Congress Boosts Energy Research for Second Year
BU IN DC
Rebecca Ingber of the School of Law testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on September 7.
Azer Bestavros and Mayank Varia of the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering met with members of the media, Capitol Hill staff, and U.S. Department of Education officials to discuss data privacy technologies on September 10.
Scott Solberg of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development attended the National Career Development Summit on September 11 and 12.
CONGRESS BOOSTS ENERGY RESEARCH FOR SECOND YEAR
For the second year in a row, Congress has rejected major cuts proposed by the Trump Administration for basic and applied energy research programs and instead increased spending on those activities at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Under a bill passed by both chambers of Congress on Thursday, DOE’s Office of Science will receive a 5% funding increase in fiscal year 2019 and the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) will jump 4% above its current level. The funds will support existing priorities, as well as new efforts in artificial intelligence and photovoltaics manufacturing. The President is expected to sign the bill into law shortly, and DOE plans to move aggressively with new funding opportunities in the fall and early spring.
NSF, NASA TO SEE PERSONNEL CHANGES
- Karen Marrongelle will lead the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Education and Human Resources Directorate. Dr. Marrongelle is currently the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Portland State University; she will begin her NSF appointment on October 1.
- The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has forwarded the nomination of James Morhard as deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to the full U.S. Senate for a vote. Mr. Morhard, a former U.S. Senate staffer, was nominated by President Donald J. Trump in July and is expected to be confirmed shortly.
- Michael Freilich will step down as director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division in the Science Mission Directorate in February 2019. Dr. Freilich has been in his position since 2006.
EDUCATION DEPT. PLANS TO ROLL BACK REGULATIONS
The U.S. Department of Education has released several proposed regulatory changes affecting universities. The Department plans to rescind the Obama Administration’s gainful employment regulations, which required career education programs to demonstrate their benefit to students, and replace them with an update to the College Scorecard. The enhanced Scorecard reporting would apply to all colleges and could include program-level earnings data for college graduates. The agency also announced a rulemaking on accreditation, state authorization, distance education, and competency-based education. Public listening sessions on these topics concluded yesterday and a negotiated rulemaking session is planned for early next year.