What’s Ahead
Two Major STEM Education Events Convening in DC
Educators, students, scientists, and industry and government leaders will be convening this week in Washington D.C. for two high profile events focused on STEM education. Wednesday through Friday, U.S. News and World Report will be hosting its annual STEM education and workforce conference , with the theme of “Skills, Jobs and the New Collar Economy.” Among the keynote speakers will be Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D), Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R), and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Assistant Director for STEM Education Jeff Weld. On Thursday, several individuals will be inducted into the U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame, including National Science Foundation Director France Córdova.. The 2018 USA Science and Engineering Festival is also hosting several events geared towards encouraging students to pursue STEM careers, culminating in a weekend Festival Expo open to the public.
NASA Heliophysics Advisory Panel Meeting
The advisory committee for NASA’s Heliophysics Division is meeting on Thursday and Friday in Washington, D.C. Acting Division Director Peg Luce will kick off the meeting with a general division update and discussion of the implications of flat out-year budgets for the DRIVE initiative , a top priority of the 2013 decadal survey for solar and space physics. The committee will also receive an update on Heliophysics Science Centers, which the decadal recommended that NASA and the National Science Foundation create as part of the initiative. The final fiscal year 2018 spending bill, which provided a 1 percent budget increase for the division, expressed support for establishing such centers. Implementation issues with the centers were discussed at the committee’s previous meeting in December 2017. The committee will also discuss a charge to review how the Research and Analysis program identifies and reviews interdisciplinary and high-impact, high-risk projects. The meeting will be webcast.
NOAA Science Advisory Board Convening Early Next Week
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Science Advisory Board is meeting next Monday and Tuesday in Washington, D.C. In addition to receiving updates from NOAA Acting Administrator Tim Gallaudet and Acting Chief Scientist Craig McLean, the board will hear presentations on the recently released decadal survey for space-based Earth science and on an upcoming National Academies study to establish a community-wide vision for the future of the U.S. weather enterprise. The meeting will be webcast, and several meeting documents are already posted here .
AMS Hosting Forecasting and Water Management Workshop
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the American Meteorological Society Policy Program is convening a workshop to examine how advances in forecasting can inform water resources management. A key goal is to identify opportunities for more effective collaboration between forecasters and water managers. Workshop participants will discuss how forecasts are used by water managers, how development of subseasonal and seasonal forecasts will affect water resource managers, and what are promising placed-based and federal policy options, among other topics. The workshop will conclude with a congressional briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
In Case You Missed It
Webb Telescope Delay Likely to Lead to Cost Cap Breach
NASA announced on March 27 that the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be further delayed by at least one year. The announcement follows a report by the mission’s standing review board, which concluded with 70 percent confidence that launch would be possible by May 2020 following setbacks in assembly and testing of the telescope. NASA will now establish an independent review board (IRB), chaired by Thomas Young, former president of Martin Marietta. The IRB will deliver its assessment in May, and NASA plans to report to Congress in June with an updated launch date and a determination of whether JWST will breach its $8 billion development cost cap. If the cap is breached, as seems likely , NASA will require Congress’ permission for work on the mission to continue. Speaking at the National Academies Space Science Week on March 28, NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz said additional development funding could be diverted from JWST’s planned post-launch operations budget and that he thinks the impact on the rest of the division’s portfolio would be modest.
NASA Suggests Pushing Back Astrophysics Decadal Survey
At a media briefing on the JWST delay, Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said it might be desirable to delay the next National Academies decadal survey for astronomy and astrophysics, currently due for release in 2020. He remarked,
The question that we’re going to discuss with the community overall is when the right time is to do the decadal survey. … That analysis, should it be done when we have real data from Webb in our hands or before? So, it’s that very discussion, I think, that of course requires more than just NASA’s opinion. It requires many stakeholders, as the decadal of course responds not only to NASA but also the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and others.
NASA Names Nicola Fox Next Heliophysics Division Director
NASA has selected Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) solar physicist Nicola Fox to be the next director of its Heliophysics Division. Fox is a senior member of the team working on the flagship Parker Solar Probe and will join NASA in August following the mission’s anticipated launch this summer. She has worked at APL since 1998 and before that she was at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She received her Ph.D. in space plasma physics in 1995 from Imperial College in London. Fox succeeds Steve Clarke, who was detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy last summer. Peg Luce has been serving as acting director since then.
