What’s Ahead
Shutdown’s Impacts Threaten to Intensify as Funding Dries Up
With the partial government shutdown now in its fifth week, science-supporting agencies and their contractors have been taking extraordinary measures to stave off additional furloughs and keep major research facilities running. The contractor that administers a premier postdoctoral fellowship program for NASA opted to temporarily offer no-interest loans to fellows when the program ran out of funds last week. The National Center for Atmospheric Research was also set to begin furloughing employees when it received an influx of funds from the National Science Foundation, enabling it to operate through mid-February. NSF was able to offer other facilities a similar lifeline, though it has estimated that many will exhaust their remaining funds in February and have to go into “caretaker” status. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is also expected to start furloughing employees if the shutdown extends into February. Meanwhile, President Trump and Democratic leaders in Congress still appear far from ending their impasse. Federal workers did however gain a measure of consolation last week when Trump signed legislation that will provide them back pay once the shutdown ends. Several Democratic senators have introduced legislation that would also provide back pay to low-wage contractors, but it is unclear if the proposal will gain traction.
New Spending Packages Reveal Science Funding Details
In its latest bid to reopen the government, the House plans to vote this Wednesday on a spending package that Democratic leaders say was the product of bipartisan bicameral negotiations last year before the shutdown began. The House Appropriations Committee has released explanatory statements to accompany the legislation, revealing details about proposed funding levels for science programs at several agencies. They show that appropriators are poised to provide a 11 percent budget increase for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, a 4 percent increase for the National Science Foundation, a marginal increase for the U.S. Geological Survey, and flat funding for research programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The Senate also plans to vote this week on a spending package that would provide these same amounts. However, Democrats oppose the Senate bill because it contains the $5.7 billion Trump has requested for border wall funding and concessions on immigration they deem inadequate. Meanwhile, Republicans oppose the House bill because it does not contain provisions for border security that will gain the president’s approval.
In Case You Missed It
New Missile Defense Strategy Takes Aim at High-Tech Threats
The Missile Defense Review released last week outlines the Trump administration’s plans to expand existing interceptor systems and pursue new capabilities to counter increasingly sophisticated threats from adversarial nations. Driven by concerns about hypersonic missiles, the report endorses developing a constellation of space-based sensors that would provide “birth-to-death” tracking of launches around the globe. At the release event, President Trump said his next budget request will include funding to start work on the sensor layer. The report also notes the administration’s interest in space-based interceptors , but stops short of committing to pursue such a capability. More broadly, the report states the Department of Defense will carry out a “vigorous science and technology research program in addition to the exploration of innovative concepts and advanced technologies that have the potential to provide more cost-effective U.S. defenses against expanding missile threats.” At a press briefing , Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin said the department is “confident that the technologies outlined in the report are technologies we want to investigate, with experiments and prototypes and tests — and I’ll emphasize again, tests — to see how well they work.”
Committee Leadership Continues to Take Shape
Congressional committees continued to announce leadership assignments last week. The leadership for the Appropriations Committees in both chambers is now fully in place, following House Republicans’ announcement of their subcommittee assignments. On those committees, responsibility for science agency funding is spread across several subcommittees. The most notable development is that Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) will take the slot vacated by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), an influential advocate for scientific research and space exploration funding. Selected committee leadership assignments are detailed in the table below.
Both parties have now announced subcommittee leaders for the Senate Armed Services Committee. The most important subcommittee for science policy is the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, which handles most R&D-related matters. Notably, though, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a vocal advocate for the national security laboratories in his state, is the new ranking member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which handles nuclear weapons and the infrastructure that supports their production and maintenance.
Although Democrats have not formally announced subcommittee assignments for the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, its reorganization is reportedly bringing new leadership to its main subcommittees for science policy. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will now take over for Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) on NASA-related issues. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will be ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
UPDATE: Contrary to initial media reports, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) will be ranking member of the Aviation and Space Subcommittee, not Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
Finally, Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee confirmed that Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) will become chair of the Energy Subcommittee, while Paul Tonko (D-NY) will take over as chair of the newly renamed Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee. Rush and Tonko were previously the ranking members on those committees. For other leadership assignments that have made to date and for updates, see FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker .
Science Agency Nominations Resubmitted to Senate
On Jan. 16, President Trump renominated a host of appointees that were not confirmed in the last Congress. Among them are his nominations of Chris Fall to be director of the Department of Energy Office of Science, Lane Genatowski to be director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, Rita Baranwal to lead the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy, William Bookless to be deputy director of the National Nuclear Security Administration, and William Bryan to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s R&D arm. Each of these nominees received little to no public pushback during the prior Congress. Trump also re-upped his controversial nomination of Barry Myers to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. To fufill a government ethics pledge, Myers stepped down as AccuWeather CEO on Jan. 1 and he and his wife divested from their interests in the company.
