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NASA Chief Technologist Reaches Out to Students

Earlier this month, NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun issued an inspiring open letter to college students. In the letter, Braun described the challenging goals that President Obama has set for America’s space program, including “preparing new rockets and space vehicles for flight in the early part of the next decade, human exploration of an asteroid by 2025, and sending humans to orbit Mars by the mid-2030s, with Mars surface landings to follow.”
August 18, 2010 at 12:37 PM ET by Tom Kalil

Ask Dr. H: "How Can Kids Apply Their Ingenuity to Global Challenges?"

In this week’s "Ask the President's Science Advisor," OSTP Director Dr. John P. Holdren answers an e-mail asking how the Obama Administration is encouraging children to apply their ingenuity to tackling the grand challenges that face our country and the world.
August 13, 2010 at 8:47 PM ET by John P. Holdren

OSTP Director Holdren Meets With Excelling STEM Leaders

OSTP Director John P. Holdren last week met at the White House Conference Center with more than 50 teachers being honored by the Siemen’s Foundation for their dedication to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
August 10, 2010 at 5:37 PM ET by Erin Szulman

DARPA Develops New Privacy Principles

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently released a thoughtful set of Privacy Principles to help ensure that any future research and development programs that raise privacy issues are designed and implemented in a responsible and ethical fashion.
August 9, 2010 at 3:34 PM ET by Tom Kalil

Winning High-School Students Drive Dashboard Design

August 6, 2010 at 11:43 AM ET by Connie Bezanson

Text4Baby Wins Outstanding Innovation Award

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announces that text4baby has been selected as one of three winners of the Department’s new HHSInnovates award.
August 4, 2010 at 6:06 PM ET by Hillary Chen

Students Go For Sun-Day Drive

In a speech at the National Urban League yesterday, President Obama talked about the importance of getting students enthused about education and the particular importance of science and mathematics education. Well, there is no better example of how to generate that kind of enthusiasm than the recently completed American Solar Challenge.
July 30, 2010 at 9:42 AM ET by

More Faces of Women and Girls in STEM

Last week, representatives from organizations that are focused on increasing participation and performance of women and girls in STEM fields met in Washington, DC to develop recommendations to help improve President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign.
July 28, 2010 at 1:47 PM ET by Irnande Altema

Senate Advances Prizes in America COMPETES

Late last week, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 with a provision that could further empower public sector use of prizes and challenges to spur innovation.
July 27, 2010 at 3:15 PM ET by Tom Kalil and Robynn Sturm

President Obama and the Atlantis

See a photo of the President welcoming crew members from the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station
July 26, 2010 at 6:07 PM ET by Jesse Lee

Reflections on the NNI – Coordination & Partnerships

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Technology concluded in their recent review of the NNI that the government needs to continue to support fundamental nanoscale science and engineering, but that the federal government also needs to place a greater emphasis on exploitation and commercialization.
July 26, 2010 at 9:25 AM ET by Tom Kalil

Science and Technology an Indispensible Part of U.S. Development Policy Worldwide

Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), discusses President Obama’s strong support of science, technology, and innovation, and how it is an indispensible component of U.S. development policy in support of developing communities worldwide.
July 22, 2010 at 3:20 PM ET by Dr. Rajiv Shah

A Major Milestone for Internet Security

Last week marked a significant advance in the security of the Internet. After years of intensive design, testing, and implementation work, the Internet's domain name system now has a new security upgrade that allows Internet service providers and end users alike to protect against an important online vulnerability: the clandestine redirecting of online communications to unwanted destinations.
July 22, 2010 at 2:03 PM ET by Andrew McLaughlin

U.S., China Science and Tech Leaders Convene on Innovation

OSTP Director John P. Holdren today led a meeting with government leaders from the United States and the People’s Republic of China—including Mr. Wan Gang, China’s Minister of Science and Technology—to discuss a range of issues relating to the advancement of innovation.
July 20, 2010 at 7:02 PM ET by Rick Weiss

National Mall Opens to Stargazers

Last Thursday, OSTP and Hofstra University co-sponsored a star party on Washington’s National Mall, giving evening strollers a chance to look through telescopes at the setting sun and, a little later, at an array of planets and more distant stars.
July 20, 2010 at 3:12 PM ET by

The Power of Technology, The Power of Equality

The White House and Commerce Department hosted an event featuring technology with the power to improve the lives of people living with disabilities.
July 20, 2010 at 10:42 AM ET by Kareem Dale and Scott Deutchman

