What’s Ahead
Budget Negotiations to Intensify After Recess
Congress is out of session this week and next. When lawmakers return from recess, one of their top priorities will be to begin drafting the bills that apportion the federal government’s discretionary budget for fiscal year 2020, even as they continue negotiations to raise caps on overall spending. So far, Congress and the White House appear far from reaching a deal, and intra-party disagreements are complicating the process. Last week, House Democrats postponed a vote on a cap-raising bill due to divisions in the party over the appropriate balance between defense and nondefense spending, though they did approve a resolution that sets a $1.3 trillion topline. The Senate has yet to set such a figure. The White House has indicated it wants the current cap on nondefense spending to remain in place, but there is little appetite in Congress for the 10 percent cuts that would need to be imposed across the board if the budget caps are not lifted. Various scientific societies (including AIP) have urged congressional leaders to raise the caps and prioritize research spending this year.
In Case You Missed It
DOD Discontinues Contract with JASON Advisory Group
The Department of Defense confirmed last week that it has ended its standing contract with the elite scientific advisory group known as JASON. Since its creation in 1960, JASON has undertaken technical studies for the department and other federal agencies, often on highly classified subjects. In a statement issued to DefenseNews, a DOD spokesperson indicated the department may still elect to contract for one study at a time, maintaining, “The department remains committed to seeking independent technical advice and review. This change is in keeping with this commitment while making the most economic sense for the department, and it is in line with our efforts to gain full value from every taxpayer dollar spent on defense.” JASON last found itself without a contract in 2002, when it refused an attempt by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to name new members to the group. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who revealed DOD’s move at a hearing on April 9, has called on the department to reconsider the decision. Cooper chairs the subcommittee that oversees the National Nuclear Security Administration, which has commissioned studies from JASON on topics such as the viability of nuclear weapons’ plutonium cores as they age and the technical challenges associated with exascale computing.
Fossil Energy Innovation Bill Introduced in Senate
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a major energy innovation bill on April 12 titled the Enhancing Fossil Fuel Energy Carbon Technology (EFFECT) Act . Co-sponsored by Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and three other Republicans, the bill would reconfigure and expand R&D programs in the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy. Within a newly combined Coal and Natural Gas Technology Program, the bill would recommend DOE spend $727 million on R&D, large-scale pilot projects, and demonstration projects in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 and larger amounts in fiscal years 2022 through 2024. It would also recommend funding levels for R&D programs in carbon capture, storage, and utilization. The bill is part of a larger push the committee is making to spur energy innovation.
Manchin Asks GAO to Assess DOE R&D Programs
On April 12, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV) requested that the Government Accountability Office review the Department of Energy’s applied research, development, and technology deployment activities (RD&D). He states the review should assess “how — and how well — DOE addresses the so-called ‘valley of death’ and other obstacles to financing and commercializing technologies at each stage of its RD&D activities and across its portfolio.” It should also consider such matters as how DOE sets program goals, how well it meets them, and whether the department maintains a steady pace in awarding grants and making other financial disbursements. Manchin further asks GAO to consider how DOE’s goals have “enabled it to make an impact on larger national objectives such as competitiveness, innovation leadership, economic growth, reducing the U.S. contribution to climate change, and others.”
GAO Sketches Out Plans to Expand S&T Assessment Team
Last week, the Government Accountability Office released its initial plan for expanding the Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team it established earlier this year. GAO plans to build up the current 49 member team to 70 members this year and anticipates that up to 140 staff may be required in subsequent years depending on the number of technical assistance requests from Congress. As part of the expansion, it plans to create an “Innovation Lab” that will “explore, pilot, and deploy new advanced analytic capabilities and emerging technologies.”
House Oversight Committee Opens New Front in Climate Debate
The House Oversight Committee added its voice to the climate change debate with hearings last week on national security impacts and reasons for inaction . Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-MD) highlighted the impacts of extreme weather on military bases and said climate change will be a “top priority” for the panel, with its Environment Subcommittee launching a series of three hearings on the topic. Testifying before the committee on April 9, former Secretary of State John Kerry and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed that climate change will be a “threat multiplier,” exacerbating existing instabilities around the world. Among his suggested policy responses, Kerry advocated for the U.S. to join other countries in committing to “Mission Innovation,” an initiative to double government support for clean energy R&D. While Republican members largely focused their remarks on the potential economic harms of certain policy responses, some questioned the scientific consensus on the subject. In a series of heated exchanges with Kerry, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) suggested natural variability could account for the observed changes and pointed to beneficial effects of elevated carbon dioxide.
