News
Spending Bills; Environmental Health; Mobility Grants
BU IN DC
Nahid Bhadelia of the Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases hosted a Washington workshop on access to promising investigational therapies for patients with highly communicable infectious diseases between July 8th and 10th.
Aziza Ahmed of the School of Law addressed "Health and Legal Crises Post-Dobbs" during a panel discussion at Georgetown University on July 1st.
Muhammad Zaman of the Center for Forced Displacement discussed the Center's work during an event with Washington-area alumni on June 26th.
Sabrina Assoumou of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine joined her peers in the National Academies New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine for a meeting with White House officials to learn how scientists can impact policy on June 21st.
HOUSE SPENDING BILLS PROPOSE MODEST RESEARCH INCREASES, STUDENT AID CUTS
The House Appropriations Committee recently advanced several spending bills that would slightly increase the budgets of the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy's Office of Science in fiscal year 2025. The bills, which passed on party-line votes, would hold NASA Science funding at its current level and reduce the budgets of the National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts. The measures would also keep the Pell Grant maximum award at its current funding level, but cut the Federal Work-Study program in half. The Senate has signaled it will take a different, bipartisan approach when it releases its spending bills later this summer. A final spending package is expected to be negotiated by the two chambers after the November election.
BUZZ BITS...
- On Tuesday, the House Ways & Means Committee approved two tax bills aimed at addressing antisemitism on campus on a party-line vote. The University Accountability Act (H.R. 8914) would levy fines against schools found by a court to have violated students' civil rights. The Protecting American Students Act (H.R. 8913) would subject additional schools to the tax on endowment investment income. The Senate is not expected to consider either measure.
- The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) at the National Institutes of Health is seeking feedback on the final draft of the NIEHS strategic plan for 2025 - 2029. Stakeholders are invited to share their input on the research areas of interest and crosscutting themes before July 21st.
- Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would rescind the Biden Administration's updated Title IX regulations governing gender equity in education. The Senate will not take up the measure, which passed the House on a party-line vote.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) within the U.S. Department of Transportation has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for Enhancing Mobility Innovation. FTA is soliciting proposals that advance transformative emerging technologies as well as new strategies and innovations for traveler mobility. Funding for proposals will be split between two project areas – concept development or demonstration and software development projects. FTA plans to host a webinar for applicants later this summer; proposals are due by August 30th.
A Busy First Week for BU President Melissa L. Gilliam
Photo gallery chronicles meetings with staff, building tours, and an introduction to Bean, BU’s comfort dog.
New President, AI & Alzheimer’s, Heat Islands
ON THE CHARLES RIVER
Boston University President Melissa L. Gilliam on First Impressions, Challenges, and Ambitions
Taking office as the University’s 11th president, she says BU’s opportunities are boundless, and it must remain laser-focused on what it does best.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
New AI Program from BU Researchers Could Predict Likelihood of Alzheimer’s Disease
The National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health supported the development of a machine learning model that analyzes speech patterns and can say with 78.5 percent accuracy whether someone with mild cognitive impairment will develop Alzheimer’s-associated dementia within six years.
COMMUNITY RESOURCE
Heat Waves Are Scorching Boston, but Are Some Neighborhoods Hotter than Others?
BU researchers team up with the city of Boston and local nonprofits to improve temperature monitoring and pilot a more equitable approach to declaring heat emergencies.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
Gregory Wellenius of the BU School of Public Health tells the Texas Tribune that everyone needs a personal cooling strategy to cope with extreme heat... Aziz Ahmad of the BU School of Law spoke about health and democracy after the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning the constitutional right to access abortion services... Yannis Paschalidis of the BU College of Engineering will speak about smart health frontiers during a National Science Foundation webinar on July 16th... BU College of Communication Dean Mariette diChristina will moderate three panel discussions at the National Academies Climate Crossroads on July 16th and 17th.
Heat Waves Are Scorching Boston, but Are Some Neighborhoods Hotter than Others?
BU researchers team up with city of Boston and local nonprofits to improve temperature monitoring and pilot a more equitable approach to declaring heat emergencies.
New AI Program from BU Researchers Could Predict Likelihood of Alzheimer’s Disease
By analyzing speech patterns, machine learning model can say with a high degree of accuracy whether someone with mild cognitive impairment will develop Alzheimer’s-associated dementia within six years.
Defense Bill; Cyber Engagement; Seedlings to Scale
BU IN DC
Tami Gouveia of the Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health discussed access to mental healthcare and other matters with Massachusetts Congressional offices during the National Association of Social Workers advocacy day on June 18th and American Promise's advocacy day on June 12th.
HOUSE DEFENSE BILL WOULD LIMIT INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
A defense policy bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week would restrict some research collaborations with organizations in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The proposed restrictions were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 8070), which was agreed to by a largely party-line vote. Notably, proposals to make university employees publicly disclose gifts from foreign sources and require the Department of Defense (DoD) to review grantee universities that did not forcefully condemn recent campus protests were not voted upon after colleges raised concerns. The White House objected to the proposed restrictions on certain international collaborations, saying they "would harm DoD’s ability to keep pace with technology by limiting the pool of scientists that the Department engages." The Senate is expected to consider its version of the defense policy bill this summer and then the two chambers will negotiate a final version.
