President Joe Biden signed legislation over the weekend that will keep federal agencies mostly funded at current levels until Nov. 17, averting a government shutdown by hours. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) ultimately set aside demands for spending cuts from a faction of his party and instead relied on votes from Democrats to pass the stopgap, provoking a challenge to his leadership of the chamber. The House may vote as early as this week on whether to retain McCarthy as speaker, potentially requiring him to seek support from Democrats given that he can only afford to lose a handful of Republican votes. In any event, some House Republicans are expected to continue pushing for steep spending cuts in the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, including by revising proposals that the House Appropriations Committee approved for some agencies this summer, such as the Department of Energy. The House is preparing to vote on that bill and is collecting amendments for consideration. The Senate is virtually certain to oppose such spending cuts, potentially setting up another showdown when the stopgap expires.

At a meeting on Wednesday, the government’s Nuclear Science Advisory Committee is scheduled to present its latest long-range plan, conveying priorities to the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation on behalf of the nuclear physics community. The committee’s previous long-range plan appeared in 2015 and some of its top priorities have now come to fruition, such as completing the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University and starting work on an electron-ion collider. Another priority, a “ton-scale” experiment to detect the hypothesized neutrinoless double beta decay process, has failed to get off the ground. However, DOE’s Nuclear Physics program has identified three such experiments it could pursue with international help and the new plan may offer guidance on which to support if sufficient funding becomes available. Aside from recommending major projects, the plan will also present an updated view of the top scientific questions in the field, which cover phenomena ranging from the fundamental forces acting within atomic nuclei to the evolution of matter in the universe.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan are scheduled to appear before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday to discuss the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act. The hearing comes on the heels of Raimondo’s appearance before the House Science Committee last month, where she discussed preparations to make the first major awards from the $50 billion the act appropriated to the department for semiconductor initiatives. NSF also received $200 million from the act for semiconductor research and workforce development efforts. Other topics that are apt to be discussed at the hearing include NSF’s progress establishing the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate, which the act formally authorized. The committee may also ask about provisions it championed that direct NSF to increase the “geographic diversity” of its funding, including by allocating a greater proportion to jurisdictions of the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which sets aside funds for states and territories that historically have received a small share of NSF funds.

The American Physical Society, American Association of Physics Teachers, and National Society of Black Physicists are hosting two webinars this week to discuss the effects of state-level legislation targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, programs, and policies. The Monday event will focus on legislation in Florida, particularly a new law called the “Stop WOKE Act” that prohibits workplace training and school instruction on race- or gender-based privilege or oppression. A session on Wednesday will discuss similar legislation across other states. (APS and AAPT are AIP Member Societies; NSBP is an AIP Affiliate.)

The State Department announced the appointment of Patricia Gruber last week as its science and technology adviser. Gruber was director of research at the Office of Naval Research from 2005 to 2008 and more recently served as technical director for ONR Global, a branch of the office that facilitates international scientific collaboration and provides technical support to the naval fleet. Gruber has also held leadership positions at Battelle and Penn State University’s Applied Research Laboratory, a DOD University Affiliated Research Center. A marine scientist, she holds a doctorate in applied marine physics from the University of Miami. The State Department created the adviser role in 2000 in response to a National Academies study and it has responsibility for anticipating science and technology trends that impact foreign policy and building STEM capacity within the department. Gruber is the first appointee to the role during the Biden administration. Career official Allison Schwier has been acting adviser for almost three years and is now serving as Gruber’s deputy.

On Sept. 28, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will nominate Aprille Joy Ericsson to be assistant secretary of defense for science and technology. The position oversees the Department of Defense’s early-stage R&D portfolio, including its laboratory system and basic research efforts. DOD created the role in a reorganization this past summer that replaced the three deputy chief technology officer positions it previously had with equivalent assistant secretary positions that now require Senate confirmation. Ericsson holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Howard University and has worked at NASA for three decades, currently as new business lead for the Instrument Systems and Technology Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center. The Biden administration’s previous appointee to the equivalent deputy CTO role was Barbara McQuiston, who has since become chair of the board of directors for the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA). Career official Steven Wax is currently serving as the assistant secretary on an interim basis.

