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What’s Ahead
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| Sociologist Alondra Nelson is leaving the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy after two years leading its Science and Society team, which was created at the outset of the Biden administration. She also served as the office’s interim director for much of 2022. (Image credit – Argonne National Lab) |
Alondra Nelson Leaving OSTP
Alondra Nelson, who leads the Science and Society team at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is stepping down on Friday. The first person to hold such a position at the office, President Biden announced her appointment in January 2021 alongside his choice of Eric Lander to be his science adviser and the office’s director. She will now return to her position as a sociologist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, having been on a two-year leave of absence. During her time at OSTP, Nelson has led the office’s efforts to promote diversity and equity in the sciences and to imbue equity considerations into science and technology policy deliberations, such as in the “bill of rights” it developed for artificial intelligence. Nelson also served as acting OSTP director for seven months last year after Lander resigned when reports emerged he was verbally abusive toward office staff members. In addition to working to reconstruct the office’s culture, during her interim leadership she released a major policy memorandum that sets up a requirement that articles stemming from federally funded research and certain underlying data be freely available upon publication. Nelson’s exit adds to the number of current leadership vacancies at OSTP, which include the deputy directors for national security and health and life sciences, as well as the U.S. chief technology officer, which has been vacant throughout the Biden administration.
House Science Committee Shifting Into Gear
The House Science Committee is holding an organizational meeting on Wednesday to adopt the governing rules and oversight priorities of the new Republican majority. Republicans have now filled 19 of their 22 seats on the committee, excluding scandal-enmeshed first-term Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who has recused himself from committee assignments, citing investigations he is facing for alleged campaign finance fraud. The Republicans have also announced staff leads for the panel’s five subcommittees but have not yet assigned subcommittee chairs. Democrats filled their two remaining open seats on the committee last week, reappointing Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) and welcoming Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), who has become active on policy for artificial intelligence and marked his appointment with a press release written by an AI chatbot. Two Democrats who held subcommittee leadership roles in the last Congress were not reappointed despite wanting to remain on board: Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who chaired the space subcommittee, and Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), a former Fermilab physicist who chaired the oversight subcommittee. A spokesperson for Foster told FYI in an email that Democratic leadership denied the waiver he has previously received allowing him to serve on both the Science Committee and the Financial Services Committee. (Correction: Last week, FYI incorrectly stated Democrats had three open seats left on the committee.)
Congress Nears End of Organizing Period
Various other committees are also holding organizational meetings this week now that their rosters have been finalized. Senate Republicans announced their full slate of committee appointments last week, following Senate Democrats’ appointments last month. Many committees have just announced their subcommittee leaders or are expected to do so imminently. Keep up to date on leadership assignments with FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker.
- Appropriations Committees: House Democrats announced the leaders of key science appropriations subcommittees are staying the same this year, in contrast to the reshuffling on the Republican side. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) is returning as top appropriator for the Department of Energy and Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) is remaining as the top appropriator for NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The committee is holding its organizing meeting on Wednesday. As of Monday, neither party had announced subcommittee leaders for the Senate Appropriations Committee.
- Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee: Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced subcommittee chairs last week. Sen. Krysten Sinema (I-AZ) is replacing Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) as chair of the Space and Science Subcommittee, which oversees NASA, NSF, and NIST. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is returning as chair of the Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing Subcommittee, which oversees NOAA and manufacturing programs at the Commerce Department. Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) has not yet announced which Republicans will serve as subcommittee ranking members. The committee is holding its organizing meeting on Thursday.
- Armed Services Committees: Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee have reportedly selected Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to lead the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, replacing Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and retained Sen. Angus King (I-ME) as chair of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which oversees the National Nuclear Security Administration. The House Armed Services Committee finished announcing its subcommittee rosters last week and is kicking off work this week with hearings focused on the “future of war,” the state of the defense industrial base, and China.
- House Natural Resources Committee: Republicans and Democrats announced their full rosters and subcommittee leaders last week. The committee is holding hearings this week on critical minerals supply chains and U.S. energy and mineral resources.
Academies Releasing Assessment of Deteriorating NIST Assets
The National Academies is releasing a technical assessment this week of capital facility needs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has main campuses in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado. NIST stated in its latest budget request that its facilities are “in an accelerated rate of decline and need extensive work to reverse the trend,” and that “critical-level incidents … are increasing exponentially.” Congress substantially increased funding for NIST facilities in its fiscal year 2023 appropriation after years of flat funding, but much more would be needed to resolve the agency’s maintenance backlog, which is estimated to exceed $800 million. The Academies is holding a briefing on the assessment on Tuesday, featuring Ross Corotis, the chair of the assessment committee and an engineering professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as Eric Dillinger, an executive at engineering consulting firm Woolpert, and Kent Rochford, chief executive officer of SPIE and former head of NIST’s laboratory programs. The Academies completed a similar assessment of National Institutes of Health capital facility needs in 2019.