Pruitt Says EPA Will Only Use Research with Public Data
In an interview with the Daily Caller, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency will only rely on research findings with publicly available data in developing new regulations. Pruitt said, “We need to make sure [studies’] research and methodology are published as part of the record. Otherwise, it’s not transparent. It’s not objectively measured, and that’s important.” The policy shift reflects provisions in the House Science Committee’s “Honest and Open EPA Science Treatment (HONEST) Act,” which the House passed one year ago on a mostly party-line vote and is still pending in the Senate. Last year, Pruitt implemented provisions from another pending Science Committee bill when he stipulated that recipients of EPA grants cannot simultaneously serve as members of the agency’s advisory panels. Critics of Pruitt’s latest move argue it unduly restricts the scope of research on which EPA can rely. In a New York Times op-ed , Obama administration EPA officials Gina McCarthy and Janet McCabe charged, “Mr. Pruitt’s goal is simple: No studies, no data, no rules. No climate science, for instance, means no climate policy.” They also warned that the new policy “could be a catalyst for the unraveling of existing public health protections if the studies used to justify them could no longer be used by EPA.”
ITER Avoids Near-Term Delays with Increased US Contribution
Bernard Bigot, head of the multi-national ITER fusion facility under construction in France, said last week that the increased U.S. contribution to the project provided by the final spending bill for fiscal year 2018 will “prevent ITER having to announce project delays in 2018.” Congress allocated $122 million for “in-kind contributions and related support activities,” over double what it provided last year. The amount is equal to the level of U.S. hardware contributions DOE has estimated is necessary for ITER to achieve first plasma by 2028, a key milestone. However, the bill does not address the U.S.’s backlog of cash obligations, which Congress has withheld. Bigot noted that cash contributions will ultimately be required to keep the project on track, and said he “hope[s] that at least maybe a small part of the U.S. 2018 contribution could be in cash so as to give a political signal to the other ITER members.” The Trump administration is currently assessing whether to remain in ITER as part of a broader nuclear energy policy review.
Energy Secretary Perry Tours California Labs
Energy Secretary Rick Perry continued his tour of the department’s 17 national labs last week, visiting the four that are in California. At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Perry visited beamlines optimized for battery research at the Advanced Light Source, toured the Molecular Foundry, and signed the Cori supercomputer at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. Perry also delivered addresses to employees at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and at Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories . A video of the SLAC town hall is available here . After Perry’s talk, Stanford University Provost Persis Drell told The Stanford Daily that she thought he did an “outstanding job” expressing his support for national lab researchers, and added, “What Secretary Perry has done, so far, is deliver a 2018 budget for science that’s the best budget we’ve seen in a long, long time and that’s great.”
Events This Week
Monday, April 2 NSF: Biological Sciences Advisory Committee meeting
(continues Tuesday)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Mon; 8:30 am - 1:00 pm, Tue
NSF headquarters (Alexandria, VA)
National Academies: “A Research Agenda for a New Era in Separations Science,” meeting two
12:00 - 1:30 pm, Keck Center (500 5th St. NW, DC)
NSB: Committee on Skilled Technical Workforce teleconference
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Columbia University: “Speaking Science to Power: The Importance of Facts in Decision-making”
6:00 - 7:00 pm, Columbia University (New York, NY)
Tuesday, April 3 NASA/JPL: Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting
(continues through Thursday)
8:15 am - 5:45 pm, Tue; 8:15 am - 6:00 pm, Wed; 8:00 am - 3:00 pm, Thu
Crystal City Marriott (Arlington, VA)
Webcast available
CMU: Energy Week
(continues through Friday)
Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
AMS: Workshop on “Translating Advances in Forecasting to Inform Water Resources Management”
(continues Wednesday)
8:30 am - 5:45 pm, Tue; 8:30 am - 12:30 pm, Wed
AAAS headquarters (1200 New York Ave. NW, DC)
USGS: National Geospatial Advisory Committee meeting
(continues Wednesday)
8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Tue; 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Wed
Department Interior headquarters (1849 C St. NW, DC)
Webcast available
NOAA: Commercial Remote Sensing Advisory Committee meeting
Open sessions: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, 1:15 - 4:00 pm
Silver Spring Civic Center (Silver Spring, MD)
National Academies: “Extraterrestrial Sample Analysis Facilities,” meeting six
(continues through Thursday)
Open session: 11:15 am - 8:00 pm, Tue
Keck Center (500 5th St. NW, DC)
Wednesday, April 4 US News & World Report: STEM Solutions Conference on “Skills, Jobs & the New Collar Economy”
(continues through Friday)
Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Place NW, DC)
Brookings: “The economic, political, and security implications of technology transfer”
10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW, DC)
Wilson Center: “Cutting Through the Noise: Engaging the Public in Arctic Science”
10:30 am - 12:00 pm, Reagan International Trade Center (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC)
Thursday, April 5 NDIA: Discussion on Defense S&T programs with Senate Armed Services Committee staff member Arun Seraphin
7:00 - 8:30 am, Army and Navy Club (901 17th St. NW, DC)
NASA: Heliophysics Advisory Committee meeting
(continues Friday)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Thu; 9:00 am - 1:45 pm, Fri
NASA headquarters (300 E St. SW, DC)
Webcast available
AGU: “Science Funding: The Saga Continues” webinar
2:00 - 3:00 pm
Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy: D.C. Science Policy Happy Hour
5:30 - 7:30 pm, Penn Social (801 E St. NW, DC)
Friday, April 6 Stimson Center: “Solving the Unsolvable: Nuclear Waste Solutions for the New Millennium”
9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Stimson Center (1211 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC)
Saturday, April 7 USA Science and Engineering Festival
(continues Sunday)
10:00 am - 6:00 pm, Sat; 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, Sun
Washington Convention Center (801 Mt. Vernon Place NW, DC)
Monday, April 9 NOAA: Science Advisory Board meeting
(continues Tuesday)
9:30 am - 5:00 pm, Mon; 8:30 am - 12:10 pm, Tue
Westin Washington Hotel (1400 M St. NW, DC)
Webcast available
Opportunities
House Appropriations Subcommittees Accepting Input on FY19 Budget
Several House Appropriations subcommittees are accepting testimony from outside witnesses as they develop spending legislation for fiscal year 2019. The Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee is accepting submissions through April 27 and the Energy-Water Development Subcommittee is accepting submissions through April 20. Details for other subcommittees are available here .
