Biden Budget, Education Research, NSF Career
BU IN DC
Roscoe Giles of the College of Engineering participated in a meeting of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee, of which he is a member, on March 29th and 30th.
Heather Schoenfeld of the College of Arts & Sciences and Adrianna Spindle-Jackson of the School of Social Work discussed their research with Congressional offices as part of the virtual Social Science Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill on March 29th.
Kevin Outterson of the School of Law attended a dinner hosted by the Embassy of Denmark to discuss global antimicrobial resistance efforts on March 29th.
Nathan Jones of the Wheelock College of Education & Human Development spoke at a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine webinar about a new report on the future of research at the Institute of Education Sciences on March 31st.
BIDEN BUDGET PRIORITIZES CLIMATE SCIENCE, PELL GRANTS
On Monday, President Joe Biden released his budget request for fiscal year 2023, outlining the Administration’s priorities for the year ahead. The President proposed bold investment in both the National Science Foundation (18% increase), the maximum Pell Grant award for low income students (25.7% increase), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (11.5% increase). He proposed modest increases for the Department Energy Office of Science (4% increase) and NASA Science (5% increase), while proposing to cut Department of Defense Basic Research (14% cut) and Federal Work Study (1.7% cut). Climate change continues to be a Biden Administration priority, with the White House asking Congress to support $17 billion in climate research across federal agencies. While the President’s Budget Request indicates the Administration’s priorities, it will be up to Congress to write the annual spending bills that determine agency budgets.
REPORT RECOMMENDS NEW FOCUS FOR EDUCATION RESEARCH
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report on Thursday which recommends a new approach to grantmaking at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education. The report argues that IES should prioritize new grant topics, such as teacher education and education technology; hold at least two grant application cycles annually; publicly share information on its applicants, reviewers, and trainees to track whether awards are being tracked equitably; and make IES-funded research more useful to practitioners and policymakers. It also urges Congress to provide more resources to the agency to meet the urgent need for more high-quality education research. Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Professor Nathan Jones served on the panel that wrote the report.
GRANTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
Are you considering applying for the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) award? The Office of Research recently posted a recording and slides from its webinar for early career faculty on how to navigate the CAREER application process. Lewis-Burke Associates, a federal lobbying and consulting firm in Washington, D.C., provided advice on how to best engage with NSF and make your proposal more competitive. BU faculty from the College of Engineering, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, and Sargent College who have successfully competed for NSF CAREER awards also shared their insights and guidance. NSF is expecting to fund more CAREER awards than usual this year as part of its COVID-19 relief efforts, making this a good time for faculty to apply.