The Week of September 11, 2023

What’s Ahead

Christina Koch Space Station 2023.jpg — Astronaut Christina Koch handles equipment for the Cold Atom Lab on the International Space Station, an experiment funded by NASA’s Biological and Physical Sciences Division.

(NASA)

Decadal Survey for Spaceborne Research Set for Release

On Tuesday, the National Academies is releasing its latest decadal survey for biological and physical sciences research conducted in spaceflight environments. The report will provide a budget-constrained roadmap for NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences, outlining key scientific questions and research priorities for the next 10 years and beyond. With less than $100 million in annual funding, BPS is by far the smallest science division at NASA and is going through major organizational changes. NASA transferred the division from its human spaceflight program to the Science Mission Directorate in 2020 and has focused it on high-priority research related to quantum physics and human exploration of deep space.

NASA charged the survey committee with steering further changes, including by recommending possible “proof-of-concept research campaigns” that would involve a sustained, multi-pronged effort. The survey is also expected to weigh in on how NASA should transition the division’s activities away from the International Space Station, which the agency plans to retire after the end of this decade, and toward future platforms, which may be run by commercial entities. In addition, the survey may consider work that can be done as part of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration campaign and through potential interagency and international partnerships. Decadal survey co-chairs Robert Ferl and Krystyn Van Vliet will present key findings and recommendations at a press event on Tuesday morning.

Granholm to Face House Science Committee

With the House resuming work this week, on Thursday the Science Committee will welcome Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for its first hearing of the fall, dedicated to the Department of Energy’s science and technology priorities. Committee Republicans have broadly criticized DOE’s latest budget request, arguing it overemphasizes applied energy R&D at the expense of the Office of Science, especially given that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are already providing a windfall for clean energy technology. The hearing charter states that committee members are also concerned that priorities such as expanding DOE’s quantum science and technology efforts will not advance as budget toplines fall short of targets set in the CHIPS and Science Act. In addition, the committee has scrutinized DOE’s expenditure of the billions of dollars provided through the IIJA and IRA, particularly following the department’s announcement of a $200 million grant to a battery manufacturing company that Republicans deemed vulnerable to exploitation by the Chinese government. DOE ultimately withdrew the grant, but Science Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) expressed concern that the episode hinted at broader issues with the department’s vetting of awardees.

Congress Accelerates Work on AI

Numerous events dedicated to AI are happening in Congress this week, including the first in a series of “AI Insight Forums” held by the Senate. The Wednesday event will be closed to the public, but it is unclear if later events in the series will be open or closed. The event will include industry leaders such as the CEOs of Meta, Tesla, Google, and OpenAI, as well as labor and civil-rights advocates such as the presidents of the AFL-CIO labor union and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is organizing the forums as a supplement to traditional committee hearings, citing a need to accelerate development of AI regulations.

Meanwhile, four committees are examining different facets of AI regulation this week. On Tuesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing focusing on ways to increase the transparency and trustworthiness of AI applications, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold the latest in its series of hearings on AI. On Thursday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on ways to influence AI policy through federal procurement rules and the House Oversight Committee will hold one on how federal agencies are already using AI. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar will testify at the House hearing alongside officials from the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.

Manchin Seeks to Expand DOE Role in AI Research

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) expressed support for expanding the Department of Energy’s role in artificial intelligence research during a hearing last week. He said that DOE’s supercomputing resources and experience managing huge data sets give it a “natural leadership” role in AI, and he argued that the U.S. ought to build on efforts such as DOE’s Exascale Computing Project “rather than creating duplicate new programs at other agencies.” Testifying before the committee, Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk reported that the department is proposing a major AI initiative called “Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology,” which he said is based in part on a major report published this summer by six DOE national labs. A lead author of the report, Argonne National Lab computer scientist Rick Stevens, also testified at the hearing, arguing that DOE is uniquely suited among federal agencies to lead development of AI systems for scientific and national security applications.

Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) expressed general support for DOE working to advance AI but focused his remarks on research security, specifically raising concerns about non-U.S. resident Chinese nationals working at DOE labs. Barrasso asserted that they are “beholden” to the Chinese government and could be coerced into stealing technology, such as through the government threatening their family members in China. In response to a question from Barrasso on whether “the benefit of the work of the Chinese foreign nationals within our labs outweighs the documented risks,” Turk replied that DOE has many protections in place to prevent espionage, including a “risk matrix” that assigns additional restrictions to six sensitive technology areas, one of which is AI. He also emphasized the important role that foreign-born scientists have long played in U.S. research.

DOE Renewables Nominee Withdrawn but Remains in Lead Role

Last week, President Biden withdrew his nomination of Jeffrey Marootian to serve as head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy following a months-long standoff with Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV). Manchin blocked a committee vote on the nomination in May in protest of DOE’s proposed energy efficiency regulations on gas stoves. Although the committee had advanced Marootian’s nomination during the last Congress, he was not confirmed by the full Senate and the process reset in January. Despite the withdrawal, the Biden administration appointed Marootian as EERE’s principal deputy assistant secretary, the highest role in the office that is not subject to congressional approval.

