IEEE-USA Eye on Washington, No. 4, 2010

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Vol. 2010, No. 4 ( March 2010)

CAPITOL HILL

Worries Expressed at House Hearing on the Future of Space Flight

House Science Subcommittee Reviews NSF FY 2011 Request

Witnesses Advise Committee on the Best Way to Support Innovation and Ensure Global Competitiveness

Reorganization Could Help NIST Better Meet Industry's Needs in the 21st Century

The Future of Manufacturing: What is the Role of the Federal Government in Supporting Innovation by U.S. Manufacturers?

Partnerships Between Key Stakeholders Will Improve K-12 STEM Education

Successful Summit is Further Proof that ARPA-E is Exceeding Expectations

THE WHITE HOUSE

Key Findings of NNI Review

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

MIT Dean of engineering Might Become New Director of NSF

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

High Skills Immigration the IEEE-USA Way

Former NAE President & Science Debate 2008 Co-Founder Honored by IEEE-USA for Distinguished Public Service

2010 IEEE-USA Annual Meeting: IEEE Fellow, Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine Addresses Role of Science & Engineering in U.S. Job Creation and Former NAE President William Wulf Urges Scientists & Engineers to Revive Recommendations in 'Gathering Storm'

U.S. STATES

AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

Innovation Economy Conference Report Now Available Online

CAPITOL HILL

HOUSE COMMITTEE on SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY HEARINGS:

24 MAR Worries Expressed at House Hearing on the Future of Space Flight: During a hearing before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, members explored the Administration's proposed changes to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Exploration Program. Some expressed strong concerns about President Obama's plan to cancel the Constellation system, the follow-on human space flight system after the Space Shuttle is retired at the end of 2010.

In its FY 2011 budget request sent to Congress last month, the White House proposed having NASA buy seats for its astronauts on launch systems that have not yet been designed, tested, or built. They would be used to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA spent five years designing a new launcher for the Constellation system, and last fall the successful Ares 1-X test flight confirmed many of its major components, including the first stage rocket.

"There are many questions to be asked – and information yet to be provided – about such a major redirection," noted Subcommittee Ranking Member Pete Olson (R-Tex.). "... too many people are behaving as if the changes outlined in the budget proposal are a fait accompli. ..., there are still too many unknowns and too many trades that must be evaluated before Congress can make an informed decision."

Olson continued, "With each day I have more questions – and more doubts – about the reasoning behind the Administration's proposed changes in its human space flight program. Until better evidence is brought forward, I will state now that I am not persuaded to abandon Constellation."

Echoing this sentiment was witness Mr. A. Thomas Young, NASA/Lockheed Martin (Ret.): "I believe we are a long way from having a commercial industry capable of satisfying human space transportation needs. In my view, this is a risk too high and not a responsible course. The commercial crew option should not be approved." Mr. Young further expressed his concern that if the Administration proceeds with this plan, it could be decades before we have human rated private space flight capabilities.

When asked whether the Constellation program was still on target to reach the International Space Station with the Orion capsule and Ares 1 rocket by 2015, Mr. Douglas Cooke, Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA agreed that it was still on target.

Committee members reiterated their call for NASA to follow the law and not cancel any contracts associated with Constellation development in fiscal year 2010. Members strongly urged moving forward with Constellation to give Congress time to evaluate the President's proposal. President Obama has announced an appearance on April 15 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, where he will presumably reveal more details about his plan for the future of America's human space flight program.

10 MAR House Reviews NSF FY2011 Request (hearing charter): The Subcommittee on Research and Science Education held a hearing to review the National Science Foundation's FY 2011 budget request. Members were supportive of NSF's programs and the FY 2011 request, with most questions revolving around the foundation's efforts to strengthen K-12 education and to reach out to underrepresented populations. National Science Foundation Director Arden Bement and National Science Board Chairman Steven Beering testified.