Last week, the Department of Energy announced $264 million in funding for its Energy Earthshots initiative, which the Biden administration launched to focus R&D efforts on a series of clean energy technology challenges. Of the total, $195 million is for 11 new Energy Earthshot Research Centers across eight DOE national labs that will focus on areas such as offshore wind, clean hydrogen production, and soil carbon restoration. The rest is spread across 18 university-based research projects. The center awards are slated to last up to four years, pending the availability of appropriations, which may fall short. While the department allocated $100 million to the Earthshots initiative in fiscal year 2023 and requested $175 million for this fiscal year, proposals advanced in the House and Senate would provide considerably less.

The Commerce Department opened applications last week for direct subsidies to fund the construction or expansion of facilities for producing materials and manufacturing equipment vital to the semiconductor industry. The program is funded through the CHIPS and Science Act and will support projects costing up to $300 million. The solicitation follows one that opened earlier this year that is offering subsidies, loans, and loan guarantees for building or expanding semiconductor fabrication facilities. That solicitation has since been expanded to cover projects for facilities involving materials and manufacturing equipment that will cost more than $300 million. Separately last week, the department also announced that UCLA professor and former IBM engineer Subramanian Iyer is joining its CHIPS for America R&D Office to direct the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program.

The National Science Foundation announced four awards under its Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 program last week: $18 million for high-energy laser prototyping at the University of Rochester, $14 million for a prototype windstorm testing facility at Iowa State University, $11 million for a tectonic plate subduction observatory at the University of Washington, and $15 million for a cybersecurity testbed at the University of Southern California. The program has funded 24 projects since its creation in 2018, some of which aim to lay the groundwork for larger-scale projects. For example, the University of Rochester project will prototype technologies for the proposed OMEGA Extended Performance Optical Parametric Amplifier Line that would be built at the university’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics.

The Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will receive $5.5 million over five years from the National Science Foundation to establish a STEM education center at the site of the observatory’s iconic radio telescope, which catastrophically collapsed in 2020. The new Arecibo Center for Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Science Education, Computational Skills, and Community Engagement (Arecibo C3) is expected to open in early 2024. The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will lead development of the center.

Last week, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health announced that it has selected Dallas, Texas, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the sites for its first two regional hubs. These sites will serve as the anchors for ARPANET-H, a new network of “hub” and “spoke” institutions designed to promote health innovation. The Dallas hub will focus on “customer experience,” which entails diversifying clinical trials and promoting health equity and accessibility. Cambridge will be home to an “investor catalyst” hub, which will serve as a bridge between researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors to accelerate the commercialization of new discoveries. A third hub focused on stakeholder engagement and operations will be located in the Washington, DC, area and is expected to be announced later this year. ARPA–H also announced the network’s first “spokes,” which include research institutes and health centers in 10 states. ARPA–H intends for the network to eventually span all 50 states.

The Office of Management and Budget is proposing multiple changes to oversight and audit rules, commonly known as “uniform guidance,” for all kinds of federal grants. The draft changes, previewed on Sept. 21, aim to lower barriers to entry for federal financial support, reduce complexity, and lessen compliance requirements for grant recipients. OMB said in an online statement that the proposed changes would “help ensure that recipients have more time and resources to devote to delivering outcomes by eliminating obstacles to using funding for its intended purpose.” OMB referenced a 2016 Government Accountability Office study highlighting several ways federal agencies might reduce administrative burden on research grant recipients. Proposed changes include increasing the audit threshold for grant recipients from $750,000 to $1 million and reducing prior approval requirements for equipment purchases.

All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.

National Academies: Ocean Studies Board meeting
(continues Tuesday)

CSIS: “Allied Perspectives on Semiconductor Export Controls”
10:00 - 11:30 am

NRC: Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards meeting
(continues through Friday)

National Academies: Committee on Radio Frequencies fall meeting
(continues Wednesday)

National Academies: “Global Microelectronics Models for the Department of Defense in Semiconductor Public-Private Partnerships”
12:00 - 100 pm

National Academies: Ocean Decade U.S. meeting
1:00 - 4:30 pm

Virginia Tech: “From the Ground Up: A Soil Scientist Goes to Washington, D.C.,” lecture by Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
5:00 pm

National Academies: Army Science and Technology Roundtable, meeting two
(continues Thursday)

National Academies: “Engaging Black Men and Black Women in the Breadth of Engineering: A Workshop”
(continues Thursday)

National Academies: Space Technology Industry-Government-University Roundtable meeting
8:30 am - 2:30 pm

DOE/NSF: Nuclear Science Advisory Committee meeting
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

National Academies: “Wildfire Risk Reduction, Carbon Dioxide Removal, and Biochar: The Challenges of Scaling Up”
11:00 am - 2:30 pm

