What’s Ahead

The Founders Library Building at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Howard is the host for a newly announced Department of Defense Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

(Image credit - Derek Morton, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Study Launching on Defense Research at Minority-Serving Institutions

The National Academies is holding the kickoff meeting on Monday and Tuesday for a new study on the participation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in defense research. The study is chaired by Eugene DeLoatch, dean of engineering at Morgan State University, and will analyze the track record of HBCUs and MSIs in competing for Department of Defense funding, the efficacy of DOD efforts to bolster these institutions’ research, and recruitment of their students into the defense STEM workforce. At its meeting, the committee will hear from outreach officials at the department and the Army Research Laboratory as well as from Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), who pushed for Congress to mandate the new study. Over the last several years, Brown and other lawmakers have used annual defense policy and appropriations legislation to increase support for research at HBCUs and MSIs. Using targeted funding boosts provided by Congress, DOD is establishing new centers in priority R&D areas at these institutions, and late last month announced four awards totaling $24.5 million over five years for centers focused on artificial intelligence, situational awareness, aerospace research, and quantum sensing.

Particle Physicists Push Ahead With ‘Snowmass’ Preparations

More than one thousand particle physicists will log on this week for a four-day virtual planning meeting to prepare for next summer’s “Snowmass” meeting, a key component of the U.S. particle physics community’s strategic planning process. Over the next year, the high energy physics community will discuss the state of the field and identify potential research priorities, culminating in a report that will inform the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5), which will set a 10 year agenda for the federal government’s support for the field. This week’s meeting will begin Monday with an overview of strategic planning efforts underway across other regions and fields as well as remarks by officials from the Department of Energy and National Science Foundation. The meeting will close on Thursday with report-backs from the various working groups and a plenary session on future global accelerator facilities featuring the directors of Fermilab, Brookhaven National Lab, CERN, and high energy physics institutes in China and Japan.

Discussions on Fusion Power Practicalities Heat Up

The Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Fusion Industry Association are co-hosting a public forum on Tuesday to open a discussion of what sorts of regulatory frameworks should be developed for fusion energy systems. DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, NRC Chair Kristine Svinicki, and FIA Director Andrew Holland will deliver opening remarks, followed by panel discussions on safety and regulatory issues in U.S. and international contexts. Regulatory policy has become an increasingly salient topic as private ventures work toward developing a compact fusion plant and the U.S. begins to consider constructing a pilot plant. A fast-track National Academies study is currently considering steps needed to proceed toward such a project, and is holding its second meeting on Wednesday, where it will hear from representatives from universities, national labs, and component manufacturers.

Quantum Information Science Summit to Survey the State of Play

Brookhaven National Lab is convening a two day virtual summit this week on quantum information science and technology. The event follows the Department of Energy’s announcement this summer of five flagship QIS research centers and its plans to eventually connect all 17 DOE national labs as nodes in a “quantum internet.” Sessions will address initiatives underway in quantum computing hardware and software, communication and networking, materials, and workforce development. A number of senior federal science officials will speak at the event including White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier and Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette. A variety of key figures from industry, academia, and the national labs system are also participating, such as physicist John Martinis, who led the Google team that achieved the “quantum supremacy” milestone and has since joined an Australian quantum computing startup, and IBM Research Director Dario Gil, a recent appointee to the National Science Board.

Asian American Group Steps up Anti-Profiling Efforts

The advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) is launching an initiative on Tuesday that will provide “resources and legal referrals to those impacted by the U.S. government’s increased targeting, profiling and criminalization of Asian American and Asian immigrant scientists, scholars and researchers, particularly those of Chinese descent.” Among the speakers for the event are Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Judy Chu (D-CA) and Temple University physics professor Xiaoxing Xi. In 2015, the Justice Department charged Xi with illegally transferring technology to China, but later dropped the case after Xi established the information was not sensitive. Xi has since spoken about the experience at events around the country, most recently last week at a colloquium hosted by the University of Michigan. AAJC is also cosponsoring a series of webinars on the “human and scientific costs” of the Justice Department’s approach to prosecuting researchers, the first of which took place last week . The department has insisted it is not engaging in racial profiling, arguing it targets specific unlawful behaviors.

In Case You Missed It

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks on the National Mall in front of a memorial for the more than 200,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks on the National Mall in front of a memorial for the more than 200,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19.