"I was very pleased to see the strong increases for NSF being proposed in the President's budget, especially in these tough budget times," said Chairman Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.). The Administration requested an 8-percent increase for NSF in FY 2011. On the 2.2-percent requested increase for NSF's Education and Human Resources Directorate, Lipinski lamented. "I worry about both the statement being made by the request and the consequences of flat funding [when adjusted for inflation] would have for NSF's excellent programs." Lipinski also questioned if enough was being spent to modernize academic research infrastructure, and he questioned the reduction in the proposed nanotechnology budget.

Ranking Member Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.) praised the Administration's plan to keep NSF's budget on a doubling track, which he said had a "bumpy start," but Ehlers was disappointed with the request for K-12 STEM education, and described the important differences between NSF's programs and those of the Department of Education. Ehlers contends that the FY 2011 request does not give sufficient emphasis to K-12 education.

Director Bement noted that the request maintains the doubling track for its budget, and spoke of the choices made and priorities used while formulating the request. NSB Chairman Beering described the findings in "Science and Engineering Indicators 2010" regarding science and technology gains of other nations, particularly China and other East Asian countries. These advances should not be viewed negatively, he said, but rather as a reminder why the U.S. needs to maintain robust S&T investments.

24 MAR Witnesses Advise Committee on the Best Way to Support Innovation and Ensure Global Competitiveness (hearing charter): The House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation held a hearing to broadly examine factors and policies that foster innovation.

"The importance of innovation—creating new ideas, products, and services—cannot be overstated. And in this global, highly competitive economy, it is increasingly the intangible inputs of R&D, education, and entrepreneurial risk-taking that drive that growth," said Chairman David Wu (D-OR). "Innovation is key to creating new industries, and therefore key to the creation of American jobs."

Members and witnesses also discussed the appropriate role of the federal government in supporting commercialization and entrepreneurs and state innovation-based economic discovery. "The government's commitment to funding research and education has had a major impact on fueling innovation," said Wu.

23 MAR Reorganization Could Help NIST Better Meet Industry's Needs in the 21st Century (hearing charter): The Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation (T&I) held a hearing to review the proposed reorganization of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to better meet the needs of industry in the 21st century. Members also examined NIST's current role in assisting in the creation of technical standards and the need for coordination of these activities across the federal government. This is the T&I Subcommittee's final hearing in preparation for the reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act.

"As the only federal technical agency with a constitutional mandate—measurement—and also the oldest federal technical agency with a statutory charter, NIST has proved its worth to taxpayer investment for more than one hundred years. And as technologies have evolved, so has NIST," stated full Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN).

"However, the current lab structure dates from 1988, and the technologies of today are much more multidisciplinary and integrated in scope and function. Subcommittee Chairman Wu and I are in complete agreement that the NIST structure needs to better reflect the needs of the private sector communities it serves and we intend to make this a component of the America COMPETES legislation."

Witnesses agreed that NIST, as a neutral science based agency, could serve as a convener of public and private stakeholders and work with private industry to establish frameworks for the development of some technical standards. In addition to domestic technical policy standards, witnesses stressed the importance of international standards to promote job growth and the economy, as well as helping to achieve goals such as national security. Members and witnesses looked at NIST's role in assisting in the development of international standards and coordinating the federal government's response to standards. Witnesses discussed how the wide adoption of standards around the world drives competition, increases product choices, and lowers costs. Overall, witnesses discussed the growing role of standards in the global marketplace and the need for the U.S. to be represented in the creation of these standards.

"Until the eighties, standards were considered to be purely a domestic issue. With the growth of international trade and international corporations in new technology sectors, this began to change. Our understanding of the importance of international impact of standards has accelerated over the past twenty years with the globalization of technology innovation. Today technical standards are a key part of the innovation puzzle," added Gordon. "I want to make it clear that this Committee has no interest in telling private sector standards developers how to do their jobs. This Committee has always been Congress's strongest proponent of the public-private sector partnership that defines the U.S. standards development system."

17 MAR The Future of Manufacturing: What is the Role of the Federal Government in Supporting Innovation by U.S. Manufacturers? (hearing charter) - At a hearing of the full House Science and Technology Committee witness told members that the federal government can support and maintain more U.S. manufacturing companies by promoting a business-friendly environment in which to prosper.

