Senate committee advances NASA authorization bill

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee unanimously advanced the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 last week, marking the latest step in Congress’s effort to set long-term priorities for the agency. The bill would authorize the creation of a permanent base on the Moon; reinstate the roles and responsibilities of NASA’s chief scientist, chief economist, and chief technologist; support STEM education efforts; and extend NASA’s operation of the International Space Station from 2030 to 2032 – giving the agency more time to transition the scientific research currently conducted on the ISS to one or more commercial space stations before beginning efforts to deorbit the ISS.

The bill would direct NASA to continue developing the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and prevent the agency from discontinuing the Chandra X-ray Telescope.

The bill would also support NASA leaders’ recently revised plans for future Artemis missions, which include canceling planned upgrades to the Space Launch System. Additionally, the bill would direct NASA to submit plans for a new Mars Sample Return effort. MSR was not funded by the latest appropriations, effectively cancelling the project in its current form.

The nominee to be NASA’s deputy administrator, Matthew Anderson, told the committee during his nomination hearing last Thursday that he was pleased to see the bipartisan commitment of the committee to NASA and pledged to enact the goals of the authorization bill, if passed. During his testimony, Anderson also committed to supporting basic research, spoke with excitement about the future of hypersonics and space nuclear propulsion, and highlighted the importance of maintaining American leadership in space over Chinese competitors. The committee is scheduled to vote later this week on Anderson’s nomination, along with that of Arvind Raman to be NIST director.

A companion NASA authorization bill was unanimously advanced by the House Science Committee in February.

NSF addresses ‘returned without review’ graduate fellowship applications

In response to reports that an unusually high number of Graduate Research Fellowship Program applications were returned without review this year, the National Science Foundation stated in an online FAQ published in late February that the number of returned applications “has not changed substantially since last year.” According to the group Grant Witness, some applications were returned without review “despite clearly falling in the fields of study listed in the solicitation.” The group also reported that, “It appears that either guidance in the solicitation was not clear, or that eligibility criteria not included in the solicitation were applied to screen the applications, resulting in a disproportionate number of RWR in the biological sciences and perhaps in other fields of study.” NSF said all applications returned without review for ineligible proposed research were screened by multiple program officers with subject-matter expertise and determined not to meet the stated eligibility criteria.

The program issued fewer awards in 2025 than in previous years. Additionally, NSF made two notable changes to GRFP eligibility this year: applicants must not have completed more than one academic year in a graduate program, and students pursuing clinical psychology degrees are no longer eligible. In its FAQ, NSF also stated other reasons an application may be returned without review, including failure to meet formatting requirements or missing required documents.

White House makes NSF director nomination official

The White House formally announced the nomination of Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur Jim O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation last week. O’Neill had been leading the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya took on that role on a temporary basis last month. If confirmed, O’Neill will serve a six-year term at NSF. Also on March 2, President Donald Trump nominated Kaveh Farzad to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs, and nominated former DOE official Preston Wells Griffith to be a U.S. representative for the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations.

Also on our radar

• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced two new hiring initiatives at the agency last week: one to bring in top talent from the private sector for two-year terms and another to change contractor positions to civil servant positions. NASA’s workforce has shrunk by over 20%, more than 4,000 people, since January 2025, and over three-quarters of separations during that time were part of the deferred resignation program, according to updated OPM data.
• A group of unions and labor federations updated its lawsuit against the Trump administration to argue that the Schedule Policy/Career final rule violates a congressional mandate for a nonpartisan and merit-based civil service. Meanwhile, the NIH said it would no longer recognize a union for early-career researchers, whose contract was finalized in December 2024.
• The Senate passed a fast-tracked bill to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs for five years. The program authorization lapsed last October. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
• The Senate Health Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday morning on malign foreign influence in higher education.
• Democratic lawmakers asked the Federal Judicial Center to reverse its removal of the climate science chapter in its reference manual, a major scientific resource for U.S. federal courts. The removal followed a complaint from a group of Republican state attorneys general.
• The Florida Board of Governors approved a pause on using H-1B visas to hire foreign faculty and other employees at state universities until January. A similar pause in Texas, which began in January, requires state agencies and universities to obtain government approval to hire using H-1Bs.
• The grassroots organization Stand Up for Science held rallies across the country on Saturday. Speakers at the flagship rally in DC included several congressional representatives from Maryland and Virginia.
• The annual meeting of the American Physical Society begins next Monday in Denver, Colorado. The schedule includes sessions on the federal science budget, advocacy, and broadening participation. (APS is an AIP Member Society.)

