No End In Sight For Partial Shutdown
BU IN DC
The men’s basketball team lost to American University in the first game of the Patriot League schedule on January 2.
NO END IN SIGHT FOR PARTIAL SHUTDOWN
As the partial government shutdown continues through its third week, Congress and the White House are no closer to reaching an agreement to reopen agencies which have been closed since December 21, including the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, and U.S. Department of Education remain open and unaffected since they received final budgets in the fall. Sponsored Programs continues to advise investigators to submit proposals in accordance with posted deadlines.
NEW SCIENCE LEADERS IN PLACE
- The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier as the new director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) last week, ending the longest vacancy for an OSTP leader since the agency’s creation in 1976. He is a meteorologist who previously served as vice president for research at the University of Oklahoma.
- Dr. Robert H. Carter became the acting director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following the death of longtime NIAMS leader Dr. Stephen Katz.
- Dr. Bruce Tromberg began his tenure as director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at NIH this week. He previously served as a biophotonics researcher at the University of California at Irvine.
- Dr. Steven Dillingham was confirmed to lead the U.S. Census Bureau for the remainder of a five-year term that will end in December 2021. He oversaw the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in previous Republican administrations.
BUZZ BITS…
- The President signed the National Quantum Initiative Act (Public Law 115-368) into law on December 19. The bipartisan law authorizes quantum research that will be supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
- In December, the U.S. Department of Education released two white papers on Rethinking Higher Education and Accreditation Reform. The Department will start a negotiated rulemaking process next week aimed at modifying the regulations governing colleges and universities.
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking public comment on its five-year research and development plan. Comments are welcome before February 8.