Energy Secretary Rick Perry driving a 3D-printed Shelby Cobra last month, accompanied by Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thomas Zacharia. Oak Ridge uses the vehicle to showcase the capabilities of its Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, a major R&D center for additive manufacturing technology.
(Image credit – ORNL)
Energy Secretary Rick Perry is appearing before the House Science Committee on Tuesday for a general oversight hearing on the Department of Energy’s R&D enterprise. The committee is currently developing legislation focusing on the department’s research programs and has already held hearings dedicated to nuclear energy, solar and wind energy, and carbon management R&D. The hearing could potentially touch on such current policy issues as the department’s moves to bar its researchers from participating in certain foreign talent recruitment programs and President Trump’s recent executive order requiring federal agencies to cull a fraction of their external advisory committees. The Science Committee is also holding three other hearings this week dedicated to artificial intelligence , NASA’s aeronautics research , and election security .
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will examine nuclear waste storage and management options at a hearing on Thursday. The head of the nuclear science and technology program at Idaho National Laboratory, John Wagner, will testify alongside three representatives from the nuclear energy industry and an attorney from the Natural Resources Defense Council. Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said at a hearing held in support of the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act in April that addressing the political stalemate over nuclear waste storage is one of her “top priorities.” To that end, Thursday’s hearing will also feature testimony on the Nuclear Waste Administration Act , a bipartisan measure Murkowski reintroduced in April that would establish an independent agency dedicated to creating interim and permanent nuclear waste repositories.
The Senate is scheduled to begin considering its version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act this week, a sweeping policy bill that Congress by tradition passes each year. Over 500 amendments have been offered to this year’s Senate bill. Several of the proposed amendments are based on other bills introduced this year, such as the Protect Our Universities Act , Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act , American Mineral Security Act , Rare Earth Element Advanced Coal Technologies Act , Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act , and Space Frontier Act . Senate leaders have not yet decided, though, which amendments will be brought to a vote.
Amid the ongoing federal crackdown against intellectual property theft and other forms of research misappropriation by the Chinese government, a panel of lawyers and U.S.-based Chinese scientists will discuss associated concerns about overreach and racial profiling at an event on Thursday. Among the participants is Xiaoxing Xi , a physics professor at Temple University whom federal prosecutors accused in 2015 of illegally sending technical information to China. The government later dropped the charges. The event is being hosted by the China Institute, a nonprofit organization in New York.
The International Future Circular Collider Conference is taking place all this week in Brussels, Belgium. The conference marks the completion of the conceptual design study for the collider, which the Switzerland-based CERN research center has proposed as a follow-on to its Large Hadron Collider, currently the world’s leading particle physics facility. CERN estimates the cost of the new facility, if built out fully, would be about $27 billion in current dollars and would continue to operate until nearly the end of this century. The decision on whether to build the collider will be a central question addressed in the European Particle Physics Strategy Update that is now underway. On Tuesday, the conference is hosting a daylong workshop on the “economics of science,” which will take a broad look at how the costs and benefits of major research infrastructure projects can be conceptualized.
Then-Army Secretary Mark Esper testifying about the service’s modernization priorities at a hearing in 2017.
(Image credit – U.S. Army)
President Trump has nominated Army Secretary Mark Esper to lead the Department of Defense following Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s decision to withdraw from consideration and resign from the Defense Department on June 18. Esper has already taken over the acting post from Shanahan, who had been in the role since Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned at the beginning of this year. Esper graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986 and following a career in the Army worked as a congressional staff member, executive vice president of the Aerospace Industries Association of America, and finally head of government relations for Raytheon, a major military contractor, before his move to the Pentagon. He also earned a doctorate in public policy from George Washington University in 2008 with a dissertation on the role of Congress in developing the U.S. strategic nuclear forces during the early Cold War. As Army secretary, Esper has focused heavily on the establishment of Army Futures Command, which is overseeing the Army’s modernization efforts, including its research and engineering activities.
