September 19, 2014
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CONGRESS
AND THE BUDGET
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OBAMA SIGNS stopgap spending bill
The $1 trillion measure basically funds government operations at current levels until Dec. 11, while authorizing President
Obama's plan to aid Syrian rebels in fighting the Islamic State, and
extending the charter of the Export-Import Bank -- a controversial item
-- until June 30, 2015. Whether a post-election lame-duck session
takes up actual FY 2015 appropriations in the form of an omnibus bill
or merely passes another shortterm spending bill appears to depend on
whether Republicans gain control of the Senate Nov. 4. In that event,
some Hill-watchers speculate Congress will avoid doing much of
substance until after the new GOP majority takes office in January.
ADVANCE FOR ADVANCED MANUFACTURING: There
are no guarantees, but a shortlist of legislation likely to clear
Congress even in a do-little lame-duck session would include the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act
(RAMI), which passed the House on a voice vote early this week and has
bipartisan support in the Senate. The bill is intended to create a
nationwide network of regional institutes involving industry and
academia, each focused on a novel material, enabling technology,
supply-chain integration methodology, or "another relevant aspect of
advanced manufacturing, such as nanotechnology applications, advanced
ceramics, photonics and optics, composites, biobased and advanced
materials, flexible hybrid technologies, and tool development for
microelectronics."
ADDED TRAINING: One of the Senate's manufacturing champions, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.)
joined with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) to introduce the Manufacturing Skills Act.
It would create an annual $100 million competitive grant "to support
initiatives that strengthen the manufacturing workforce and address
regional skills challenges." The grants would go to five states and
five metro areas with the strongest proposals. 4ov According to the
sponsors, it would five states and five metropolitan areas with the
strongest proposals. The Obama administration has its own manufacturing
initiatives -- see below.
DON'T WASTE A platform: If a hearing
before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee allowed Rep.
Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) to rip into the Obama administration's Climate
Action Plan and the Environmental Protection Agency's power-plant
regulations, it also gave witness John Holdren, the president's science
adviser, the chance to present his own case. In a 23-page statement,
Holdren summarized mounting data on the consequences of climate change
and cited "a growing consensus . . . that the case for making
substantial investments in climate change mitigation and
preparedness/resilience . . . is compelling." He sees "opportunities
for new technologies that give greater insight into the real-time
status of ground and surface waters, as well as for technologies that
would improve the efficiency of water use in applications such as
energy production."
Non-carbon pollutants . . . like
methane leaks, refrigerant leaks, and soot from diesel engines and
cookstoves are the target of new bipartisan legislation by Sens. Chris
Murphy (D-Conn.) and Nancy Collins (R-Maine), The Hill reports.
HOUSE PASSES EXASCALE COMPUTING: The
bill, HR 2495, defines exascale as "computing system performance at or
near 10 to the 18th power floating point operations per second." The
bill would set up two or more national laboratory-industry-university
partnerships to "conduct integrated
research, development, and engineering of multiple exascale
architectures," according to FYI, the American Institute of Physics newsletter.
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DATA
POINTS
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THE ADMINISTRATION AND RESEARCH AGENCIES
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FUELING ADVANCED MANUFACTURING
The
President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology opened its
meeting today with a discussion of the Advanced Manufacturing
Partnership 2.0, an effort to "secure US leadership in the emerging technologies that will create high-quality manufacturing jobs (see a webcast
once it's archived in a couple of days.) Two days earlier, the Energy
Department joined the U.S. Council on Competitiveness in leading the
second American Energy and Manufacturing Competitiveness Summit, with discussions on "technologies driving the United States to our energy future," national labs, and "energy and manufacturing in the innovation economy."
Specific DOE interests cited in a new request for information include:
advanced materials manufacturing; advanced sensing, control, and
platforms for manufacturing; high-efficiency modular chemical
processes; and high-value Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing.
HIGH-POWERED LONG-johns: The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Harvard $2.9 million to develop a "soft exosuit,"
intended to be worn under clothing. It could help soldiers "walk longer
distances, keep fatigue at bay, and minimize the risk of injury when
carrying heavy loads."
TEACHING AND RESEARCH can COEXIST: The National Science Foundation reports that 13
of its grant recipients who were among 15 Howard Hughes Medical
Institute Professors due to get $1 million over five years "to pursue
innovative ideas in the undergraduate science classroom." On the list
are two engineers: Aydogan Ozcan, professor of electrical engineering
at UCLA, said to be "highly supportive of undergraduates in his
research group," and Muhammad Zaman, professor of biomedical
engineering at Boston University, who "engages students in regular
feedback" to make sure his teaching practices are effective."
heads up for two-year colleges: NSF's
Advanced Technological Education program "focuses on the education of
technicians for the high-technology fields" driving the economy,
drawing in partnerships between academic institutions and industry.
Learn about funding.
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NATIONAL ACADEMIES
 PLENARY SPEAKERS at
the National Academy of Engineering's Sept.28-29 annual meeting will be
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Eric Schmidt of Google, and Frances
Arnold, professor of chemical engineering, bioengineering, and
biochemistry at Caltech. The meeting marks NAE's 50th anniversary,
which is also the occasion of a new publication, Making a World of Difference: Engineering Ideas into Reality.
BE PREPARED: A report, Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Plants
recommends incorporating modern risk concepts into safety regulations
and improving the safety culture as ways to "help the industry prepare
for events that could "challenge the design of plant structures and
lead to a loss of critical safety functions."
