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Office of Science and Technology Policy Blog

  • Ask Dr. H: "Who Do You Credit For Your Scientific Interests?"

    Posted by John P. Holdren on May 21, 2010 at 3:29 PM EDT

    Wege Lecture

    Dr. Holdren delivered the 9th Annual Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability at the University of Michigan, March 22, 2010.


    [Ed. Note: In this week’s "Ask the President's Science Advisor," Dr. Holdren answers a more personal question from Twitter user @supercatcalhoun. 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.]

    supercatcalhoun: @whitehouseostp Dr. H, who do you credit for your scientific interests, passions and skills? #AskDrH #ilovescience #scilove

    From the earliest age about which I can remember much—three and a half or four—I was curious about how machines work, how nature works, and how society works. My mother, Virginia Holdren, was a voracious reader of both fiction and nonfiction and turned me into the same. (She made a weekly trip to the library, returning each time with a large shopping bag of books for both of us.) My parents bought me the 1953 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia when I was nine, and over the next two years I read it all from A to Z. I had some superb teachers in the public schools I attended growing up in San Mateo, California, starting with the Beresford Park elementary school where my sixth grade teacher, in particular, Mrs. Azevedo, had an effect on my intellectual growth and ambitions second only to that of my mother. Both of them told me that any career I might want was open to me except music (because I couldn’t hold a tune) and medicine (because I couldn’t stand the sight of blood).

    In high school my most inspiring teachers were an algebra teacher, an English teacher, and a Latin teacher. All of them were great at communicating their excitement about their fields in a way that got the students excited about learning … and got some of us, including me, interested in the idea that we might one day want to teach, too. But the high school experience that most shaped my career trajectory was reading two books as a sophomore—C. P. Snow’s THE TWO CULTURES and Harrison Brown’s THE CHALLENGE OF MAN’S FUTURE—that opened my eyes to the proposition that many of the most important challenges facing society could only be understood—and thus could only be met—by combining knowledge from the natural sciences and engineering, from the social sciences, and from the humanities. The challenges they were writing about were poverty, hunger, disease, resource scarcity, conflict, and weapons of mass destruction. It struck me then, and I never changed my mind thereafter, that the most rewarding thing somebody interested equally in natural and social science, technology, and the humanities could do is try to learn enough about all of them to be able to contribute to “putting the pieces together” in the way Snow and Brown argued was needed to address these great, interdisciplinary challenges.

    So I ended up at MIT with an aerospace engineering major and a humanities minor in German literature and philosophy, while also taking all the courses for a physics degree but for one lab course. (I had decided, based on a number of exciting experiences, that taking lab courses was dangerous to my health AND to that of my classmates.) I had great professors at MIT in all the fields I was interested in, and one of the many things I learned from them was that university teaching is a great job—you get the rewards of teaching combined with opportunities to team with industry on practical problems and to get involved in policy in advisory roles for government.

    For my PhD at Stanford I worked on a problem in theoretical plasma physics that was germane both to astrophysics and to harnessing fusion energy; I chose that field and that problem both because of the challenging math and physics involved and because there was an application to one of the great societal challenges—providing abundant energy for civilization—that I had become interested in. Through a series of coincidences I also ended up working in parallel with biologists at Stanford (on the causes and consequences of global environmental change) and, through them, meeting life scientists and Earth scientists and social scientists from all around the country who were working on this set of problems in an interdisciplinary way.

    After getting my PhD, I worked on fusion energy at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab for a couple of years and then worked at Caltech on problems of energy, environment, and development for a year or so, before getting the chance to start up and teach in an interdisciplinary graduate program in Energy and Resources at the University of California in Berkeley. I spent 23 years there studying and teaching about the scientific and technological and policy dimensions of the challenges the world faces around energy, environment, and international security—just what I’d hoped, when I was in high school, that I could find a way to get paid for doing. I then spent another 13 years doing similar things at Harvard University and the Woods Hole Research Center before having the great good fortune to be tapped by the newly elected President Obama as his science and technology advisor.

    I had many more great mentors along the way than I’ve taken the space to mention here, and I’m grateful to all of them. The career advice that came from all of the them was the same, and I’m happy to pass it along here: “Think about what you’d really like to do, don’t assume it’s out of reach, work hard to equip yourself for doing it ... and it probably will happen.”

    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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  • Help Change the Game in Cybersecurity!

    Posted by Aneesh Chopra and Howard A. Schmidt on May 19, 2010 at 2:48 PM EDT

    Today marks the launch of a new web forum to discuss your research and development ideas to “change the game” in cybersecurity. To inaugurate this forum, public session will be webcast live today from 1:30 to 4:30pm PDT, from the IEEE Security and Privacy Conference in Oakland, California.

    Comprising the broadband and wireless networks that connect us, the smart devices that enable us, and the digital information that informs and inspires us, cyberspace touches every part of our daily lives. This includes enabling entrepreneurship through e-commerce, enhancing health care and education through online information technologies, achieving efficient energy use through smart grids, and many other uses.

