Plans to break up NCAR take shape

The deadline for proposals to take over part of the National Center for Atmospheric Research closed last week, and Trump administration officials are now weighing how to carve up one of the world’s leading climate and weather labs.

The National Science Foundation announced its intent to restructure NCAR in December, shortly after White House Budget Director Russel Vought tweeted that NCAR was “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” and would be broken up, with “vital activities such as weather research” moved to another entity or location. NCAR is currently operated by a consortium of universities called the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research on behalf of the federal government.

As plans to dismantle NCAR’s facilities, assets, and research portfolio take shape, one of the biggest questions is what will happen to NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where most of the center’s approximately 750 staff work. The future of NCAR’s flagship supercomputer, Derecho, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming, is also undecided. The supercomputer is used to predict complex weather patterns, including the behavior of wildfires and hurricanes.

While proposals to take over the lab have not been made public, and an NSF spokesperson told FYI there are currently no plans to release them, Science and the New York Times reported details last week of some expected proposals, including from the University of Oklahoma and NOAA contractor Lynker, a firm that hopes to take over management of NCAR’s High Altitude Observatory. The University of Wyoming is reportedly in talks with NSF to take over the Derecho supercomputer, and NSF is expected to transfer two NCAR-operated research aircraft to either NASA or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Politicians, scientists, and research advocates have expressed concerns about the plans to break up NCAR. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) wrote a letter last week to NSF’s Office of Inspector General asking it to look into whistleblower allegations that Trump administration officials began discussing the transfer of NCAR’s space weather program to a private company in January — before NSF had formally reviewed any proposals. Also last week, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the Weather Act, which includes an amendment that would require federal agencies to notify Congress several months before transferring atmospheric research infrastructure, like NCAR, to a private entity.

HELP committee chair pushes DETERRENT Act

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on foreign influence in higher education last week, where Committee Chair Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) urged his colleagues to pass the DETERRENT Act. The act would increase foreign gift and investment reporting requirements for universities, including by lowering the foreign gift reporting threshold from $250,000 to $50,000, with a $0 threshold for “countries of concern,” which include China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The House passed its version of the bill last year, but the Senate committee does not currently have a markup of the bill on its calendar. Several higher education groups have opposed the bill, including the American Council on Education. In related research security news, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on “China’s ongoing theft of U.S. innovation” on Tuesday.

Budgetary delays slow spending at NIH

The White House Office of Management and Budget has been slow to authorize the release of fiscal year 2026 funds to the National Institutes of Health, according to reporting by Nature. In previous years, federal agencies such as NIH had been able to start spending a portion of their appropriations while waiting for OMB authorization, but OMB changed the policy last year to restrict spending to essential expenses such as salaries. The delay means that NIH has been slower to award new funding grants this year, as it can only spend leftover funding from the stopgap bill Congress signed in November, and may face a time crunch to spend its new funding before the end of the fiscal year once it secures OMB approval. OMB did not respond to a request for comment. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will appear before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday for an oversight hearing.

Congress to hold hearings on nuclear executive orders

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday on the Department of Energy’s implementation of President Trump’s nuclear executive orders from May 2025. The witnesses are Ted Garrish, DOE assistant secretary for nuclear energy; John Wagner, director of Idaho National Lab; and Mike Laufer, CEO of the nuclear company Kairos Power. Energy Secretary Chris Wright issued a memorandum in January that removes certain radiation safety requirements from all DOE directives and regulations, citing a July 2025 report from Idaho National Lab. The executive orders include direction for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to similarly reconsider the current safety standards. The NRC has already published five rules related to Executive Order 14300 and plans to publish 23 more before the end of the year. The commission’s rule on “reforming and modernizing” its radiation protection framework is expected to be published April 30.

Also on our radar

• U.S. and European universities with campuses in the Middle East are moving classes online and suspending some operations as a result of the war with Iran.
• The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the nominations of Arvind Raman to be NIST director by a 16–12 vote and Matthew Anderson to be NASA deputy administrator by a 23–5 vote.
• A judge dismissed a lawsuit to restore several climate datasets that were removed from federal websites last year because the plaintiffs failed to show that the datasets were legally required to be made public and because the underlying data is accessible through other public sources.
• DOE ended its legal battle to impose a 15% cap on indirect cost rates, voluntarily dismissing its own appeal.
• Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chair of the House CCP Committee, sent a letter urging NSF to pause awards under its SECURE initiative and investigate participating institutions for their compliance with research security requirements, identifying the University of Washington and Texas A&M University as having research relationships with “China’s defense research and industrial base.”
• The satirical Ig Nobel ceremony in September, which honors “achievements that first make people laugh and then make them think,” will take place in Zurich, Switzerland, after 35 years in Boston. An organizer said it “has become unsafe” for guests to visit the U.S. during the past year.
• DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative issued a new solicitation to bring in more companies aiming for a usable fault-tolerant quantum computer.

