NSF adopts new approach to grantmaking

The National Science Foundation has confirmed its plan for “Grand Research Challenges” and additional research opportunities focused on NSF priority areas, rather than investigator-driven ones. In an open letter last week, acting Director Brian Stone announced the change as part of NSF’s new “portfolio-based approach” to grantmaking. NSF will also announce a series of Grand Research Challenges over the coming months to “take thesis-driven bets that stand to unlock new frontiers of S&T.” Nature reported last month that NSF was allotting as much as $1 billion of its research budget to the challenges, contributing to the issuance of far fewer grants this year.

The letter also says NSF will experiment with novel proposal review mechanisms, such as “golden tickets,” which allow one reviewer to advance a proposal that a larger panel may not approve, and distributed review, in which all applicants to a solicitation serve as reviewers for that solicitation. The agency will also fund more grants with time horizons longer than five years, as well as shorter-duration ones that will have “applications of only a few pages and rapid funding decisions.”

In addition, NSF will establish an Office of Metascience to develop and evaluate new approaches to grantmaking and publicly report the effectiveness of different funding mechanisms. NSF intends for the office to serve as a model for other agencies, the letter says. Through its metascience efforts, NSF aims to “double the scientific productivity and impact generated by each federal research dollar by 2036,” echoing the goal of the Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission on AI. NSF’s budget request for fiscal year 2027 proposes a metascience office but does not specify a funding amount. The only congressional budget proposal for NSF so far, approved by the House Appropriations Committee in May, does not mention a metascience office.

Universities respond to DOD audit demands

At least one university has ended a study abroad program in China following August security audits of 30 schools ordered by the Department of Defense.

In July, Defense officials added three prominent Chinese research universities — Fudan University, Shandong University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University — to the Section 1286 list of entities “flagged as a concern to national security.” That move barred those institutions from fundamental research collaboration with US schools and led to the August audits.

In response, the University of North Carolina has canceled its study abroad program with Fudan University. Other schools reported they would continue with undergraduate-exchange programs that don’t involve research.

Adding research universities to a list previously dominated by institutions more directly connected to military-industrial industries widened Section 1286’s scope, noted Tech Times. Educational organizations condemned the move as undermining international scholarship and scientific progress.

House Science Republicans send letter to DOE, NIH, and NSF asking about biotechnology

Republican lawmakers last Wednesday asked three federal research agencies for their biotechnology risk-mitigation policies, particularly regarding dual-use technologies, AI, and foreign actors. The letters cite the 2025 National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) final report’s biosecurity and innovation recommendations , asking for agency updates on their implementation. The House Science Committee’s investigations subcommittee will hold a related biosecurity hearing on Wednesday.

The Energy Department, National Institutes of Health, and National Science Foundation separately received letters, each requesting information on their biosecurity monitoring mechanisms, steps taken to address the “risks arising from the convergence of biotechnology and AI,” and more. Biotechnology is moving beyond its role in healthcare, the lawmakers suggested, citing a 2025 Stanford University report describing its emergence in energy, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Senators turn spotlight on OpenAI amid controversy

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has scheduled a Wednesday Senate briefing on the dangers of AI, following industry calls for a development slowdown and national safety requirements , amid heightened attention from lawmakers. Last week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced that he is investigating OpenAI’s hack of Hugging Face, an AI data and model hosting company. And Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) on Thursday sent a letter to OpenAI’s CEO expressing “serious concern” about the safety of its latest models. The consideration from Congress follows wider questions about the company’s research and training practices.

OpenAI has also become embroiled in a research integrity controversy following its claim last week that it used its products to find a proof for one of the exceptionally difficult Millennium Prize Problems in mathematics. Tristan Buckmaster, an NYU mathematician working on the same problem, said OpenAI tried to pressure him to sign onto the proof and cut out a collaborator employed by rival software developer Anthropic. He also said that he and his colleagues stored their work on the problem in Codex, another OpenAI product, intimating that OpenAI’s proof may have been developed using their material, which OpenAI denies.

Also on our radar

• DHS is proposing scrapping the 60-day discretionary grace period that allows certain visa holders, including H-1B holders, to remain in the US after leaving or being fired from a job that qualified them for their visa.
• The final rule ending “duration of status” for student visas is slated to take effect on Tuesday, though a Massachusetts judge could still pause or strike it down.
• The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Environmental Defense Fund sued NSF and OMB last week for failing to provide requested records on the decision to restructure NCAR.
• AGU said it will help distribute the Arctic Report Card and support its authors after NOAA pulled out of the annual climate assessment. The report card is slated for release on Dec. 7 at AGU’s annual meeting, as in past years.
• Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) launched a Science and Innovation Caucus last week that aims to “work together with industry leaders and the research community to develop policies that promote U.S. leadership in science.”
• NASA launched a “foundation” AI model for lunar science to help researchers analyze large quantities of data related to the Moon’s surface.

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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.

Both chambers of Congress returned from recess on Monday, Sept. 14. The House is slated to leave again on Friday.

