though the bill would require revisions quadrennially to address “changing technological, procedural, and policy circumstances.” Separately, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is meeting Tuesday to advance the Simplifying Management, Reallocation, and Transfer of Spectrum Act, which would recommend that NTIA receive a more than $100 million infusion to develop a framework for dynamically sharing spectrum between federal and non-federal users. (Update: The Improving Spectrum Coordination Act was removed from the meeting agenda.)
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In Case You Missed It
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| A still from a DOD video of an unidentified aerial object that appeared to be a flashing triangle. DOD states that an independent repeat observation of the phenomenon has provided high confidence it is actually an uncrewed aerial system that appears triangular when viewed through night-vision goggles and recorded by an SLR camera. (Image credit – DOD) |
DOD Promises Rigor in Analyzing ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’
At a House Intelligence Committee hearing last week on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), senior Defense Department officials outlined their efforts to systematize the reporting and analysis of encounters with objects exhibiting inexplicable aeronautical behaviors. “It is the department’s contention that by combining appropriately structured collected data with rigorous scientific analysis, any object that we encounter can likely be isolated, characterized, identified, and, if necessary, mitigated,” said Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Ronald Moultrie. He also noted that DOD is coordinating with a variety of agencies on the matter, including NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Energy’s national labs. Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray added that the military is consulting experts, including from outside the government, in fields such as physics, optics, metallurgy, and meteorology. Reiterating the findings of an intelligence community report on UAPs released last year, he reported, “If and when individual UAP incidents are resolved, they likely fall into one of five potential explanatory categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. government or U.S. industry developmental programs, foreign adversary systems, or a ‘other’ bin that allows for a holding bin of difficult cases and for the possibility of surprise and potential scientific discovery.”
US to Merge ‘Foundational’ and ‘Emerging’ Export Controls
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced last week it will not differentiate between “foundational” and “emerging” technologies in implementing a 2018 law that requires it to continually assess whether specific technologies in each category should be subject to export controls. Justifying the decision, BIS notes the law does not define the categories or offer guidance on how to differentiate them, nor does it require BIS to offer definitions or treat them differently. BIS states difficulties delineating the categories has “sometimes delayed the imposition of controls,” and accordingly it will now jointly call them “Section 1758 technologies,” a reference to the relevant section of the statute. BIS made the announcement within a draft rule that proposes placing unilateral export controls on four naturally occurring toxins that have become easier to synthesize. Since the law was passed, BIS has implemented new controls on 38 technology categories, all but one through multilateral regimes, but the agency is facing pressure from some lawmakers to take more expansive action. Notably, the Senate recently confirmed former Defense Department official Alan Estevez as head of BIS, and he is speaking at an event this Wednesday focused on how democracies are responding to “growing techno-authoritarianism.”
DOE Details Supply-Chain Constraints Facing Its Science Facilities
The Department of Energy Office of Science released a report this month that identifies systemic issues with its supply of materials and components for science instrumentation. The office stresses there are few vendors worldwide for components with no mass market, that U.S. firms often struggle to compete with foreign vendors benefitting from strategic subsidies, and that many supply chains “originate in or traverse China, Russia, and other high-risk countries.” It notes, for instance, that the two best suppliers of high-purity diamonds for X-ray diffraction instrumentation are in Russia and that DOE labs can no longer purchase from them due to “geopolitical issues.” It also observes that for specialized photonics components DOE relies on “mostly small struggling businesses,” and that in general the department is a small player within an optics market increasingly focused on China. The report is based on input gathered from five panels focused respectively on accelerator systems; detector systems; instrument and target systems; specialty materials, machining, and manufacturing; and crosscutting issues. Among the report’s recommended actions are for the office to aggressively fund in-house and external R&D on critical instrumentation, and it raises the prospect the office may need to assume direct responsibility over supply chains for certain critical components.