There were two significant moves over the last two weeks within the office led by Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin. On June 14, Chris Shank, the head of the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office, resigned when Griffin decided to place the office within the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Strategic Capabilities Office develops new uses for existing technologies and has a $1.4 billion budget. Its incorporation into DARPA, which focuses on prospective technologies and has a $3.5 billion budget, represents a major organizational shift. On June 19, Fred Kennedy, the head of the newly established Space Development Agency, also resigned and will return to DARPA, where he previously worked. According to a report from SpaceNews, Kennedy’s departure only months after taking the job stemmed from disagreements with Griffin over how the agency should be run but is not associated with any change in the agency’s mission.
On June 20, the Senate confirmed Rita Baranwal as director of the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy by a vote of 86 to 5 . Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) voted against confirmation. Before her nomination last October, Baranwal had directed the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program at Idaho National Lab since 2016. With her confirmation now complete, the sole pending DOE nomination is that of Lane Genatowski to lead the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy.
The House Science Committee approved four bills last week, including the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act , the STEM Opportunities Act , and the Vera Rubin Survey Telescope Designation Act . Prior to advancing the harassment bill, the committee adopted an amended version in response to stakeholder feedback that, among other changes, clarifies privacy protections for victims of sexual harassment and those accused. The committee also accepted a separate amendment to the bill’s requirement that grantee institutions report all “administrative actions” taken related to harassment investigations, limiting it to actions that affect the ability of grant personnel to carry out the research project. A third amendment added language directing the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to consider developing guidelines for policies that help harassment victims reenter the research workforce.
The House Science Committee held a hearing last week to gather feedback on two drafts bills focused on fossil energy R&D. The committee intends to introduce a revised version of the Fossil Energy R&D Act of 2018 , which would support expanded efforts in carbon capture technology development and methane leak detection, among other areas. The committee also plans to introduce a new bill, the Industrial Decarbonization Technology Development Act, that would support interagency efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes and transportation methods. Multiple witnesses expressed support for both bills on the grounds that such technologies will be needed to mitigate climate change. Erin Burns, director of policy for Carbon180, praised the Fossil Energy R&D Act for proposing to establish the first DOE program dedicated to atmospheric carbon dioxide removal .
The presidents of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a joint statement last week to “affirm the scientific evidence of climate change.” They point to “multiple lines of evidence” demonstrating that anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gasses are changing the climate. They also highlight a joint initiative launched in 2018 on better communicating the Academies’ own climate science studies to policymakers and the public. National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt later tweeted that the statement was motivated by “continuing and persistent attempts to undermine climate science.”
During its consideration of a package of spending bills last week, the House adopted various amendments that allocate funds to science-related initiatives. Among them are:
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) announced on June 18 that he is proposing the establishment of an independent federal agency called the National Institute of Manufacturing. According to a press release from Peters’ office, the proposal is inspired by the National Institutes of Health and would incorporate the efforts of 58 manufacturing programs currently spread among 11 federal agencies. Led by a “chief manufacturing officer” for the nation, it would report directly to the president and be responsible for formulating a national manufacturing strategy. Current advanced manufacturing initiatives, such as the Manufacturing USA network of regional institutes, aim to foster new domestic growth industries by developing production methods and worker skills that will enable the mass manufacture of innovative materials and technologies.
The National Academies released a report last week endorsing the use of infrared space-based telescopes for detecting near-Earth objects (NEOs), finding they are more effective than telescopes that operate in visible wavelengths. It recommends that NASA support such a telescope to satisfy the requirements of the George E. Brown, Jr. Near-Earth Object Survey Act in a “timely fashion.” NASA is currently supporting early-stage studies of such a telescope called NEOCam, but to date has not approved the project. The study finds that, without dedicated funding, NEOCam has had to compete for resources with high-priority science missions and it recommends that “high-priority planetary defense objectives” should not be put in competition with science objectives. NASA’s Small Bodies Assessment Group, which advises NASA’s Planetary Science Division on research on asteroids, comets, and other such Solar System objects, is meeting this week and will discuss near-Earth object detection, among other subjects.
