The Week of September 4, 2023

FYI

Newsletter

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

What’s Ahead

Schumer Capitol 2021.png — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at a press event near the Capitol in 2021.

(Senate Democrats)

Senate Resumes Work as Budget Deadline Approaches

Senators are returning to business this week following Congress’ August recess, while their House colleagues will not come back until next week. The top item on the Senate agenda is to line up funding for fiscal year 2024, which begins in less than four weeks. A stopgap measure will almost certainly be needed to extend current funding levels and avoid a government shutdown while lawmakers negotiate spending legislation for the year. However, a potential standoff is looming over the stopgap, with right-wing House Republicans poised to demand concessions in exchange for their support. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is aiming to isolate holdouts by showcasing bipartisan support in the Senate for the spending limits that President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed on in May as well as for supplemental funding for Ukraine aid and disaster relief that could be attached to the stopgap.

Other items Congress will address in the weeks ahead include the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The House and Senate both passed their respective versions of the bill over the summer, with House Republicans attaching partisan provisions that will meet stiff resistance from Senate Democrats, including one that would prohibit the Defense Department from implementing executive orders related to climate change. Schumer is also aiming to rapidly advance legislation covering artificial intelligence. On Sept. 13, he will convene the first in a planned series of “AI insight forums” that will take place behind closed doors to gather perspectives from leaders from the tech industry as well as other groups such as workers’ unions, civil rights organizations, and the research community.

Hearing Examining DOE Role in AI

As the Senate prepares for a major legislative push on artificial intelligence, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing this Thursday on the Department of Energy’s role in advancing AI and other emerging technologies. The witness panel includes Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk, Hewlett Packard Labs Vice President Andrew Wheeler, and Center for Security and Emerging Technology senior fellow Anna Puglisi. Also testifying is Rick Stevens, a senior official at Argonne National Lab, who is among a group of leaders from DOE’s national labs that recently presented proposals to lawmakers for an ambitious AI research effort that would make DOE a leading agency for funding and coordinating U.S. AI research. That effort, detailed in a 206-page report, also proposes dozens of ideas for specific AI-related research projects.

Rebooted Homeland Security Academic Panel to Meet

The Department of Homeland Security is expected to hold the inaugural public meeting of its newly reinstated academic advisory council on Sept. 6. The meeting was originally scheduled for Aug. 7 but was delayed due to inclement weather. The council, officially known as the Homeland Security Academy Partnership Council, will provide recommendations to the department on issues such as research security, workforce development, and funding opportunities, according to its charter. DHS disbanded a similar advisory council 2017, prompting calls from university leaders and some lawmakers to reestablish it.

PCAST Urges Science Agencies to Step Up Public Engagement

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology is urging the White House to “issue a clarion call” to federal agencies to make science and technology communication and public engagement into a “core component of their mission and strategy.” In a letter sent to President Biden on Aug. 29, the council explains that, because of public concerns about the “societal impacts and ethical implications” of discoveries and innovations, it is necessary to strive harder to incorporate scientific understanding and community values into public policy. In addition, while the council suggests there is generally high public trust that scientists will act in the public’s best interest, it also points to “low levels of institutional trust among certain groups: marginalized racial and ethnic communities, people with less education and lower income, and younger people.” To support agencies’ public engagement efforts, the council further recommends creating an office that can offer expertise in areas such as “the use of social science-informed techniques for participatory engagement and cutting-edge digital technologies.” Separate from its letter, PCAST is meeting on Friday to discuss recent advances in the social sciences.

NASA Pushes Back Next New Frontiers Mission by Three Years

NASA’s Planetary Science Division issued a notice to the scientific community on Aug. 24 stating it is delaying the next solicitation of proposals for its New Frontiers program, which it had expected to open in November. Citing “budget uncertainty,” the division now estimates the solicitation will open in 2026 at the earliest. Although the division’s budget is more than double its fiscal year 2016 level, the growing cost of the flagship Mars Sample Return mission has recently been putting budgetary pressure on other missions in NASA’s science portfolio. Now, House and Senate appropriators are proposing to cut the portfolio’s overall budget by 5% and 6%, respectively. The Biden administration sought a 6% increase, which would itself have been insufficient to keep all missions under development on track. New Frontiers missions are the most expensive planetary science missions that NASA selects using a competitive process and proposals must be for visits to destinations recommended through the National Academies’ decadal survey process. The community notice indicates that NASA plans to consult the Academies to determine how it should adjust the list of eligible destinations, given the length of the delay.

Graduate Student Charged With Murder Following Lab Shooting

University of North Carolina materials scientist Zijie Yan was shot to death in his laboratory building on Aug. 28 and one of his graduate students, Tailei Qi, has been charged with his murder. The shooting put the campus on lockdown for several hours and drew a heavy police response. Several thousand students stood vigil for Yan two days later. Yan earned degrees from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China before relocating to the U.S. and receiving his doctorate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2011. He then held a postdoctoral position at the University of Chicago and a faculty position at Clarkson University before moving to UNC in 2019. Qi earned degrees from Wuhan University and Louisiana State University before joining Yan’s lab last year.

In addition to being a major domestic political issue, surveys have found that gun violence is a serious concern for international scholars considering studying in the U.S. Two years ago, the shooting death of Dennis Zheng Shaoxiong, a Chinese graduate student at the University of Chicago, led students and faculty at the university, many from abroad, to rally in protest against threats to their safety.

Upcoming Events

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

Monday, September 11

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

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

Opportunities

AIP Opens Applications for State Department Fellowship

The American Institute of Physics is accepting applications for its State Department Fellowship . The program seeks scientists who are interested in gaining foreign policy experience while contributing valuable scientific and technical expertise to the department. Selected fellows work at the department headquarters in Washington, D.C., for one year. Applications are due Nov. 1.

NASA Hiring Director for Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA is seeking a director for the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, which leads research and development of space transportation and propulsion systems and has an annual budget of $4 billion. Candidates must have experience leading “large, complex, multi-million dollar space or defense-related programs.” Applications are due Sep. 19.

NASA Ames Research Center Hiring Deputy Director for Science

NASA’s Ames Research Center in California is hiring a deputy director of science, who will support the director of science in managing basic and applied research programs in astrophysics, Earth and planetary science, and biological sciences. Applicants should have scientific expertise in one of the directorate’s core mission areas as well as experience managing a large and diverse portfolio of research projects. Applications are due Oct. 3.

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

Around the Web

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