(Image credit – Office of Rep. Pelosi)

Scaled-Back Pandemic Relief Proposal Includes New Research Funds

The House passed a roughly $2 trillion bill last Thursday on a largely partisan vote of 214 to 207. The bill, which is a trimmed-down version of the $3 trillion HEROES Act the House approved in May, seeks to address Republican concerns about the original bill’s price tag. While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have expressed cautious optimism that the House and Senate could soon reach a bipartisan agreement on a proposal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has warned the sides remain “very, very far apart.” If the Senate goes ahead with plans to adjourn for the next two weeks in view of several Republican members’ exposure to the novel coronavirus, a vote might not be held for some weeks, even if a deal is reached. Though the bill is scaled back, it includes new money to address pandemic-related disruptions to research projects at agencies such as the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy, in contrast to the initial HEROES Act, which only proposed such funds for the National Institutes of Health:

NSF would receive $2.9 billion to “prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, including for extensions of existing research grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, and apprenticeships.” The agency would also receive $1 million to support a study on the spread of coronavirus-related disinformation.
DOE would receive $143 million to offset pandemic-related disruptions to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Camera project, SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source II, Fermilab’s Muon to Electron Conversion Experiment, the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, and construction of a new data center at Brookhaven National Lab. In addition, $1.3 million would be provided for purchasing personal protective equipment.
Biomedical agencies supporting coronavirus research would receive new funding infusions with $13.7 billion allocated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, $21 billion to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority , and $4.7 billion to the National Institutes of Health. At least $3 billion of the NIH funds would go to addressing extra costs incurred by projects due to shutdowns in the early days of the pandemic and other disruptions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would receive $392 million for “coronavirus-related needs,” $42 million of which would go toward sustaining critical operations at the National Weather Service.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology would receive $20 million for biomedical research through its Manufacturing USA institute and $50 million for its Manufacturing Extension Partnership program.
Public colleges and universities would receive $27 billion through a State Fiscal Stabilization Fund to address a broad range of disruptions to their operations. A separate fund would provide an additional $12 billion to higher education institutions, of which $7 billion is for private non-profit institutions and $3.5 billion is for Minority-Serving Institutions.

House Report on Defense Seeks Stronger Technology Focus

A bipartisan House Armed Services Committee task force set up to consider the “future of defense” released its final report last week. The report builds on the broad consensus in U.S. defense policy circles that facing China and other well-equipped rivals will be an ongoing challenge in the coming decades. It asserts an appropriate response will demand “dramatic changes” to the structure of the defense budget, a “whole-of-government” approach to national security, and reinforcement of the U.S. education system and the national security innovation base. The report urges shifting the military’s focus to emerging technologies from legacy systems, including by increasing the Defense Department’s spending on “basic” R&D to 3.4% of its total budget and by raising federal expenditures on such R&D to 1% of the nation’s gross domestic product. The report also recommends steps to bolster the defense STEM workforce, including by supporting STEM education programs across the government and implementing visa reforms to attract and retain STEM talent from other countries.

Republican China Task Force Offers Research Security Blueprint

As part of a sweeping policy blueprint released last week, the House Republicans’ China Task Force proposes that Congress pass a series of bills to counter the Chinese government’s influence in a range of domains including research, technology development, and manufacturing supply chains. On research security, the report endorses an array of bills that Republican members introduced this year that would expand visa vetting procedures, implement new grantee and university disclosure requirements, and focus attention on cybersecurity at research institutes. Among the proposals is a new bill that would increase national security reviews of international students and researchers working in fields deemed “sensitive.” Many of the measures only have Republican backing, but a few have been incorporated into the House version of the latest National Defense Authorization Act, including a requirement that all federal science agency grant applicants disclose all research support they receive, including non-monetary support, from foreign entities. The report also endorses a number of bills that broadly aim to increase the competitiveness of the U.S. STEM workforce, including legislation introduced by House Science Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) that recommends Congress roughly double research budgets at a number of science agencies over ten years and expand support for fellowship programs.

Intelligence Agencies Urged to Deepen Analysis of Chinese R&D

The House Intelligence Committee released a bipartisan report last week that concludes U.S. intelligence agencies have not acted quickly enough to reorient analysis priorities toward China. Among its proposals, the committee recommends the intelligence community increase their engagement with “non-traditional agencies,” specifically mentioning the National Science Foundation among other civilian agencies. In an op-ed , Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-CA) wrote that the realignment toward China will also require changes in recruitment practices, calling for more analysts with “nontraditional backgrounds in technology and science.” The report raises particular concerns about China’s advances in AI and quantum information science as well as its broader industrial policy initiatives. Reflecting such concerns, this summer the committee advanced legislation that would require intelligence agencies to consider establishing an open-source S&T intelligence collection program, co-locating technical intelligence officers with staff from outside of the intelligence community, and “training a dedicated open-source intelligence officer cadre composed of language experts and science and technology experts.”

