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What’s Ahead
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| Asmeret Asefaw Berhe speaks at a 2019 conference about her research on how carbon sequestration in soil is a tool for mitigating climate change. (Image credit – Bret Hartman / TED) |
DOE R&D Leadership Falling Into Place
The Senate is poised to vote this week on the nomination of University of California, Merced soil scientist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. It has been over a year since she was nominated and such long confirmation delays typically owe to procedural blockades. The sources of such blockades are often not made public, and they are not necessarily directly related to the nominee. However, Berhe’s nomination was strongly opposed by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY), who argued her background is not appropriate for the office, which has a portfolio weighted heavily toward the physical sciences and stewardship of large-scale science facilities. Berhe does, though, have the support of all the committee’s Democrats as well as some Republicans and she is likely to be confirmed without further difficulty. Last week, the Senate confirmed nuclear engineer Katy Huff to lead the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy on a vote of 80 to 11. The Energy Committee also voted 10 to 10 along party lines last week on the nomination of Massachusetts state representative and clean energy policy expert Maria Robinson to lead the DOE Office of Electricity. Explaining his opposition, Barrasso argued she is too eager to abandon fossil fuels and insufficiently concerned about the affordability of electricity. Robinson is likely to be confirmed, given that Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) supports her, but the tie vote means the full Senate must first vote to discharge her nomination from the committee.
PCAST to Probe Semiconductor Strategy
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology is holding a two-hour public meeting on Thursday to discuss “challenges and opportunities for U.S. leadership in semiconductors.” Among the speakers are Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger and Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer, who have been leaders in the industry’s campaign to convince Congress to appropriate tens of billions of dollars for domestic semiconductor manufacturing incentives and R&D initiatives. Also speaking are Aart de Geus, co-CEO of Synopsys, an electronic design automation company focused on chip design; Rodrigo Liang, CEO of SambaNova Systems, a startup that develops AI tools for hardware applications; and Stanford University electrical engineer Priyanka Raina, who designs energy-efficient circuits for a variety of applications. PCAST last publicly weighed in on U.S. semiconductor strategy at the end of the Obama administration, issuing a report that stressed the challenge presented by burgeoning competition from China and proposed the government set a series of “moonshot” innovation goals to help focus activities in academia, industry, and government labs. Recently, attention to semiconductors has been driven by concerns about the concentration and fragility of global supply chains.
Science Agency Budget Hearings Continue
With the fiscal year 2023 budget cycle now in full swing, the House Appropriations Committee is holding hearings on the budget requests for several science agencies this week. National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan will testify before the committee on Wednesday, fresh off his appearance before Senate appropriators last week. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geri Richmond and acting Under Secretary for Infrastructure Kathleen Hogan will testify at a hearing on Thursday, while DOE Under Secretary for Nuclear Security Jill Hruby will testify on Wednesday. In addition, the committee will consider the budget request for the National Institutes of Health at a hearing on Wednesday, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will appear before the committee on Thursday. The House Armed Services Committee is also holding a hearing on Thursday to review the Defense Department’s science and technology budget request, which will feature Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and senior research officials from the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Earth, Weather, and Fire Science Bills Advancing
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is meeting on Wednesday to consider the Volcanic Ash and Fumes Act and the PRECIP Act alongside seven other bills. The Volcanic Ash and Fumes Act aims to improve the U.S. Geological Survey’s volcano monitoring system by integrating capabilities of centers operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that observe and model emissions of volcanic gases and ash. The PRECIP Act would direct NOAA to better incorporate “assumptions of non-stationarity” into precipitation models and improve its reporting of estimates for precipitation frequency and probable maximum precipitation. The House is scheduled to vote this week on an amended version of the PRECIP Act that was advanced by the House Science Committee in November. Other bills up for a floor vote in the House include the NOAA Weather Radio Modernization Act and the Empowering U.S. Fire Administration Act.