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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 9

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

National Academies: Policy issues for integrating AI in cancer research and care workshop (continues Tuesday)

NSF: SECURE Northeast Regional Center monthly forum
10:00 am

Harvard: Atomic advice: Leaders, advisers, and nuclear decision-making
1:30 - 3:00 pm

Tuesday, March 10

NOAA: Science Advisory Board Meeting (continues Wednesday)

National Academies: Optimizing research on experimental prescribed fires to improve understanding of wildland fire and smoke behavior meeting (continues March 11)

NSF: From research to practice: Building AI systems that transform STEM learning and workforce development
1:00 - 2:00 pm

National Academies: Workshop proceedings release webinar: Exploring key research topics for the Fifth International Polar Year
1:00 - 2:00 pm

CSET: Future ready: Building tomorrow’s tech workforce
1:30 - 5:30 pm

CNAS: The Pentagon and Silicon Valley: The future of AI in national defense
3:30 pm

Wednesday, March 11

Senate: Nomination hearing for Wesley Brooks to be assistant secretary for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs
10:30 am, Foreign Relations Committee

Johns Hopkins: Enemies in Agreement: Political Volatility and the Design of Arms Control book talk
12:30 - 2:00 pm

Bipartisan Policy Center: America’s workforce: Blueprint for a national talent strategy
1:00 - 6:00 pm

National Academies: Board on Earth Sciences and Resources webinar: Global and domestic uranium exploration, resources, production, and demand with Mark Mihalasky
2:00 - 3:00 pm

SIA: From service to semiconductors: Building the veteran talent pipeline
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Thursday, March 12

American Astronautical Society: AAS Goddard Space Science Symposium (continues Friday)

Senate: Transparency and trust: Exposing malign foreign influence in higher education
10:00 am, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Friday, March 13

Baker Institute: The future of US science and technology with Arati Prabhakar
11:30 am - 1:00 pm

Monday, March 16

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

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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)
◆GE Aerospace: Legislative analyst, government relations (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: Communication and marketing intern (March 30)
Science: Kavli Science Journalism Awards intern (March 30)
◆Senate: Resume bank for entry-level positions (March 31)
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 FY 2027 HHS budget (April 16)
◆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)

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

White House: White House unveils President Trump’s cyber strategy for America
Bloomberg: US considers permits for global Nvidia, AMD AI chip sales
White House: 74 times President Trump has made clear that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon

Congress

E&E News: Panel sets vote on State Department oceans nominee
Senate Commerce Committee: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) leads bipartisan legislation to modernize weather forecasting and research unanimously passes committee
Senate Commerce Committee: Committee passes Cantwell-led bipartisan tsunami preparedness bill
House Science Committee: Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX) backs AIAA bid to host International Astronautical Congress in the United States
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA): Lofgren appalled by Trump administration’s attacks on Anthropic
Nature: How Congress can restore the independence of US science (perspective by Natalie Aviles)
Senate Banking Committee: Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tom Cotton (R-AR) press Intel on its reported use of chipmaking tools produced by Chinese state-backed company
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): Dem lawmakers question Rubio on abuse of power to deport students, academics; Violation of First Amendment rights

Education and Workforce

Chronicle of Higher Education: The drop in international students last year was worse than we thought
Chronicle of Higher Education: The lobbying arms race
Nature: Hey ChatGPT, write me a fictional paper: these LLMs are willing to commit academic fraud
Nature: Cracked, but still there: The glass ceiling persists for senior women in science (perspective by Mangala Srinivas)
Nature: Women in science are not a ‘problem to be fixed’ (interview with Cordelia Fine)

