Major reports

The National Academies' latest decadal survey of astronomy and astrophysics recommends federal agencies expand their efforts to address persistent demographic disparities in the field and urges astronomers to deepen their engagement with local communities.

New reports explore technical and policy actions to mitigate the impacts of light pollution from planned satellite megaconstellations, which threaten to severely interfere with ground-based astronomical observations and cause other environmental and cultural harms.

Among the highest priorities of the National Academies’ latest astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey are that the U.S. build a large infrared/optical/ultraviolet space telescope and advance one or preferably both of the ground-based facilities planned under the Extremely Large Telescope Program.

According to a new advisory panel report, the U.S. is losing ground to Europe and China in several key research areas supported by the Department of Energy's Basic Energy Sciences program. The report recommends several strategies for better retaining talent in the U.S. and maintaining world-leading facilities.

The National Academies has kicked off development of a strategy for the Department of Energy's low-dose radiation research program. DOE terminated the program in 2016 but recently revived it at the behest of Congress.

New reports written at the direction of President Biden review supply-chain vulnerabilities in semiconductors, high-capacity batteries, critical minerals and materials, and pharmaceuticals. They stress that support for innovation should be coupled strongly to domestic manufacturing incentives in order to bolster U.S. industry.

A National Academies panel has recommended the U.S. launch an exploratory research program to better characterize the feasibility and risks of solar geoengineering methods that could be used to help curb global warming.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Science Advisory Board is aiming to complete a study by year’s end on weather research priorities, which Congress mandated in lieu of a proposed decadal survey for the field.

A new report urges the federal government to dramatically scale up its spending on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to tens of billions of dollars annually, well beyond the levels targeted by the recently enacted National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act.

The Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee has unanimously approved a strategic plan to guide the Department of Energy’s efforts in fusion energy and plasma physics research over the next decade.