APS Seeking Policy Intern
The American Physical Society is accepting applications for a science policy internship position in its Office of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. Responsibilities include working with staff on federal science budget tracking and science infrastructure initiatives as well as assisting with advocacy efforts involving APS members, among other duties. Individuals with a bachelor’s degree are eligible, with preference given to physical sciences and public policy majors.
NSF Updating Geosciences Roadmap
The advisory committee for the National Science Foundation’s Geosciences Directorate is seeking public comment on its efforts to update a 2014 report entitled “Dynamic Earth: GEO Imperatives & Frontiers 2015-2020.” The committee is requesting suggestions on new organizational structure and content, specifically recent developments and exciting areas within the geosciences. Comments should be submitted to geovision@nsf.gov by April 15.
For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities. 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
- Trump’s record on science so far is a mixed bag (Washington Post, editorial)
- Interagency arctic research policy committee biennial report 2016-2017 (NSTC, report)
- Spending measure could disrupt Trump’s plans to reorganize agencies (Washington Post)
- Prospects unclear for Trump’s $1 billion workforce performance fund (Government Executive)
Congress
- A fiscal year finalized: Astronomical sciences in the FY18 omnibus (AAS)
- Delay and unpredictability of US spending bill raises questions over the ‘effectiveness’ of increased investment, say policy experts (Times Higher Education)
- Armed Services Committee announces markup schedule for FY19 NDAA (House)
Political Engagement
- Partnership announced with the 2018 March for Science (AAAS)
- American Astronomical Society visits Capitol Hill to advocate for investment in astronomy (AAS)
- Becoming a skilled advocate for chemistry (C&EN, perspective by Raymond Forslund)
- PhD students learn how to tug at federal purse strings (UC Berkeley)
Science, Society, and the Economy
- SciLine scores successes in first five months of operation (Science)
- An uptrend in US R&D spending: Possible breakthrough period ahead (R&D Magazine, perspective by Bradford Goldense)
- What economists don’t know about manufacturing (The American Interest, perspective by Bill Bonvillian and Peter Singer)
Education and Workforce
- US to seek social media details from all visa applicants (AP)
- Don’t slam the door on Chinese students (Bloomberg, editorial)
- Displaced scientists strive to restart professional lives in new lands (Physics Today)
- More than one-third of graduate students report being depressed (Nature)
- Time to talk about why so many postgrads have poor mental health (Nature, editorial)
- For women in science, busting barriers is just part of the job (Christian Science Monitor)
- AAAS annual meeting examines need for diversity in science (Science)
- Anatomy of STEM teaching in North American universities (Science, paper by Marilyne Stains, et al.)
- Inspiring and Training the Next STEM Generation (DOE, perspective by Nigel Lockyer)
- Sparking scientific curiosity (DOE, perspective by Terry Wallace, Jr.)