Monday, September 14

AFA: Air, Space & Cyber Conference (continues through Wednesday)

Senate: Science and Innovation Caucus launch event
4:30 - 6:30 pm

Tuesday, September 15

National Academies: Horizon Scanning and Emerging Technology for Department of War Standing Committee, meeting three (continues Wednesday)

House: Nuclear spent fuel policy: Examining nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses
10:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

House: Innovation in disaster prevention: Advancing technology for prediction and response
10:00 am, Science Committee

House: Meeting to consider Earth MRI Reauthorization Act and other bills
10:15 am, Natural Resources Committee

National Academies: AI-ready data for cascading natural hazards
12:30 - 3:30 pm

Carnegie: Global guardrails for agentic AI: Can the UN, or anybody else, provide them?
2:00 - 3:00 pm

Hudson Institute: Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) on the next phase of competition with China
3:00 - 4:00 pm

Wednesday, September 16

National Academies: A Research Strategy for Seabed Critical Mineral Resources Committee meeting (continues Thursday)

WSBW: Space Innovation Summit
8:00 am - 6:00 pm CEST

House: Balancing biotechnology innovation and biosecurity: Securing US leadership in a global race
10:00 am, Science Committee

Senate: Meeting to consider Earth MRI Reauthorization Act, Geo POWER Act, and other bills
10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee

Harvard: Strategic assurance dilemma: AI, strategic stability, and nuclear crises in South Asia
11:00 am - 2:30 pm

National Academies: Planetary Research Program metrics, meeting three
12:00 - 2:00 pm

National Academies: Report release: Marine carbon dioxide removal digital report series
12:00 - 1:00 pm

AEI: Restoring trust in higher education: A conversation with Yale University President Maurie McInnis
4:30 - 5:30 pm

Thursday, September 17

AEI: A conversation with State Department Undersecretary Jacob Helberg on securing America’s AI supply chain
9:00 - 9:45 am

National Academies: Strengthening preparedness against novel biological threat agents through AI and other emerging technologies, meeting seven
10:00 - 11:30 am

DOE: Science Advisory Committee Facilities Subcommittee town hall
12:00 - 6:00 pm

Carnegie: Earthshaking: Lessons from Kazakhstan for managing today’s nuclear dangers
2:00 - 3:30 pm

AMS: Finding opportunity in change: Preparing for the future of the weather, water, and climate enterprise
6:30 pm

Friday, September 18

Baker Institute: Synthetic biology at the intersection of science, ethics, and policy
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

CSPO: Catalysing community dialogue on AI
3:00 - 5:00 pm

Monday, September 21

No events.

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

Job Openings

National Academies: Assistant to the president (ongoing)
National Academies: Publications director, Cooperative Research Program (ongoing)
Aerospace Corporation: Analyst, space policy (ongoing)
APS: Head of scientific programs (ongoing)
◆NIST: Chief safety officer (Sept. 14)
◆DOD: Supervisory scientist, Air Force (Sept. 17)
◆DOD: C5ISR department head, Office of Naval Research (Sept. 18)
◆NOAA: Deputy director, Office of Communications (Sept. 22)
◆Nature: News intern (Sept. 23)
◆DOE: Fermi Site Office manager (Sept. 24)
IDA: Research analyst, science policy (Sept. 30)
AIP: Science policy fellowship, State Department (Oct. 1)
◆AAAS: Project manager, Center for Scientific Responsibility and Justice (Oct. 1)
◆AAAS: Program director, Center for Scientific Evidence in Public Issues (Oct. 8)
AAAS: Pathways to Policy Fellowship (Nov. 1)
AIP: Science policy fellowship, Congress (Dec. 1)

Solicitations

APS: Call for ideas for the NSF Forward initiative (ongoing)
ACS: Call for ACS members to address global grand challenges in chemistry (ongoing)
FAS: Public Impact S&T Initiative open call (ongoing)
NIST: Request for letters of interest for the Neutron-Based Materials Characterization Consortium (ongoing)
NIST: Request for nominations for members to serve on NIST federal advisory committees (ongoing)
NIH: RFC on proposed reorganization of NIAID (Sept. 18)
NOAA: Solicitation of nominations for membership on the NOAA Science Advisory Board (Sept. 18)
NIH: RFI on proposed changes to reporting outcomes from NIH peer review (Oct. 13)
NIST: RFI on modernizing the National Vulnerability Database in the age of artificial intelligence (Oct. 13)
NIH: RFC on draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards (Oct. 19)
◆DHS: RFC on proposed rule eliminating the discretionary 60-day grace period for H-1B and other visa holders (Nov. 10)

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

The Information: Confusion reigns over White House’s AI whitelist
Breaking Defense: White House has lofty space launch ambitions, but experts question price tag
Breaking Defense: With reconciliation uncertain, Pentagon eyeing plan to retool FY27 priorities with Congress

Congress

Politico: House Democrats weigh new AI committee with subpoena power
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): Senator Murray visits PNNL, vows to protect federal funding for national labs
Washington Examiner: The country that lays the foundation for the AI economy will define the next century (perspective by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY))
House Science Committee: Reps. Brian Babin (R-TX), Rich McCormick (R-GA) probe foreign influence in US AI and energy policy
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Schumer applauds finalized $375 million award from CHIPS and Science Act for GlobalFoundries to launch quantum business

