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Investing in America’s Future through R&D, Innovation, and STEM Education: The President’s FY 2016 Budget

Today, President Obama announced his Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Budget. The Budget details the President’s spending plan for implementing the agenda he laid out in his State of the Union address to invest in America’s future. This plan includes investments that will help create jobs; improve human health; enhance access to clean energy, water, and food; address global climate change; manage competing demands on environmental resources; and ensure the security of the Nation. Federal government funding for R&D is essential to address pressing needs in these and other crucial areas.
February 2, 2015 at 4:41 PM ET by Kei Koizumi

AWS-3 Auction Highlights New Approach to Spectrum Policy

The most successful auction of radio spectrum so far came to a close today, drawing nearly $45 billion in bids for 65 megahertz of spectrum. The AWS-3 auction also is an important milestone in the Obama administration’s efforts to meet the President’s goal of making available 500 megahertz of spectrum for wireless broadband by 2020.
January 29, 2015 at 4:07 PM ET by Lawrence E. Strickling and Alexander Macgillivray

A DIY Space Race: Unleashing Space Innovators through Prize Competitions

Earlier this month, more than 150 designers, engineers, technologists and explorers gathered at the NASA Ames Research Center in Palo Alto, California, for the Cube Quest Challenge Summit. The Summit kicked off a multi-faceted quest to compete for the opportunity to launch a small satellite – known as a CubeSat – into space and then continue in a race around the moon and beyond.
January 29, 2015 at 2:51 PM ET by Jenn Gustetic and Sam Ortega

Unleashing Data and Tools to Boost Climate Resilience in India

Today, the Administration announced the release of the next tranche of higher-resolution elevation data for India. Until now, these elevation data for India were freely and publicly available only at 90-meter resolution. The announcement aligns with the Administration’s wide-ranging efforts to empower people and communities at home and abroad with the information they need to plan for climate change.
January 25, 2015 at 8:00 AM ET by John P. Holdren

Microbes, Apps, and Backflips-in-Space at 3rd Annual White House “State of STEM” Event for Kids

Yesterday, at the third-ever White House State of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (SoSTEM) event, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, Megan Smith, kicked off an afternoon of conversation between senior Obama-Administration scientists and technologists, outside innovators, and one of the toughest, most inquisitive audiences that could be conjured: DC-area elementary, middle, and high-school students.
January 22, 2015 at 9:27 AM ET by Becky Fried and Meredith Lightstone

Precision Medicine: Improving Health and Treating Disease

Last night, at his 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama announced that he is launching a new precision medicine initiative that will help deliver the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.
January 21, 2015 at 5:36 PM ET by Jo Handelsman

Promoting Science-Based Stewardship, Security, and Opportunity in the Arctic Region

Today, President Obama issued an Executive Order to help coordinate Arctic-related activities across the Federal Government and enhance collaboration with State, local, and Alaska Native tribal governments and similar Alaska Native organizations, academic and research institutions, and the private and nonprofit sectors. The Arctic region provides critical ecological, cultural, and economic services to our Nation.
January 21, 2015 at 3:05 PM ET by Tamara Dickinson and Patricia Falcone

U.S.-U.K. Digital Government Partnership

Today, we are building on a long history of innovation and collaboration on digital technologies with the United Kingdom. The President and Prime Minister Cameron just announced a commitment to strengthen and expand the ongoing digital partnership between our two countries.
January 16, 2015 at 4:01 PM ET by Megan Smith, Shaun Donovan

Citizen Science Contributes to Advances in Scientific Understanding

Every day, citizen scientists help advance scientific discovery and understanding. Two recent success stories demonstrate the enormous value of citizen science contributions.
January 14, 2015 at 1:46 PM ET by Jenn Gustetic and Lea Shanley

Success in Commercial Space Continues

On Saturday, NASA kicked off the New Year in a spectacular way with the launch of SpaceX's latest cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). On Monday, the Dragon capsule arrived at the orbiting laboratory with more than two tons of supplies and science investigations for the crew in orbit. The success of this misson highlights how our investment in commercial space is bringing tangible benefits to the American people and enabling NASA to focus on future missions to deep space – to asteroids and Mars.
January 13, 2015 at 9:43 AM ET by Charles Bolden