New Augustine and Lane Report Seeks to Spur US R&D

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University released a report last week that asserts China has now surpassed the U.S. in R&D spending and expresses concern that policy has not caught up to the situation. The report was prepared by a committee co-chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine and former White House science adviser Neal Lane, updating a 2014 report they led addressing similar themes. The new report largely reinforces their prior recommendations, calling for an increase in the total U.S. R&D spending from 2.7% of gross domestic product to 3.0% within five years and to at least 3.3% within the next 10 years. It also recommends that Congress appropriate R&D budgets on a two year cycle and that the White House develop a five year integrated R&D funding plan for each federal science agency. Among other recommendations, it also calls for doubling H-1B visas and for universities to update their intellectual property policies to “better reflect the original intent of the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act” by pursuing patenting and licensing practices that encourage engagement with industry and serve the public interest. In a new recommendation, the report urges states to restore funding for public universities to at least the levels that prevailed prior to the 2008 financial crisis.

Judge Partially Blocks Trump’s Suspension of Foreign Worker Visas

On Oct. 1, a district court judge for California issued a preliminary injunction against a June executive order from President Trump that suspended various visa categories through the end of the year, including H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. The judge concluded the order “unlawfully eviscerates” whole categories of legislatively created visas, arguing that while the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s 2017 proclamation barring entry of individuals from certain countries, it did so on the basis that statute explicitly allows for restrictions on countries deemed to pose a higher national security risk. The National Association of Manufacturers and other business associations sued the administration to block the June order, arguing it is based on a questionable invocation of a national interest clause and will cause immediate and irreparable harm to the U.S. labor market. Their brief cites several studies on the contributions of foreign STEM workers to the U.S. economy. The judge’s ruling only allows companies represented by the plaintiffs to sponsor new foreign workers, not all employers.

NSF Selects Sean Jones as Head of Physical Sciences Directorate

The National Science Foundation announced last week that it has selected Sean Jones to lead its Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate, a role he has filled on an acting basis since Anne Kinney’s departure in April. Jones has held several positions in the directorate since joining NSF in 2009 as a materials research program director, and he spent a year detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as assistant director for physical sciences. Jones holds a doctorate in materials science and, prior to joining NSF, worked as a researcher at Bell Labs and a professor of optical engineering at Norfolk State University. Jones has also worked on diversity and inclusion issues in STEM and recently moderated an NSF panel on Black lives in science.

DOD Seeks Tighter Cybersecurity on Unclassified Contractor Research

On Sept. 29, the Department of Defense posted notice of an interim rule requiring its contractors to implement the department’s new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification framework to protect the products of unclassified research. The department asserts the measure is needed to stem the theft of intellectual property and sensitive information, citing a White House estimate that resulting losses to the U.S. economy amounted to between $57 billion and $109 billion in 2016. DOD estimates the annualized cost to contractors of implementing the framework will be $6.5 billion per year. Expressing concern about potential costs to universities, a group of higher education advocacy groups wrote to DOD earlier in the month asking it to issue clear guidance that the rule will not cover the “fundamental” research universities often conduct as subcontractors. The department is accepting public comment on the interim rule through Nov. 30 to inform a final version.

Nuclear Science Center Joins List of DOE User Facilities

In a ceremony at Michigan State University on Sept. 29, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette officially designated the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), currently nearing completion there, as a Department of Energy user facility. When it begins operations, FRIB will use a linear accelerator to strike a target with stable isotopes, generating beams of a vast array of short-lived isotopes. Researchers will use these beams to study fundamental behaviors of atomic nuclei and how elements are synthesized in the universe, as well as to help develop new isotope applications in medicine and industry. The facility’s total cost of construction is $730 million, with Michigan State providing $94.5 million and DOE the rest. Construction of FRIB began in 2014 and it is expected to open to a community of more than 1,400 users in early 2022.

Córdova to Chair New AIP Foundation

Last week, AIP welcomed former National Science Foundation Director France Córdova as the first chair of the newly formed AIP Foundation . The foundation’s mission is to “maximize charitable support for AIP’s efforts to advance, promote, and serve the physical sciences for the benefit of humanity,” with a focus on raising funds for AIP’s Center for History of Physics and Niels Bohr Library and Archives, and the Society of Physics Students. FYI, which is published by AIP, is not supported through the foundation. Since leaving NSF after her six year term ended earlier this year, Córdova has also joined the Science Philanthropy Alliance as a senior advisor.