Science, Society, and the Economy

Nature: Why the super-fun Ig Nobel prizes bring serious value to science (editorial)
Science: Ban bets on unfinished clinical trials (perspective by Tony Yang and Aaron Kesselheim)
New York Times: Could your chatbot be stealing ideas from you? It’s a thorny question
Reason: AI companies are destroying books. That’s not nearly as scary as it sounds

Education and Workforce

Joel Widder: Hard times at the NSF (perspective)
Nature: AI researchers reckon with the $1.5 million ‘academia tax’
Scientific American: Mathematicians confront the AI apocalypse
Chronicle of Higher Education: The Ivy League’s surrender to AI is insane (perspective by Anastasia Berg)

Research Management

Chronicle of Higher Education: The artificial scientist
Issues in Science and Technology: Repairing relations with science (perspective by Gwen Ottinger)
Science: Conference posters could garner a wider audience, thanks to a new online platform
Scholarly Kitchen: Ask the chefs: AI and copyright licensing (perspectives)
Scholarly Kitchen: The unbundling of scholarly publishing: A trilemma for the AI era (perspective by Ben Kaube and Steve Smith)

Labs and Facilities

DOE: NNSA approves critical modernization milestone for Los Alamos National Laboratory’s flagship accelerator facility
American Nuclear Society: Demolition starts at ORNL’s Isotope Row
Lawrence Livermore National Lab: NASA administrator Isaacman visits LLNL on ‘Inspiration Tour’
Ames Laboratory: Deputy Secretary of Energy, NASA Administrator visit Ames National Laboratory

Computing and Communications

New York Times: Anthropic says it blocked possible efforts to build biological weapons
New York Times: Top mathematician announces new institute for AI safety
Bloomberg: OpenAI top scientist urges ‘extreme caution’ with pace of AI
Financial Times: Anthropic researcher quits over AI labs ‘gambling with our lives’
The Information: China hits back at US accusation of “industrial-scale” AI distillation
Bloomberg: Huawei’s sweeping US criminal trial kicks off in Brooklyn

Space

Ars Technica: Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument
Financial Times: Europe battles to catch US and China in space race
NASA: NASA invites media to Djibouti Artemis Accords signing ceremony
Space Review: Indian Space Research Organisation’s comeback with the successful launch of EOS-05
NASA: NASA answers president’s call to establish US Space Academy
SpacePolicyOnline: NASA invites governors to compete to be home to the new US Space Academy
NASA: NASA calls for proposals to accelerate lunar surface technologies
The Economist: Satellites get a new type of armour
NASA: NASA, NFL team up to showcase space, aeronautics innovation

Weather, Climate, and Environment

SciLight: Who gets to rewrite a climate assessment? (perspective by Rachel Brittin)
Ars Technica: Update to Google’s AI weather model improves forecast accuracy
CSIS: Rare earth export restrictions one year later (report)
USGS: New USGS-funded science will support landslide public safety and disaster preparedness nationwide
AFGE: Unions lead filing of new lawsuit to stop USDA reorganization
Inside Climate News: Many people aren’t connecting the dots between climate change and extreme weather

Energy

New York Times: EPA will erase limits on climate pollution from power plants
American Nuclear Society: FIA white paper guides Agreement States on fusion regulation
American Nuclear Society: Accelerating America’s small modular reactor moment
American Nuclear Society: NASA solicits lunar radioisotope power
Renewable Energy Magazine: NLR campus to host US Department of Energy Geothermal Center of Excellence
DOE: Under President Trump’s leadership, NNSA strengthens US security by removing high-risk cesium from Vermont

Defense

Export Compliance Daily: 5 industry groups urge Congress to keep chip-related export controls out of NDAA
Breaking Defense: Space Force picks Texas as US home for trinational DARC space radar network
CSIS: The archipelago and the umbrella: Harmonizing French and NATO nuclear deterrence
GAO: Nuclear security enterprise: Strategic partnership projects can support mission, operations, and research (report)
DefenseScoop: Pentagon partners with venture studio to pilot shared services contract model via $100M OTA
Lawfare: Rulemaking by memo: Why CMMC suspension deserves review (perspective by Michael McLaughlin and Harvey Rishikof)

Biomedical

Nature: A data leak shut a top research biobank: Lessons from the recovery
ITIF: Comments to NIH on measuring and rewarding scientific impact
Science: US cancer institute director counters gloomy forecast
University of Pennsylvania: Public confidence in Fauci declines since spring, but still exceeds RFK Jr.
New York Times: Kennedy hires covid vaccine skeptic to look at dubious claims of military deaths
Government Executive: CDC, after months of delays, gives employees 20 days to resubmit disability accommodation documentation

International Affairs

Science|Business: Parliament haggle over EU-wide spending rules delays vote on Horizon Europe
Science|Business: Investigation alleges widespread misuse of EIT funds
Chemistry World: China’s scientific rise is being driven by returning expertise
Export Compliance Daily: Chinese universities, SE Asian firms buying millions of dollars in controlled US chips