Obama Administration Announces $85 Million in ARRA Funding for Early Career Scientists’ Research

Posted on July 17, 2009October 17, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that up to $85 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be awarded in early 2010 to support at least 50 early career researchers for five years at U.S. academic institutions and DOE national laboratories.

To be eligible for the competition, a researcher must be an untenured, tenure-track assistant professor at a U.S. academic institution or a full-time employee at a DOE national laboratory. The applicant must also have received a Ph.D. within the past ten years.

Each university award will be at least $150,000 per year for five years to support summer salary and other research expenses. For DOE national laboratories, awards will be at least $500,000 per year for five years to support year-round salary and expenses.

Early career researchers may apply to one of six Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research; Biological and Environmental Research; Basic Energy Sciences; Fusion Energy Sciences; High Energy Physics; or Nuclear Physics. Proposed research topics must fall within the programmatic priorities of DOE’s Office of Science, which are provided in the program announcements. Funding will be competitively awarded on the basis of peer review.

Letters of intent will be due on August 1, 2009, and proposals will be due on September 1, 2009.

DOE Announces up to $52.5 Million for Concentrating Solar Power Research and Development

Posted on July 15, 2009October 17, 2012

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced plans to provide up to $52.5 million to research, develop, and demonstrate Concentrating Solar Power systems capable of providing low-cost electrical power both day and night. Today’s announcement underscores the Obama Administration’s commitment to creating jobs and saving money, making electricity generated from solar energy competitive with conventional grid electricity.

“Low-cost renewable energy generation that includes energy storage is one key to our efforts to diversify domestic energy sources and create new jobs,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. “By investing in the development of low-cost solar technologies we can pave the way toward faster deployment of carbon-free, large-scale energy sources.”

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies concentrate the sun’s energy and capture that energy as heat, which then drives an engine or turbine to produce electrical power. CSP plants can include low-cost energy storage, which allows them to provide electricity even when the sun is not shining. CSP technologies currently used in utility-scale power plants typically do not have the capability/capacity for storage, operating only during daytime hours. These projects will seek to improve technology and novel system designs to extend operation to an average of about 18 hours per day, a level of production that would make it possible for a CSP plant to displace a traditional coal power plant.

The competitive funding opportunity involves two areas:

Research and development of concepts and components for a CSP system that enables a plant to produce low-cost electricity at least 18 hours of the day.
Evaluation of the feasibility and development of a prototype complete CSP system capable of operating at least 18 hours per day while generating low-cost power.

Projects are based upon continuing annual appropriations. DOE anticipates making up to 13 project awards totaling up to $52.5 million.

Learn more about US Department of Energy grant opportunities.

House Democrats Release Health Care Legislation

Posted on July 15, 2009October 17, 2012

Yesterday, House Democrats finally unveiled their comprehensive health care overhaul legislation, including details on how they intend to pay for it. For the most part, the $1 trillion-plus plan would be paid for through a surtax on upper incomes (families with adjusted gross incomes of more than $350,000) and by more than $500 billion in savings from Medicare over 10 years.

On the Medicare side, some providers would see their Medicare payouts cut directly (with Medicare Advantage seeing a $156 billion reduction). And in other areas, Medicare would “bundle” payments for a number of related services, with the goal of providing better, less costly care for patients. Currently, Medicare typically reimburses providers for every procedure or test they do.

Prevention and wellness measures of the bill include:

Expansion of Community Health Centers;
Prohibition of cost-sharing for preventive services;
Creation of community-based programs to deliver prevention and wellness services;
A focus on community-based programs and new data collection efforts to better identify and address racial, ethnic, regional and other health disparities;
Funding to strengthen state, local, tribal and territorial public health departments and programs.