NIST Advisory Panels Convening
The main advisory panel for the National Institute of Standards and Technology is meeting on Wednesday and Thursday. The agenda includes a discussion of the new National Academies assessment of the agency’s capital facility needs and an update from former Idaho National Lab Director Mark Peters, who is charing a new safety commission for NIST. The commission, which held its first meeting in January, was empaneled in the wake of events such as a radiation incident in 2021 at NIST’s research reactor and a fatal fall last year at its National Fire Research Laboratory. The advisory panel will also hear from senior NIST officials about the agency’s administration of the semiconductor initiatives funded through the CHIPS and Science Act. A separate advisory committee of industry stakeholders that NIST created to gather input for those initiatives is meeting on Tuesday.
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In Case You Missed It
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| NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and India’s ambassador to the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu signed an “implementation arrangement” on Jan. 31 to streamline projects jointly funded by the U.S. and India. (Image credit – Lily Le / NSF) |
US–India Emerging Technologies Initiative Holds First Meeting
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval hosted the inaugural meeting of the U.S.–India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) in Washington, D.C., last week. The initiative, which the two countries agreed to launch last May, is part of a U.S. effort to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region, including in science and technology, in part to offset China’s influence. Areas for planned work include establishing an “Indo–U.S. Quantum Coordination Mechanism,” launching an “innovation bridge” to connect U.S. and Indian defense technology startups, and expanding cooperation between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization, such as through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. As part of the meeting, the National Science Foundation also signed an “implementation arrangement” with India to streamline jointly funded projects. In coordination with government-led efforts, the Association of American Universities announced it is organizing a task force to expand partnerships between universities in the U.S. and India. In addition, the Semiconductor Industry Association and the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association announced another task force focused on building up public-private collaborations in developing the global chipmaking ecosystem.
House China Committee Taking Shape
Last week, House Democratic leadership appointed Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) as their ranking member on the newly created Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Announcing his selection, Krishnamoorthi stated, “The Chinese Communist Party poses serious economic and security threats to the United States and to democracy and prosperity across the globe, illustrated by its threats against Taiwan’s democracy, its weaponization of TikTok, and its theft of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American intellectual property. … That said, at a time when anti-Asian hate and violence are on the rise, it’s essential that this committee focuses its vital work on protecting all Americans from the threat posed by the CCP, while avoiding dangerous rhetoric that fuels the types of xenophobia that have endangered members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.” Committee Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI) stated he is “thrilled” to work with Krishnamoorthi. Among their first joint actions, they condemned China’s flight of a surveillance balloon over the U.S., which the Air Force shot down on Feb. 4. Of the other 10 Democratic members appointed to the panel, two are also leading members of the House Science Committee: Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Haley Stevens (D-MI). None of the 13 Republican members are also on the Science Committee.
DOE Updates Senators on Infrastructure Act Efforts
Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last week to field questions about the Department of Energy’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Turk said DOE has already received $37 billion of the $62 billion the law is providing to the department. He also noted the law has required the department to set up 60 new programs and expand 12 others. The department has set out to hire 1,000 employees for what it is calling a Clean Energy Corps and Turk reported that to date it has hired more than 400 new staff members. He expanded in his written testimony that DOE has issued 50 requests for information to guide program design as well as 38 funding opportunity announcements, and that some funding awardees have already been selected, including 20 battery materials companies to receive a total of $2.8 billion. Responding to criticisms that one of those companies, Microvast, has extensive operations in China that expose it to intellectual property vulnerabilities, Turk clarified that DOE is still negotiating an award with it, which involves conducting additional “due diligence” before disbursing funds.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, February 6
Tuesday, February 7
State of the Union
9:00 pm
Wednesday, February 8
Thursday, February 9
Friday, February 10
Monday, February 13
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Opportunities
DOE Soliciting Input on Placed-Based Innovation
The Department of Energy is requesting stakeholder input on potential opportunities in place-based innovation. DOE is particularly interested in ideas leveraging its national laboratories and sites that would catalyze innovation ecosystems and contribute to department activities in energy technology, environmental remediation, and national security. Submissions are due March 28.
USGS Seeks Comments on Helium Supply Risks
The U.S. Geological Survey has issued a request for public comment on the risk of disruptions to helium supplies, such as from geopolitical developments, and on the potential effects in different sectors, including scientific applications. The agency states that, although helium did not meet the criteria for inclusion on its most recent list of critical minerals, it still regards helium as “a commodity that warrants watching.” Responses are due March 16.
Members Sought for Study Panel on HBCU Defense Research
The National Academies is calling for nominations of experts to participate on a study panel that will develop a plan to promote defense research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Institutions. The panel will follow up on the work of a previous one that issued a report last year on the status of defense research at such institutions. Relevant forms of expertise include but are not limited to experience as administrators or academic leaders at a minority-serving institution, understanding of Defense Department grants and contracts, and knowledge of workforce development strategies. Nominations are due Feb. 16.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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