News
Best of The Brink 2024: 10 Inspiring Inventions and Discoveries—All from BU Researchers
Highlights from a year of BU research, from an AI program that can predict Alzheimer’s disease to an ancient Egyptian treasure.
AI Czar; Defense Bill; Hazing
BU IN DC
Associate Provost for Computing & Data Sciences Azer Bestavros attended the fall meeting of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation on December 11th and 12th. He is a member of the Committee.
TRANSITION UPDATES: TRUMP PICKS AI CZAR; NEW HOUSE SCIENCE AND EDUCATION LEADERS NAMED
President-elect Donald J. Trump announced last week that venture capitalist David Sacks will serve as his artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency "czar," in addition to leading the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST is a federal advisory committee that provides scientific advice to the President. It is typically comprised of scientists from universities, nonprofits, and the private sector. Sacks is the cofounder of PayPal and a current investor in several Silicon Valley companies; he earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University.
This week, Congressional Republicans chose next year's chairmen for the science and education committees in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) will lead the House Education and the Workforce Committee. His higher education interests include career and technical education and prohibiting religious discrimination on campus.
- Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) will lead the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Babin previously chaired the Committee's space subcommittee and is an advocate for NASA's Johnson Space Center, which is located in his Congressional district.
CONGRESS POISED TO SEND DEFENSE POLICY BILL TO THE PRESIDENT
The U.S. Senate is expected to approve the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 next week, after which it will be sent to the President for signature. This year's annual defense policy bill directs the Department of Defense to create a roadmap for future investments in biotechnology research and establishes a quantum scaling initiative at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Proposals to restrict grantees' research collaborations with certain countries and to deny defense research funds to colleges found in violation of specific civil rights laws were both removed from the final bill. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure on Wednesday and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it before the end of the year.
BUZZ BITS...
- The U.S. Senate passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act on Wednesday, sending the bill to the President. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the measure, which will require colleges to post a public report on hazing incidents on their website and to develop a statement on hazing policy and prevention.
- This week, President Joe Biden signed the FAFSA Deadline Act into law. The law requires the U.S. Department of Education to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) available on October 1st, allowing students to apply for federal aid in the fall. While the form is typically released before October 1st, the law previously permitted the Department to release the form as late as January 1st.
- Congress is expected to send a continuing resolution (CR) to the President next week to keep the federal government operating at its current funding level through March 2025, giving lawmakers more time to finalize the annual spending bills which determine federal agency budgets. Federal agencies are currently operating under a CR which will expire on December 20th.
A NOTE TO OUR READERS
With Intersession around the corner, Beltway BUzz will pause publication until 2025. In the meantime, we encourage you to check our website and follow us on LinkedIn for updates. We wish you a joyous holiday season!
SPH Community Pays Tribute to Dean Galea
Members of the SPH community reflect on Galea’s contributions to the school over the last decade as he prepares to lead a new school of public health at Washington University in St. Louis.
BU’s Muslim Chaplaincy Tripled This Fall
Three associates now serve the University’s growing number of Islamic students.
Can Ecological Forecasting Help Us Predict Wildfires?
BU ecologist Michael Dietze creates forecasts that can help society avoid climate change disaster.
Could Twisting Beams of Light Make the Internet Faster—and Greener?
BU engineer Siddharth Ramachandran is developing a technology that could cut the power needed to transmit data—and maybe one day improve brain imaging.
NIH Nominee; NASA Nominee; NIA Feedback
BU IN DC
Senior Vice President for Strategy & Innovation Kenneth Olliff attended the Council on Competitiveness 2024 Gala Dinner and National Competitiveness Forum on December 2nd and 3rd.
TRANSITION UPDATES: TRUMP PICKS NOMINEES FOR NIH AND NASA
President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Jared Isaacman as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bhattacharya will oversee NIH's nearly $48 billion budget and Isaacman will manage NASA's $25 billion budget.
Dr. Bhattacharya is a physician and health economist at Stanford University and is known for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration, an open letter that critiqued COVID-19 lockdowns and promoted herd immunity. Isaacman is a billionaire entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company. He has flown on two commercial SpaceX missions.
NIH SEEKS FEEDBACK ON MINORITY HEALTH AND AGING RESEARCH PRIORITIES
Two institutes of the National Institutes of Health are seeking feedback from stakeholders about their plans for future research investments. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) has launched the process for providing input on the NIMHD strategic plan for 2026 - 2030. The agency is asking the public "to identify the most pressing concerns in minority health and health disparities for the next five years" and submit comments prior to December 31, 2024. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is requesting comments on NIA's Strategic Directions for Research, 2026 - 2030 by January 31, 2025. The plan includes ten goals related to topics such as the biology of aging, tools and technologies to study aging, and the infrastructure to support aging research.
BUZZ BITS...
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the forthcoming retirement of NIH's Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, Dr. Marie Bernard. Dr. Bernard co-led the agency's UNITE Initiative to address racial equity. She previously served as deputy director of the National Institute on Aging.
- The Biden Administration released the Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent. The plan details federal goals for enhancing engagement in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); improving teaching and learning; addressing workforce needs; building research and innovation capacity; and creating better learning environments by improving retention.
- Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar recently spoke with School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea about using science to improve health outcomes, health care in America, and the Biden Cancer Moonshot.
BU Students Find Hope at COP29 UN Climate Summit
CAS’ Pamela Templer, Climate Leaders Academy students attended the conference in Baku.
BUMC Provost Workshop with Federal Relations
On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine held a campus workshop on how to effectively connect with federal lawmakers with Jennifer Grodsky, Vice President of BU Federal Relations. Participants gained insights into the culture of Congress, effective communication practices and logistics of meeting with legislators, advocating for evidence-based policies, and developing relationships with government officials.