News
NSF Strategy; Republican Letter on NIH; Urban Biodiversity
BU IN DC
Douglas Densmore, Ioannis Paschalidis, and Keith Brown of the College of Engineering participated in the Engineering Biology Research Consortium's National Network of AI-Programmable Cloud Laboratories Summit on September 24th and 25th.
NSF OUTLINES "GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE" STRATEGY
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released a memorandum outlining the agency's plans to implement the "Golden Age of Science" strategy published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) this summer. The memo details the NSF's plans to shift towards a portfolio-based approach to grantmaking that may include funding mechanisms with novel approaches to peer review and a variety of grant award durations. It also establishes four new Frontier Initiatives to organize cross-disciplinary collaboration across NSF directorates: Future of Intelligence, Frontier of Quantum Phenomena, Advanced Materials and Matter, and Foundations of Biological Design. NSF intends to issue Dear Colleague letters and funding opportunities "in the coming weeks and months" aligned with the agency's revised approach to grantmaking.
BUZZ BITS...
- Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) and five Senate Republicans asked the Trump Administration to reconsider “terminating ongoing, multi-year research grants after significant federal resources have already been invested.” The Senators asked that the National Institutes of Health instead “bring existing research projects into alignment with current priorities” to preserve “the value of taxpayer investments already made” and allow the scientific work to be completed.
- The National Institutes of Health announced the selection of Dr. Jonathan Burke as director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) last week. Dr. Burke is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon who previously held faculty appointments at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Temple University School of Dentistry. Burke succeeds Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, who has served as acting NIDCR director since April 2024.
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Request for Information on a proposal to change the information provided to NIH applicants and agency staff following peer review. Under the proposal, NIH would move away from its current approach to providing peer review outcomes and instead categorize applications in one of three designations: most competitive, competitive, or not discussed. Comments are due no later than October 13th.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
You are invited to join the Office of Research for "Research on Tap: Imagining New Futures for Urban Biodiversity" on Tuesday, September 29th at 4 p.m. in the Kilachand Center Colloquium Room. Urban areas are at the center of converging climate crises, from intensifying weather events and accelerating biodiversity loss to persistent social inequities. Initiative on Cities Director Loretta Lees and Anne Short Gianotti of Earth & Environment will bring together BU researchers working across terrestrial, coastal, and human systems to explore the intersection of ecological systems and social life in cities for a series of microtalks. The event will model the kind of convergent research needed to expand the scope of urban research at BU and address complex urban challenges.
William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professorships Awarded to Five Senior Faculty
David Boas, Ji-Xin Cheng, Lindsay Farrer, Ed Kearns, and Xin Zhang join a select group that represents BU’s global leadership in research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Boston University Achieves Its Highest-Ever Ranking from U.S. News & World Report
BU jumps eight spots from last year, to 34th-best university in the nation.
Video: Leaders Among Us—President Gilliam in Conversation with Yvette Cozier
School of Public Health researcher talks about BU's Black Women's Health Study.
Prominent Women’s Health Researcher and Academic Leader Named Dean of BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Geeta Swamy joins Boston University from Duke University.
President Gilliam, BU Promise, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
BU IN DC
President Gilliam Meets with Lawmakers on Capitol Hill
President Melissa Gilliam discussed BU Promise, the University’s financial aid program covering tuition for families earning less than $200,000, and the importance of federal investments in research with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA, Hon. ‘21), Jake Auchincloss (MA), Bill Keating (MA), Lois Frankel (FL, CAS '70), Bill Foster (IL), and Kelly Morrison (MN) on September 2nd.
ON THE CHARLES RIVER
New BU Financial Aid Program Covers Tuition for Families Earning Less Than $200,000
The BU Promise eliminates loans and simplifies undergraduate financial aid for domestic students.
See how BU is making college more accessible
NOTABLE ALUMNI
Preserving the History of September 11th
At the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, which is marking the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks, alum Kerith Koss Schrager (CAS’01) has an emotional task.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
BU School of Law Professor and CARB-X Executive Director Kevin Outterson testified about antimicrobial resistance before the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health... Join BU faculty at a Capitol Hill reception focused on AI, Cloud Labs, and the Future of Scientific Discovery next week... BU Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Dean Jack Dennerlein and BU College of Arts & Sciences Professor Lucy Hutyra addressed a science town hall featuring House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA)... NPR and the BU Center for Climate & Health track the hidden death toll from heat... Joshua Pederson of BU College of General Studies shares with The Guardian how Kalshi's plan for a clinical trials prediction market impacts the father of a child with cancer... Nahid Bhadelia of the BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases identifies what's next for the new CDC Director in The Conversation.
Union of Concerned Scientists Town Hall
On Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Dean Jack Dennerlein from the Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences and Lucy Hutyra, Professor of Earth & Environment at the College of Arts & Sciences participated in a Union of Concerned Scientists Town Hall featuring Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-MA), U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Whip, in Arlington, Massachusetts.
New University Librarian Aims to Create the Library of the Future, With the Community’s Help
Kate Donovan hopes to make BU’s libraries more accessible and reimagine them in the age of AI and Big Data.
25 Years Later, the Events of 9/11 Continue to Shape the World
BU experts on how the response to terrorist act has impacted geopolitics, intelligence, and so much more.
Scene at BU: Celebrating a Hero
BU President Melissa Gilliam joins alum Brigadier General Enoch "Woody" Woodhouse (LAW'55) at the ribbon cutting for a permanent display of Woodhouse’s military memorabilia on view in the newly named Woodhouse Cadet HQ at the BU Air Force ROTC building at 118 Bay State Road, September 1.