BUzz Bits
BU IN DC
College of Communication Dean Mariette DiChristina moderated a panel discussion on decarbonization for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Climate Conversations webinar series on February 18th.
Twenty BU graduate students and postdoctoral associates participated in a science policy workshop hosted by BU Federal Relations and the MIT Washington Office on February 17th. They subsequently met with Congressional staff on February 18th.
School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea spoke on a virtual National Institute on Drug Abuse panel about enhancing health disparities research related to substance abuse on February 16th.
Catherine Klapperich and Uday Pal of the College of Engineering and Stefan Hofmann of the College of Arts & Sciences were inducted as American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows on February 13th.
BUZZ BITS…
- The Biden-Harris Administration announced the creation of a Climate Innovation Working Group last week to identify cost-effective technologies to achieve net-zero emissions in the U.S. by 2050. The group is co-led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and will also “emphasize research to bolster and build critical clean energy supply chains in the United States and strengthen American manufacturing.”
- On Thursday, Congressional Democrats introduced the U.S. Pathway to Citizenship Act, a comprehensive immigration bill based largely on President Joseph Biden’s proposal. Among other provisions, the bill would exempt STEM PhD holders from the statutory cap on visas so they can remain in the United States and would allow certain undocumented young people to immediately apply for a green card. The bill faces many hurdles to passage, but demonstrates Democrats’ priorities for immigration policy.
- BU alumna Sara Garcia (CAS ’12) has been appointed special assistant in the U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Garcia previously worked on postsecondary education policy at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Center for American Progress.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
Join the Office of Research for its next Research on Tap on Tuesday, February 23rd at 2:00 p.m. “Eliminating Health Disparities: Society & Biomedicine” will feature microtalks by BU faculty using cutting-edge research tools to study societal determinants of health, community engagement, and biomolecular sciences to adopt a more holistic approach to disease prevention and treatment. One goal of this Research on Tap is to explore the possible subsequent development of an Affinity Research Collaborative, funded by the Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research and the CTSI. For those interested in collaborating more on this topic, there will be a follow-up session on March 1st.
GRANTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) released its Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for basic scientific research in behavioral science for fiscal years 2021-2022. The BAA is seeking novel and multidisciplinary approaches in areas of behavioral and social sciences to improve Army personnel readiness. The Institute will accept either basic research proposals or proposals from early career investigators who have not yet received ARI funding. Proposals should address one of the following topics: personnel testing and performance, learning in formal and informal environments, organizational effectiveness, or leader processes and measurement. White papers are strongly encouraged.