FYI: Science Policy News
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WEEK OF SEPT 30, 2024
What’s Ahead

Intel Clean Room D1D/D1X Plant Oregon

Production and cleanroom employees at work in a semiconductor fabrication facility.

Intel Corporation

CHIPS Workforce and Manufacturing Programs Issue First Awards

The Department of Commerce announced the first awards last week for the National Semiconductor Technology Center’s new Workforce Center for Excellence, which will receive $250 million from the department over ten years. The awards total $11.5 million for seven institutions and are expected to train and employ 12,000 people over the next two years, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a press call. One award will establish the Center for Education of Microchip Designers at UCLA, which will equip hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students to design, fabricate, and test their own chips, in partnership with four other universities. Other funded projects target semiconductor technicians, microelectronics students, and hardware verification engineers. The department is still in the process of siting the first three semiconductor R&D facilities in the NSTC, which are intended to become operational over the next four years.

Other components of the CHIPS Act also saw progress last week. The National Science Foundation announced a $30 million funding opportunity to establish a hub that will manage the National Network for Microelectronics Education, which will prepare people for roles in the microelectronics workforce. The department also announced the first finalized award from the CHIPS incentive program for commercial fabrication facilities: $123 million to expand and modernize the Polar Semiconductor manufacturing facility in Minnesota. The incentive program has announced tens of billions of dollars in preliminary awards but Polar is the first company to receive funds.

DOE AI Research Legislation Gaining Momentum

The House Science Committee advanced bipartisan legislation last week that would establish an AI research program at the Department of Energy with a recommended budget of $300 million per year over the next five years. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also planned to advance its version of the bill last week but postponed the meeting. Both bills call for DOE to develop AI suited to science and national security applications, build AI risk mitigation programs, and coordinate AI-related efforts among federal agencies, industry, and academia. However, the Senate version recommends a considerably larger budget of $2.4 billion per year over five years, a portion of which would go toward creating at least eight AI R&D Centers. The House version by contrast would set a lower minimum, calling for DOE to create at least two “multidisciplinary artificial intelligence research institutes.”

In addition to the DOE bill, the House Science Committee advanced a bill that would direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to expand its collection of AI-related security vulnerabilities and develop standards for managing such vulnerabilities. It also voted to reauthorize the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program through 2029 and direct it to address wind-driven rain and fire as well as storm surge, among other priorities. The committee also advanced a bill that would recommend Congress appropriate $400 million per year through 2027 for DOE to carry out R&D related to small modular reactors, including awards for up to two grid-scale demonstration projects.

House Republicans Press Case Against US-China Research Ties

Republicans on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party published a report last week calling for stricter oversight of research collaboration between the U.S. and China on technologies with potential military applications. In addition to reviewing Department of Defense-funded research co-authored with individuals affiliated with Chinese universities over the past decade, the report includes case studies of six unnamed researchers who received DOD funding and went on to create labs and institutes in China or continued to collaborate closely with defense researchers in China as examples of the “tech transfer pipeline.” The report also scrutinizes joint U.S.-China research institutes led by Georgia Tech, UC Berkeley, and Pittsburgh University.

Georgia Tech and Berkeley have contested the report’s characterizations according to an article by the New York Times, noting for instance that the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute never conducted any research, contrary to how it was depicted in the report. Georgia Tech nevertheless announced earlier this month that it will withdraw from the institute. “Georgia Tech did the right thing for U.S. national security by shutting down its PRC-based joint institute, and UC Berkeley and other universities should follow suit,” said Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) in a press release accompanying the report. “We also must ban research collaboration with blacklisted entities, enact stricter guardrails on emerging technology research, and hold American universities accountable through passing the DETERRENT Act,” referring to pending legislation that would lower reporting thresholds for foreign gifts and contracts and restrict certain partnerships absent waivers from the Department of Education. The act is sponsored by Education and Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-NC), whose committee also contributed to the report.

New Space Commerce Advisory Panel Begins Work

The Advisory Committee for Excellence in Space will hold its first public meeting Thursday. ACES is the product of a reorganization earlier this year of the Advisory Committee on Commercial Remote Sensing, which was originally established in 2002. The new advisory committee’s members were announced earlier this month and include a mix of experts from universities, nonprofits, and the commercial space industry. NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce, which ACES advises, is currently developing a system to coordinate satellite traffic. The office announced the contractors who will provide data services for the project last week and has just begun delivering safety information to beta testers.

