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Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

  • Setting the 21st Century Research Agenda

    Posted by Tom Kalil on June 2, 2010 at 2:22 PM EST

    One of my goals at OSTP is to reduce the time between when the research community identifies potentially high-impact ideas and when these ideas are embraced and implemented by Federal science agencies. During the 1990s, for example, I worked with the research community and program managers across the Federal government to develop the National Nanotechnology Initiative. That initiative was launched in FY 2001 with a $500 million budget, and as of this year has invested more than $12 billion into this important new technology, helping position the United States as the world leader in both nanotechnology R&D and commercialization.

    There is a variety of mechanisms through which the research community can participate in agenda-setting. One model I have found to be very valuable is exemplified by the Computing Community Consortium (CCC). Launched in 2007 with funding from the National Science Foundation and consisting of researchers from more than 200 universities and research institutes across the country, the CCC has played an important role in identifying and promoting exciting “visions” for the future of Information Technology (IT) research—ideas that have the potential to attract the best and brightest to the field, drive economic growth, and address national challenges in areas such as health, energy, and education.

    In late 2008, for example, the CCC mobilized some of the top researchers in the IT field to write (in less than two weeks!) short papers for the Obama transition team on topics such as e-Science, quantum computing, and the future of DARPA. The CCC has also organized workshops to develop detailed research roadmaps in areas such as robotics, data-intensive computing, and health information technology. These papers and workshop reports have had a clear influence on Administration budget and recruiting decisions and have already sparked collaborations between government, industry, and academia. The agility and flexibility of the CCC is particularly important for a field like IT, which changes rapidly and has such a profound impact on science and engineering, the economy, and our society.

    I believe there is a strong case for replicating the CCC model in other areas of research. These efforts would not necessarily need to be organized around traditional disciplines. For example, one could imagine analogues to the CCC in areas of research such as clean energy, nanoscale science and engineering, and the “interfaces” of biology, the physical sciences, and engineering. They would undoubtedly strengthen the ability of the United States to identify and support transformative research.

    Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

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  • Ask Dr. H: "What Role Does Mentoring Play in Preparing New Scientists?"

    Posted by John P. Holdren on May 28, 2010 at 11:37 AM EST

    [Ed. Note: In this week’s "Ask the President's Science Advisor," Dr. Holdren tackles an e-mail question about mentoring from a PhD candidate. To have your question considered for this feature, you can e-mail your short query to AskDrH@ostp.gov or tweet @whitehouseostp using the hashtag #AskDrH. The selected question will be posted in the blog with Dr. Holdren's answer. Dr. Holdren will be on travel next week, and this feature will return the following week.]

    Dr. Holdren,

    Mentoring is widely recognized as a necessity in developing Ph.D. scientists. Do you think mentoring is important in this context? What role do you believe that mentoring will play in preparing scientists that are able to help America tackle and answer the scientific challenges of our time?

    Monica, Baton Rouge
    Ph.D. Candidate

    I wrote last week about some of the people who helped guide me and inspire me through my years of education and professional development. But you are right to raise the similarly great potential benefits of “formal” mentors who, studies have shown, can be very important in the preparation and training of our Nation’s scientists and engineers.

    In addition to their valuable contributions in terms of preparing and assisting students academically, mentors are often the principal intermediaries through whom future scientists and engineers learn about the culture of science, including the importance of honesty, integrity, and objectivity in scientific research. Strong mentoring relationships are also key for recruiting and retaining diverse students in science and engineering—important to ensuring a diversity of ideas and approaches in these fields. Research indicates that formal faculty mentoring programs are more effective than informal programs for retaining female and minority faculty. Surveys have also found that female and minority assistant professors—who can be great role models for attracting and retaining underrepresented groups in the sciences—report spending more time mentoring students compared to other faculty. That’s one reason why I believe it is important that universities recognize mentoring as one of the many time-consuming demands on faculty time that should be taken into account when tenure and promotion decisions are made.

    Outstanding mentoring by individuals and organizations is recognized by the administration through the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) program, which OSTP helps to administer.

    Of course mentoring is also important in K-12 classrooms as well. Our science and mathematics teachers are often the first science role models that their students meet. This is why the President’s blueprint for revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes a great deal of emphasis on ensuring that great teachers and leaders are available to all students. The White House recognizes outstanding teaching and mentoring by K-12 science and mathematics educators through the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) program. Since 1983 over 4,000 outstanding K-12 science and mathematics educators have been recognized through the PAEMST program.

    John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

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  • The Secret of Innovation

    Posted by Robynn Sturm on May 27, 2010 at 3:09 PM EST

    How did a $10 million prize leverage $100 million in private sector investment? How did a mining company tap global expertise to increase gold production by 900% in four years? How has Ashoka Changemakers used competitions to not only source ideas but also create collaborations and drive investment into the most promising social-change investments around the world?