"All of us recognize the magnitude of importance that a robust federal research and development (R&D) enterprise has on our economy, our national security, and our ability to be globally competitive; however, we also need to understand our current economic reality," said Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX). "It could be argued that some of our economic woes are a result of manufacturers, not unlike the ones before us today, being overregulated and forced to take their business outside of the United States, costing everyday Americans their jobs. I'm sure the same is true for U.S. manufacturing R&D efforts, as well."

Pointing to inherent inefficiencies of federally-funded R&D projects, Mr. Wayne Crews , Vice President for Policy, and Director of Technology Studies at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, discussed how market driven innovation is often better than R&D supported by the federal government. "The positive message is that most of America's wealth has not been created yet," Crews said. "But to fulfill that optimism, recognizing limitations of politically driven research and development compared to what capital markets and economic liberalization can achieve is vital." As opposed to federally funded research programs, Crews said that "the gains from removing barriers to private research could yield far greater benefits."

Several witnesses also discussed the negative impact of federal regulations on U.S. manufacturing. Mr. Debtosh Chakrabarti, President of the chemical manufacturing company PMC Group, said that the cost of regulatory compliance is significant in the chemical manufacturing industry, and diverts money that could have been invested in R&D. Echoing his point, the National Petrochemical and Refinery Association says that increasing regulations are forcing companies to decrease their R&D budgets and shift resources in order to comply with regulations. Their written statement said "Taxes, an increasing number of overly burdensome regulations, and a flawed domestic energy policy are adversely impacting [the petrochemical] industry and allowing other countries to forge ahead of us in research and development, production, and international trade."

4 MAR Partnerships Between Key Stakeholders Will Improve K-12 STEM Education - The Committee on Science and Technology examined innovative efforts to improve K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, a top priority for the Committee. Witnesses stressed the need for systemic, long-term change in K-12 STEM education and the importance of deeply engaged partnerships among all of the stakeholders – school systems, institutions of higher education, informal science education centers, science based institutions, museums, local governments, and the business community.

"The Congressional Innovation Agenda championed by this Committee over the past two years, including the passage of the America COMPETES Act, has reinvigorated the essential role of math and science education in our country," stated Dr. Jim Simons, Founder and Chairman of Math for America.

"Partnerships must be deeply engaged and not be cheerleaders from the sidelines," stated Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth, President and CEO of Battelle Memorial Institute. "STEM education is enhanced when industry and private partners engage their core skills with educators."

"Science-based cultural institutions of all kinds are building innovative partnerships with schools, governments, corporations, foundations, and other entities that seek not only to educate teachers and improve educational outcomes for students, but, equally important, to create sustained learning opportunities that span not only a child's week and year, but his or her entire life," said Ms. Ellen Futter, President of American Museum of Natural History.

According to Dr. Gordon Gee, President of Ohio State University, "Academics are all too familiar with the phrase 'publish or perish.' When it comes to successful STEM programs, I suggest that institutions of higher education must 'partner or perish'." Chairman Gordon agreed, "STEM education in this country is a problem that no one entity can solve alone. There is a role for all the key stakeholders, including federal, state, local school districts, higher education, and industry. But we must coordinate our efforts and leverage all our resources."

On a related note, on March 24th, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge introduced H. Res. 1213, "Recognizing the need to improve the participation and performance of America's students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, supporting the ideals of National Lab Day, and for other purposes."

2 MAR Successful Summit is Further Proof that ARPA-E is Exceeding Expectations: The House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) spoke at the first ARPA-E Innovation Summit, which aimed to bring together award winners and finalists with potential investors from the private sector.

"As ARPA-E got off the ground it became clear that there are many more good ideas than there is federal funding to support them," said Gordon. "When Secretary Chu and Director Majumdar and I were talking about the possibility of holding a forum to bring together award winners and promising applicants with potential investors, I told Director Majumdar that his lawyers would give him a hundred reasons why we couldn't do the summit, and I challenged him to ask them for one reason why we could. To his credit, he did just that. And, as with everything else in ARPA-E, he did it in record time. This summit was put together in two months. And, instead of a few hundred attendees we had hoped for, we are now looking at over 1700. CT-SI and the DOE and ARPA-E staff are to be commended for this achievement."

