December 19, 2015

 

OMNIBUS INCREASES R&D FUNDING ACROSS AGENCIES, BUT JUST 1.6% AT NSF  

President Obama has signed a $1.1 trillion FY 2016 omnibus spending bill with a total of $148.6 billion for R&D, or 1.5 percent above the president's request. The National Institutes of Health emerged as "the big winner," according to budget analysts at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, getting $2 billion more than in FY 2015. The National Science Foundation received $7.46 billion, just 1.6 percent more than in 2015 and less than President Obama requested.

Details of the the House-Senate compromise that secured final passage are spelled out in an explanatory statement. They include:

• A softening of House instructions to NSF on transparency and accountability. The final bill encourages the agency "to continue efforts to implement transparency processes, which includes requiring that public award abstracts articulate how the project serves the national interest, and and provide periodic updates to the Committees." On another GOP issue, replicability, NSF must provide "periodic updates on its framework for ongoing and future improvements in this area. There's $146.9 million for the Understanding the Brain initiative, but less than the administration sought for Education and Human Resources.
• At the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the omnibus provides money for, among other programs, Disaster Resilient Buildings and Infrastructure, strengthening cryptography, the materials genome initiative, and quantum-based sensors and measurements, and lab to market activities. 
• $5.5 billion for NASA science, $300 million more than the administration sought. "Aeronautics fared much better than anticipated, managing to avoid larger cuts slated by the President and Congress," according to AAAS.

AT DOD, REJIGGERED SPENDING: The total Pentagon R&D tab is now $69.7 billion, matching the administration's request. However, appropriators adjusted the agency numbers, giving the Air Force less and Army, Navy, and defense-wide R&D more. Defense research sciences is funded above the administration's request at all three armed services.The Army's University and Industry Research Centers program is up slightly. Navy university research initiatives come in above the administration's request, as do Defense-wide basic research initiatives, the National Defense Education Program, and funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

BOOST FOR DOE SCIENCE, EERE: The Department of Energy's Office of Science received a 5.6 percent increase, to $5.3 billion. Within the office, Advanced Scientific Computing Research is up 14.8 percent while Congress cut 11.7 percent from Fusion Energy Sciences..Funding for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is reduced, but not eliminated, as some in Congress wanted. There's also $157.9 million for an Exascale Computing Initiative. Among energy programs outside the Office of Science, the bill provides increases for both Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and ARPA-E. See a rundown by Michael Henry of the American Institute of Physics.

Graphic by Jennifer Pocock

WET YOUR WHISTLE: A White House water innovation strategy calls for "breakthrough research and development (R&D) that will reduce the price and energy costs of new water supply technology to achieve 'pipe parity' (current municipal water prices) in the next decade" and "boosting water sustainability through the greater utilization of water-efficient and water reuse technologies." Altogether, the proposed actions "have potential to reduce our country’s water usage by 33 percent."

LINKS TO THE WORLD: The National Science Foundation plans to spend $3.6 million through the International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program for high-performance network connectivity linking U.S. research networks with peer networks in Europe and Africa. "NSF expects to make 1-2 awards at up to $900,000 total per year for a maximum of 4 years." Learn more.

THE FORCE RETURNS: The University of  Michigan's David Munson sums up his decade as engineering dean with a holiday rap video timed for release of the new Star Wars movie. Watch it here.

NORTHEAST SECTION CONFERENCE: The section, with members from  Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, as well as Eastern Canada, will hold its annual conference at the University of Rhode Island from Thursday, April 28th, 2016 to Saturday
April 30, 2016. The theme will be “Revolutionizing Engineering Education.” Conference Website: http://egr.uri.edu/asee2016

ASEE HAS OPENED ONLINE REGISTRATION AND HOUSING for three important upcoming events:

2016 Public Policy Colloquium - February 8-10, 2016 at The Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C., sponsored by the ASEE Engineering Deans Council and its Executive Board. The colloquium is intended to strengthen the discussion of engineering education and research issues between the deans of engineering and key public policy makers, and to enable the deans to refine their public policy agenda. Since the Public Policy Colloquium will focus on the activities of the Engineering Deans Council, we ask that you come yourself and not send an associate dean. Early registration rates end January 22, 2016. Click here for more information.

2016 Engineering Research Council Annual Conference - March 7-9, 2016 at The Sheraton, Silver Spring, Md., sponsored by the ERC and its Executive Board. Conference Goals:
• To provide an overview of federal R&D budgets and upcoming priorities.
• To equip research leaders with tools and strategies to more effectively lead their research programs and organizations.  Workshops and panels include:
o Strategies for winning large center proposals
o Data management and the new federal open access requirements
o Research metrics and academic analytics
o Research laboratory safety

Format Change: We are significantly reducing time spent on formal presentations by federal funding agency representatives, instead asking speakers to provide power point slides as read-ahead material and devoting more time with them as interactive panel discussions and Q&A sessions.  Also, we are increasing the number and scope of sessions on leadership tools and strategies.
Engineering deans, associate deans, department chairs and other engineering research leaders are encouraged to attend this conference. Early registration rates end February 19, 2016.
Click here for more information.

2016 Engineering Deans Institute -  March 29 – April 1, 2016 at the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel, San Francisco.
ASEE's annual EDI provides an opportunity for engineering deans - and only deans - to gather and discuss the crucial issues facing their schools, colleges, and profession. For a few days, a single-stream program fosters dialogue between deans, industry leaders, and those in important roles in research and government. Deans share best practices, learn about career prospects for their graduates, and develop a voice for engineering education and the role of engineering in society. Social activities and plenty of time for conversation encourage the cultivation of relationships and an intensely rewarding experience. EDI is sponsored by the ASEE Engineering Deans Council and its Executive Board. Early registration rates end March 11, 2016. Click here for more information.

2016 ANNUAL CONFERENCE UPDATE

New Navigation Section - Papers Management:
The new section contains upcoming deadlines, guidelines, call for papers, and kits for authors, program chairs, reviewers, and moderators.

Author's Kits are Available:
• The 2016 Annual Conference Author's Kit -- available on the website -- contains extremely important information regarding the submission process as well as all relevant deadline dates.

THE ST. LAWRENCE SECTION CONFERENCE will be held at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.,  April 8-9, 2016. This year the conference will include several workshops. The calls for papers, presentations, posters and workshops as well as  information about the Conference Program, Registration, and Hotel information is available on http://stl.asee.org/conference_2016.html.

eGFI IS HERE: Help inspire the next generation of innovators with the all-new 6th edition of ASEE's prize-winning magazine for middle and high school students: eGFI (Engineering, Go For It). Filled with engaging features, gorgeous graphics, and useful information about engineering colleges and careers, eGFI aims to get teens fired up about learning - and doing - engineering. To purchase copies, go to http://store.asee.org/  For bulk purchases or other inquiries, contact eGFI@asee.org or call 202-331-3500.