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In Case You Missed It
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| National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 3. (Image credit – Bill Ingalls / NASA) |
NSF Revs Up Regional Innovation Engines Program
On May 3, the National Science Foundation launched a Regional Innovation Engines program that aims to catalyze cross-sector partnerships in areas of the U.S. that are not already leading R&D hubs. NSF states it is particularly interested in regions where “prospective [innovation] ecosystem members exist, but where innovation activities are only loosely connected,” and that each Engine “can range from a metropolitan area (including its adjacent rural regions) to an area spanning parts of several states.” The program will provide up to $160 million over ten years to each Engine, which can be led by institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, or for-profit entities. Distinguishing the program from NSF’s existing activities, the agency observes the Engine award budgets will be about ten times larger than typical NSF center awards and will have a stronger emphasis on “meaningfully engaging the consumers of research outcomes in informing and shaping the research questions; prototyping and piloting of research-based solutions (i.e., co-design and co-creation); and translating research results to practice, entrepreneurship, and direct economic growth.” The program is a marquee effort of NSF’s new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships and is designed to complement efforts spearheaded by the Commerce Department, which has already created a $1 billion regional industry cluster program using pandemic recovery funds and selected 60 finalists. NSF is holding a series of webinars in the coming weeks to introduce the Engines program, including a “roadshow” of five webinars dedicated to specific groups of states.
Panchanathan Presses Case for New Programs to Appropriators
National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan testified before Senate appropriators last week at a hearing on the Biden administration’s proposal to increase NSF’s budget by nearly 20% to $10.5 billion for fiscal year 2023. Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) noted in her opening statement that the 4% increase Congress provided the agency for fiscal year 2022 represents the “largest increase to NSF in more than a decade” and described the latest proposal as “an increase that can be put to good use.” Shaheen asked how NSF plans to broaden the geographic distribution of its grant awards, noting she supports a provision in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act that would require NSF to allocate at least 20% of its budget to the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which sets aside funds for states that have historically received a small share of agency funds. Panchanathan described the 20% figure as an “aspirational goal” that could eventually be exceeded through a combination of initiatives, including a proposed program called GRANTED that would provide research-administration support to minority-serving institutions.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) used his questions to probe NSF’s vision for the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP), inquiring whether TIP might “undermine” the agency’s mission in basic research and asking how it will avoid duplicating private-sector research. He later clarified that his questioning was “not intended to be critical, but to garner an understanding of how we can more rapidly advance the outcomes that we need, economically and in national security in a time in which an adversary has seemingly unlimited public funds.” In response, Panchanathan highlighted his emphasis on building partnerships through the Regional Innovation Engines program and NSF’s AI institutes program, the latter of which he noted has attracted co-funding from companies such as Amazon, Google, and Intel.
Lead NASA Appropriator Spotlights Science Budget Needs
At the same hearing, Subcommittee Chair Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) expressed dissatisfaction with the requested budget for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “In particular, I’m concerned with the proposed cuts to NASA Heliophysics and an overall lack of resources to address recent decadal surveys in astrophysics and planetary science at both agencies,” she said. Shaheen noted she has a parochial interest in heliophysics, given the University of New Hampshire’s stake in the field, but also cited the broader practical benefits of better understanding space weather. In reply, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson pointed to factors such as the ramp down in the funding needs of the HERMES space weather instrument, but also noted that some science funding decisions were made to accommodate the “arbitrary amounts that are handed to us.” At other points in the hearing, Nelson flagged issues of concern to NASA such as its interest in intensifying work on nuclear propulsion and power generation, Russia’s commitment to operating the International Space Station despite its actions in Ukraine, and the lack of transparency in China’s space program. On China, Nelson said he had suggested to China’s ambassador that the country could begin to ease relations by sharing samples it has gathered from the surface of the Moon. He also turned some heads within the space policy community by decrying cost-plus contracts as a “plague” on the agency and advocating for further expanding the use of fixed-cost contracts.
Senate Stakes Out Priorities for COMPETES Act Conference
The Senate voted on a series of non-binding motions last week that staked out priorities for the conference committee that will negotiate a compromise between the House’s America COMPETES Act of 2022 and the Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) offered a successful motion that seeks new research security oversight for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, citing concerns the Chinese government has exploited companies that win large numbers of SBIR awards. The program expires at the end of this fiscal year and the COMPETES Act proposes extending it without updating its policies. The Senate also adopted a motion by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) that advocates for a “counterintelligence review” process for recipients of federal research funds. However, the Senate previously rejected a similar proposal by Rubio and the idea is likely to face opposition in the House, which has taken a less-sweeping approach to research security policy. Among the other motions adopted are ones seeking to strengthen the R&D tax credit and support work at the Department of Energy national labs. The Senate rejected two motions by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that respectively sought to oppose NASA funding a second crewed lunar lander and to give the government an equity stake in semiconductor companies that accept subsidies provided through the legislation. President Biden is pressing Congress to quickly reach a compromise, speaking at length about the case for the bill at an event last week in Ohio that highlighted Intel’s plans to expand semiconductor manufacturing in the state.