BUZZ BITS...
- The Department of Defense (DoD) announced last week it had established a new DoD Cyber Academic Engagement Office which will coordinate universities' engagement with the agency's cyber programs. DoD Principal Director for Resources and Analysis Mark Gorak will direct the office, created by Congress in last year's defense policy bill.
- Last week, the White House hosted "AI Aspirations: R&D for Public Missions," a summit to showcase how federal science agencies use artificial intelligence (AI) for the public good. Leaders -- including National Center for Special Education Research Commissioner Nate Jones, who is currently on leave from BU -- described how they are using AI to address education, health, weather, and clean energy challenges.
- The House Education and the Workforce Committee passed bills on a party-line vote last week that would block the Biden Administration's update to Title IX rules prohibiting gender discrimination, prohibit college athletes from forming unions, and require universities to share more information about how they adjudicate civil rights complaints. The bills have not yet been scheduled for consideration by the full House of Representatives and the Senate is not expected to consider them.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education has released its new From Seedlings to Scale grant program. The agency will fund up to a dozen projects for the first round of the program, which focuses on "innovative solutions that allow teachers to seamlessly provide personalized instruction for PreK-12 grade students." Winners of Phase 1 awards will have the opportunity to apply for a second round of funding to put their ideas into action. Applications are due no later than August 15th and applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of intent by July 11th.
A Note To Our Readers: Due to the upcoming Congressional District Work Period, Beltway BUzz will temporarily pause until July. Please visit our website or follow us on social media for updates.
Robot On a Mission, Air Quality, Womanist Ethicist
ON THE CHARLES RIVER
Air Quality Sensors Could Be Coming to A Bicycle Near You
A team of BU undergraduates have a vision: creating a mobile network of air monitors that automatically collect valuable air quality data as people on bicycles pedal through different neighborhoods.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
A Robot On a Mision
With funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Army, see how an autonomous robot created a shock–absorbing shape no human ever could—and what it means for designing safer helmets, packaging, car bumpers, and more.
FACULTY EXPERT
Leading Womanist Ethicist and Theologian Named New MLK Professor of Religion and Black Studies at BU
As Dr. Emilie Townes joins the BU School of Theology, she hopes to foster conversations in an increasingly polarized culture.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
Victoria Sahani of the BU School of Law testified before a House Judiciary Subcommittee about litigation financed by third-party investors... Katherine Levine Einstein of the BU College of Arts & Sciences says the Reducing Regulatory Barriers to Housing Act will help state and local governments... BU School of Public Health researchers say the 2021 Advance Child Tax Credit reduced food insufficiency for families experiencing economic shocks in a new policy brief... Raul Fernandez of the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development discusses the racial segregation of Massachusetts schools with WBUR... Yvette Cozier of the BU School of Public Health speaks with The New York Times about the disturbing truth about hair relaxers.
Lessons from an Interim President: Kenneth Freeman Reflects on a Historic Year
Longtime BU leader who held the office after Robert A. Brown retired, on the achievements he’s proud of and challenges he’s faced.
Antisemitism Hearing; Social Science Blueprint; ARPA-E
BU IN DC
Victoria Sahani of the School of Law testified before the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet regarding litigation financed by third-party investors on June 12th.
Brian Walsh of the College of Engineering discussed heliophysics research and engineering with Massachusetts Congressional offices on June 12th.
Kevin Outterson of CARB-X and the School of Law met with White House budget officials about federal investments to address antimicrobial resistance on June 13th.
HOUSE TAX COMMITTEE CRITICIZES CAMPUS RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM
On Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing entitled "Crisis on Campus: Antisemitism, Radical Faculty, and the Failure of University Leadership." Witnesses, including a recent Cornell University graduate, a Columbia University professor, the leader of the American Jewish Committee, and a former Trump Administration education official, sharply criticized universities' responses to antisemitic incidents on campus. Members of Congress asserted that the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights needs to investigate schools more aggressively and issue stiffer penalties for civil rights violations; proposed that schools should lose their tax-exempt status or access to federal dollars for not responding forcefully to antisemitic incidents; and argued that diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus are harmful.
WHITE HOUSE URGES USE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN POLICYMAKING
The White House recently released a "Blueprint for the Use of Social and Behavioral Science to Advance Evidence-Based Policymaking." Federal officials from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies compiled the document, which recommends incorporating social science findings in policymaking and rigorously evaluating policies using social science methods. The blueprint also urges federal grant-makers to "prioritize [grant] proposals that include evidence-based social and behavioral science strategies, support the generation of new evidence to help fill knowledge gaps, and institute rigorous evaluation requirements."
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) released a $150 million Funding Opportunity Announcement for its Vision OPEN 2024 program to fund up to 50 clean energy technology projects. The 2024 solicitation is designed to advance transformative breakthroughs in energy technology areas that fall outside the scope of existing ARPA-E technology-focused programs. Proposals need to incorporate a high-risk, high-reward energy technology that can be significantly advanced within three years and attract funding from other sources at the end of the ARPA-E award term. Concept papers are due by July 16th, 2024.
A Note To Our Readers: Jessica Wong has joined the BU Federal Relations team as our new Director of Federal Relations. We are pleased to welcome her to BU!