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

Monday, March 16

ITIF: Tech Policy 202: Spring 2026 educational seminar series for congressional and federal staff (continues weekly through March 30)

APS: Global Physics Summit (continues through Friday)

LPI: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2026 (continues through Friday)

National Academies: Ocean Studies Board annual meeting (continues through Wednesday)

American Academy of Arts and Sciences: How can we assess recent changes to vaccine policy?
4:00 pm

Tuesday, March 17

AIAA: DEFENSE Forum (continues through Friday)

Stimson: Pursuing North Korea’s denuclearization in an era of strategic drift: Voices from Japan
8:30 - 10:00 am

National Academies: Innovative models for STEM workforce development in critical technologies: Cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral solutions
8:45 am - 6:00 pm

Senate: Stealth stealing: China’s ongoing theft of US innovation
10:15 am, Judiciary Committee

House: Unleashing America’s mineral potential: The critical mineral commodity supply chain
10:15 am, Natural Resources Committee

House: NIH oversight hearing
10:30 am, Appropriations Committee

NSPN: Half-hour chats: Careers in science policy
12:30 - 1:00 pm

CNAS: Boosting US quantum supply chains for enduring advantage
3:00 pm

AEI: The future of elite higher education: A conversation with Frederick Hess and Brown University President Christina Paxson
4:30 - 5:30 pm

National Academies: The quest to map the global ocean
5:30 - 6:30 pm

Wednesday, March 18

International Institute of Air and Space Law: Conference on Earth-space sustainability (continues through Friday)

USGS: Scientific Earthquake Studies Advisory Committee meeting (continues Thursday)

National Academies: Strategic Council for Research Excellence, Integrity, and Trust meeting
10:00 - 11:00 am

House: From the science lab to the medicine cabinet: How China is cornering the market on our medicines
10:00 am, CCP Committee

House: Strengthening federal workers’ compensation programs: Ensuring integrity, efficiency, and access
10:15 am, Education and Workforce Committee

Harvard: Europe’s Nuclear Umbrella book talk
2:30 - 4:00 pm

Lunar Exploration Analysis Group: Virtual town hall
3:00 pm CT

Thursday, March 19

Senate: Hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s implementation of President Trump’s May 2025 nuclear energy executive orders
9:30 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee

STM Association: Accessibility in STM publishing: Addressing publisher challenges
9:30 - 11:00 am

GSOA: Earth observation at a turning point: Who benefits, who leads, and what comes next?
11:00 am

NDIA: Tech 101: Defense radar
1:00 - 2:00 pm

Friday, March 20

No events.

Monday, March 23

National Academies: Space Science Week 2026 (continues through Friday)

WSBR: Washington Space Business Roundtable annual flagship luncheon
11:00 am - 1:30 pm

NSF Secure Center: Town hall for nonprofit research institutes
2:30 pm

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

Job Openings

New York State Energy R&D: Associate director, government affairs (ongoing)
Gilead: Associate director, US virology strategy and policy (ongoing)
APLU: Senior vice president for academic affairs (ongoing)
APS: Chief marketing and communications officer (ongoing)
AIP: Director of science policy news (ongoing)
AIP: Senior editor, Physics Today (ongoing)
◆Science Philanthropy Alliance: Civic science fellow (ongoing)
◆Foundation for American Innovation: Research fellow, weather and atmospheric interventions (ongoing)
Science: Communication and marketing intern (March 30)
Science: Kavli Science Journalism Awards intern (March 30)
Senate: Resume bank for entry-level positions (March 31)
◆AAS: John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellowship (April 15)
◆AAS: Editor in Chief (May 11)
ANS: Congressional science and engineering fellowship (June 6)

Solicitations

ITIF: Call for applicants to participate in the March 2026 tech policy educational seminar series for congressional and federal staff (ongoing)
OSTP: RFI for the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing (March 30)
NSF: RFI on the NSF Research Traineeship program monitoring system (March 31)
IEEE: Call for nominations and applications for IEEE leadership (multiple deadlines)
National Academies: Call for submissions for Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (April 3)
NSF: RFC on NCSES data collection (April 7)
House Appropriations Committee: Call to submit written testimony on HHS budget (April 16)
◆NSF: RFC on renewal of the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (May 8)
◆NSF: RFC on Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (May 8)
House Appropriations Committee: Call to submit written testimony on FY27 science budget (May 8)
NRC: RFC on regulation of byproduct material associated with fusion machines (May 27)
◆NSF: RFC on Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program (June 30)

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

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Do you have a story to tell about how science policy is impacting you?