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PUBLIC
POLICY AND HIGHER
ED
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TOO MANY PEOPLE CHASING TOO little money . . . is
how former Princeton president Shirley Tilghman summed up the challenge
facing researchers today. During a PCAST meeting, she noted that
biomedical scientists can be 42 when they get their first National
Institutes of Health grant. She was among the thinkers behind a
new American Academy of Arts
and Sciences report entitled Restoring the Foundation: The Vital
Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream.
Among "prescriptions": Provide sustainable federal funding and set
longterm iunvestment goals; ensure that the American people receive the
maximum benefit from federal investments in research; and establish "a
more robust national government-university-industry research
partnership." Science magazine writes about the report.
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ASEE
& COMMUNITY NEWS
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VIDEO INTERVIEWS: Leaders at NSF and the Navy Discuss the Future of
Engineering 
 Watch interviews with NSF Assistant Director for Engineering Pramod Khargonekar, left, who talks about exciting
NSF projects and opportunities for ASEE members, and Rear Admiral David Johnson, who discusses the
importance of technology to the U.S. Navy and where naval research is headed. The videos are part of ASEE’s Advanced
Research Monitor Interview Series.
NCEES SEEKS LICENSED CIVIL ENGINEERS to
participate in a standard-setting study for the Principles and Practice
of Engineering (PE) Civil exam May 15-16, 2015, in Clemson, S.C. Travel
and lodging will be paid by NCEES. If interested, complete an online questionnaire.
DEADLINE is sept. 18 FOR HOTEL RESERVATIONS for the Oct. 10 Engineering Technology Leadership Institute in Crystal City, across the Potomac from Washington DC. This
year's ETLI theme is Engineering Technology: Pathways, Perspectives, and Roles. Find out more.
PATHWAYS TO INNOVATION: Engineering deans are invited to join the Pathways to Innovation program, run by the Epicenter at Stanford. It's designed "to help
institutions transform the experience of their undergraduate engineering
students and fully incorporate innovation and entrepreneurship into a range of
courses as well as strengthen co- and extra-curricular offerings." Teams receive "access to models for
integrating entrepreneurship into engineering curriculum, custom online
resources, guidance from a community of engineering and entrepreneurship
faculty, and membership in a national network of schools with similar goals. See the call for proposals. For more information, contact Liz Nilsen at lnilsen@nciia.org
THE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL HISPANIC ENGINEERS (shpe) Deans’ Summit will take
place in Detroit, Michigan on Friday morning, November 7 as a part of the
annual SHPE National Conference. The Summit will focus on the challenge
of building a diverse pipeline of engineering students. Leaders
from SHPE, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE),
and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) will present their current efforts
and needs for support in this area. The goal is to develop recommendations and
actions to strengthen the ties between these organizations, academia and
industry. Please RSVP via http://tinyurl.com/2014SHPE no later than October 1,
2014.
ENGINEERING EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: The Seventh International Conference on Engineering Education for Sustainable Development
(EESD15) "will
explore current and future ways of thinking in the emerging field" and
the groundbreaking worth since 2002. It will be held June 9-12, 2015 at
the University of British
Columbia’s (UBC) Point Grey campus. 7 of EESD and
will celebrate the ground-breaking work accomplishing in EESD since 2002.
The conference will be held from June 9-12, 2015 at the University of British
Columbia’s (UBC) Point Grey campus in Vancouver. See the conference themes. Abstracts are due October 13.
start preparing abstracts: The
abstract submission phase opened Sept. 2, 2014 for the 2015 ASEE
Annual Conference and Exposition in Seattle. The Calls for Papers from
various divisions can be found here.
 TAKING THE LEAD: The
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is hosting a workshop entitled
Academic Leadership for Women in Engineering at the WE14+ICWES16 Annual
Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 24 and 25. There will be a specific
focus on best practices central to leadership in academia. Click here to learn
more and apply to attend the workshop.
Please complete the participant application by August 25. Funded
through support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the workshop is free to
all who are accepted. Contact learning@swe.org with any questions.
ON-LINE STEM
SUSTAINABILITY LIBRARY: This on-line library of
over 1700 juried articles and 300 videos was developed at James Madison
University with NSF funding. The site provides resources for those
researching or teaching sustainability across contexts.
ANNUAL
CONFERENCE - STORIFY VERSION: ASEE's
Engineering Libraries Division has put together a lively collection of
photos and tweets that captures the collaboration and camaraderie
of the Indy conference. Check it out here.
DEANS' FORUM ON
HISPANIC HIGHER EDUCATION
The
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) invites
engineering deans and chairs to the Third Annual Deans’ Forum on
Hispanic
Higher Education: Advancing Graduate School Opportunities and Success
for
Hispanic Students, following HACU’s 28th Annual Conference, Tuesday,
Oct. 7,
2014, 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The forum will address issues facing
Hispanic
students in graduate education and highlight promising practices to
enhance
access and success. For more information, see http://www.hacu.net/hacu/Deans_Forum.asp.
‘PROFILES’
IS OUT: ASEE's
eagerly awaited 540-page Profiles of
Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges has been
published. Call ASEE (202-331-3500) to order a copy.
ASEE DIVERSITY
COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER: The
spring edition of the semi-annual newsletter is now
available. ASEE Past President J.P. Mohsen discusses a proposed
Year of
Dialogue on Diversity and details on safe zone ally training at the
annual
conference are posted, among other items.
VIDEOS
OF
THE PPC: View sessions from February's Public
Policy Colloquium of the Engineering Deans Council dealing with
advanced manufacturing, federal R&D, and K-12 engineering.
STAY
UP TO DATE
on ASEE's Retention Project by
clicking here
for updates.
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EDITOR: Mark Matthews;
CONTRIBUTOR:
William E. Kelly; NEW MASTHEAD DESIGN by Francis Igot,
incorporating the new ASEE logo.
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