WEEK OF NOV 4, 2024

What’s Ahead

A composite image of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on a blue and red background. — Composite image of presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Nathan Cromer / AIP

CHIPS Act enters election fray in final week

In the final days of the U.S. election season, debate over the CHIPS and Science Act has surfaced in the crowded cycles of campaign news. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called the act “so bad” in an interview late last month with podcaster Joe Rogan, arguing the U.S. should use tariffs to compel semiconductor companies to expand domestic production rather than offering them incentive grants and loans. Separately, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Republicans will “probably” try to repeal the act but later said he misheard the question and amended his remarks to say he will work to eliminate its “costly regulations and Green New Deal requirements.”

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris drew attention to Trump’s remark in a campaign stop last week at Hemlock Semiconductor in Michigan, one of the companies in line to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from the act. She argued a Trump victory would undermine the semiconductor industry and accused him of permitting China to buy advanced chips from the U.S. that helped China modernize its military, repeating a criticism she used in their only head-to-head debate, held in September. Harris also said in the debate that she would focus on “investing in American-based technology so that we win the race on AI and quantum computing.”

These exchanges represent relatively rare examples of research policy entering the highest levels of campaign rhetoric. More clues on the candidates’ stances can be found in campaign materials. For instance, Harris’ economic policy blueprint proposes actions to support “industries of the future,” and Trump’s Agenda47 platform calls for overhauling the higher education system, building a next-generation missile defense shield, and reinstating an expanded version of the Justice Department’s China Initiative.

Major legislative initiatives of the next president will generally require some bipartisan support, as neither party is expected to gain a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. However, if one party gains control of both Congress and the White House, they could use the reconciliation process to implement certain changes unilaterally. Trump used reconciliation to overhaul the tax code during his presidency, and President Joe Biden used it to pass expansive pandemic recovery legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act.

New science advocacy initiative aims to inform incoming administration

A group of 71 prominent science and technology leaders announced last week they have formed a task force to inform the incoming administration and Congress. The task force plans to produce a “Vision for American Science and Technology” roadmap that will “ensure the United States remains at the forefront of global innovation.” The VAST task force plans to deliver a draft of the roadmap during the presidential transition and then release a final version in February. American Association for the Advancement of Science CEO Sudip Parikh is chairing the task force, which includes National Science Board Chair Darío Gil, National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt, and two former heads of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Kelvin Droegemeier and Neal Lane. The rest of the membership consists of university presidents and professors, former federal agency leaders, and heads of scientific societies, including American Institute of Physics CEO Michael Moloney.

National CHIPS R&D center picks bicoastal sites for first two facilities

The Commerce Department announced expected sites for two out of the three R&D facilities in the National Semiconductor Technology Center last week, one in New York and one in California. The EUV Accelerator facility is planned to operate within the Albany NanoTech Complex, which is owned by semiconductor nonprofit NY CREATES. The Commerce Department and Natcast, the NSTC operating organization, will initially invest up to $825 million for equipment, extreme-ultraviolet R&D, and NSTC offices and support services in Albany. The facility will provide access to EUV technology with standard numerical aperture capabilities by 2025 and high NA by 2026. High NA EUV allows for more intricate printing on a chip wafer, and the Albany NanoTech Complex is building the first and only publicly-owned high NA EUV center in North America. The agreement for the EUV Accelerator is nonbinding and subject to change, and the final contract will have an expected term of 10 years.

The Design and Collaboration Facility is planned for Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley and will host programmatic activities including the Workforce Center of Excellence, as well as research capabilities. The location was selected based on a shortlist of optimal regions for research, administration, and convening. The Commerce Department has yet to announce the NSTC site for advanced prototyping and packaging, which is planned to be operational in 2028.

CCP Committee seeks restrictions on Chinese photonics companies

The House CCP Committee sent a letter to the Commerce Department last week urging it to consider imposing new restrictions on exports to Chinese photonics companies. Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) suggest the department amend the Commerce Control List to include silicon photonics equipment and products. “The dual-use nature of photonics technology makes it particularly susceptible to military end-use diversion by problematic actors,” they write. They also ask the department to brief the committee before December on the national security threat posed by the silicon photonics industry in China, the state of the U.S. silicon photonics industry, and the resources needed to carry out the investigations recommended in the letter. Silicon photonics, an alternative to electron lithography, has the potential to “upend the semiconductor industry and redefine battlelines in the United States’ technological competition with the PRC, rendering moot the October 7, 2022, export control rules [on semiconductors] and creating a critical chokepoint for future semiconductor supply chains,” they state.

NIH to fund research replication studies through new pilot

The National Institutes of Health recently launched a pilot program that will support third-party replication of NIH-funded studies. The Replication to Enhance Research Impact Initiative aims to test whether replication of selected studies can enhance research reproducibility, give researchers additional data that could be used to support clinical trial and commercialization efforts, or add weight to novel findings. The pilot allows researchers with current NIH awards to apply for funding to engage with an independent contract research organization to replicate their results. Separate funding will be provided to CROs to perform the replication tests. Applications are due Nov. 15.

Also on our radar

The National Academies Committee on Astrophysics will hold its fall meeting on Thursday and Friday. Agenda items include an update on the Cosmic Microwave Background Stage Four project that the NSF delayed earlier this year and a session exploring how decadal surveys are received by Congress with Jean Toal Eisen, a former top staff member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
NSF has extended the deadline for its RFI on research ethics from Nov. 15 to Dec. 13 in response to feedback requesting more time. The agency is seeking input on how to improve its merit review process to mitigate the potential harms of emerging technologies, as directed by the CHIPS and Science Act.
PCAST recently published a letter to the president proposing actions to strengthen the federal STEM workforce.
DOD published its National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan last week, which identifies steps to increase the speed at which inventions and scientific discoveries are translated into new technologies, develop a skilled workforce, and coordinate with other countries, among other actions.