Events This Week

Monday, October 5

#BlackinSciComm Week (continues through Saturday) APS: Snowmass Particle Physics Community Planning Meeting (continues through Thursday) National Academies: “Promising Practices for Improving the Inclusion of Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine: Lessons From Kuwait and the U.S.” (continues through Wednesday) Hoover Institution: “Competing in the Superpower Marathon with China” 12:00 - 2:00 pm Wilson Center: “U.S. Air Force Arctic Strategy: Perspectives and Insights” 12:00 - 1:30 pm Belfer Center: “In Defense of Muddling: Why Climate Advocates Should Take Their Victories Where They Can Find Them” 12:00 - 1:00 pm House: “The Melting Arctic: Climate Change Impacts on People and Wildlife” 2:00 pm, Natural Resources Committee National Academies: “Defense Research at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority-Serving Institutions,” kickoff meeting 2:00 - 3:45 pm

Tuesday, October 6

National Academies: Science, Engineering, Medicine, and Public Policy Committee meeting (continues Wednesday) DOD: U.S. Strategic Command Strategic Advisory Group meeting (continues Wednesday) Closed to the public DOE/NRC: “A Regulatory Framework For Fusion” 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Wilson Center: “Seeking Strategic Advantage: How Geopolitical Competition and Cooperation are Playing Out in Space” 10:30 am - 12:30 pm National Academies: “The Impacts on STEM Undergraduate and Graduate Student Experiences of Higher Education’s response to COVID-19: Resilience and Innovation in Leadership and Decision-Making” 12:00 - 3:00 pm C2ES: “Digital Decarb: Using Smart Technologies to Cut Emissions” 1:15 pm - 2:45 pm John Hopkins University: “Preserving the Scientific Integrity of Getting to COVID-19 Vaccines: From Clinical Trials to Public Allocation” 1:30 - 4:45 pm Brookings: “What to Expect on Tech Policy in the Next Presidential Administration” 2:00 - 3:00 pm Asian Americans Advancing Justice: Press conference on Anti-Racial Profiling Project 3:30 pm, Contact mtablante@advancingjustice-aajc.org for connection information

Wednesday, October 7

Belfer Center: Arctic Resilience Forum (continues through Dec. 16) NIH: Bibliometrics and Research Assessment Symposium 2020 (continues through Friday) National Academies: Water Science and Technology Board meeting (continues Thursday) DOE: Quantum Information Science and Technology Summit (continues Thursday) Heritage Foundation: “The New Race for Space: Success and Challenges in the Final Frontier” 10:00 - 10:45 am National Academies: “Key Goals and Innovations Needed for a U.S. Fusion Pilot Plant” 11:25 am - 5:00 pm Stimson Center: “International Perspectives on Blockchain for Nuclear Security” 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ITIF: “How Can America and the West Successfully Compete With China?” 12:00 - 1:00 pm AAAS: “Responsible AI: Environmental Monitoring and Sustainability” 2:00 - 2:30 pm NASW: “Reporting on the Pandemic” 5:00 - 6:00 pm

Thursday, October 8

NSF: “Pioneering Advances to Achieve Quantum Computing and Impact at Scale” 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Brookings: “Higher Education and COVID-19: The Future of Learning, Opportunity, and Work” 11:00 am - 12:30 pm DOD: National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting 1:00 - 3:30 pm National Academies: “North Carolina A&T State University Town Hall: Building the Next Generation of STEM Leaders” 2:00 - 4:30 pm S&T Policy Academy: “Science Diplomacy After COVID-19: Thoughts from Bill Colglazier, 4th S&T Adviser to the Secretary of State” 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Friday, October 9

Arms Control Association: “Trump’s Effort to Sabotage New START and the Risk of an All-Out Arms Race” 9:00 - 10:15 am UPenn: “New Perspectives on US-China Relations: Research, Education, and Academic Freedom” 12:30 - 1:45 pm National Academies: “Responding to COVID-19: Emerging Insights from Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences” 12:45 - 5:00 pm Aviation Week: “NASA Administrators Panel: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going” 1:00 pm National Academies: “Meeting Regional STEMM Workforce Needs in the Wake of COVID-19,” workshop one 1:00 - 4:30 pm

Opportunities

Presidential Management Fellowship Application Now Open

The Presidential Management Fellowship program is accepting applications for its latest cohort. The program places U.S. citizens with graduate degrees, including those in STEM fields, in federal agencies. Applications are due Oct 14.

STPI Hiring S&T Policy Fellows

The Science and Technology Policy Institute is seeking candidates for its two-year fellowship program. Fellows work as research assistants on projects that provide independent analysis to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other federal science agencies. Individuals who have received a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field between May 2019 and July 2021 are eligible to apply. Applications are due January 19, 2021.

NSF Hiring Office Head in Physical Sciences Directorate

The National Science Foundation is hiring a director for the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities in its Math and Physical Sciences Directorate. The office oversees the directorate’s contributions to cross-cutting initiatives such as NSF’s Big Ideas. The office director also works to identify collaboration opportunities with external partners and coordinates diversity initiatives across the directorate. Applications are due Oct. 22.

For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities . Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org .

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org .