Final Recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force Announced

Obama Administration officials today released the Final Recommendations of the Ocean Policy Task Force, which would establish a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes (National Policy) and create a National Ocean Council (NOC) to strengthen ocean governance and coordination.
July 19, 2010 at 2:23 PM ET by

The NNI Strategy Portal – A Pathway to New Ideas for Nanotechnology Innovation

OSTP announced the NNI Strategy Portal this week at the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s Strategic Planning Stakeholder Workshop. The online event takes place July 13 - August 15.
July 15, 2010 at 3:45 PM ET by Aneesh Chopra

Science Envoys to Visit PCAST

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hear from the Nation’s first three science envoys during a public meeting this Friday, July 16, 2010 at the National Academies’ Keck Center in Washington, DC.
July 13, 2010 at 12:48 PM ET by Gera Jochum

NASA Open Innovation Competition Delivers Three Winning Solutions

Going where no one has gone before may demand new solutions from unexpected places. NASA—with the help of the public’s best problem solvers—is ready.
July 13, 2010 at 9:39 AM ET by Robynn Sturm and Phil Larson

OSTP Seeks Input For New Nanotech Strategic Plan

Today, a Request for Information published in the Federal Register asks for input to assist the Federal government in the development of the 2010 Strategic Plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).
July 6, 2010 at 12:39 PM ET by Heather Evans and Travis Earles

OSTP to Co-Host "Astronomy Night on the National Mall"

Do you live in the Washington, DC area? Are you going to be around DC in two weeks? Then come enjoy close-up views of the crescent Moon, Venus, Mars, Saturn, star clusters, and nebulae. You can even gaze at our own Sun early in the evening with the help of specially filtered telescopes. OSTP, in conjunction with Hofstra University, will co-sponsor a free, open to the public star party July 15 on the National Mall in Washington, DC.
July 3, 2010 at 9:03 AM ET by Phil Larson

Presidential Order Balances Security and Scientific Enterprise

Today the President signed an Executive Order that, when implemented by the relevant Departments and agencies, will help the United States achieve a crucial balance between two goals that are sometimes seen as being in conflict: Increasing the Nation’s defenses against the threat of biological weapons and reducing the hurdles that legitimate scientists face as they pursue research on potentially dangerous microbes.
July 2, 2010 at 4:25 PM ET by Peter Emanuel

2010 MATHCOUNTS Winners Visit President Obama

Yesterday, President Obama met with the 2010 winners of MATHCOUNTS, a national enrichment, club, and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every US state and territory.
June 29, 2010 at 4:35 PM ET by William Jawando

U.S., India Hold Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation

A flurry of international collaborative work on science and technology reached an apex yesterday as OSTP Director John P. Holdren co-chaired an historic U.S.-India Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Science and Technology Cooperation.
June 25, 2010 at 5:01 PM ET by

New Fast-Track Committee Seeks Feedback on Expediting Manufacturing

Quality, cost, and time to market are three pillars of competitiveness in the world of manufacturing. One innovative way to improve time to market is through the use of computer models and simulation. A new committee has been stood up to identify gaps and challenges in this realm, and it's seeking your input!
June 24, 2010 at 2:51 PM ET by Douglas Coulter

It's Not Just the Law. It's Law.gov

U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Open Government Beth Noveck chaired a session at a day-long Washington workshop last week on Law.gov, a national effort to make all primary U.S. legal documents available for free online.
June 22, 2010 at 4:23 PM ET by Josephine Wolff and Phil Larson

Ask Dr. H: "Where Are We on Scientific Integrity?"

In this week’s "Ask the President's Science Advisor," Dr. Holdren answers an e-mail question concerning the Obama Administration's efforts to enhance scientific integrity in Federal policymaking.
June 18, 2010 at 8:21 PM ET by John P. Holdren

Fall Student Volunteer Application Deadline Extended

Applications for the fall OSTP Student Volunteer Program will be accepted through Friday, June 25th. The program is seeking highly motivated and dedicated individuals interested in science and technology policy.
June 17, 2010 at 4:21 PM ET by Christyl Johnson

Innovation for America: Technology for Economic Growth and Empowering Americans

Innovation—the process of developing a new product, service, or process—is critical to ensuring that the next generation of Americans outperforms the last. For this reason, from the day he took office, President Obama has challenged his team to promote innovation using all available tools and to nurture the creative spirit of the American entrepreneur.
June 15, 2010 at 4:49 PM ET by Aneesh Chopra