"From the unprecedented response to the first funding opportunity announcement, to the fact that the first round of grants attracted more private sector matching funds than was required or expected, to the overwhelming response to this summit, ARPA-E is exceeding expectations from the beginning. I see this as proof that we are tapping into a pent-up hunger for this type of transformational energy technology development program," said Gordon. "I have every confidence that the work being done through the agency and with our private sector partners will quickly yield surprising results, and we will all be very proud that we were involved in this exciting agency, at this exciting time." At the Summit Secretary Chu announced the third round of ARPA-E funding of $100 million will be made available to accelerate innovation in three new areas for ARPA-E:

Grid-Scale Rampable Intermittent Dispatchable Storage (GRIDS). ARPA-E seeks to develop new technologies to enable the widespread deployment of cost-effective grid-scale energy storage.

Agile Delivery of Electrical Power Technology (ADEPT). ARPA-E seeks to invest in materials for fundamental advances in soft magnetics, high voltage switches, and reliable, high-density charge storage.

Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices (BEET-IT). ARPA-E seeks to develop energy efficient cooling technologies and air conditioners (AC) for buildings to save energy and reduce GHG emissions from: (a) primary energy consumption due to space cooling and (b) refrigerants used in vapor compression systems.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Key Findings of NNI Review

12 MAR: The President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology met recently and presented a review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NII). Key findings and recommendations include:

- The US is the world leader in nanotechnology R&D and commercialization, but its lead may be transient

- The NNI has had catalytic and substantial impact on the field of nanotechnology

- The program management of NNI is effective but opportunities for improvement exist

- Economic competition from other countries has dramatically increased

- Commercial activities have gained momentum as the field has evolved

- The scarcity of standardized commercialization data challenges the tracking of benefits of nanotechnology

- The identification and management of risks for environment, health and safety are crucial to the responsible commercialization of nanotechnology-related products

- The lack of an American skilled workforce presents a significant challenge to the nanotechnology-related business community.

Recommendations:

- Increase NNI funding for nanomanufacturing research while maintaining support for basic research

- Strengthen the NNCO, the NNI coordinating entity, with additional funds, and a broader mandate

- Require that metrics be developed to track benefits of nanotechnology, such as job creation

- Develop a cross agency strategy plan that links environment, health, and safety research with knowledge gaps and decision-making needs

- Expedite the citizenship review process for those receiving advanced degrees in science and engineering

You can contrast these recommendations with IEEE-USA's recommendations, which are outlined in our position on
Nanotechnology R&D.

FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITY

MIT Dean of engineering Might Become New Director of NSF

Subra Suresh, 53, has been tapped to replace Arden Bement Jr., who announced last month that he would be stepping down before his 6-year term ends in November, as director of the National Science Foundation. The Indian-born Suresh has been dean since 2007; he came to MIT in 1993 and was chair of the department of materials science and engineering before becoming dean. A relative unknown in national policy circles, Suresh is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and maintains a productive research group in the emerging field of nanobiomechanics. That would make him a rarity at NSF, which has traditionally been led by senior administrators who are no longer active scientists. The Senate must confirm the new NSF director, although it would be unusual for a nominee to attract any opposition. The 77-year-old Bement, a nuclear engineer, is stepping down on 1 June to lead a new global research institute at Purdue University.

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

IEEE-USA In The News

Recent IEEE-USA Letters to Congress & Administration

Public Policy Priority Issues (111th Congress, 2nd Session, 2010 UPDATED )
Public Policy Position Statements on issues deemed to be of concern to or affecting IEEE's U.S. members. The statements make specific public policy recommendations for the consideration of Congress, the Executive Branch, the Judiciary, representatives of State and Local Government, and other interested groups and individuals, including IEEE members.

High Skills Immigration the IEEE-USA Way

Recently, Bruce Morrison and Paul Donnelly, representatives of Morrison Public Affairs Group (MPAG), an outside consultancy working with IEEE-USA on immigration issues, met with IEEE-USA staff to review recent developments and develop an appropriate strategy for advancing IEEE-USA’s high skills immigration reform recommendations.