EU: International Future Circular Collider Conference (continues through Friday) Brussels, Belgium NASA: Small Bodies Assessment Group meeting (continues Tuesday) College Park, MD Georgetown University: Vera Rubin Fest (continues through Wednesday) Washington, DC AAAS: “Location-Based Data in Crisis Situations” 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Webinar Carnegie Endowment: “Closing the Gender Gap in Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament” 2:00 - 3:30 pm, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, DC)
Secure World Foundation: Summit for Space Sustainability (continues Wednesday) National Press Club (529 14th Street NW, DC) DOE: Up and Atom morning briefing on nuclear energy 8:30 - 9:30 am, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building House: “Oversight of DOE’s R&D Enterprise” 10:00 am, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) House: “Uranium Mining: Contamination and Criticality” 10:00 am, Natural Resources Committee (1324 Longworth Office Building) CURC: “The Status of Carbon Capture – Where Are We Now?” 11:45 am - 1:00 pm, Capitol Visitor Center (1st St. NE, DC) House: “Recovery, Resiliency, and Readiness — Contending with Natural Disasters in the Wake of Climate Change” 2:00 pm, Oversight Committee (2154 Rayburn Office Building) Toy Association: “The Role of Play in Teaching STEM and Other 21st Century Skills” 3:00 - 4:00 pm, 121 Cannon House Office Building Nuclear Threat Initiative: “WMD and Insider Threats: Who Would Do Such a Thing?” 5:00 - 6:30 pm, NTI headquarters (1776 Eye St. NW, DC)
State/Commerce Departments: Space Enterprise Summit (continues Thursday) State Department (2201 C St. NW, DC) OFCM: Space Weather Enterprise Forum 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Interior Department (1849 C St. NW, DC) House: “Artificial Intelligence: Societal and Ethical Implications” 10:00 am, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) CSIS: “A Conversation with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on Defending the Arctic” 12:00 - 1:00 pm, CSIS headquarters (1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW, DC) Webcast available House: “NASA’s Aeronautics Mission: Enabling the Transformation of Aviation” 2:00 pm, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) Wilson Center: “Chernobyl: Screening and Conversation with Creation Craig Mazin” 5:00 - 7:00 pm, Ronald Reagan Building (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC)
EPA: Board of Scientific Counselors executive committee meeting (continues Friday) Research Triangle Park, NC National Academies: “The Role of Authentic STEM Learning Experiences in Developing Interest and Competencies for Technology and Computing” (continues Friday) National Academy of Sciences building (2101 Constitution Ave. NW, DC) Defense One: 2019 Tech Summit 7:30 am - 3:30 pm, Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC) House: Markup of Intelligence Authorization Act 9:00 am, Intelligence Committee (304 House Visitor Center) Senate: “Storage of Nuclear Waste and the Nuclear Waste Administration Act” 10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building) C2ES: “Pursuing Resilient Economies in Climate-Prepared Communities” 1:00 - 2:30 pm, Webinar AAAS: “How Countries Interact with Global Innovation Hubs: A Look at Boston” 2:00 - 3:30 pm, AAAS headquarters (1200 New York Ave. NW, DC) USEA: “Climate Change — What Should We All Do Now?” 3:00 - 4:00 pm, US Energy Association (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC) China Institute: “The New Normal: The perils of being a Chinese scientist or engineer in the U.S.” 6:30 - 8:00 pm, China Institute (New York, NY) American Enterprise Institute: ”The Right Direction on Title IX Sexual Harassment Regulations?” 6:30 - 7:45 pm, AEI headquarters (1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW, DC) Webcast available
AAAS: “Beyond Electricity: Climate Change and the 75% Problem” 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, AAAS headquarters (1200 New York Ave. NW, DC) Brookings: “The Future of U.S. Defense Strategy: A Conversation with General Paul Selva” 2:00 - 3:00 pm, Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW, DC)
World Conference of Science Journalists (continues through Saturday) Lausanne, Switzerland
The Department of Defense is hiring a director for the basic research office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The office is responsible for setting grant policy and coordinating fundamental research programs spanning physical, biological, and computer sciences. The office also serves as a liaison for academic institutions and manages a set of fellowship and diversity programs. Applications are due July 5.
The National Science Foundation is hiring a senior advisor for facilities planning and management in its Geosciences Directorate. Candidates must have a doctorate in a field related to STEM and at least six years of relevant research or managerial experience. Applications are due July 11.
The American Geophysical Union is accepting applications for its fall public affairs internship. Interns will attend congressional events, write blog posts, and assist the public affairs team in organizing the Geoscience Congressional Visits Day, among other responsibilities. Interested individuals must have completed at least two years of coursework towards a degree in Earth or space sciences.
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.
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