Energy Research, Microelectronics, Social Science at NIH
Last week, the Biden Administration continued to expand its team:
- The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced Dr. Sally Benson as its deputy director for energy and chief strategist for the energy transition. Dr. Costa Samaras will be principal assistant director for energy and chief advisor for energy policy. Dr. Benson is a Stanford University earth scientist and engineer and Dr. Samaras is an engineer and public policy scholar at Carnegie Mellon University.
- The U.S. Senate confirmed Lee Satterfield as assistant secretary of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Satterfield had previously worked for the Bureau, which oversees educational and professional exchange programs, in the Obama Administration
- President Joe Biden announced his intent last week to nominate Shalanda Young as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which oversees the President’s Budget Request and federal regulations. Ms. Young is currently OMB’s deputy director and has been serving as acting director since March.
BUZZ BITS…
- Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution (CR) yesterday that will keep the government operating at its current funding level through February 18, 2022, more than four months after the October 1st start of the federal fiscal year. Federal agencies operating under a CR generally reduce grant awards and postpone starting new activities until a final budget is signed into law.
- The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held two hearings this week: one reviewing the recently released astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey and the other on ensuring American leadership in microelectronics. During the decadal survey hearing, the report’s co-chairs fielded questions regarding potential cost overruns for large missions and the National Science Foundation’s ability to support both astronomy facilities and individual grants. During the microelectronics hearing, leaders from industry and academia urged legislators to aggressively restore U.S. support for semiconductor research and manufacturing.
- The longtime Democratic leader of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee plans to retire from Congress at the end of her current term. Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) has been a strong advocate for NASA, STEM education, and broadening participation in science during her nearly 30 years of service.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The BU Office of Research is hosting a virtual workshop on “Behavioral and Social Sciences at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Implications for Public Health” on December 8th at 3:30 p.m. Dr. Bill Riley, director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), will explain how NIH determines behavioral and social science priorities and how researchers can engage with OBSSR. He will also highlight the behavioral and social sciences research funded by the NIH, particularly with regards to public health topics such as COVID-19, structural racism, and firearms violence prevention.