The bill expands the health care workforce through:

Increased funding for the National Health Service Corp;
More training of primary care doctors and an expansion of the pipeline of individuals going into health professions, including primary care, nursing and public health;
Greater support for workforce diversity;
Expansion of scholarships and loans for individuals in needed professions and shortage areas;
Encouragement of training of primary care physicians by taking steps to increase physician training outside the hospital, where most primary care is delivered, and redistributes unfilled graduate medical education residency slots for purposes of training more primary care physicians. The proposal also improves accountability for graduate medical education funding to ensure that physicians are trained with the skills needed to practice health care in the 21st century.

Senator Cantwell Advances UW FY10 Projects

Posted on May 19, 2009October 17, 2012

Senator Maria Cantwell has advanced several of the UW’s FY10 priority projects. While this is just a first step in a long journey, we are encouraged by the support the Senator is showing for the UW. The next step is to get these and other projects included in the FY10 funding bills, which are currently being drafted and should be made public in June and July.

Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative – University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative (PSERI) is a council formed to, in close coordination with the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), focus regional, national, and international scientific talent on issues critical to maintaining the health of the Puget Sound. With the requested funding the PSERI will conduct research and coordinate existing research to support efforts to restore the health of the Puget Sound. In addition to research, the funding will allow the University of Washington to create research panels to review existing research to determine the best available science to inform the work of the Puget Sound Partnership.

Amount Requested: $2,130,000

Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS) – University of Washington (Seattle, WA).

Project Description– The Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS) provides targeted, intensive re-training programs for military personnel who return from deployment and need to recertify in their specialty in order to practice in WA State, and also for military personnel needing first-time WA State medical certification. ISIS is uniquely positioned to provide training, evaluation, and curricula to meet DoD needs and is currently working in partnership with Madigan Army Medical Center to develop these programs. Through ISIS, University of Washington School of Medicine has established this regional model of distributed medical education for skills training that will eventually form a national model for civilian practice as well as the large scale model for military needs.

Amount Requested – $6,380,000

House of Knowledge – University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The House of Knowledge will aid the University of Washington in becoming a model for utilizing research partnerships with tribal nations to strengthen programs in health, environment and economic vitality. As such, the University is in an enviable position to demonstrate effective ways to diversify its campus. These efforts to do so include a thoughtful and deliberate process to add a longhouse-style building which would serve as a multi-service learning and gathering space for Native American students, faculty and staff, and others of various cultures and communities.. The facility would assist in the advancement of knowledge of the indigenous cultures of the region. The facility and its programming would provide an imaginative environment of the original inhabitants of the area and promote inter-cultural exchange and diversity.

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center – University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The Northwest Marine Renewable Energy Center is a partnership between Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Washington (UW). OSU will direct the Center and focus its efforts on applied research for wave energy. The UW will focus on research specific to tidal energy. The two universities will leverage their expertise and experience to accelerate the development of ocean energy. The NW Center will build on existing strengths and will develop knowledge and expertise in the following program areas: advanced forecasting technologies (wave); device and array optimization (wave and tidal); collaboration and optimization among marine and other renewable sources (wave and tidal); facilities serving as an integrated Center for US and international developers (wave and tidal); compatibility of marine power technologies and systems with the environment, fisheries and other marine resources (wave and tidal); and increased reliability and survivability of marine power technologies (wave and tidal).

Amount Requested: $1,200,000

Bill Would Create National Climate Service

Posted on May 13, 2009October 17, 2012

The House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment is expected to mark up draft legislation today that would create an office similar to the National Weather Service to predict changes in climate. The new “National Climate Service” would be established within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A National Climate Service (NCS) would provide a single point of contact of information for the user-community. An NCS would provide climate forecasts and support for planning and management decisions by federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and the private sector.

NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco has indicated that an NCS is a high priority for the administration. Similar legislation is included in a draft climate and energy bill that the House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to mark up before Memorial Day.

Some members in the scientific community worry that an NCS would duplicate existing programs and others worry that the service should not be housed within NOAA because other agencies and departments hold more of the required expertise. Continue reading “Bill Would Create National Climate Service”