April 18, 2014

CONGRESS AND THE BUDGET

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who played a key role in the America COMPETES Act, is said to be concerned at the growing gap between the law's original goal of doubling science agency funding and what's actually happened. A Senate staffer familiar with Alexander's views says he wants a return to the path spelled out in the 2007 legislation. The Energy Department's Office of Science, an agency supposed to benefit from COMPETES, funds the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The office's budget is still shy of the $5.2 billion level it should have reached in 2011 under the 2007 law. The National Science Foundation, currently funded at $7.2 billion, was pegged in COMPETES to get $10.3 billion by 2011.

DEMOCRATS push $7.5 billion for NSF

Twenty one senators, all Democrats, have urged the Senate Appropriations  Committee in a letter to approve $7.5 billion for NSF in Fiscal 2015, Richard Jones of the American Institute of Physics reports. That's a $300 million increase over FY 2014 and a higher figure than requested in President Obama's budget. The absence of GOP signatures doesn't  mean the GOP is united in opposition (see reference to Alexander above). In fact, some are thought likely to sing a harmonious tune when Appropriations chair Barbara Mikulski (D, Md.), left, holds her "innovation deficit" hearingApril 29, with testimony from the heads of NIH, NSF, Energy, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and DARPA. (Have testimony to submit for that hearing? Note the instructions -- e.g. no pdfs.)

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR NIH: Fifty seven senators, led by Bob Casey (D-Pa.)  and Richard Burr (R-NC) have sent a letter to appropriators asking them to “maintain a strong commitment to funding for the National Institutes of Health" They argue: "Rsearchers can easily spend half their careers working before receiving a grant, resulting in promising, talented young researchers being discouraged from the field of biomedical research and some investigators deciding to abandon scientific research altogether or to conduct their research outside the United States." The senators didn't push a number, but, as the Association of American Universities reports in its Weekly Wrapup, 134 House members wrote to appropriators pushing for $32 billion for NIH in 2015.

BOSTON BUSINESS WEIGHS IN: The Boston area's economy probably depends more than most on high-powered research institutions. That may explain a new advocacy effort announced by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce called Business for Federal Research Funding. "Sequestration cuts enacted by Congress combined with discretionary spending caps well below the rate of inflation will place severe limitations on the amount of funding by FY ’15. This will not enable the level of funding necessary to sustain adequate research investments," the group says. The Boston Chamber says BFRF is a nationwide coalition of 44 chambers.

DATA POINTS

ADMINISTRATION

LIGHT FANTASTIC: The White House-based National Science and Technology Council says: "Progress in the field of optics and photonics has the potential to generate new knowledge, promote economic growth, create new industries and new high-skilled jobs, and provide technologies for new applications." Its Fast Track Action Committee on Optics and Photonics has identified four research opportunities: biophotonics to advance understanding of systems biology and disease progression; faint to single photonics; imaging through complex media; and ultra-low-power optoelectronics. "Research-related capabilities" are: accessible fabrication facilities; exotic photonics; and domestic sources for critical photonic materials. The report is likely to influence budgets and funding decisions. Recommendations track an earlier National Academies report (cover shown at left). See Prism coverage from 2012.

OBAMA GREETS PECASE AWARDEES: Derek Paley, an associate professor of aerospace engineering education and director of the Collective Dynamics and Control Laboratory at the University of Maryland, got special mention in a White House account of the April 14 event. The blog entry says Paley "is studying how fish use sensory organs to perceive their environment in order to build an artificial sensing and control system that will allow underwater vehicles to navigate autonomously." See the  blog, a photo, and the full list -- announced last December -- of 102 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. 

OPEN PHONES: The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology may take a few calls from the public in a half-hour conference call April 30 at 11 a.m. Learn more. The session will discuss PCAST's big data and privacy report.

RESEARCH AGENCIES

new awards policy at NIH: The National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality used to allow only one resubmission after an application was turned down. After that, the project would need to show a significant change in scientific direction. This may have been hard on new investigators. So from now on, the two agencies will accept a new application following a second turn-down. The new application "need not demonstrate substantial changes in scientific direction compared to previously reviewed submissions." Learn more.

NIBIB SEEKS a NUMBER TWO: The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of NIH, is looking for a deputy director to serve "as principal advisor to the Director, NIBIB, in evaluating, planning, directing, and coordinating all activities related to the mission and function of the Institute." Learn more.

Deputy sought at NSF's ehr directorate: The Education and Human Resources directorate has an opening for a deputy assistant director. "Appointment to this position may be under the full-time SES Career, SES Limited-Term Appointment (1-3 years) or intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment." See the full job description here,  Candidates may apply here.

  NATIONAL ACADEMIES, HIGHER ED, AND PUBLIC POLICY

MODEST SPIKE IN Ph.D. JOBLESS: The years 2008 to 2010 marked the second time within a decade that unemployment among engineering Ph.D.s jumped a full percentage point, from 1.8 to 2.8 percent. Between 2001 and 2003, the jobless rate went from 1.7 to 2.7 percent. See a comparison with other disciplines.

COMING OUT SOON: The National Academies Press has an upcoming report, "Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment."

  ASEE & COMMUNITY NEWS

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.

INTERNATIONAL FORUM: The 3rd Annual ASEE International Forum, will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, on June 14, 2014, immediately preceding the 2014 ASEE Annual Meeting. The forum will bring together engineering professionals from academia and industry from around the globe who are engaged in novel engineering education initiatives to share information on experiences and best practices. The theme this year is “Preparing Students to Meet Global Engineering Challenges."

FACULTY UNDER FORTY . . .  will be featured in a special edition of Prism in the fall. Please send nominations of your great teachers and researchers to prism@asee.org, or m.matthews@asee.org. The nominations can be brief, but should include enough information to present a persuasive case. This should not be considered a formal contest, as we're hoping to showcase a variety of talents. Please include Faculty Under Forty in the message line.

Zone IV Conference
The 2014 ASEE Zone IV conference will be hosted April 24-26, 2014 by the College of Engineering, California State University, Long Beach , CA. The conference theme this year is "Student Success Is Our Success: Developing diverse engineers for a changing world through engineering pedagogy & practice." Any questions regarding the conference can be directed to the host conference co-chairs Lily Gossage or Nim Marayong at asee@csulb.edu.

of ASEE's Retention Project by clicking here for updates.

EDITOR: Mark Matthews; CONTRIBUTOR: William E. Kelly