Biden Sets Quantum Encryption Goals, Tweaks Advisory Panel
President Biden issued two directives last week focused on quantum science and technology. The first updates the charter of the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee, established in 2020 pursuant to the National Quantum Initiative Act, stipulating that committee members be appointed by the president rather than the energy secretary and raising their maximum number from 22 to 26. During a press call on the policy, the White House indicated it plans to announce new members of the committee in the coming weeks. The second directive addresses national security risks associated with quantum computing, particularly its potential to break current encryption methods. It directs agencies to develop a “coherent national strategy for QIS promotion and technology protection” and sets the goal of “mitigating as much of the quantum risk as is feasible by 2035.” The directive notes the National Institute of Standards and Technology is currently developing quantum-resistant cryptographic standards and states the first ones are expected to be released publicly in 2024. Separately, the White House hosted a roundtable last week on international cooperation in quantum science and technology, which brought together representatives from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Two NSB Members Reappointed, Six Conclude Terms
The White House announced last week that President Biden is reappointing University of the District of Columbia Vice President for Research and Graduate Programs Victor McCrary and physicist and former Sandia National Laboratories executive Julia Phillips to the National Science Board, a 25-member body that oversees the National Science Foundation. NSB members are appointed for six-year terms that can be renewed once. McCrary and Phillips both joined the board in 2016, and McCrary has served as its vice chair since 2020. Six members concluded their terms at the board’s meeting last week, including its chair, former astronaut Ellen Ochoa. Other members rotating off are photon scientist Arthur Bienenstock, University of Florida President Kent Fuchs, chemist Carl Lineberger, environmental scientist Emilio Moran, and astronomer Anneila Sargent. The board held elections to determine its new leaders during a closed session last week but has not yet announced the result.
Another Grant Fraud Charge Thrown Out in Court
At the trial of Southern Illinois University mathematician Mingqing Xiao last week, the judge threw out two charges that Xiao committed fraud by failing to report funding from China on a grant application to the National Science Foundation. Jurors quickly acquitted Xiao on a related charge of making false statements but did find him guilty of failing to report a Chinese bank account to the IRS. Department of Justice prosecutors have made failures to disclose funding into a central plank of their prosecutions of academic researchers whom they allege are exploiting U.S. science institutions, but they have had difficulty securing guilty verdicts. A judge acquitted University of Tennessee nanotechnologist Anming Hu of similar fraud charges last year, and, while a jury recently convicted University of Kansas chemist Franklin Tao on half the fraud charges leveled against him, the trial judge expressed concerns about the case and is reviewing it. In January, prosecutors dropped all charges of fraud and other crimes against MIT engineering professor Gang Chen when their case fell apart, and days later another prosecutorial team dropped fraud charges against University of Arkansas engineering professor Simon Ang in exchange for him pleading guilty of lying to investigators. In December, Harvard University chemist Charles Lieber was found guilty of lying to investigators about participating in a Chinese talent recruitment program, but he was not accused of fraud. DOJ announced in February it is changing its prosecutorial strategy involving funding nondisclosure but would continue pursuing cases already in progress.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, May 9
Tuesday, May 10
Wednesday, May 11
Thursday, May 12
Friday, May 13
Monday, May 16
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Opportunities NSF Seeking Advisory Committee Members
The National Science Foundation is seeking nominations for 15 of its advisory committees. There is a committee for each of NSF’s research and education directorates as well as committees dedicated to astronomy, STEM education, broadening participation in STEM, and agency operations. Committees generally meet twice per year and term lengths vary by committee. Nominations will be accepted on a rolling basis.
APS Hiring for DEI Roles
The American Physical Society is hiring for three positions focused on diversifying the physics workforce, including a head of STEM equity and inclusion who will oversee activities such as the APS Bridge Program and the National Mentoring Community. Candidates should have 10 years of related experience and hold a graduate degree in a STEM field. The society is also hiring a program manager for equity, diversity, and inclusion and a diversity program lead. The program manager position requires a bachelor’s degree and four years of work experience, while the program lead requires a master’s degree and eight years of experience.
Science|Business Hiring Editor and Reporters
Science|Business, a Brussels-based media company focused on European R&D policy, is hiring an executive editor and two reporters, one focused on strategic industries across Europe and the other on central and eastern Europe. Candidates for the executive editor position should have at least seven years of professional journalism experience covering areas including science and technology, R&D policy, or European Union affairs. The reporter positions require one to three years of journalism experience and relevant topical knowledge. Applications are due May 31 for the reporter positions and June 30 for the editor position.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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