On March 11th, Senate Judiciary Committee members Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) met with President Obama at the White House to discuss the status of draft immigration reform legislation being readied for Senate introduction after the health care reform dust settles. The draft bill is based on principles articulated by Senator Schumer in a 24 June 2009 speech in Washington, and addresses border security, employment eligibility verification, a clear path to earned legalization for undocumented workers and their families, major family and employment-based admissions reforms, and better management and control of immigration in the best interest of America’s economy, technological competitiveness and society. After the meeting, the President confirmed his personal commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, and said he was pleased that progress toward a bipartisan solution is being made.

Despite the optimistic public statements, the prospects for action on comprehensive immigration reform remain bleak. The same political forces that defeated immigration reform in the 110th Congress are still in place, except that the continuing recession and memories of the political damage done in 2007 make reform even more difficult this year. While some politicians claim to want to enact comprehensive reforms, most of the talk is for public consumption, not an accurate reflection of current political realities.

As a result, MPAG does not expect any movement on comprehensive immigration reform (Plan A). Nor do they see much willingness on Capitol Hill (among Members or staffers) to try to move incremental reforms (Plan B) such as agrictulture jobs, the Dream Act or employment verification (E-Verify) fixes until after the health care debates quiets. The FY 2011 DHS Appropriations bill, to be introduced in the Spring or Summer, may become a germane vehicle for more incremental (Plan B) provisions, including the high skills admissions reforms that IEEE-USA supports. However, the DREAM Act (S. 729/H.R. 1751) could be a reasonable first step toward the much broader earned legalization (amnesty) that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus insists must be included in comprehensive immigration reform. The DREAM Act has 33 cosponsors in the Senate and 108 cosponsors in the House.

At this point, IEEE-USA's legislative strategy is to enlist Congressional cosponsors for enabling legislation that will translate our model legislative recommendations into a bill. For more info, please visit Today's Engineer at High Skills Immigration Reform the IEEE-USA Way.

2010 IEEE-USA Annual Meeting: IEEE Fellow, Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine Addresses Role of Science & Engineering in U.S. Job Creation and Former NAE President William Wulf Urges Scientists & Engineers to Revive Recommendations in 'Gathering Storm'

Innovation is the key for the United States to thrive in an increasingly global economy, IEEE Fellow Norman R. Augustine said at the 2010 IEEE-USA Annual Meeting. Augustine, retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, chaired the committee that produced the 2005 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. He said the focus of report was jobs, not just in science and engineering but all occupations. Augustine added that while only 4 percent of jobs in the U.S. workforce are held by engineers and scientists, they play a pivotal role creating jobs for the other 96 percent; "That's why the average citizen should be concerned about the state of science and engineering in our country."

The theme for IEEE-USA's yearly gathering of volunteer leaders is, "The Gathering Storm: Are You Engineering the Solutions?" A video of Augustine's speech will be available soon on the IEEE-USA homepage.

Augustine lamented that many of the challenges facing the country in 2005 are still confronting us today. He cited statistics showing the U.S. K-12 education system still "performing abysmally" by international standards. This doesn't bode well for a nation trying to maintain its position as the world leader in science, engineering and technology.

Rising Above the Gathering Storm served as the basis for the America COMPETES Act of 2007, legislation that bolsters research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and improves educational programs. The authorization bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives, 397-20, and the Senate, 88-8, former President George W. Bush signed the bill into law. IEEE-USA lobbied strongly in favor of the bill. Congress fully funded America COMPETES in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which President Barack Obama signed into law.

At the same meeting, IEEE Fellow and former National Academy of Engineering President William A. Wulf told IEEE members that scientists and engineers should encourage Congress to revive the recommendations outlined in Rising Above the Gathering Storm. "The momentum has clearly subsided," he said. "If IEEE-USA and other societies get vocal about it, I think we can get the momentum back."