A New Resource for Bringing Making into Education

The Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) was formed in 2012 in response to President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign to help foster student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math through interactive programming. OSTP's Tom Kalil recently sat down with Trey Lathe, the Executive Director of Maker Ed, to hear more about the recent launch of this new project and how it is helping to broaden participation and engagement in STEM, a focus of last year’s White House Science Fair.
January 12, 2015 at 12:25 PM ET by Tom Kalil

Protecting Consumer Privacy while Building a Smarter Grid

As the nation’s electric infrastructure is modernized, it is critically important to ensure that the collection of data is performed in a manner that yields the greatest benefits for consumers, while continuing to rigorously protect their privacy. The new Voluntary Code of Conduct for utilities and third parties will help protect consumer energy data.
January 6, 2015 at 5:08 PM ET by Dipayan Ghosh and Eric Lightner

9 Ways We Geeked Out About Science and Technology in 2014

In 2014, we welcomed makers, coders, gamers, Nobel Prize winners, student scientists, and broadcast meteorologists to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., and we adorned our halls with robots, 3D printers, and science projects. We've continued to gather top expert-geeks online to discuss a range of topics such as asteroids, superhero science, the science of cooking, and extreme weather.
December 23, 2014 at 4:56 PM ET by Becky Fried

Honoring Grace Hopper

Earlier this month, during Computer Science Education Week, we at the White House looked back on computer pioneer Grace Hopper’s remarkable life, and honored her with a special event display in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.
December 22, 2014 at 11:02 AM ET by Erie Meyer and Hannah Safford

Investing in Breakthrough Learning Technologies at the Department of Education

Experts at the U.S. Department of Education are exploring how we might learn from the experiences of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and other cutting-edge R&D programs in pursuit of educational breakthroughs.
December 19, 2014 at 11:55 AM ET by Kumar Garg

Innovating to Protect our Waterways

A coalition of Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and United States Geological Survey (USGS), is launching the Nutrient Sensor Challenge—an open-innovation competition to accelerate the development and deployment of affordable sensors that can measure nutrients in aquatic environments.
December 17, 2014 at 9:59 AM ET by Tamara Dickinson

Enhancing Biosafety and Biosecurity in the United States

As part of their Safety Stand-Down activities, federal departments and agencies conducted facility sweeps; carried out comprehensive safety, security, and inventory activities; and captured best practices and plans for strengthening national biosafety and biosecurity systems in the future.
December 16, 2014 at 3:00 PM ET by Lisa Monaco and Dr. John Holdren

Launching Disasters.Data.Gov to Empower First Responders and Survivors with Innovative Tools and Data

Today marked the launch of the new disasters.data.gov web portal, a new public resource that fosters collaboration and the continual improvement of disaster-related open data, free tools, and new ways to empower first responders, survivors, and government officials with the information needed in the wake of a disaster. The Administration is also unveiling the first in a series of Innovator Challenges that highlight pressing needs from the disaster preparedness community.
December 15, 2014 at 12:31 PM ET by Meredith Lee, Heather King, and Brian Forde

Making at the White House: Creating Bo-Bot and Sunny-Bot

For the past several years, Bo and Sunny, the First Family’s dogs, have been creatively included in the White House holiday décor. This year, as part of the Maker movement members of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Presidential Innovation Fellows featured Bo and Sunny as life-size, animated “dog-bots.”
December 12, 2014 at 5:40 PM ET by Stephanie Santoso

STEM for Students on the Silver Screen

On Wednesday evening, the White House welcomed dozens of eager middle-school, high-school and college students to a special Computer Science Heroes Film Festival that recognized outstanding women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The film festival was part of this week’s White House celebration of Computer Science Education Week.
December 12, 2014 at 9:48 AM ET by Lauren Smith and Neekta Hamidi