Also On Our Radar

  • The House passed its NASA reauthorization bill last week by a vote of 366-21. A Senate version of the bill has yet to be introduced.
  • The Senate confirmed geographer Mike Sfraga as the first U.S. ambassador-at-large for Arctic affairs by a vote of 55-36 last week. The Biden administration created the ambassadorship in 2022 to advance U.S. policy in the Arctic and engage with stakeholders in the region, both foreign and domestic.
  • The Department of Energy has approved construction of the High-Energy Upgrade for the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC National Accelerator Lab. The upgrade will more than double the accelerator’s maximum X-ray energy output and is set to be completed by 2030 with experiments beginning as soon as 2027.
  • The National Academies will release a report on the state of the U.S. biomedical research enterprise on Tuesday and a report on atmospheric methane removal on Wednesday.
  • The National Academies will launch a congressionally mandated evaluation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy’s mission and goals next Monday.
The strategy places a new emphasis on pre-standardization activities, including incentives for standards R&D.

The interim final rule requires export licenses for key components and disclosures of when foreign nationals from sensitive countries are working on the technology inside the U.S.

Upcoming Events

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

Monday, September 30

DOE: Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee meeting
10:00 am - 5:00 pm

NSF: Integrative Activities Advisory Committee meeting
1:00 - 5:00 pm

Atlantic Council: Adapting US strategy to account for China’s transformation into a peer nuclear power
3:30 pm

Wilson Center: Weapons in space: Technology, politics, and the rise and fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative
4:00 - 5:30 pm

Tuesday, October 1

National Academies: Condensed Matter and Materials Research Committee meeting (continues Wednesday)

National Academies: The impact of burnout on gender equity in science, engineering, and medicine (continues Wednesday)

Baker Institute: Annual Energy Summit (continues Wednesday)

NASA: NASA Advisory Council meeting (continues Wednesday)

National Academies: Assessing and navigating biosecurity concerns and benefits of AI use in the life sciences - information gathering meeting
9:00 am - 12:00 pm

National Academies: Space Weather Roundtable meeting
12:30 - 1:30 pm

National Academies: The state of the US biomedical and health research enterprise - report release event
1:00 pm

New America: AI education at community colleges: The state of play and policy needs
1:00 - 3:00 pm

CSIS: Gold rush: The 2024 commercial remote sensing global rankings - report launch
1:00 - 3:50 pm

NIH: Advisory Committee to the Deputy Director for Intramural Research meeting
1:00 - 4:00 pm

Wednesday, October 2

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

CSIS: Symposium on AI in the Department of Justice
9:00 am - 3:30 pm

Wilson Center: UK and US Antarctic collaboration: The cutting edge of polar science and future directions
10:00 - 11:00 am

Brookings: 2024 Knight Forum on Geopolitics
1:00 - 4:20 pm

National Academies: A research agenda toward atmospheric methane removal - report release webinar
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Thursday, October 3

National Academies: Systems of engagement for Black people in the global scientific enterprise (continues Friday)

National Academies: Frontiers of engineered coherent matter and systems
8:00 am - 6:15 pm

DOD: Defense Science Board meeting
8:00 am - 5:00 pm

National Academies: Webinar on AI applications in chemistry
12:30 - 2:00 pm

NOAA: Advisory Committee for Excellence in Space meeting
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

CSPO: Carbon removal social [science]
3:30 - 5:30 pm

National Academies: Cross-sector approaches in emerging materials
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Friday, October 4

NNI: Nanometrology for continuous and automated manufacturing
12:00 - 1:30 pm

Monday, October 7

National Academies: Evaluation of ARPA-E’s mission and goals - meeting two (continues Tuesday)

AAAS: Social bias in AI
11:00 am - 12:15 pm

Harvard Belfer Center: Green industrial policy and decarbonization
12:00 - 1:15 pm