- 2018’s most and least innovative states (WalletHub)
Research Management
- Keeping science honest (Science, editorial)
- Cancer researcher at The Ohio State University resigns following multiple misconduct findings (ScienceInsider)
- Feds: Pitt professor agrees to pay government more than $130K to resolve claims of research grant misdeeds (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Amazon peer review: Coming to a preprint near you (The Scholarly Kitchen)
- Want to crowdfund your science? New study hints at who is successful (ScienceInsider)
- The benefits of investing in interdisciplinarity (Physics Today, perspective by Alaina Levine)
Labs and Facilities
- DOE Under Secretary Paul Dabbar visits Ames Laboratory (Ames Lab)
- David Dean named associate laboratory director for physical sciences (ORNL)
- Work to start on $90 million lab in Richland, thanks to federal budget (Tri City Herald)
- NNSA talked with LANL bidders last week (Exchange Monitor)
- University of Alabama among seven universities joining UCAR consortium (UCAR)
- Higgs factory a ‘must for big physics’ (BBC, interview with Nigel Lockyer)
- Center for Theoretical Physics celebrates 50 years (MIT)
Energy
- Three struggling nuclear plants need an ‘emergency’ government rescue, company pleads (Washington Post)
- US nuclear-power leadership and the Chinese and Russian challenge (Atlantic Council, report)
- The president’s own party still doesn’t back his attempts to dismantle clean energy (Greentech Media)
- Why I blew the whistle on the Rick Perry meeting (CNN, perspective by Simon Edelman)
Space
- WFIRST work continues despite budget and schedule uncertainty (SpaceNews)
- Europa lander concept redesigned to lower cost and complexity (SpaceNews)
- Meet TESS, seeker of alien worlds (New York Times)
- NASA’s new satellite TESS brings the search for Earthlike exoplanets closer to home (Science)
- NASA weighs changes to space technology programs and organization (SpaceNews)
- Radiation Budget Instrument under development in city shelved (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette)
- Winners and losers NASA’s budget for 2018 and beyond (Forbes, perspective by Ethan Siegel)
Weather, Climate, and Environment
- EPA says it wants research transparency. Scientists see an attack on science (New York Times)
- At Pruitt’s EPA: No studies, no data, no rules (New York Times, editorial)
- There’s still no such thing as sound science (FiveThirtyEight, perspective by Christie Aschwanden)
- NASW board objects to EPA press office action on science policy shift (National Association of Science Writers)
- EPA staffers get talking points playing down human role in climate change (Washington Post)
- Climate alarmists likened a courtroom ‘tutorial’ to the Scopes Monkey Trial. But their side got schooled. (Wall Street Journal, perspective by Phelim McAleer)
- Move to open CRS reports spotlights agency’s climate debate (E&E News)
- New National Academies’ report lays out path forward for methane research (NOAA)
Defense
- Deputy Secretary explains priorities in evolving the future force (DOD)
- Army acquisition chief revamping R&D funding (National Defense Magazine)
- Air Force Secretary Wilson: Space programs can move faster, but Congress has to tolerate some failures (SpaceNews)
- Space Force fans, be careful what you wish for (SpaceNews, perspective by Sandra Erwin)
- Physicists decry cuts to NNSA inertial fusion program (Physics Today)
- Pentagon, Raytheon re-energize directed-energy weapons push (Stars and Stripes)
- Lawrence Livermore to lead United States-United Kingdom consortium for demonstrating remote monitoring of nuclear reactors (LLNL)
- How to spot a nuclear bomb program? Look for antineutrinos (New York Times)
- Nuclear weapons dangers and policy options (Physics Today, paper by Steve Fetter, et al.)
- On Iran and North Korea: Don’t trust, and verify, verify, verify (Boston Globe, perspective by Ernest Moniz)
Biomedical
- In emotional speech, CDC’s new leader vows to uphold science (Washington Post)
- NIH is faring surprisingly well under Trump (Vox)
- NIH moves to punish researchers who violate confidentiality in proposal reviews (ScienceInsider)
- Do reviewers read references? And if so, does it impact their scores? (NIH)
- X-ray ‘ghost images’ could cut radiation doses (Science)
International Affairs
- EU’s next research framework programme almost ready, says European Commission R&D chief (*Research)
- ‘Evolution, not revolution’ will guide next EU research funding program (Horizon, interview with Jean-Eric Paquet)
- There are worries European technology will be left behind (Bloomberg)
- Brexit and research – What we know and what we don’t know (Royal Society)
- Brexit creates big challenges for government science advisers. Can universities help? (The Guardian, perspective by Graeme Reid)
- Scientists in Africa wonder if there’s bias against their research (NPR)
- Rwanda senators call for review of science and research policy (allAfrica)
- India taps biologist as new science adviser (Science)
- China’s technonationalism toolbox: A primer (US-China Economic and Security Review Commission)
- Treasury to use national security laws to shield US tech from China (Wall Street Journal)
- FBI indicts nine Iranians in a massive scheme to target academic credentials and steal content (The Scholarly Kitchen, perspective by Todd Carpenter)
- US discovery of Iranian cyberattack doesn’t seem to alarm universities (Chronicle of Higher Education)