Talk With Me Baby! Increasing Early Learning Opportunities for Every Child in Georgia

This week, President Obama hosted the White House Summit on Early Childhood Education. OSTP's Maya Shankar recently sat down with Arianne Weldon, Director of the Get Georgia Reading Campaign and member of the team guiding the Georgia’s Talk With Me Baby initiative, an effort to “bridge the word gap” that develops between poor children and their more affluent peers during the first years of life. Arianne told Maya a little bit about her team’s work, new developments, and future plans.
December 12, 2014 at 9:36 AM ET by Maya Shankar

Making Makers in Cleveland

Recently, OSTP's Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation Tom Kalil spoke with Ian Charnas, manager of Case Western Reserve University’s think[box]-- a makerspace and innovation center designed to provide students, staff, faculty and members of the public with the tools they need to create, build and invent.
December 11, 2014 at 12:16 PM ET by Tom Kalil

Higher Education Institutions Respond to the President’s Call to Support Making on College Campuses

Higher education institutions are responding to the President's call to action to support Making on college campuses. One recent effort responding to this call is the Make Schools Alliance, a new initiative that will provide students with spaces, projects and mentors to engage in hands-on Making activities and boost their interest and persistence in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
December 10, 2014 at 3:10 PM ET by Stephanie Santoso

Unleashing Climate Data and Innovation for more Resilient Ecosystems

oday, in an important milestone to help achieve this goal, the Department of Interior and other Executive Branch agencies and offices are releasing, on climate.data.gov, new troves of government data on water and ecosystem, as well as new geospatial tools, as part of the President’s Climate Data Initiative. Earlier installments of that initiative focused on data relating to sea-level rise, flood risk, and agriculture.
December 9, 2014 at 9:35 AM ET by John P. Holdren

Accelerating Access to Innovation and Saving Children’s Lives

This World AIDS Day, OSTP and PEPFAR celebrate efforts that enable the fruits of science and technology to accelerate innovation and increase access to life-saving HIV treatment around the world.
December 5, 2014 at 6:06 PM ET by Tom Kalil, Deborah M. Birx, and Colleen V. Chien

More than 100 Bold New STEM Commitments as Part of the White House College Opportunity Day of Action

As part of yesterday's White House College Opportunity Day of Action, OSTP worked with college and university presidents, leaders of philanthropy and non-profit organizations, and CEOs of private sector companies to generate 110 bold new commitments to increase STEM degree access, preparation, and completion for more students from low income and underserved backgrounds in addition to women and minorities currently underrepresented in STEM fields.
December 5, 2014 at 3:58 PM ET by Danielle Carnival

Statement by John P. Holdren on the Successful Test Launch and Recovery of the Orion Spacecraft

Upon successful launch and recovery of the Orion spacecraft on Friday, December 5, 2014, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John P. Holdren issued a statement.
December 5, 2014 at 2:48 PM ET by

Celebrating National Entrepreneurship Month

The White House supported a range of activities in recognition of November as National Entrepreneurship Month, reaffirming the Administration's commitment to help entrepreneurs develop the products, services, and ideas of tomorrow.
December 5, 2014 at 10:00 AM ET by Doug Rand

A Strategy to Accelerate Cutting-Edge Materials Innovation

Today, in an important milestone for the initiative, the interagency National Science and Technology Council released the Materials Genome Initiative Strategic Plan – a roadmap developed with input from a diverse array of stakeholders across the materials science and engineering community, which outlines how Federal agencies will execute on the MGI’s vision of decreasing the time and cost of bringing new materials from discovery to market.
December 4, 2014 at 10:05 AM ET by Meredith Drosback & Cyrus Wadia

Announcing the Winners of the First-Ever White House 3D Printed Ornament Challenge

The White House announces the 3D Printed Ornament Challenge in partnership with the Smithsonian. Twenty innovative designs were chosen as finalists and 5 of these designs were selected for display in the White House.
December 3, 2014 at 2:03 PM ET by Stephanie Santoso and Ryan Xue