NIH Director Pressed on IP Protection Efforts
At a hearing last week, members of the Senate appropriations subcommittee for the National Institutes of Health asked for updates on the agency’s effort to protect intellectual property. Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO) said he is “deeply concerned” about efforts by foreign governments, particularly China, to exploit the U.S. research enterprise and said NIH should do more to make the scientific community “fully aware of the exact threats they face.” Collins acknowledged that NIH has uncovered “egregious instances” of individuals breaking agency rules and disclosed that there are 55 ongoing FBI investigations at NIH-funded institutions related to the failure to report funding from foreign organizations, diversion of intellectual property, and theft of grant proposals. At the same time, Collins stressed that the problem is not unique to China and NIH must be careful not to “step into something that almost seems a little like racial profiling,” citing a recent letter by Chinese scientists raising such concerns.
Murray Calls for Stronger NIH Sexual Harassment Policies
At the same hearing, Subcommittee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) criticized NIH for not doing more to prevent sexual harassment at its grantee institutions. Murray argued it is unacceptable for NIH to “defer to its grantee institutions or other agencies to address harassment rather than actually requiring them to report when it happens in research settings, or by researchers funded by NIH grants, especially when NIH’s funding gives the agency such sway with the research community.” She noted the National Science Foundation has already adopted new reporting requirements following the release of the recent National Academies report on sexual harassment and indicated she would like to require NIH to take similar steps.
Academies and Universities Form Anti-Harassment Group
The National Academies announced on April 10 that it has joined more than 40 colleges and universities to launch an “action collaborative” focused on preventing sexual harassment in higher education. The effort stems from the Academies’ 2018 report on the topic, which found that “between 20 percent and 50 percent of female students and more than 50 percent of female faculty and staff experienced sexually harassing behavior while in academia.” The goals of the group include raising awareness about different forms of sexual harassment, implementing evidence-based policies to prevent malign behavior, and developing standards for measuring progress. Over the next four years, the Academies will convene working groups and public workshops to advance these goals. The announcement comes as the Academies is itself developing an approach to addressing harassment allegations against its own members. The National Academy of Sciences will vote later this month on a policy that would enable the group to formally reprimand or expel members found to have committed sexual harassment or other code of conduct violations.
NASA Hires Point Person for ‘Moon to Mars’ Planning
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced on April 9 that he has appointed Mark Sirangelo, former head of space systems for Sierra Nevada Corporation, as his special assistant for the agency’s Moon to Mars program. Sirangelo will lead further planning for NASA’s new Exploration Campaign, including development of the agency’s strategy to undertake a crewed lunar landing by 2024. He will also head up NASA’s creation of a new Moon to Mars Mission Directorate. According to the announcement, Sirangelo has participated in more than 300 space missions during his career, including more than 20 planetary missions and 70 NASA missions.
‘Planet-sized’ Telescope Resolves Image of Black Hole
At an April 10 press conference at the National Science Foundation, members of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project explained how they processed petabytes of data from eight ground-based radio telescopes around the world to produce the first-ever image of a black hole. NSF provided the project with $28 million over 19 years through 22 grants, making EHT a remarkable return on a modest investment. A fact sheet emphasizes that the success builds on the agency’s long history of support for long-baseline radio telescope arrays, interdisciplinary teams, and large-scale data accumulation and analysis. It also notes the project represents a major achievement in three of its Big Idea focus areas: Windows on the Universe, Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure, and Harnessing the Data Revolution.
Events This Week
Monday, April 15
APS: April meeting (continues Tuesday) Denver, CO
Tuesday, April 16
NSB: Skilled Technical Workforce Task Force meeting 3:00 - 4:00 pm, Teleconference
Wednesday, April 17
DOD: Defense Science Board meeting (continues Thursday) 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Wed; 8:00 - 3:00 pm, Thu Closed to the public Defense Strategies Institute: “DOD Hypersonics Capabilities Symposium” (continues Thursday) Alexandria, VA National Academies: “Near Earth Object Observations in the Infrared and Visible Wavelengths, meeting three” (continues Thursday) NSF: Engineering Advisory Committee meeting (continues Thursday) 12:00 - 5:30 pm, Wed; 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, Thu NSF Headquarters Stimson Center: “Future of Nuclear Arms Control Series: Is a Treaty-Based System Sustainable?” 12:30 - 2:00 pm, Stimson Center headquarters (1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC) National Academies: “Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics Town Hall” 2:00 - 3:00 pm, Webinar
Thursday, April 18
ITIF: “Negative Emissions Technologies: Sucking Carbon Out of the Air,” congressional briefing 12:30 - 1:30 pm, 121 Cannon House Office Building
Friday, April 19
NSB: National Science and Engineering Policy Committee meeting 4:00 - 5:00 pm, Teleconference
Monday, April 22
MRS: Materials Research Society spring meeting (continues through Friday) Phoenix, AZ
Opportunities
AMS Holding Workshop on Workforce Needs
The American Meteorological Society is hosting a workshop on April 29-30 that will explore how the current rapid pace of technological and societal change will affect the skills needed in jobs related to weather, water, and climate research. The event will feature panel discussions with officials from federal research agencies, private companies, and scientific societies.