AIP’s research team is gathering first-hand accounts from scientists, engineers, students, and staff whose careers have been affected by policy and funding changes over the past year. Volunteers can submit their stories via this online form. Participants’ stories will be added to the Niels Bohr Library & Archives digital repository as searchable, citable records — with options for anonymity and a five-year embargo period. Read more about the initiative here.

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

White House

Higher Ed Dive: GSA plan would ban DEI for all federal funding recipients
SpaceNews: OSTP taking on space policy coordination work in place of National Space Council
Stat: White House says it’s ‘done’ with vaccines. MAHA begs to differ
Scientific American: How RFK Jr.’s controversial ideas are shaping Americans’ health (audio)
Stat: America has health alarm fatigue. I know because I treat it (perspective by Robert Shpiner)

Congress

E&E News: Panel clears State Department oceans nominee
E&E News: Top Democrat slams DOE bid to fast-track advanced reactors
E&E News: Michael Bennet’s rival attacks him for supporting nomination of Energy Secretary Chris Wright
FedScoop: Warner, Rounds float federal commission to guide AI policymaking
FedScoop: ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot approved for use with Senate data

Science, Society, and the Economy

Stat: I’m an NIH whistleblower. The scientific community cannot afford to avoid politics (perspective by Jenna Norton)
AAU: NIH research funding delivers extraordinary value for all 50 states, report shows
NPR: Epstein paid for a conference of top scientists in 2006. His motives are now clear
Nature: Privilege, power and vulnerability in science: Precarious funding can prompt unethical ties (perspective by Joana Ribeiro et al.)
Issues in Science and Technology: Building bridges — not walls — for technological sovereignty (perspective by Anwar Aridi and Henning Kroll)
The Atlantic: A never-ending conspiracy theory in remote Alaska
Scholarly Kitchen: Societies 2030: The community advantage in an AI-first world (perspective by Ben Kaube and Steve Smith)

Education and Workforce

The PIE News: “We’ve lost a generation of scientists”: US talent turns to France
Chemical & Engineering News: University of California backs plan for $23 billion research bond
Washington Post: Why US military officers need to go to Harvard. And Columbia. And … (perspective by J.B. Branch and Allan Cameron)
Chronicle of Higher Education: In a rare move, a university system sues the Trump administration
Chronicle of Higher Education: Why one campus told the government it has ties with 1,200 groups that ‘may’ discriminate
Nature: ‘Einstein’ bot sharpens debate over AI in the classroom
National Academies: Integrating data and computing into K-12 education is critical and requires coordinated approach to be effective, says new report

Research Management

Inside Higher Ed: Federal grant makers may lose job protections: 5 things to know
Nature: How data can help to guide NIH funding policy (perspective by Jeremy Berg)
New York Times: His Harvard lab was thriving. Then came the cuts
AAU: Latest Reagan Institute report card finds public investments in R&D, basic science are vital to US national security
Science|Business: The big read: Is the shift to private R&D holding back growth?
Issues in Science and Technology: Repurposing grand challenges in tumultuous times (perspective by Martin Ho et al.)
The Wire China: Bridge or border: Why scientific securitization won’t make nations safe (perspective by Zilan Qian)
Nature: Keep calm and be transparent: Advice from scientists who retracted their papers
Nature: The ethical risks of open-access agreements being used for authorship leverage (perspective by Giovanni Spitale et al.)
Chemical & Engineering News: Chemistry labs make tons of plastic waste. Can we recycle it?

Labs and Facilities

Bloomberg: Dell and DOE partner on building AI infrastructure (interview with Darío Gil and Michael Dell)
HPCwire: Argonne receives DOE funding to advance AI for science
HPCwire: Argonne-led AI ‘adviser’ accelerates robotic design of advanced electronic materials
HPCwire: Infleqtion expands partnerships with US Department of Energy national laboratories
Fermilab: Scientists head underground to measure effects of gamma rays on superconducting qubits
Fermilab: Fermilab’s FAST/IOTA facility achieves major milestone in accelerator research
Idaho National Lab: DOE approves safety documentation for MARVEL microreactor initial criticality