NSF Announces Four New Science and Technology Centers

The National Science Foundation announced last week that it will allocate $120 million over five years to four new Science and Technology Centers. The new centers will focus respectively on exploring the properties and potential applications of topological acoustics, advancing 3D printing through the study of complex particle systems, developing whole-cell models using quantitative cell biology, and bringing together Western science and Indigenous knowledge to tackle environmental science challenges. NSF has supported the creation of dozens of STCs since it established the program in 1987 as a way to offer large-scale, long-term awards to teams of scientists working on complex problems.

Audit Finds ‘Major Weaknesses’ in NASA Earth Science Program

NASA’s Office of Inspector General released an audit last week that identifies “major weaknesses with project management, mission design and operations, and instrument development” in the agency’s Earth System Science Pathfinder program, which supports low-cost missions within the Earth Science Division. The program currently supports 22 projects with costs ranging from $15 million to nearly $200 million, four of which are facing cost increases and schedule delays that the audit traces to subcontractor disruptions, access to space costs, and project leaders’ inexperience in project management and contracting. One mission, GeoCarb, was canceled in 2022 when its expected cost soared from $171 million to $634 million. The audit found that the project’s academic leader did not have the experience to effectively manage the work of its subcontractor, Lockheed Martin, which the audit notes failed to perform well from the project’s beginning. Aside from project management issues, the report also states that the projects NASA selects have not yet sufficiently addressed societal applications, which have been “loosely required, poorly understood by proposers, and nominally considered during the selection process.”

UK Expanding Fusion Funding, Severing Euratom Link

The United Kingdom will not rejoin the Euratom Research and Training program, the European Union’s nuclear energy R&D research program, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government announced on Sept. 7. Instead, the country plans to spend up to £650 million on nuclear fusion research through 2027. The UK has previously announced plans to spend £220 million on the first phase of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) project, which aims to construct a working fusion plant, as well as £42 million on its fusion industry program and £84 million for operation of the Joint European Torus, an EU-funded, UK-based tokamak research facility that is set to be retired at the end of this year. The UK’s separation from the Euratom program will sever its links to the international ITER tokamak facility under construction in France, though it could potentially rejoin the project as an associate member later. The UK’s move on fusion is associated with the country’s decision last week to rejoin Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research funding program.

Upcoming Events

All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.

Monday, September 11

DOD: Defense Science Board meeting
(continues through Friday)

Department of the Air Force: Scientific Advisory Board meeting
8:00 am - 2:00 pm

NOAA: Science Advisory Board meeting
10:30 - 11:30 am

National Academies: “The Current Status and Future Direction of High Magnetic Field Science in the United States, Phase II” meeting
12:00 - 1:00 pm

Council on Foreign Relations: “U.S. Strategic Competition With China,” with Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krisnamoorthi (D-IL)
1:30 pm

Senate: “Governing AI Through Acquisition and Procurement”
10:00 am, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

House: “Examining Systemic Government Overreach at the Council on Environmental Quality”
10:00 am, House Natural Resources Committee

Bipartisan Policy Center: “Hydrogen Technology Explained and Scaling the Next Generation”
12:00 - 1:00 pm

House: “How are Federal Agencies Harnessing Artificial Intelligence?”
1:00 pm, Oversight Committee

Brookings: “Frontier AI Regulation: Preparing for the Future Beyond ChatGPT,” with Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA)
1:30 - 2:45 pm

Bipartisan Policy Center: “The Future of AI Governance”
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Friday, September 15

National Academies: “The Current Status and Future Direction of High Magnetic Field Science in the United States, Phase II” meeting
10:00 am - 11:00 am

Monday, September 18

NSF: Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee meeting
(continues Tuesday)

Atlantic Council: “Nuclear Energy Policy Summit: Accelerating Net Zero Nuclear”
(continues Tuesday)

DOE: 21st Century Energy Workforce Advisory Board meeting
10:00 am - 3:30 pm

DOE: Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee meeting
12:00 - 5:00 pm

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

Opportunities

NSF Holding Scientific Integrity Listening Sessions

The National Science Foundation is holding two virtual listening sessions to hear public comments on the implementation of the Framework for Federal Scientific Integrity Policy and Practice published by an interagency committee in January. The sessions are on Sept. 15 and Sept. 20. Individuals who cannot attend may submit comments to ScientificIntegrityRFI@ostp.eop.gov.

NOAA Seeking Input on Equitable Delivery of Climate Services

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking input on how it can improve its delivery of climate services to promote equity and ensure users from all disciplines and backgrounds have access to climate data and tools. Comments are due Sept. 21.

DOE Renewables Office Hiring for Senior Roles

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is hiring a director for its Geothermal Technologies Office and a director of strategic analysis. Applications are due Sept. 26 and Oct. 4, respectively.

Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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