March 21, 2015

HAWKS OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER: Republican majorities in the House and Senate are split between those who view debt or terrorism and rogue states as the greatest threat to the nation. That divide is evident in Senate and House budgets, which otherwise cut deeply into domestic programs. Defense hawks carried the day in the Senate Budget Committee, which got around the $523 billion defense cap imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act by voting $89 billion for off-budget Oversease Contingency Operations. Deficit hawks swayed House budgeteers, who refused to accept such a big OCO account. The split could be resolved either on the floor or in conference, but it threatens a joint budget resolution, which sets top-line sums for appropriators. The whole process may ultimately unravel, since the White House threatens to veto appropriations that either lock in sequestration or that fail to spread cuts evenly between defense and non-defense spending. 

SUPPORT FOR 'MEDICAL INNOVATORS': The House GOP's budget would gut Obamacare, but the committee backs "the important work of medical innovators throughout the country, including private-sector innovators, medical centers and the National Institutes of Health. At the same time, the budget calls for continued strong funding for the agencies that engage in valuable research and development, while also urging Washington to get out of the way of researchers, discoverers and innovators all over the country."

IN THE 'COMPETES' SPIRIT: Sen. Dick Durbin (left) and Rep. Bill Foster, both Illinois Democrats, have introduced The American Innovation Act (S. 747; HR 1398), intended to put funding for basic research on a growth path for the next decade. It provides annual five percent budget increases for research at the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, the Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs, the National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories, and NASA's Science Directorate. The legislation has drawn praise from the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.

PAPER CHASE: A measure sponsored by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) calls for a White House-based working group to recommend ways to harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative federal regulations and reporting requirements affecting research and research universities; and "minimize the regulatory burden on U.S. institutions of higher education performing federally funded research while maintaining accountability for federal tax dollars." With Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) also on a mission to cut research paperwork, some form of this bill seems likely to pass.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED: The House Energy  Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold what looks like an enthusiastic hearing Tuesday entitled "The Internet of Things: Exploring the Next Technology Frontier.” A background paper notes that "Internet connectivity is being integrated into workforce processes, infrastructure, machines, and other production and supply chain elements within the manufacturing industry." The IoT "promises to have a transformational impact in terms of increased productivity and revenue, more efficient business models, and meaningful resource savings." It also notes cases where IoT hacking has jeopardized privacy.

Source: National Science Foundation, STEM Education Data

NEW PUBLIC ACCESS RULES: Responding to a 2014 White House directive, the National Science Foundation "will require that articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and papers in juried conference proceedings or transactions be deposited in a public access compliant repository and be available for download, reading and analysis within one year of publication." The plan, entitled Today's Data, Tomorrow's Discoveries. "is intended to accelerate the dissemination of fundamental research results that will advance the frontiers of knowledge and help ensure the nation's future prosperity."research.

U.Va. ENGINEER JOINS NSF: Barry W. Johnson, professor and senior associate dean at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science, is the new director of the  Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships within the Engineering Directorate. Johnson joined U.Va. as assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering in 1984.

DEADLINE LOOMS: Through the SHRP2 Education Connection, the Federal Highway Administration anticipates awarding up to 10 cooperative agreements to university professors who incorporate SHRP2 solutions into their coursework. Applications are due April 9. A webinar recording and more information on this opportunity are available on the GoSHRP2 Education Connection page.

ALTERNATE CAREER PATHS: The Chronicle of Higher Education reports signs that "academe is becoming more supportive of Ph.D.’s who work outside university walls. . . . Each year they produce more and more Ph.D.’s, even as the share of tenure-track jobs shrinks. As a result, administrators are creating more career services for graduate students and making greater efforts to track where their Ph.D.’s land." Still, "a stigma persists for students who don’t pursue academic jobs." (Read the article if you have a subscription).

BIG BUSINESS, GETTING BIGGER: The market for so-called advanced energy products -- energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas electric generation, solar, wind, hydro, nuclear, electric vehicles, biofuels and smart grid -- is just under $200 billion in the United States and nearly $1.3 trillion in estimated global revenue for 2014, according to a report commissioned by Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), an industry association. Read the report highlights.

ADDED DUTY: Gilda Barabino, engineering dean at the City College of New York, has been named president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

GROWTH POTENTIAL: Despite impressive recent and projected growth, the manufacture of chemicals using biological synthesis and engineering could expand even faster, says a report from the National Academies. Addition of bio-based routes to chemicals "could open the door to making and marketing chemicals that can’t presently be made at scale or may allow the use of new classes of feedstocks." The report "examines the technical, economic, and societal factors that limit the adoption of bioprocessing in the chemical industry today and which, if surmounted, would markedly accelerate the advanced
manufacturing of chemicals via industrial biotechnology." 

ASEE 2015 Northeast Section Conference New Deadlines
Paper Submission: Monday 3/23 8:00 am
Early Bird Registration: Monday 3/23
Student Poster Abstract Submission: Monday 3/23 8:00 am. Go to the conference website. Paper Submission Portal: (http://conference2015.asee-ne.org). Poster Guidelines: http://www.northeastern.edu/asee2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ASEE-2015-Poster-Guidelines.pdf

The Next MacGyver
Can you, or someone you know, create a female TV hero who will "out-MacGyver MacGyver” and use her engineering prowess to solve problems? If so, enter the National Academy of Engineering's competition and help inspire a generation of young women to see themselves as engineers.
http://www.thenextmacgyver.com/

Women in Engineering Pro-Active Network (WEPAN) Change Leader Forum, June 9-11, Denver, Colo.
Join the national dialogue about the role of culture in building inclusive and diverse engineering education and work communities. Newcomers and experts alike from all sectors (science, engineering, technology, math, education, and social sciences) are invited to attend this Forum and contribute to increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in engineering. Details and Registration