    The ability to use cyberspace securely and with confidence is key to society realizing its full benefits. As President Obama said last May: “America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity."

    Yet today, those who would abuse the system often hold the advantages of time (systems change only slowly), opportunity (an attacker needs to succeed only once while defenders must succeed always), and targets (a single vulnerability may be found in many locations).

    In a challenge to the research and development community, the President’s Cyberspace Policy Review (near-term action item #9) called for a strategy for new, game-changing technologies that give the advantage to beneficial use. This challenge complements and extends the call in the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI goal #9) for “leap-ahead” technologies, strategies, and programs.

    The National Cyber Leap Year responded to this challenge, gathering input from the community through concept papers and a national summit. The first three game-changing concepts to emerge from this process are:

    • Moving Target – Systems that move in multiple dimensions to disadvantage the attacker and increase resiliency.
    • Tailored Trustworthy Spaces – Security tailored to the needs of a particular transaction rather than the other way around.
    • Cyber Economic Incentives – A landscape of incentives that reward good cybersecurity and ensure crime doesn’t pay.

    Join in and help refine these concepts and chart a path forward. Visit the web forum, share your ideas, learn what others are thinking, and explore how you might collaborate with innovators across the private and public sectors. Also, stay tuned as we will be looking for your advice on how to continue the game-change process to stay ahead of those who would abuse the system. Working together we can ensure that cyberspace is safe and secure for commerce, learning, innovation, interaction, and discovery.

    Aneesh Chopra is the U.S. Chief Technology Officer

    Howard A. Schmidt is the President’s Cybersecurity Coordinator

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  • Science Envoy Bruce Alberts Builds Bridges with Indonesian Counterparts

    Posted by Phil Larson on May 19, 2010 at 11:30 AM EDT

    Dr. Bruce Alberts, the renowned biochemist and former President of the National Academy of Sciences who has spearheaded U.S. efforts to improve science, math, and engineering education, visited Indonesia May 10 – 19 in his capacity as one of the first “science envoys” under President Obama’s initiative to engage Muslim-majority and other countries through science and technology partnerships. Researchers and academics from numerous universities, laboratories, and science and technology centers, as well as high-level government officials, warmly welcomed Dr. Alberts and his delegation, including OSTP Senior Policy Analyst and National Academy of Sciences Scholar Michael Greene.

    Dr. Alberts’ journey started in cosmopolitan Jakarta, where he met with key members of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) and senior government officials from the State Ministry of Research & Technology, Health and National Education. Dr. Alberts also visited the Cibinong Science Center, the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, and the Science & Technology Development Center, conversing along the way with biologists, oceanographers, ecologists, and a wide array of other scientists. Through these interactions and several lectures geared toward both young and senior scientists, Dr. Alberts identified potential synergies between the United States and Indonesia and called for greater collaboration in areas of health, science, education, innovation, and technological development.

    A highlight of the visit was Dr. Alberts’ courtesy meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono and several members of the Indonesian cabinet. During that meeting, President Yudhyono expressed his support for strengthening long-term science and technology cooperation, indicating that international, collaborative research will be critical to helping nations around the world face their many shared challenges.

    Dr. Alberts also went to the city of Ternate in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia—a region of historical and scientific significance as it was there that Alfred Russell Wallace, Charles Darwin’s contemporary, became inspired to write his now-famous paper describing natural selection as the basis of evolution. Dr. Alberts joined officials in Ternate to announce the launching of U.S-Indonesia Frontiers of Science, a program designed to foster scientific collaboration and the exchange of ideas among Indonesian and American scientists in areas of mutual interest. Scientists, professors, and influential leaders, including the Sultan and Mayor of Ternate, echoed Dr. Alberts’ call for greater science and technology cooperation.

    On his return to Jakarta, Dr. Alberts visited the city of Bogor, where he engaged in energetic conversations with students and professors from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, a leading university and major center for agricultural and forestry research. Dr. Alberts also visited a school that focuses on early education in math, physics and computer science. There he was enthusiastically greeted by students—some speaking English and others in their native Bahasa Indonesia—who at the end of the visit pleaded for Dr. Alberts’ prompt return to Indonesia.

    Indeed, if there was one Indonesian phrase that came up more than any other during this trip it was “Jangan lupa dating lagi, Dr. Alberts!” which translates to: “Don’t forget to come back again, Dr. Alberts!” The envoy assured his hosts he will indeed return, to further strengthen the new bonds created on this inaugural trip.

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  • Apps for Healthy Kids: New Partners and New Prizes

    Posted by Robert Post on May 18, 2010 at 2:10 PM EDT

    [Ed. Note: This has been cross posted from Let's Move.gov.]

    As we enter the final six weeks of the Apps for Healthy Kids competition, the excitement hasn't stopped. We are nearing the 15,000 supporter level, and three new partners have recently come on board. We are thrilled to announce new partnerships with General Electric (GE) Healthymagination, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), and Numedeon, Inc., creators of the online virtual world Whyville.net. Our partners bring a boost of encouragement for up-and-coming developers to get involved, including new prizes and opportunities to collaborate.

    Launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the White House Office of the First Lady, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on March 10, Apps for Healthy Kids challenges software developers, game designers, students, and other innovators to develop innovative, fun, and engaging tools and games that help “tweens” (ages 9-12) and their parents eat better and be more physically active.

    This week, to help encourage student participation, GE Healthymagination committed to a total of $20,000 to in award funding for the best student-developed submissions—$10,000 for the best student game and $10,000 for the best student tool—bringing the total prize purse to $60,000. The GE Healthymagination Student Awards are open to students from elementary school through college. Although summer break is near, we can’t think of a better way to earn extra credit!

    And that’s not all. To help stimulate creativity and generate winning ideas, IGDA announced this week that it will hold a series of game jams over the weekend of May 21-23 in major U.S. cities including Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Atlanta. The jams will bring together game developers, graphic artists, and local youth to pool talent and creativity, and ultimately help create competition entries in just 48 hours. Find out how to participate at www.HealthGameChallenge.org.

    For would-be contestants who are unable to attend a game jam, Numedeon, Inc. is providing a virtual space to get valuable feedback from tweens within the virtual world Whyville.net. Developers may post their game prototypes in the Whyville Game Arcade, where Whyville's hundreds of thousands of users will be able to play, rate and provide feedback on the entries before they are submitted to the Apps for Healthy Kids competition.

    All submissions must be entered by June 30, so time is of the essence for you to get involved. If software design is not your forte, don’t worry! Visit www.AppsforHealthyKids.com to register support for the initiative and for the innovators who will be submitting software solutions as part of our nation’s fight against childhood obesity. Also, be sure to return to the site between July 14 and August 14 for the public voting period when you can help decide on the winning game and app.

    Robert Post is Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

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  • Emerging Technologies IPC Has Inaugural Meeting

    Posted by Heather Evans on May 15, 2010 at 3:55 PM EDT

    The recently formed Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee (ETIPC) held its first meeting last week, part of an effort to give special attention to technologies so new—such as nanotechnology and synthetic biology—that their policy implications are still being gauged. Created jointly by OSTP, the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the ETIPC consists of assistant secretary-level representatives from about 20 Federal agencies.

    Emerging technologies promise to have significant scientific, economic, and perhaps societal impacts because of their potential to revolutionize fields as varied as materials science, electronics, medicine, communications, agriculture, and energy. Rapid scientific and technological advances in these fields are resulting in a variety of new products and processes with unique and transformational characteristics. But full realization of the economic and public benefits of these applications will require open consideration of policy questions with the full range of stakeholders, including governments, industry, non-governmental organizations, academia, and the public.

    The meeting was opened by ETIPC co-chair John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of OSTP. In his opening remarks, Dr. Holdren emphasized the need for a coordinated, high-level interagency group to focus on cross-cutting policy issues relating to emerging technologies. The opening remarks of the other two co-chairs, Cass Sunstein (Administrator, OIRA) and Ambassador Isi Siddiqui (Chief U.S. Agricultural Negotiator, USTR) reiterated the commitment of the Obama Administration to scientific integrity, promoting innovation, open government, ensuring that the benefits of regulation justify the costs, and facilitating international trade. The three co-chairs expressed a shared vision favoring risk-benefit-based oversight mechanisms that can ensure safety without stifling innovation, stigmatizing emerging technologies, or creating trade barriers.

    Heather Evans is a AAAS Fellow and Policy Analyst at the Office of Science and Technology Policy

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  • Ask Dr. H: "Is the University Structure Hurting Science?"

    Posted by John P. Holdren on May 14, 2010 at 9:24 PM EDT

    [Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of blogs entitled "Ask the President's Science Advisor." In this first week of a new foray in public engagement, Dr. Holdren chose a tweet from @BjFreeman24 about challenges with the way universities are structured and if that is negatively affecting science and innovation. 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 question selected will be posted in the blog above Dr. Holdren's answer.]

    BjFreeman24: @whitehouseostp #AskDrH The university structure is killing science. Ego and bureaucracy override diverse, original ideas. What can be done?

    While I don’t agree that the “university structure is killing science,” I do believe that federal research agencies and universities should always be looking for new ways to support diverse, original ideas. As part of his national innovation strategy, President Obama has asked federal agencies to increase their support for multidisciplinary research, early investigators, and high-risk, high-return research. For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pioneer and New Innovator awards provide support for creative researchers with ideas for projects that have the potential for unusually high impact.

    The NIH and National Science Foundation have recently released a joint solicitation encouraging proposals at the intersection of biology and the physical sciences and engineering, in areas such as biological computing and biologically-inspired materials. Universities are also taking some important steps by allocating new faculty positions and lab space to support multidisciplinary research themes. OSTP welcomes suggestions for additional steps that the federal government should be taking to foster creativity and high-impact research.

    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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