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

Opportunities

Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

NSF: Director of innovation and technology ecosystems (Oct. 4)
ODNI: Deputy national intelligence officer for emerging and disruptive technologies (Oct. 8)
NIST: Director for policy, programs, and planning (Oct. 10)
NSF: Director, Division of Graduate Education (Oct. 15)
National Academies: Jefferson Science Fellowship (Oct. 15)
NSF: Senior advisor, Math and Physical Sciences Directorate (Oct. 21)
AAAS: S&T policy fellowship (Nov. 1)
APS: Congressional fellowship (Nov. 1)
AIP: Congressional fellowship (Dec. 1)
Optica: Congressional fellowship (Jan. 1)

Solicitations

National Academies: Call for experts on assessing research security efforts in higher education (Oct. 4)
Commerce: RFC on reporting requirements for development of advanced AI models and computing clusters (Oct. 11)
NSF: Request for topic ideas for the Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program (Oct. 15)
National Academies: Survey on visa application experiences (Oct. 18)
DOD: RFI on financing support for covered technology categories (Oct. 22)
NIH: RFI on re-envisioning US postdoctoral research training and career progression (Oct. 23)
NSF: RFC on National Survey of College Graduates (Nov. 4)
USGCRP: RFC on the first National Nature Assessment (Nov. 4)
Commerce: RFC on export controls for advanced technologies (Nov. 5)
DOE: RFI on the Frontiers in AI for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) initiative (Nov. 11)
NSF: RFI on research ethics provision in the CHIPS and Science Act (Nov. 15)
NOAA: RFC on petition for rulemaking regarding maintaining records and submitting reports on weather modification activities (Nov. 19)
DOD: RFC on rule requiring public access to results of federally funded research (Nov. 25)
EPA: RFC on new technologies for quantifying facility methane emissions (Nov. 27)

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

Around the Web

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

White House

OSTP: Readout of the G20 research and innovation ministerial meeting
FedScoop: US agencies publish plans to comply with White House AI memo
hite House: US and United Arab Emirates cooperation on AI
White House: Fact sheet on the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation ministerial
White House: PCAST releases report on advancing nutrition science
White House: President Biden announces appointments to Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

Congress

Inside Higher Ed: Republicans sound alarm on research partnerships with China
E&E News: Biden plans to sign chips permitting bill

Science, Society, and the Economy

NSF: NSF and philanthropic partners invest more than $18M to prioritize ethical and societal considerations in the creation of emerging technologies
NASA: NASA’s art program is back
New York Times: Conspiracy theorists and vaccine skeptics target geoengineering
Nature: The trials and triumphs of sustainable science
Nature: Can science cure its addiction to plastic?
GAO: Most agencies did not implement required SBIR commercialization pilot (report)
Chemical & Engineering News: Scientific American has every right to endorse a presidential candidate (editorial)

Education and Workforce

FedScoop: OPM extends direct hire authorities for STEM, cyber, acquisition roles
NSF: NSF partners with the Department of Education to improve outcomes in elementary science education
NSF OIG: Review of NSF’s US Antarctic Program sexual harassment prevention and response (report)
Nature: Gender inequity persists among journal chief editors (perspective by M. Hossein Nowroozzadeh and Somaye Tafraghe)

Research Management

Chronicle of Higher Education: This study was hailed as a win for science reform. Now it’s being retracted
Retraction Watch: 1 in 7 scientific papers is fake, suggests study that author calls ‘wildly nonsystematic’
Science: Spanish university head accused of inflating citations to his own work
Physics World: Science thrives on constructive and respectful peer review (audio)
Nature: ‘Substandard and unworthy’: Why it’s time to banish bad-mannered reviews
Research Professional: Royal Society releases historical peer review reports
Scholarly Kitchen: Is AI the answer to peer review problems, or the problem itself? (perspective by Christopher Leonard)
NIH: Updates to data management and access practices under the NIH genomic data sharing policy
Export Compliance Daily: BIS asked to align standards-setting rules with fundamental research controls

