Antisemitism Hearing; Social Science Blueprint; ARPA-E
BU IN DC
Victoria Sahani of the School of Law testified before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet regarding litigation financed by third-party investors on June 12th.
Brian Walsh of the College of Engineering discussed heliophysics research and engineering with Massachusetts Congressional offices on June 12th.
Kevin Outterson of CARB-X and the School of Law met with White House budget officials about federal investments to address antimicrobial resistance on June 13th.
HOUSE TAX COMMITTEE CRITICIZES CAMPUS RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing entitled “Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership.” Witnesses, including a recent Cornell University graduate, a Columbia University professor, the leader of the American Jewish Committee, and a former Trump Administration education official, sharply criticized universities’ responses to antisemitic incidents on campus. Members of Congress asserted that the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights needs to investigate schools more aggressively and issue stiffer penalties for civil rights violations; proposed that schools should lose their tax-exempt status or access to federal dollars for not responding forcefully to antisemitic incidents; and argued that diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus are harmful.
WHITE HOUSE URGES USE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN POLICYMAKING
The White House recently released a “Blueprint for the Use of Social and Behavioral Science to Advance Evidence-Based Policymaking.” Federal officials from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies compiled the document, which recommends incorporating social science findings in policymaking and rigorously evaluating policies using social science methods. The blueprint also urges federal grant-makers to “prioritize [grant] proposals that include evidence-based social and behavioral science strategies, support the generation of new evidence to help fill knowledge gaps, and institute rigorous evaluation requirements.”
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) released a $150 million Funding Opportunity Announcement for its Vision OPEN 2024 program to fund up to 50 clean energy technology projects. The 2024 solicitation is designed to advance transformative breakthroughs in energy technology areas that fall outside the scope of existing ARPA-E technology-focused programs. Proposals need to incorporate a high-risk, high-reward energy technology that can be significantly advanced within three years and attract funding from other sources at the end of the ARPA-E award term. Concept papers are due by July 16th, 2024.
A Note To Our Readers: Jessica Wong has joined the BU Federal Relations team as our new Director of Federal Relations. We are pleased to welcome her to BU!