EPA Nominee Pressed on Climate Views
The reception to EPA Administrator Nominee Andrew Wheeler largely split along party lines at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Jan. 16. Republican senators pointed to his past experience as an EPA employee and longtime staffer for the Environment and Public Works Committee as exemplary qualifications for the post, while Democratic committee members criticized the regulatory rollbacks he has advanced as acting administrator and probed his views on climate change. Asked by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) if he agrees climate change is “one of the great crises facing our planet,” Wheeler replied, “I would not call it the greatest crisis … I consider it a huge issue that has to be addressed globally.” He later rated his level of concern about climate change as “about 8 or 9” out of 10 in response to a question by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Democratic senators also disputed Wheeler’s assertion that the administration’s replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan would lead to similar reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) praised Wheeler’s support for “innovation” as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Senators Look to Innovation to Reduce Nuclear Power Costs
At a Jan. 16 hearing , the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for the Department of Energy examined how advanced reactors and other innovative technologies could revitalize the U.S. nuclear power industry. In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said cost is the “single biggest obstacle” facing the industry, which he argued is essential to reducing carbon emissions from energy sources and combating climate change. As one way that technological innovation might help to reduce costs, he pointed to 3D printing, highlighting Congress’ appropriation of $30 million in fiscal year 2019 for Oak Ridge National Laboratory to explore the feasibility of 3D printing an entire microreactor. Oak Ridge Director Thomas Zacharia updated the committee on the program’s progress, saying the lab is pursuing the “audacious goal” of operating a printed microreactor in 60 months. He explained the program’s objective is to “change the manufacturing paradigm” in the nuclear industry rather than develop a new kind of commercial reactor. However, Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) expressed skepticism about the ability of such technologies to resolve her doubts about the safety of nuclear power, especially given the U.S. still has not approved a long-term repository for nuclear waste.
CERN Releases Concept for Next-Generation Collider
On Jan. 14, CERN released the concept design for a new particle accelerator referred to as the Future Circular Collider (FCC). Based in Switzerland, CERN currently hosts the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which can accelerate protons and antiprotons up to a maximum collision energy of 14 teraelectronvolts, well more than any other accelerator ever built. If designed to accelerate those particles, the FCC would eclipse that record, achieving collision energies of up to 100 teraelectronvolts. To attain such energies would require building new accelerator rings with a circumference of about 100 kilometers, nearly quadruple the LHC’s 27 kilometer circumference. If the FCC is built in two phases, first as an electron-positron collider that is then converted into a proton-antiproton collider, CERN estimates the total construction cost would be about $27 billion in current dollars. The facility would require 18 years of lead time before operations could begin, but, if both phases are built, science operations would not conclude until near the end of this century. The objective of the FCC would be to explore regimes of particle physics inaccessible to other facilities in the hope of revealing and exploring physical phenomena beyond the reach of the current Standard Model. CERN developed the FCC concept design for submission to the European Strategy for Particle Physics , a major planning process that is scheduled to conclude next year.
Events This Week
Tuesday, January 22 DOD: Air Force Scientific Advisory Board winter meeting
(continues through Friday)
Beckman Center (Irvine, CA), Closed to the public
Wednesday, January 23 World Economic Forum: “The Future of Science and Technology in Society”
8:30 am GMT+1, Webcast available
Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance: “The Missile Defense Review: Expanding the Mission of Missile Defense,” congressional briefing
3:30 - 5:00 pm, 902 Hart Senate Office Building
RIT: Photonics for Quantum Workshop
(continues through Friday)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, NY)
Thursday, January 24 FDP: Federal Demonstration Partnership winter meeting
(continues Friday)
7:30 am - 6:45 pm, Thu; 7:30 am - 11:45 pm Fri
Omni Shoreham Hotel (2500 Calvert St. NW, DC)
DOE: Grid Modernization Summit
(continues Friday)
8:00 am - 7:30 pm, Thu; 8:00 am - 12:30 pm, Fri
Seattle Airport Marriott (Seattle, WA)
Senate: “Roundtable to Discuss the US’ Overall Role in the Arctic from a Domestic and International Perspective”
10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building)
ADDED -- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: 2019 Doomsday Clock Announcement
10:00 am, National Press Club (529 14th St. NW, DC)
Webcast available
Friday, January 25 CNAS: “Financial Networks of Mass Destruction”
9:00 - 10:30 am, Center for a New American Security (1152 15th St. NW, DC)
NIH: Council of Councils Advisory Committee meeting
Open sessions: 8:15 - 11:45 am, 12:45 - 4:00 pm, NIH headquarters (Bethesda, MD)
Webcast available
Wilson Center: “The 2019 Journalists’ Guide to Environment and Energy”
3:00 - 5:00 pm, Woodrow Wilson Center (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC)
Webcast available
World Economic Forum: “Bridging Science with Society”
3:00 pm GMT+1, Webcast available
Monday, January 28 National Academies: “Workshop on Strategic Long-Term Participation by DOD in its Manufacturing Innovation Institutes”
(continues Tuesday)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Mon; 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Tue
Keck Center (500 5th St. NW, DC)
Atlantic Council: “The Global Status of Carbon Capture and Sequestration: Is US Technology Leadership at Risk?”
