Vance; NASA; Foundation Relations
BU IN DC
Dean Mariette DiChristina of the College of Communication moderated fireside chats with the presidents of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at the annual Climate Crossroads Summit on July 16th and 17th.
Ioannis (Yannis) Paschalidis, director of the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science and Engineering, discussed precision medicine through engineering during a National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health webinar on July 16.
TRUMP PICKS HIGHER ED CRITIC AS RUNNING MATE
Former President Donald J. Trump announced Monday that Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) will be his vice presidential running mate. Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 2022, Vance wrote a best-selling memoir and worked in venture capital. He serves on the Senate Committees on Commerce, Science, & Transportation and Banking. During his 19 months in the Senate, Vance has introduced legislation to significantly increase the excise tax on certain highly-endowed private colleges, create a federal office to regulate college admissions, prohibit federal funds from going to colleges that do not dismantle protest encampments, and update the rules for how colleges disclose gifts from foreign sources. In 2021, he delivered a speech entitled “The Universities are the Enemy.”
BUZZ BITS…
- On Tuesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that Clayton Turner will be the acting director of the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. Turner is the current head of the NASA Langley Research Center; he replaces Dr. Kurt Vogel, who is retiring from the agency.
- Last week, the House Space, Science, and Technology Committee passed the NASA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 8958). The bill focuses on human space exploration, the low-Earth orbit economy, and space technology development. A companion measure has not been introduced in the Senate.
- Jeff Singleton has been named Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology Futures at the Department of Defense. He will oversee research, development, and prototyping activities within the Department, providing technical direction on science and technology matters to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Singleton previously served as director for technology for the U.S. Army.
FOUNDATION RELATIONS LAUNCHES NEW SITE
BU Foundation Relations helps faculty secure private institutional funding by simplifying the proposal process, facilitating communication with foundations, assisting with administrative tasks like setting up portals so investigators can focus on scientific content, and helping craft strong proposals. The office has launched a new website with helpful FAQs, resources for early career faculty, and contact information for each academic unit.