Sloan Foundation Seeking Science Program Director
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is hiring a program director to plan its next set of philanthropic programs in the physical and life sciences. Applicants must possess an awareness of emerging trends in relevant fields of science and a “commitment to spurring innovation through interdisciplinary approaches.”
Science Philanthropy Alliance Hiring Fellow
The Science Philanthropy Alliance is seeking a PhD scientist to support the organization’s work to increase philanthropy for fundamental research. Responsibilities of the fellow may include analyzing best practices in science philanthropy and creating “how to” materials for new philanthropists. The fellow will be hired for a one year term with the possibility of an extension for a second year.
Know of an upcoming science policy opportunity? Email us at fyi@aip.org.Know of an upcoming science policy event? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
Around the Web
News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.
White House
- White House eyes nuclear weapons expert to lead challenge to climate science (E&E News)
- White House isn’t getting help from other federal agencies as it seeks to question climate science (Washington Post)
- Why journalists are wrong to say Trump is at war with science (Undark, perspective by Gabriel Popkin)
- Trump’s free-speech order could have been harsher. But higher-ed leaders still don’t approve (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Congress
- Nobel and Kavli Prize laureates honored at Capitol Hill reception (National Academies)
- How Congress got dumb on tech — and how it can get smart (Washington Monthly)
- Lipinski introduces bipartisan legislation to bolster US leadership in AI research (Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL))
Political Engagement
- Thousands of scientists sign letter backing youth climate change protests (The Hill)
- Climate change tops science policy issues among APS members at March meeting (APS News)
Science, Society, and the Economy
- How much the public knows about science, and why it matters (Scientific American, perspective by Cary Funk)
- How Katie Bouman accidentally became the face of the black hole project (New York Times)
- Trolls hijacked a scientist’s image to attack Katie Bouman. They picked the wrong astrophysicist (Washington Post)
- The first picture of a black hole made Katie Bouman an overnight celebrity. Then internet trolls descended. (NBC News)
- It matters who we champion in science (Washington Post, perspective by Maryam Zaringhalam and Jess Wade)
- Of hominins and the stars (Wall Street Journal, editorial)
- Beliefs in aliens, Atlantis are on the rise (Science)
- UFOs won’t go away (Issues in Science and Technology, perspective by Keith Kloor)
- Dragons, nuclear weapons, and Game of Thrones (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, perspective by Timothy Westmyer)
Education and Workforce
- Women in physics and astronomy, 2019 (AIP, report)
- $7 million effort launched to increase diversity of STEM students on college campuses (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative)
- By combating bias, we can achieve parity for women in science awards (Europhysics News, perspective by Elizabeth Rogan)
- Boston University fires geologist found to have harassed women in Antarctica (ScienceInsider)
- A stark reminder that physics still struggles with its gender problem (Prospect, perspective by Philip Ball)
- How work-family justice can bring balance to scientist moms (Scientific American, perspective by Rachel Buxton, et al.)
- Stepping up to be a role model for LGBTQ inclusion in science (Nature, perspective by Neil Reavey)
- Science has to do better for its queer, trans, and non-binary scientists (Sister, perspective by Lila Leatherman)
- Train students to navigate ethical swamps (Nature, perspective by Mary Allen)
Research Management
- Excellence in research: The funding model, F&A reimbursement, and why the system works (COGR, report)
- Novel NSF initiative seeks nimble scientists to create better tools to tackle societal problems (ScienceInsider)
- NIST expands hiring authority for IT leads, engineers, scientists (ExecutiveGov)
- Landscape analysis of scholarly publishing (SPARC)
- Academic publisher fined $50 million for deceptive practices (Physics Today)
- Maintaining confidentiality in peer review (NIH, audio)
- The replication crisis is good for science (The Conversation, perspective by Eric Loken)
- Turning the periodic table upside down (Nature Chemistry, perspective by Martyn Poliakoff, et al.)