3:00 - 6:00 pm, Atlantic Council (1030 15th St. NW, DC)
Opportunities
AAS Seeking Congressional Visit Day Participants
The American Astronomical Society is seeking participants for its annual Congressional Visit Day on March 13. After attending a day-long training session on how to communicate with policymakers and the impact of policy on astronomy and other sciences, volunteers will meet with congressional staffers the following day on Capitol Hill. AAS members, especially graduate students and early-career professionals with limited to no experience interacting with Congress, are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Jan. 26.
California S&T Policy Fellowship Application Open
The California Council on Science and Technology is accepting applications for its year-long fellowship in the California State Legislature. The program aims to provide fellows with first-hand experience of the policymaking process, while also increasing the capacity of the legislature to develop science-informed policy. Scientists and engineers with a PhD or equivalent degree are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Feb. 28.
AGU Seeking ‘Voices for Science’
The American Geophysical Union is seeking applicants for its “Voice for Science” program. Individuals will join a community of science communication and policy advocates to directly engage policymakers, media, or the general public on topics related to earth and space sciences. Individuals with an aptitude for science communication are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Feb. 1.
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.
Federal Government Shutdown
- How the shutdown battle is affecting science — in four charts (Nature)
- No pay. No retirement. No stink bugs by mail. The shutdown pain is spreading (ScienceInsider)
- Here’s how the shutdown is delaying climate data and undercutting scientists (New York Times)
- Shutdown imperils NASA’s decade-long ice-measuring campaign (ScienceInsider)
- NASA postdocs hit by shutdown get emergency lifeline (Nature)
- JPL is still at work, for now (SpaceNews)
- Unpaid NASA workers protect critical missions during government shutdown (CBS News)
- The North Pole is moving, and the shutdown means we aren’t keeping up (Washington Post)
- Back-to-back storms and no pay for federal weather forecasters (NPR)
- Government shutdown slows exports of sensitive US materials (Wall Street Journal)
- As shutdown drags on, scientists scramble to keep insects, plants and microbes alive (Los Angeles Times)
- Surprise! Shutdown also disrupting US science agencies that aren’t closed (ScienceInsider)
- Chairwoman Johnson requests information on DOE travel prohibition (House Science Committee)
- If history is any guide, end of federal shutdown won’t bring quick relief for college researchers (Chronicle of Higher Education)
- The shutdown’s long term ripple effect on meetings (Associations Now)
- Shutdown will cast a long shadow over research (Nature, perspective by Anne Jefferson)
White House
- Kelvin Droegemeier, a new member of the science adviser fraternity (Physics Today, perspective by David Kramer)
- Advice for Trump’s science adviser (Nature, editorial)
- Another winter, another Trump call for ‘good old fashioned Global Warming’ (Washington Post)
Congress
- Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) plans to restore credibility to House Science Committee (Eos, interview)
- New House Science chair seeks more oversight of NASA projects (Politico, interview)
- Congress can stop the war on science (The Hill, perspective by Romany Webb and Lauren Kurtz)
Political Engagement
- STEM group launches ‘Draft Mark Kelly’ effort in Arizona (Roll Call)
- Why a scientist is running for Seattle City council (Scientific American)
- The unapologetically feminist scientist wave (Sister)
- Grad school activism (Inside Higher Ed, perspective by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein)
- Care about science? Demand a better democracy (Scientific American, perspective by Gretchen Goldman)
- Tri-institutional symposium inspires young scientists to get involved in policy (Rockefeller University)
Education and Workforce
- Fermilab’s Inclusivity Journal Club seeks answers to difficult social questions in science (Symmetry)
- Women who win prizes get less money and prestige (Nature)
- Scientists’ salary data highlight $18,000 gender pay gap (Nature)
- Tenure denial, and how early-career researchers can survive it (Nature)
Research Management
- Few journals comply with Plan S, study finds (*Research)
- Harvard Library and MIT Libraries provide recommendations for Plan S implementation (MIT)
- Plan S: What about researchers? (The Scholarly Kitchen, perspective by Robert Harington)
- Publishers ‘taking funders for a ride’ with mirror journals (Times Higher Education)
- Groundbreaking deal makes large number of German studies free to public (Science)
- Is it time to revise the definition of research misconduct? (Accountability in Research, paper by David Resnik)
- Scientists team up with industry to mass-produce detectors for next-gen cosmic experiment (LBNL)