Former NAE President & Science Debate 2008 Co-Founder Honored by IEEE-USA for Distinguished Public Service

IEEE Fellow and former National Academy of Engineering (NAE) President William Wulf and Science Debate 2008 co-founder Shawn Otto were honored with the 2009 IEEE-USA Award for Distinguished Public Service. The awards, presented during the IEEE-USA Annual Meeting in Nashville, recognize individuals not currently practicing engineering, for contributions that further IEEE-USA's professional goals. Wulf was honored "for advancing engineering professionalism and promoting U.S. competitiveness in science and technology." Otto drew recognition "for taking the lead to elevate science and technology in America's public dialogue through Science Debate 2008."

Wulf, the AT&T professor of computer science and university professor at the University of Virginia, received the first Ph.D. Virginia conferred in computer science in 1968. He taught at Carnegie-Mellon University and was founder and CEO of Tartan Laboratories in Pittsburgh. As assistant director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), he was responsible for computing research, the national supercomputer centers and NSFnet, the nation's first high-speed Internet backbone network.

Wulf served from 1997-2007 as president of NAE, which was founded to provide engineering leadership that promotes the technological health of the nation. During his tenure, the National Academies issued "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future," a report that recommended 20 steps the United States should take to remain the world's innovation leader.

Otto is a screenwriter, director, producer, political consultant, entrepreneur and CEO of Science Debate 2008, a nonprofit organization he and five others founded "to restore science and innovation to America's political dialogue." The organization is best known for having the two major 2008 presidential candidates provide written answers to 14 questions on the role of science and technology in America's future. Completed during the summer of 2008, it was the first time endorsed candidates for president had produced such detailed science policies. Topics included, among others, innovation, energy, education, national security, scientific integrity, research and health. IEEE-USA was an organizational signer of Science Debate 2008.

IEEE-USA awards are approved by the organization's board of directors. The nomination deadline for 2010 awards is 31 July 2010. For additional information, go to www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/awards or contact Sandra Kim at sandra.kim@ieee.org.

IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of more than 210,000 engineers, scientists and allied professionals who are U.S. members of IEEE. http://www.ieeeusa.org

2010 Science, Engineering & Technology Congressional Visits Day, April 28-29 in Washington, D.C. - The SET CVD brings scientists, engineers, researchers, educators, and technologists to Washington to raise visibility and support for SET programs and activities. Last year more than 30 organizations and 200 participants visited members of the U.S. Congress. Their discussions focused on the importance of the partnership of universities, industry, and the federal sector to the U.S. R&D enterprise.

The program consists of a one and a half day event with orientation sessions, a reception bestowing the Annual SETWG George Brown Award to a deserving Members of Congress, a joint breakfast, and hundreds of opportunities to visit with individual Members of Congress. Additionally, this year AAAS is sponsoring a session for first time participants, and we expanded the award reception to include a Celebration of the 50th year of Laser Technology in cooperation with Laserfest. Demonstrations are now being solicited that will highlight the many contributions of this important technology.

Please feel free to forward this information to anyone who might be interested in attending. There is no cost to participate. We cannot offer reimbursement of any travel costs but support may be available in your section or region. The cut off for registration is April 12.

Have an Idea For an IEEE-USA E-Book? - If you've got an idea for an e-book that will educate your fellow IEEE members on a particular topic of expertise, e-mail your e-book queries and ideas to IEEE-USA Publishing Manager Georgia Stelluto.

U.S. STATES

Stateline.org If you like to keep up with what's going on in state politics, StateLine.org provides a good overview of the activities in all 50 state legislatures. Stateline.org's annual report on state trends and policy, "State of the States 2009" is now available. The report is full of helpful graphics and maps, in addition to reports on the most significant developments in the 50 states.

AWARDS, FELLOWHIPS & GRANTS

National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/)

Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Solicitation FY-2011 (Release 1) (SBIR) - The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): 9 June 2010. Do not submit a proposal prior to 9 May 2010.