Computing and Communications

CSIS: Pioneering quantum-supercomputing integration: US leadership in the next computing era (perspective by Hideki Tomoshige and Shruti Sharma)
Foreign Affairs: America’s endangered AI (perspective by Fred Heiding and Chris Inglis)
Scientific American: OpenAI and Ginkgo Bioworks show how AI can accelerate scientific discovery
The Information: The startup trying a new trick to develop AI for science discovery
Wired: Yann LeCun raises $1 billion to build AI that understands the physical world
HPCwire: SCSP and NVIDIA announce members of task force on AI and the future of work
Brookings: What national AI plans get wrong and how to fix them (perspective by Cameron Kerry and Saurabh Mishra)
The Wire China: Kei Koizumi on the US-China AI competition (interview with Kei Koizumi)
Center for Data Innovation: How rules for publicly available data are shaping the future of AI

Space

The Conversation: While the US government is investigating unidentified anomalous phenomena, academic researchers studying them face stigma (perspective by Darrell Evans)
Science: NASA kills future X-ray mission
The Guardian: Parts of giant NASA satellite to crash to Earth, posing low risk
Scientific American: How to build a moon base
SpaceNews: The perils of political impatience in the Artemis program (perspective by Amadi Brians Chinonso)
NPR: NASA targets Artemis II crewed moon mission for April 1 launch
SpacePolicyOnline: NASA IG applauds NASA contracting for Artemis HLS, raises concerns about crew safety
NASA: Tiny NASA spacecraft delivers exoplanet mission’s first images
Space Review: Robert Goddard and the dawn of the rocket age (perspective by Bruce McCandless III and Emily Carney)
SpaceNews: China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission moves into spacecraft construction phase
SpaceNews: SSTL to build spacecraft for private space telescope

Weather, Climate, and Environment

Washington Post: Climate activists are infiltrating the federal courts (perspective by Bill Barr)
E&E News: States urge Trump admin to defund scientific groups over judicial education
American Meteorological Society: Statement on public availability of scientific information and scientific evidence on climate change
E&E News: US should lead on planet-cooling technology for national security, report says
E&E News: Zeldin skips over academics for influential EPA advisory panel
E&E News: Trump EPA expects grant funding to shrink
E&E News: Court orders more briefing on GOP megalaw’s effect on Biden climate grants
The Conversation: In its hunt for critical minerals, the US is misconstruing what is and is not America’s (perspective by Coalter Lathrop)

Energy

American Nuclear Society: DOE Nuclear Energy Launch Pad “extends and expands” pilot programs
E&E News: Centrus and Palantir partner on US uranium enrichment
E&E News: EU unveils strategy to accelerate small modular nuclear reactors
Bloomberg: French nuclear startups raise $210 million to finish designs

Defense

The Guardian: Was Iran really building a nuclear weapon? (audio interview with Kelsey Davenport)
Nature: Stop the use of AI in war until laws can be agreed (editorial)
Bloomberg: Google to provide Pentagon with AI agents for unclassified work
The Information: Anthropic sues Defense Department over designation of supply chain risk
The Information: Anthropic says Defense Department move has killed deals
Bloomberg: Tech insiders fear chilling effect after Anthropic’s Pentagon clash
Bloomberg: ‘God, it’s terrifying’: How the Pentagon got hooked on AI war machines
Military Times: Pentagon task force to conduct laser test against drones
SpaceNews: Missile detection satellites designed by BAE Systems pass early review

Biomedical

Science: Suspended small business research programs derail development of gene therapies, hip implants, and more
Stat: As controversial decisions mount, FDA shuns public advisory meetings
The Conversation: We study pandemics, and the resurgence of measles is a grim sign of what’s coming (perspective by Jennifer Nuzzo and Andrea Uhlig)
The Guardian: Officials ‘missed 99% of data’ before ending Covid vaccine recommendation, memos reveal
Nature: Prevent pandemics through One Health commitments (perspective by Marisa Peyre et al.)
Science: US agency will devote $144 million to studies that slow aging, extend quality of life
Undark Magazine: Book excerpt: How George Washington weaponized smallpox inoculation

International Affairs

Nature: The problem with Canada’s plan to buy scientific prestige (perspective by Amanda Bates and Marni Mishna)
Nature: Physics at risk: UK science leader on what’s wrong with the latest funding cuts (interview with Paul Howarth)
HPCwire: UK government invests £45M in ‘sunrise’ AI supercomputer for fusion research
Research Professional: English universities have £5.6bn backlog of research repairs
Science|Business: EU pushes for joint science diplomacy, but care needed to avoid gridlock, experts say
Science|Business: Max Planck announces new school for biomedical AI
Bloomberg: Japan’s investment targets include AI, quantum computing
Brookings: China is running multiple AI races (perspective by Kyle Chan)
Nature: China pledges billion-dollar spending boost for science
Scientific American: China just approved its first brain implant for commercial use, a world first
Bloomberg: Human brain cells run new data centers in Singapore, Melbourne