NASA Offered Strategies to Diversify Science Mission Leaders
The National Academies released a report last week that outlines strategies for increasing diversity and equity in the leadership of NASA’s competed science missions. The report finds that 16% of the 198 proposals submitted to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate between 2010 and 2019 had a woman listed as the principal investigator, and that 28% of the proposals selected to go forward were led by women. NASA did not provide comparable data on the racial and ethnic makeup of mission leaders. While PIs are generally senior researchers, the report recommends actions across all career stages to help diversify the pool of potential PIs over time. These include reducing barriers in the proposal submission and review process, expanding mentorship opportunities for aspiring PIs, and investing in talent-development programs at minority-serving institutions. It also proposes NASA improve collection of demographic data on proposal submissions; form a standing advisory committee focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and implement a “scorable evaluation criterion” for DEIA plans submitted by PIs in the mission proposal process.
House Advances Bill to Remove ARPA–H from NIH
The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced an amended version of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Health Act by a vote of 53 to 3 last week. After Congress provided $1 billion to launch ARPA–H in its appropriation for the current fiscal year, the Biden administration established the agency within the National Institutes of Health this spring while stipulating that its director report to the secretary of health and human services to give it a degree of independence from NIH. However, committee members maintain that ARPA–H should be completely separate from NIH to help it develop a distinct culture of innovation, and the bill would require ARPA–H to be made a standalone agency within 180 days of enactment. It also prescribes the agency’s appropriate scope. Bill sponsor and Health Subcommittee Chair Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said the legislation “creates a responsible ARPA–H with strict deliverables and clear lanes of authority to avoid duplication in our research programs.” Despite the broad support for the bill, the prospects for moving ARPA–H remain uncertain as the Senate’s version of the legislation would keep it within NIH.
House Moves to Expand Limits on China-Linked University Centers
The House Homeland Security Committee approved a bill last week that would restrict the Department of Homeland Security from providing R&D funds to U.S. universities that host Confucius Institutes, which are language and culture education centers sponsored by the Chinese government. Congress implemented a similar restriction for universities funded by the Department of Defense in 2018 and expanded it in 2021, leading many universities to shutter their institutes. As originally introduced, the new bill would have also prohibited DHS from funding R&D at universities that have contracts, agreements, or gifts from any university in China that is, among other criteria, “involved in the implementation of military-civil fusion, participates in the Chinese defense industrial base, [or] is affiliated with the Chinese State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for the National Defense.” However, that provision was removed by an amendment from Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and replaced with a requirement that U.S. universities with such relationships must disclose them to DHS.
Ukrainian President Seeks Support From US Universities
During an hour-long conversation with U.S. university presidents on May 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for support in rebuilding educational institutions in his country that have been damaged by Russia’s invasion. “We would be very grateful if we can do some twinning. And when we discuss reconstruction, this is not just about money, this is about expertise,” he said. Zelenskyy suggested the partnerships could involve technical support for both physical reconstruction and curriculum design, adding later that such work is key to ensuring displaced Ukrainians return. “It is of vital importance for us for the students, for the researchers to come back, because without education, without studentship, we will face a terrible stagnation.” He also argued that Russian students currently studying in the U.S. have an obligation to speak out against the war. “If they don’t speak up, they just take your knowledge,” he said, suggesting some might use the expertise gained in the U.S. to advance Russia’s war effort when they return home.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, May 23
Acoustical Society of America: 182nd meeting
(continues through Friday)
Tuesday, May 24
Wednesday, May 25
Thursday, May 26
Friday, May 27
Sunday May 29
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Opportunities Commerce Committee Chair Hiring Science and Space Staffer
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is hiring a staff member to handle a portfolio of science policy issues, including matters related to NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Applicants should have significant understanding of the space industry and scientific community, and ideal candidates will have legislative experience and ties to the Pacific Northwest. Applications should be submitted to senate_employment@saa.senate.gov by May 30.
International Chemistry Union Hiring Executive Director
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry is seeking an executive director to replace current director Lynn Soby, who is retiring at the end of the year. A federation of scientific organizations, IUPAC is the world authority on chemistry nomenclature, terminology, and measurement methods. Applicants should have an advanced degree in a scientific field and at least ten years relevant experience. Applications are due May 31.
APLU Hiring Director of Research Policy
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities is seeking a director of research policy, who will work on policy issues relevant to public research universities such as research security, innovation and competitiveness, and scientific workforce diversity. The director will also administer the Council on Research, a group of university research officers. Applicants should have a doctorate in a relevant field or equivalent experience and four years of science policy experience, preferably in a federal agency or congressional office. Applications are due June 3.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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