Labs and Facilities

CERN: Professor Costas Fountas elected as next President of the CERN Council
Science|Business: Viewpoint: Why the European Commission must think bigger on CERN for AI (perspective by Max Reddel and Bálint Pataki)
Nature: Square Kilometre Array pauses expansion amid funding crunch
Los Alamos: New lab at LANSCE contributes to neutrino research
Construction Physics: Why the US can’t build icebreaking ships (perspective by Brian Potter)
American Nuclear Society: Project Pele is breaking ground in Idaho. What’s involved?
American Nuclear Society: Westinghouse completes front-end design for eVinci microreactor test

Computing and Communications

Nature: A day in the life of the world’s fastest supercomputer (audio)
FedScoop: Pacific Northwest National Lab wants to curb AI’s worst side effects
Financial Times: We need a Food and Drug Administration for AI (perspective by Anja Manuel)
Brookings: Balancing market innovation incentives and regulation in AI: Challenges and opportunities
Brookings: The tension between AI export control and US AI innovation (perspective by John Villasenor)

Space

Optics and Photonics News: Lift-off for space lasers
Breaking Defense: France claims world’s first space-to-earth laser comms
Wired: An international space station leak is getting worse — and keeping NASA up at night
Nature: Scientists successfully ‘nuke asteroid’ — in a lab mock-up
Guardian: The asteroid hunters: How new technology will help save Earth from a catastrophic collision
NASA: NASA funds orbital debris inspection mission
The Economist: NASA is selling a brand-new Moon rover
Space Review: What will happen in the first space hostage crisis?
NASA: US, Republic of Korea sign statement to advance aerospace cooperation
NASA: NASA Ames welcomes Latvian president, talks aeronautics research
SpaceNews: US eyes geostationary orbit for next-gen GPS

Weather, Climate, and Environment

Politico: White House climate adviser says Biden’s green spending is secure
E&E News: What climate Democrats want from Kamala Harris on day 1
USGS: The future of climate research at the USGS – our climate science plan is released
FedScoop: IBM, NASA, Oak Ridge National Lab announce open-source AI model for weather, climate
National Academies: Tipping points, cascading impacts, and interacting risks in the earth system (report)
New York Times: Silicon Valley renegades pollute the sky to save the planet
E&E News: White House, DOE to test measuring industrial emissions
GAO: Environmental hazards: A framework for risk-informed decision-making (report)
NSF: OPP welcomes Marion Dierickx as new Antarctic Sciences program director
NSF: A renovated aircraft for atmospheric sciences is ready for action
NSF: NSF and Quad partners launch AI-ENGAGE to encourage collaboration on emerging technologies and agriculture

Energy

DOE: Sarah Staton named director of international activities, research security, and interagency coordination
Wired: The AI boom is raising hopes of a nuclear comeback
Power: How Pennsylvania is fostering a nuclear renaissance in the making
New York Times: US ramps up hunt for uranium to end reliance on Russia
Chemical & Engineering News: Money pours into carbon dioxide-based fuels
Bloomberg: Renewables off pace for global tripling, but the goal is still within reach

Defense

DOD: Notice of funding availability - covered technology categories-equipment financing
Science: Photos open rare window into North Korea’s nuclear weapons program
SpaceNews: Military’s weather satellite program in flux as Space Force evaluates options
DefenseScoop: Defense leaders set to spotlight joint tech acceleration at AUKUS meetings in London
Scientific American: What really happened at the Pentagon’s once-hidden UFO office?

Biomedical

Stat: WHO director general: A breakthrough global agreement on combatting antimicrobial resistance (perspective by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus)
Science: Did a top NIH official manipulate Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s studies for decades?
Nature: Budget cuts hit world’s largest cancer-research funder: What it means for scientists
GAO: Biomedical research: Improvements needed to the quality of information about DOD and VA contributions to drug development (report)

International Affairs

Australian Strategic Policy Institute: ASPI’s two-decade critical technology tracker
Export Compliance Daily: EU to address intangible tech transfers, issue other export guidance soon, official says
Center for Data Innovation: Draghi’s competitiveness report shows why the EU needs a pro-innovation approach towards AI (perspective by Justyna Lisinska)
Science: China’s scientists often cite work from their own nation. Is that skewing global research rankings?
Nature: More measures needed to ease funding competition in China (perspective by Wangqiang Sun)
Nature: ‘Afraid to talk’: Researchers fear the end for science in Venezuela

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