- Forget the black hole picture — Check out the sweet technology that made it possible (FiveThirtyEight)
- The hidden shipping and handling behind that black-hole picture (The Atlantic)
Labs and Facilities
- China’s astronomers helped capture photo of black hole but couldn’t use world’s biggest telescope to do it (South China Morning Post)
- The rise and rise of ‘new big science’ (Physics World)
- 10 ways SLAC’s X-ray laser has transformed science (SLAC)
- Some theorists have taken to designing their own experiments to broaden the search for dark matter (Symmetry)
- Medical isotope producer to be built on decontaminated land near old uranium production plant (Knoxville News Sentinel)
- New device in Z machine measures power for nuclear fusion (Sandia National Lab)
Energy
- US energy use rises to highest level ever (Lawrence Livermore National Lab)
- An opportunity for nuclear energy in Alaska (Anchorage Daily News, perspective by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK))
- Trump’s latest idea to help coal is mini power plants (Bloomberg)
- Carbon capture and storage, a White House strategy for fixing the climate? (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- Thomas Edison would not be happy (New York Times, perspective by Barry Edison Sloane)
Quantum Science and Technology
- US research team expands quantum network with successful long-distance entanglement experiment (Brookhaven National Lab)
- Brookhaven joins the IBM Q network hub at Oak Ridge National Lab (Brookhaven National Lab)
- NC State and IBM build hub for quantum computing research (Campus Technology)
- To upgrade quantum computers, researchers look to materials science (C&EN)
- Noisy quantum computers could be good for chemistry problems (Wired)
Space
- Two phases of the moon — NASA will tackle lunar return fast, then sustainably (SpacePolicyOnline)
- NASA’s accelerated moon plans create uncertainty for international partners (SpaceNews)
- Space industry in wait-and-see mode amid organizational shuffle (SpaceNews)
- What’s next for the global space race (Wall Street Journal)
- Bad moonshot rising: The moon’s dubious strategic value (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, perspective by Kyle Evanoff)
- NASA selects two new space tech research institutes for smart habitats (NASA)
- NASA awards DART launch contract to SpaceX (SpaceNews)
- Israel plans new moonshot after maiden mission fails (Reuters)
Weather, Climate, and Environment
- Inside conservatives’ disarray on climate (E&E News)
- AccuWeather, under Trump nominee Barry Myers, was rife with harassment, including groping and kissing, report says (Washington Post)
- NOAA monitoring stations are off-line from a GPS Y2K moment (Eos)
- Ocean uproar: saving marine life from a barrage of noise (Nature)
- NASA awards Planet $6.7 million for climate campaign (SpaceNews)
- What spy-satellite companies can teach NASA about climate change (The Atlantic)
- Bruce Wielicki thinks the world needs a climate observatory (APS News, interview)
- Hawaiian Volcano Observatory searches for a new home (Eos)
Defense
- Statement on DOD Disbanding Science and Engineering Advisory Group JASON (AAAS)
- Pentagon’s Jason group is not worth mourning (DefenseNews, perspective by Jill Aitoro)
- Exclusive interview with the Space Development Agency’s Fred Kennedy: ‘How we do things in space has to change’ (SpaceNews)
- Air Force Secretary Wilson fires back at SDA: Satellites in LEO can’t replace legacy systems (SpaceNews)
- Senators unsure about need for Space Force (SpacePolicyOnline)
- Chinese threats necessitate new space structures, Shanahan warns (DefenseNews)
- The EMP threat is real, but it shouldn’t keep you up at night (Stratfor, perspective by Scott Stewart)
- America needs space-based interceptors (National Defense Magazine, perspective by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX))
Biomedical
- Development of a knowledge readiness level framework for medical research (RAND, report)
- NIH’s role in sustaining the US economy (United for Medical Research)
- Gene-edited babies: What a Chinese scientist told an American mentor (New York Times)
International Affairs
- FBI bars some China scholars from visiting the US over spying fears (New York Times)
- US puts 37 Chinese companies and schools on red-flag ‘unverified’ list (Reuters)
- Commerce Department adds 50 foreign entities to the Unverified List (and removes 10) (Akin Gump)
- Is China catching up to the United States in innovation? (ITIF, report)
- China’s pursuit of space power status and implications for the US (US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, report)
- No major breakthroughs, but EU claims progress in science talks with China (Science|Business)
- Horizon 2020 will provide €195 million to improve the R&I potential in seven EU countries (European Commission)
- CERN unveils Science Gateway project (Science|Business)
- UK universities lose grants and staff as Brexit uncertainty grows (Times Higher Education)
- Time for UKRI to show its hand (*Research, perspective by James Wilsdon)
- Germany faces first research funding cut in 16 years (Times Higher Education)
- Japan prepares ‘moonshot’ project to solve global problems (Nature)
- Canadian brain gain policies are bearing fruit, says sector chief (Times Higher Education)
- Australia’s major parties offer scant details on STEM policy and funding (The Conversation, perspective by Kylie Walker and Emma Johnston)
- Politics could upend global trade in rare earth elements (Science)