National Academies: “Transformative Science and Technology for the Department of Defense,” seminar one
1:00 - 3:00 pm

AEI: “Science and Social Trust: Politics, Religion, and the Crisis of Expertise”
1:30 - 4:30 pm

Senate: “CHIPS and Science Implementation and Oversight”
2:00 pm, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

ANS: “International Perspectives on the Role of Nuclear Energy in a Net-Zero Future”
2:00 - 3:00 pm

WRI: “Creating an Equitable Clean Energy Future: Engaging Local Communities in Project Planning and Development”
11:00 am - 12:15 pm

NASW: Science Writers 2023
(continues through Tuesday)

American Philosophical Society: “Women in Science: Opportunities”
9:00 am - 6:00 pm

National Academies: “Modernizing Probable Maximum Precipitation Estimation: Potential Contributions of AI and ML Assisted Techniques for Extreme Precipitation Modeling”
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

New America: “How to Maximize Federal Investments Toward Workforce Development in Emerging Technology Fields”
12:00 - 1:30 pm

PSW: Lecture by NIST Director Laurie Locascio
8:00 pm

Optica / APS: Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science
(continues through Thursday)

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

The National Academies is hiring a chief scientist for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Japan. The foundation conducts research “for the benefit of the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and for humanity.”

The National Nuclear Safety Administration is hiring a director for its Office of Experimental Sciences. The office oversees applied research and testing of materials used in nuclear weapons systems. Applications are due Oct. 16.

The National Science Foundation is hiring a director for its Office of Polar Programs. The office leads the U.S. Antarctic Research Program on behalf of the nation and is also a lead coordinator of federal research in the Arctic. Applications are due Oct. 25.

News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House: Remarks by President Biden before meeting with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
White House: Biden-Harris administration hosts first-ever White House Climate Resilience Summit and releases National Climate Resilience Framework
White House: Readout of White House event on advancing diversity and opportunity in higher education
White House: Enhancing the US-Pacific Islands partnership

Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL): Posey introduces the Stop Funding Our Adversaries’ Research Act
Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-NC): Jackson and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) Introduce bipartisan Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Standards Act
House Science Committee: Ranking Member Lofgren (D-CA) urges Appropriations Committee leaders to protect Railroad Valley as satellite calibration site
Computing Research Association: Current state of AI legislation and where research fits into it all

NSF: NSF awards $9.5 million to The Engine Accelerator to run the NSF Engines Builder Platform
NSF: NSF invests $19.6 million in emerging research institutions to grow their capacity to participate in regional innovation ecosystems
NSF: NSF launches pilot program to enhance the potential for success of startups
Wall Street Journal: The Nobel Prizes need a makeover (perspective by David Oshinsky)
Physics World: Nobel’s three-winner limit does not reflect modern science (perspective by Hannah Schmalstich)
New York Times: Evelyn Fox Keller, who turned a feminist lens on science, dies at 87
Science: Anthony Fauci on becoming the ‘devil’ and a warning for his successor (interview)

NSF: NSF invests $18.8 million in inaugural cohort of projects enabling experiential learning in key technologies
NSF: NSF launching initiative to increase engagement of persons with disabilities in STEM fields
Physics Today: When tenure fails
Physics Today: Race and ethnicity can affect how quickly a faculty member receives tenure
Nature: Universities ax diversity statements in wake of US Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action
Department of Education: Biden-Harris administration outlines strategies to increase diversity and opportunity in higher education
Physics Today: Astronomers push back on new IAU harassment policy
Nature: Boomerang academics: Why we left academia for industry, but then came back
Inside Higher Ed: No calculus? No problem for Caltech’s admissions
RAND: Designing and implementing micro-credentials to support STEM teaching: Lessons from a Louisiana project (report)

NSF: NSF partners with the Institute for Progress to test new mechanisms for funding research and innovation
NSF: NSF invests $26.7 million in building the first-ever prototype open knowledge network
COGR: Reference table of current and upcoming federal research security requirements
Physics Today: Global movement to reform researcher assessment gains traction
Wall Street Journal: Co-authors seek to retract paper claiming superconductor breakthrough
Physics World: Science will suffer if we fail to preserve academic integrity (perspective by Caitlin Duffy)
Wall Street Journal: How ‘preapproved narratives’ corrupt science (perspective by Allysia Finley)
The Atlantic: The banality of bad-faith science (perspective by Benjamin Mazer)
Nature: Replication games: How to make reproducibility research more systematic (perspective by Abel Brodeur, et al.)
Scholarly Kitchen: The American Chemical Society offers a new twist on the article processing charge (interview with Sarah Tegen)
Chronicle of Higher Education: Publishing decisions are increasingly aided by AI. That’s not always obvious
GAO: Small business research programs: Most agencies allow applicants to define needs and propose solutions (report)
GAO: Science and engineering statistics: Improved communication needed with stakeholders on data needs (report)