NSF-NRI Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Supplements to NSF Centers in Nanoelectronics (NSF 10-031) - Since 2005, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has undertaken a cooperative effort with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) through the industry's Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) to provide supplemental funding opportunities to NSF centers involved in long-term nanoelectronics research. The supplemental funding supports additional graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to work in collaborative efforts with participating NRI company assignees on exploring new concepts beyond the scaling limits of CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technology. Such efforts are intended to enhance nanoelectronics research and education, strengthen industry linkages with NSF centers, and develop future cadres of industry and faculty researchers to help drive the field. NRI is encouraging exploratory nanoelectronics research at universities on topics with the potential for maintaining the historical scaling of both computational power and cost of information processing. NSF and NRI will each provide $1,000,000 in funds, for a total investment of $2,000,000, subject to the availability of funds. This will allow approximately five or six NSF centers to receive supplemental funding, in the range of $200,000 to $400,000 total funding each, for duration of two or three years. All NSF centers (this includes networks) involved in nanoelectronics research are eligible to apply, including those that were awarded supplements in the previous competitions. Submission Deadline: May 10, 2010.

Computing in the Cloud (CiC) - Cloud services represent a growing paradigm of on-demand access (as a service) to computing, data and software utilities, an abstraction of unlimited resources, and a usage-based billing model where users essentially "rent" virtual resources and pay for what they use. Underlying these cloud (infrastructure, platform, data, software, etc.) services are consolidated and virtualized data centers that provide virtual machine (VM) containers hosting computation and applications from a large numbers of distributed users. It is anticipated that cloud platforms and services will increasingly play a critical role in academic, government and industry sectors, and will thus have widespread societal impact. Estimated Number of Awards: 10-15 awards will be made in FY 2010, pending the availability of funds. Proposals may request budgets of up to $500,000 total for up to 2 years. CiC EAGER proposals may request no more than $300,000 total for up to 2 years. Anticipated Funding Amount: $5,000,000 total in FY 2010, for CiC merit reviewed proposals, CiC EAGER proposals and CiC supplements to existing awards. Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): April 30, 2010. Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): June 15, 2010

AAAS GrantsNet Express - A weekly American Association for the Advancement of Science listing of science funding opportunities from private foundations and organizations, and new U.S. government grant announcements in the sciences. AAAS will send GrantsNet by e-mail to AAAS member subscribers.

Grants.gov - The President's 2002 Fiscal Year Management Agenda established grants.gov as a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs. The site provides access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards. Most agencies, such as the DOE's Office of Science, use only grants.gov to list all funding opportunities. Other funding opportunities of interest include the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NASA.

AAAS: Communicating Science, Tools for Scientists & Engineers - Scientists and engineers who foster information-sharing and respect between science and the public are essential for the public communication of and engagement with science. Although traditional scientific training typically does not prepare scientists and engineers to be effective communicators outside of academia, funding agencies are increasingly encouraging researchers to extend beyond peer-reviewed publishing and communicate their results directly to the greater public. In response to this need in science communications, the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology has partnered with the National Science Foundation to provide resources for scientists and engineers, both online and through in-person workshops to help researchers communicate more broadly with the public.

Communicating Science online resources include webinars, how-to tips for media interviews, strategies for identifying public outreach opportunities, and more. Additionally, AAAS is providing workshops for scientists and engineers interested in learning more about science communication tools and techniques are now available. The schedule of NSF-sponsored workshops for the 2009-10 academic year has been updated and pre-registration is open. Please contact AAAS if you are interested in hosting a workshop at your institution.

REPORTS, DOCUMENTS OF NOTE & INFO RESOURCES

Innovation Economy Conference Report Now Available Online

As a follow up to The Innovation Economy Conference held November 30-December 1, 2009 in Washington, DC, a comprehensive report of the discussions and key findings from the conference are now available online.

National Science Foundation

Ethics in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Online Resource Center (Ethics Resource) - The Ethics in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Online Resource Center competition proposes to fund one award to support a multidisciplinary team of researchers who will create an online resource center that develops, compiles, and maintains resources related to ethics in science, mathematics, and engineering. The research team's focus will be to gather existing information, generate new knowledge, and create interactive tools that will help scientists and engineers incorporate ethical issues and reasoning into their pedagogy and research. The online resource center should be creative, comprehensive, accessible, and constantly evolving. Thus, it should incorporate strategies and techniques to keep the Ethics in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering center relevant and up to date. Engineering, mathematics, and science refers to all of the fields that NSF supports; this includes the social sciences.

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