    Answers to these and other tantalizing questions about the value of prizes, challenges, and related incentives as catalysts for innovation were entertainingly answered on April 30th, when private-sector leaders descended on Washington to tell their stories of success and of lessons learned. They told their stories of inspiration to nearly 150 public-sector innovators from more than 35 Federal agencies, who have themselves wanted to explore this new terrain but have had questions about how, exactly, to do it.

    Hosted by OSTP, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Case Foundation, this public-private strategy session (pdf) showcased more than 25 private-sector case studies. Now we at OSTP want to make this rich content available for all to mine:

    We think you will agree that the “power of the prize” is great, and that waves of creativity can be generated simply by challenging people to tackle something tough.

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  • NASA Nurtures New Ideas for Near Orbit

    Posted by Tom Kalil on May 25, 2010 at 4:07 PM EST

    One of the exciting new NASA programs supported by the President’s budget is the Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research (CRuSR) program. CRuSR will help foster the development of commercial reusable transportation to “near space,” a step along the path to providing the Nation with much lower-cost and more reliable access to orbital space. The overall goal of CRuSR is regular, frequent, and predictable access to the edge of space at a reasonable cost with easy recovery of intact payloads.

    Thanks in large part to the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a new generation of commercial suborbital spacecraft has been under development by entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, John Carmack, David Masten, and Jeff Greason. CRuSR—one of several innovative priorities for NASA’s new Chief Technology Officer, Bobby Braun—is building on that momentum. Starting next year, NASA will invest $15 million per year to support a wide range of technology demonstrations, educational experiments, and science payloads on these new vehicles.

    This program will leverage significant investment by the private sector to provide quick, routine access to the edge of space. NASA will work with this new industry to develop flight data standards and payload procedures that maximize the amount of data retrieved from each flight.

    It will also give undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity of a lifetime. They’ll help design and build new hardware, work side-by-side with rocket scientists to integrate the experiments into the vehicles, and analyze the data once each experiment has been completed. There may even be opportunities for middle and high school students, who could travel to the nearest spaceport to see their science experiment blast off into space.

    With its mix of technology development, public-private investment, and educational potential the program a tribute to CTO Braun’s creativity and a perfect example of President Obama’s charge to NASA—to “inspire wonder in a new generation, sparking passions and launching careers.”

    Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

  • Adaptation Summit to Address Impacts of Climate Change, May 25-27

    Posted by Shere Abbott on May 24, 2010 at 1:03 PM EST

    Addressing the nation from the Rose Garden last Friday, President Obama reminded us that the threats and impacts of climate change are both real and imminent. “We know that climate change poses a threat to our way of life,” the President said. “In fact we’re already seeing some of the profound and costly impacts.”

    We face these threats not only on a global level but also in our own backyards—in the small communities, farmlands, wilderness areas, and large urban centers that constitute the American landscape. From the coast of Rhode Island to the canyons of Arizona, we find ourselves forced to consider new questions—how do we secure our homes against the threat of increasingly intense storms? Which crops will flourish with higher temperatures and more unpredictable growing conditions? Can we afford to turn on the tap?

    Understanding the science behind climate change and mitigating its effects are critical for avoiding unmanageable scenarios in the future. But equally important is the need to manage the unavoidable—to adapt to the “profound and costly impacts” that the President highlighted, whether they are already occurring or are awaiting us just around the corner.

    Towards that end, scientists, city planners, academics, advocates, and environmentalists, as well as Federal, state, and local officials and innovative industry leaders, are working hard to better understand the efficacy and impacts of various adaptation strategies. But more research, greater communication, and increased access to accurate information and critical tools are needed.

    Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 25th, experts from these sectors will converge on Washington, D.C., from every corner of America for the three-day National Climate Adaptation Summit. Together, guided by the inspired comments of leaders such as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, participants will help build a Federal framework through which options for managing the unavoidable effects of climate change can be analyzed.

    You too can be a part of this critical process. Visit the National Climate Adaptation Summit’s official website at http://www.joss.ucar.edu/events/2010/ncas/index.html for more information and tune into the webcast beginning Tuesday morning. Click the “Comments” tab on the webcast player to submit your feedback.

    Heed the President’s call and help us shape a healthy and sustainable future for your community, the Nation, and our planet.

    Sherburne “Shere” Abbott is Associate Director for Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

  • Climate Adaptation Summit This Week

    Posted by Rick Weiss on May 24, 2010 at 10:48 AM EST

    Last spring, OSTP Director John P. Holdren called upon the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research to work with OSTP to host a summit to improve planning and communications among the range entities currently laying plans to adapt to climate change. That Summit will take place this week—May 25 to 27—and will bring together about 150 invited users and providers of climate adaptation information from diverse climatological regions and economic sectors to provide insight into:

    • what is needed for effective climate adaptation and vulnerability assessments,
    • how the nation should be organized in the public (federal and local) and private sectors.

    The summit is not intended to debate what climate change will and won’t look like. Rather, using the best available information about projected climate change and impacts, the meeting participants will be asked to examine needs, knowledge, and appropriate roles to help this national planning effort in the near-term and long-term. The insights from this meeting will be incorporated into Federal climate adaptation programs and research planning. For more information, see the Media Advisory.

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