Computing and Communications

Physics World: Scientists are failing to disclose their use of AI despite journal mandates, finds study
Scholarly Kitchen: The perils of using generative AI to perform research tasks: Editors’ and publishers’ viewpoints (perspective by Marco Marabelli et al.)
Nature: How AI is being used in war — and what’s next
Bloomberg: US military relying on AI as key tool to speed Iran operations
Washington Post: Anthropic lost the Pentagon but won over America
The Information: Anthropic CEO’s candid comments imperil chances of a compromise
The Information: Anthropic CEO apologizes for internal memo lashing out at Trump
Bloomberg: OpenAI’s head of robotics resigns over company’s Pentagon deal
Scientific American: Why replacing Anthropic at the Pentagon could take months
ITIF: The European Parliament should manage built-in AI, not disable it (perspective by Matthew Kilcoyne)

Space

CNBC: Interview with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (video)
SpaceNews: Jared Isaacman on rebuilding, Artemis, and what he’s learned during his first months as NASA administrator
NASA: NASA, OPM launch NASA force to recruit top talent for US space program
NASA Watch: Lawsuit filed over Goddard library closure
Scientific American: Rampant growth of satellite mega constellations could ruin the night sky (perspective by Phil Plait)
SpaceNews: Unlocking AI in space: The case for greater industry and space agency collaboration (perspective by Laurent Hili et al.)
SpaceNews: Chinese official calls for prioritizing Neptune orbiter mission

Weather, Climate, and Environment

New York Times: Nature report, killed by Trump, is released independently
E&E News: Trump cuts threaten US role in global climate modeling
E&E News: Clock starts ticking for US withdrawal from climate treaty
Inside Climate News: EPA hits 40-year lows in staffing after Trump targets its public health experts
E&E News: Jeff Clark, who pushed for cuts to energy and environmental regulations, exits White House regs office
Inside Climate News: Scientists, engineers, and legal experts condemn partisan attack on scientific reference manual for judges
Inside Climate News: ‘Sound science’ bills limiting state environmental regulations set ‘insurmountable burden of proof,’ scientists say
E&E News: Florida gets over 20,000 weather modification claims — but no evidence — since new law passed
E&E News: ‘Hurting peoples’ pocketbooks’: Hochul pushes to pare back NY climate law
The Wire China: China’s climate focus is shifting from carbon cuts to green tech dominance (perspective by Neil Thomas)

Energy

CERN Courier: Execution mode (interview with Norbert Holtkamp)
Idaho National Lab: Idaho researchers build first microreactor control system in decades
American Nuclear Society: DOE nuclear cleanup costs, schedule delays continue to rise, GAO says
American Nuclear Society: Fixing the barriers: How new policies can make US nuclear exports competitive again (perspective by Mike Woosley)
American Nuclear Society: NRC rolls out changes to Differing Views Program

Defense

Inside Defense: New Pentagon advisory board tasked with inaugural study
Inside Defense: STIB sets up two permanent subcommittees
Ars Technica: Space Command chief throws cold water on the question of UAPs in space
Reuters: Satellite imagery shows apparent attack on Iranian nuclear site, report says
MS Now: Nuclear experts undercut White House claims about Iran reactor at heart of case for war
Semafor: Trump’s Iran options include special operations raid on nuclear sites
Daily NK: After Iran: Why a strike on North Korea’s nuclear sites is a last resort (perspective by Bruce Chung)

Biomedical

Science: Delays in awards and funding calls worry NIH-funded researchers
Undark Magazine: Do America’s top health research officials stick around too long?
Politico: FDA vaccines chief who ran afoul of pharma to depart
Wired: Why RFK’s CDC is endorsing ‘shared decisionmaking’ for vaccines
Undark Magazine: Under Trump, mRNA skepticism threatens a promising technology
Undark Magazine: The enduring appeal of alternative medicine (interview with Lewis Grossman)

International Affairs

Science|Business: European Innovation Council needs independence from Commission, says German assessment
Breaking Defense: Macron calls to increase French nuclear arsenal, team with Germany and others on ‘deterrent’
E&E News: War adds urgency to Canada’s ambitions of becoming an energy superpower
Science|Business: Commission looks to boost Palestinian involvement in Horizon Europe
Carbon Brief: What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
SpaceNews: China designates space sector an “emerging pillar industry,” sets deep space ambitions in new economic blueprint