Labs and Facilities
- After outcry, Battelle reinstates science panel at ecological observatory (Science)
- Lt. governor returns to proclaim CHESS upgrade complete (Cornell Chronicle)
- Gran Sasso lab to shut down controversial experiments (Physics World)
- Facebook’s plans for space lasers revealed (IEEE Spectrum)
Energy
- Battery recycling prize and battery recycling R&D center announced (DOE)
- Clean energy innovation policy: A 10-point action plan for the 116th Congress (ITIF, perspective by David Hart)
- IAEA signs formal agreement with INL (Idaho National Laboratory)
- No significant environmental impact of proposed INL uranium fuel processing, DOE says (Post Register)
- JASON endorses further fusion power research (Federation of American Scientists)
- ‘Science is back': New Wisconsin governor aims for renewable boom (E&E News)
Quantum Science and Technology
- We’d have more quantum computers if it weren’t so hard to find the damn cables (MIT Technology Review)
- Intel bets big on 2-track quantum strategy (HPCwire)
- IBM plans to open Poughkeepsie quantum computing facility in 2019 (Poughkeepsie Journal)
- What can the quantum world do for business? (Physics World)
- CUbit Quantum Initiative launch fueled by seed funding, faculty expertise (CU-Boulder)
Space
- House spending bill fires warning shot at James Webb Space Telescope (SpaceNews)
- US astronomers plot wish list for the next decade (Nature)
- US astronomers ponder science priorities for the 2020s and beyond (Scientific American)
- Selecting the next great space observatory (SpaceReview)
- European Space Agency leaders expect a challenging year ahead (SpaceNews)
- Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 recovered, collecting science data (NASA)
- Planetary protection classification of sample-return missions from the Martian moons (National Academies, report)
- More light on black program to track UFOs (Federation of American Scientists )
- Air Force wants satellite weather data (SpaceNews)
Weather, Climate, and Environment
- For geoengineers, a scientific existential crisis (Undark)
- Climate change: Activities of selected agencies to address potential impact on global migration (GAO, report)
- PG&E: The first climate-change bankruptcy, probably not the last (Wall Street Journal)
- To fight climate misinformation, point to the man behind the curtain (Ars Technica)
- Let’s keep the Green New Deal grounded in science (MIT Technology Review, perspective by James Temple)
- Oceans are getting louder, posing potential threats to marine life (New York Times)
Defense
- Report on effects of a changing climate to the Department of Defense (DOD, report)
- Pentagon report says bases face climate risks, but critics say it’s short on details (Washington Post)
- Reform panel warns Congress to overhaul Pentagon acquisitions, or lose technological edge (Military Times)
- Talk to us first, THEN Congress: Navy acquisition officials (Breaking Defense)
- The Missile Defense Review is out. Will Congress fund it? (DefenseNews)
- US missile defense tests lack realistic decoys (Union of Concerned Scientists)
- Strategic Capabilities Office director: We’re failing at space innovation (SpaceNews)
- Jon Wolfsthal on the link between nuclear strategy and the nuclear modernization budget (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
- Harold Brown: Nuclear deterrence pioneer and former lab director leaves indelible legacy (Lawrence Livermore National Lab)
Biomedical
- The future of gene editing — toward scientific and social consensus (New England Journal of Medicine)
- Chinese scientist who gene-edited babies fired by university (Reuters)
- Anti-abortion leaders are rebranding as ‘pro-science’ (STAT)
- Why we need fetal tissue research (Science, perspective by Sally Temple and Lawrence Goldstein)
- Photoacoustic imaging enables scientists to step up war on cancer (Financial Times)
International Affairs
- How UK scientists are preparing for a chaotic no-deal Brexit (Nature)
- Crash-out Brexit looms larger for scientists after deal rejected (ScienceInsider)
- Universities told to plough ahead with no-deal plans as Brexit looms (*Research)
- German university heads call for UK to ‘fully associate’ to Horizon Europe (Science|Business)
- European Parliament backs €11B guarantees for research loans (Science|Business)
- European Commission plans to shake up its big research department (Science|Business)
- Mass student protests bring down Albania’s science minister (Nature)
- How Estonia blazed a trail in science (Nature)
- Questioning university-industry collaboration policy in Canada (Policy Options)
- NASA’s campaign to return to the Moon with global partners (NASA)
- NASA cooperates with China on moon exploration (Xinhua)
- NASA wanted to use China’s spacecraft to plan a new American moon mission, top Chinese scientist says (South China Morning Post)
- China’s plan for tech dominance is advancing, business groups say (Wall Street Journal)
- Chinese universities lure postdocs back home (Nature, perspective by Jiangjiang Zhang)
- Iran could enrich uranium to 20 percent within four days: atomic chief (Reuters)