April 12, 2015

HOUSE VOTES NEAR ON PENDING BILLS

The Energy-Water measure, including Department of Energy R&D, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Administration, is one of two appropriations bills likely to reach the House floor the week of April 27, CQ reports. It's expected to get through committee on Wednesday. The next day, a Senate panel will scrutinize NASA's budget request. House-Senate conferees are due to meet as early as the coming week to resolve differences between the two chambers' budgets.

GOP MANIFESTO: A House Science, Space, and Technology document offers a comprehensive Republican view of the nation's science agencies and the Obama team's policies toward them. On NASA, the "Views and Estimates"  document says the United States has been an unreliable partner to allies on space exploration, calls the plan to capture an asteroid robotically "uninspiring," and says the administration overemphasizes earth science at the expense of space science. The National Science Foundation, the document says, is diverting scarce basic-research dollars to programs best left to other agencies. It says a proposed budget increase for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences is "disproportunately larger" than those for directorates (including Engineering) with "a high return on investment." On the National Institute of Standards and Technology, it notes major differences between the administration and the House on how to fund advanced manufacturing. Richard Jones of the American Institute of Physics summarizes the document.

SETTING DIRECTORATE BUDGETS: Republican plans to set NSF funding levels by directorate, instead of leaving that to agency leaders, has the research community "very concerned," according to a letter now being circulated among members of the Coalition for National Science Funding. The authors plan to send it to House Science Chair Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) and ranking Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.). 

ON THE RAILS: Millions of dollars in mass-transit R&D could be at risk under conservative proposals to salvage the Highway Trust Fund. HR 1461, introduced by maverick Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), would eliminate the Mass Transit Account as of the start of FY 2016 and shift all its money to the Highway Account. A proposal by Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) would phase out the mass transit account by 2020. Conservatives contend that the trust fund, since it's paid for with a gas tax, should go for roads, and that all the money spent on transit has failed to ease traffic congestion. Estimated 2013 Costs to Replace or Rehabilitate Structurally Deficient Bridges.

WEATHER CHANNEL: A bill (HR 1561) that cleared the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee with bipartisan support would offer various university research opportunities through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including: postdoctoral fellowships at National Centers for Environmental Prediction; programs to improve hurricane and tornado warnings; developing next-generation regional and global weather models.

TRAVEL WOES: The American Association for the Advancement of Science is spearheading an effort to get Congress to ease stringent curbs on conference participation  by government scientists and engineers. A letter gathering signatures cites a recent GAO report, which says it can take nine months to win approval. Last-minute approval "which creates a disincentive for the departments’ scientists and engineers to take on active roles, such as presenting research or serving as a keynote speaker," GAO says.

EASIER READS: Three bills in the House and Senate would make articles based on government-funded research freely available online. Two of them (S. 779 and HR 1477) call for "free online public access to such final peer-reviewed manuscripts or published versions as soon as practicable, but not later than 6 months after publication in peer-reviewed journals." The Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities say the bills  "reinforce the thoughtful public access policy promulgated by the White House Office of Science and Technology."

                              MEDIAN SALARY OF EMPLOYED GRADUATES

                                                                      Occupation

Source: Table, "Median annual salary of employed college graduates in the United States, by level and field of highest degree, employment sector, and occupation: 2013," National Science Foundation, Characteristics of the College-Educated Population and the Science and Engineering Workforce in the United States

PROMISING CANCER TREATMENT: The National Cancer Institute has an upcoming solicitation for proposals to conduct clinical trials on “Carbon Ion versus Conventional Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced, Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer.” Accordingt to NCI, "researchers have reported that, in studies, nearly half of pancreatic cancer patients who were treated with carbon ion therapy survived to the two-year mark or beyond."

THREAT TO U.S. SATELLITES: The Pentagon wants to spend about $1 billion a year above previous spending to protect U.S. satellites, CQ reports. The Air Force's top officer, Gen. Mark A. Welsh, is quoted as saying "the capability gap is closing” between the U.S. military and rivals such as China and Russia. Space superiority "requires capability, technology and resources.”

'SENIOR PERSONNEL' COSTS FAULTED: National Science Foundation auditors say the University of Californa, Berkeley, the University of Florida, and Michigan State University each overcharged the agency substantial sums for senior personnel salary charges that exceeded limits -- $1,608,944 in Berkeley's case. Both Florida and Michigan State said it was guided by an NSF Frequently Asked Questions document. The auditors rejected that argument, calling the FAQ "informal" and "non-authoritative." Berkeley called the policies unclear.

SCIENCE OF BROADENING PARTICIPATION: ThIs NSF program employs "the theories, methods, and analytic techniques of the social, behavioral, economic, and learning sciences to better understand the barriers that hinder and factors that enhance our ability to broaden participation" in STEM. "Ultimately, the SBP research will provide scientific evidence that STEM educators, STEM employers, and policy makers need to make informed decisions and to design effective programs and interventions." Learn more.

ENERGY DEPARTMENT AWARDS: Nominations for the 2015 Ernest Orlando Lawrence and Enrico Fermi Awards are being accepted until June 15, 2015.

'EVERY CHILD IS BORN AN INNOVATOR' . . . and then "gets deprogrammed before s/he reaches university," participants observed at a National Academies workshop. How to reverse that? Participants from big business said schools "could create a more realistic environment in which students can experience small failures and learn how to be resilient through experience and debriefing." Academics noted that "you can’t be an innovator unless you know enough about people and what they need to create a solution that changes their lives." They also suggested flipping the curriculum "by beginning with orientation to the field (such as the mining industry) and providing basic knowledge about it, then turning to science education."

NEXT MacGYVER CONTEST EXTENDED TO MAY 1: "The goal of the competition is to create a historic TV series that inspires young people, especially women, to pursue careers in engineering." Five winners will each receive $5,000 and be paired with top Hollywood producers, "who will mentor them to develop the female character and an engaging pilot script." Learn more.

OFFICERS ELECTED: ASEE members chose Louis Martin-Vega, dean of engineering at North Carolina State University, as president-elect for 2015–2016; Catherine Skokan, research professor and professor emerita at the Colorado School of Mines, as vice president, external relations; and Terri Morse, program director, engineering operations & technology, The Boeing Co., as vice president, finance. 

ENGINEERING RESEARCH COUNCIL VIDEOS: See a playlist of 11 videos, including presentations by officials and experts from U.S. science agencies, the White House, and elsewhere. Also, watch videos from the deans' public policy colloquium.

THE NORTHEAST SECTION MEETING at Northeastern University will include a “Fundamentals of Effective Teaching” workshop. "The focus is on equipping individuals who are new to college teaching and will include a little theory and some basic, tried-and-true techniques," according to co-facilitator Grant Crawford. Attendance will be capped at 15.