Space.com: Giant Magellan Telescope project casts seventh and final mirror
Cherenkov Telescope Array: The CTAO will double its staff as major infrastructure development begins In 2024
Nature: China’s powerful new telescope will search for exploding stars
Xinhua: China finishes building ‘shield’ for underground dark matter physics lab
DOE: Independent assessment of the fire protection program at the High Flux Isotope Reactor
Optics.org: UK’s Vulcan laser set for £85 million upgrade to 20-petawatt output
Chronicle of Higher Education: Colleges need to protect valuable collections from climate change. A new project aims to help

Nature: Science and the new age of AI
Nature: AI and science: What 1,600 researchers think
Stat: AI-driven data analysis is a reckoning for biomedical research (perspective by Jordan Dworkin)
Nature: AI tools as science policy advisers? The potential and the pitfalls (perspective by Chris Tyler, et al.)
Breaking Defense: ‘All systems need to be hardened': Officials, industry sound the alarm on quantum threat to encryption
MITRE: Post-Quantum Cryptography Coalition launches
The Hill: From semiconductors to quantum computing: What the US can learn from past oversight (perspective by Rob Hayes)

NASA: Psyche mission targeting Oct. 12 for launch
NASA: NASA selects four Small Explorer Mission concept studies
NASA: NASA New Horizons to continue exploring outer solar system
Washington Post: Smithsonian to get some of the asteroid sample that NASA brought back
NASA: NASA names Charity Weeden as new head of technology, policy, and strategy
SpaceNews: China to attempt lunar far side sample return in 2024
Reuters: Japan’s lunar startup ispace delays NASA-sponsored mission to 2026
Science: Rules are needed for human research in commercial spaceflight (perspective by Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, et al.)
NASA: NASA publishes beta flagship, science websites as improvements continue
Reuters: India’s ISRO changes social media and private partnership

USGS: USGS announces new leaders for five Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers
OSTP: Readout of the 2023 Annual Interagency Arctic Research Committee Principals meeting
EPA: New EPA strategy directs all EPA enforcement and compliance programs to help tackle the climate crisis

AP: US aims to create nuclear fusion facility within 10 years, DOE chief Granholm says
Wall Street Journal: Helion Energy and Nucor are teaming up to build a power plant at one of Nucor’s US steel mills
Politico: Ford halts construction on EV battery plant ripped by GOP over China ties

DefenseScoop: Navy charters Disruptive Capabilities Office
DOD: DOD and SBA roll out the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies (SBICCT) initiative
New York TImes: Russia may be planning to test a nuclear-powered missile
Reuters: US exploring potential Space Force hotline with China
GAO: Nuclear arms control: US may face challenges in verifying future treaty goals (report)
Inkstick: Manhattan Project scientists believed the way we get out alive is world government (perspective by John Emery and Anna Pluff)

New York Times: Nobel Prize awarded to mRNA COVID vaccine pioneers
HHS: Biden-Harris administration awards $600 million to bolster US manufacturing of COVID-19 tests and announces the re-opening of COVIDTests.gov
RAND: Syndromic surveillance 2.0: Emerging global surveillance strategies for infectious disease epidemics (report)
FDA: FDA proposes rule aimed at helping to ensure safety and effectiveness of laboratory developed tests
House Energy and Commerce Committee: Republicans signal intent to subpoena NIH officials
Stat: Exodus of life scientists from academia reaches historic levels, new data show
Physics Today: Alarm sounded over declining US radiation professional workforce

Science|Business: European universities brace for mountain of bureaucracy after NIH changes the rules
Research Professional: Half of EU R&D program grants set to use lump-sum funding
Physics World: Royal Society launches fellowships to support Black scientists
Research Professional: UK admits it has not tracked loss of leading researchers to EU
SNSF: Swiss National Science Foundation launches joint call for proposals with Ukrainian research funding agency
Physics World: Ukrainian scientists attempt to move forward following the ravages of war
Axios: US–India science ties deepen as both try to counter China