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December 19, 2014
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CONGRESS AND THE BUDGET
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BIG WINNER IN 'CROMNIBUS': NASA AERONAUTICS
"Appropriators outdid themselves," reports
Matt Hourihan of AAAS. NASA as a whole got $500 million more than
President Obama requested. Within the agency, Aeronautics will
have 15 percent more than in FY 2014. The $1.01 trillion spending package passed the Senate 56-40 last Saturday and has since been signed into law by President Obama.
MODEST FUNDING FOR RAMI:
As reported last week, the CRomnibus includes the bipartisan Revitalize
American Manufacturing and Innovation measure that had previsously
passed the House. But RAMI doesn't
come with a lot of new money, and industry will have to pony up. It gets $5 million a year from the Commerce
Department, which will run it; plus $25 million a year over 10 years
from money transferred from a Department of Energy account for advanced
manufacturing R&D. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) a Senate co-sponsor with
Sen. Roy Blunt, (R-Mo.) says in an op-ed published today
that the network of "regional, industry-led hubs could create thousands
of high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs for next-generation
workers." He cite's Ohio State's multi-disciplinary Center for Emergent Materials, funded by the National Science Foundation, as "a prime example of how collaborative partnerships can bolster manufacturing."
 two engineers among NEW FACES ON HOUSE SCIENCE PANEL: Chair Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) will have a varied bench when eight freshman
Republicans join the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. According to CQ, they include an agricultural engineer, Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), right, who, as a state
legislator, tried to bring establishment Republicans and Tea Party
sympathizers together, and industrial
engineer and former think-tank executive Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), left, a
"solid, smooth conservative." Other newbies on the committee are chemist
and former charter school administrator John Moolenar (R-Mich.),
described as a fiscal hawk; veteran, former policeman and state
lawmaker Steve Knight (R-Calif.); dentist Brian Babin (R-Tex.), whose
district includes the Johnson Space Center; lawyer and former lobbyist
Barbara Comstock (R-Va.), onetime aide to retiring appropriator Rep.
Frank Wolf (R-Va.); farmer Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), who was Washington
state's director of agriculture under a Democratic administration; and
eight-year Air Force veteran and former IT systems executive Barry
Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who, CQ reports, "comes off much like a
prototypical anti-establishment member of the tea party."
NOTE
TO READERS: CAPITOL SHORTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED NEXT WEEK OR THE WEEK
AFTER. PUBLICATION WILL RESUME JAN. 9., 2015. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
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DATA
POINTS
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THE ADMINISTRATION AND RESEARCH AGENCIES
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A 'MINIMUM SET OF STANDARDS': That's most likely what the Obama administration's college rating system will resemble, according to Inside Higher Ed.
The measurements will include the rate at which colleges enroll
low-income and first-generation students; the extent to which
institutions are affordable; completion rates; transfer rates; the
number of students who go on to graduate school; and graduates'
earnings.; "Overall, the department's approach in the outline appears
tobe moviing away from a system that lets students and families draw
comparative value judgments between colleges. . . ."
 ALL CONNECTED: The
National Science Foundation is looking for "transformative ideas" for
interdependent critical infrastructure systems to ensure that they are
"effective, efficient, dependable, adaptable, resilient, safe, and
secure." The agency hopes to foster a research community of
engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and
behavioral scientists. Proposals should integrate all those fields. Learn more.
SEOUL MATES: The NSF Engineering Directorate and the National Research
Foundation of Korea's Division of Engineering are teaming up to
encourage collaborative U.S.-South Korean fundamental research in
advanced manufacturing. Favored topics are: robotics for manufacturing;
materials processing; manufacturing mathematics and smart
manufacturing; micro/nano manufacturing; and additive manufacturing. Learn more.
SIGN UP . . . for a Jan. 15 webinar explaining updates to NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
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NATIONAL ACADEMIES
 TO MARS, THE SMART WAY: A
National Academies panel finds a consensus here and abroad that Mars
should be "a major goal for human space exploration." We can get there,
"but only if the program has elements that are built in a logical
sequence and if it can fund a frequency of flights sufficiently high to
ensure the maintenance of proficiency among ground personnel, mission
controllers, and flight crews." NASA needs to develop high-priority
capabilities, "such as entry, descent, and landing for Mars; radiation
safety; and advanced in-space propulsion and power." A report lays out the steps.
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PUBLIC
POLICY
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TECHNOLOGY THEFT: How does the United States protect advanced defense technology in an
era  of
cyber attacks, rampant intellectual property theft, and a global arms
trade? Beth McCormick, who runs the Pentagon's Defense Technology
Security Administration, gives an update in this video.
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ASEE
& COMMUNITY NEWS
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ATTENTION, DEANS AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRS
 Please
help ASEE provide high-quality professional development to engineering
and engineering technology faculty by answering a few questions about how much you would be
willing to pay for faculty professional development and what areas of
professional development you are most interested in for your faculty.
Click the link below to access the survey.
ALL FOR NOMINATIONS - ASEE MID-ATLANTIC SECTION: The
section annually recognizes an outstanding engineering or engineering
technology educator from the section with a Distinguished Teaching
Award. This individual is then nominated by the section for ASEE's
National Outstanding Teaching Medal. The section award, presented at
the spring meeting, consists of a $500 honorarium and a certificate of
recognition. The awards chair is Paul Butler (PButler_OCC@hotmail.com).
ETLI 2014 VIDEOS: A playlist of videos
from the Engineering Technology Leadership Institute includes a short
testimonial video, two panels, and Greg Pearson of the National Acadmy
of Engineering.
VIDEO INTERVIEWS:
Leaders at NSF and the Navy Discuss the Future of
Engineering
Watch interviews with NSF Assistant Director for
Engineering Pramod Khargonekar, 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.
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EDITOR:
Mark Matthews;
CONTRIBUTORS:
William E. Kelly, Nathan Kahl; MASTHEAD DESIGN by Francis Igot. Photo
of the Capitol dome, wrapped in scaffolding, and Christmas tree is
provided courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol.
To read previous issues of Capitol Shorts, click here.
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