Obama Announces Intent to Appoint New Board Members to the NSB

Posted on November 1, 2016

The White House announced that President Barack Obama intends to appoint W. Kent Fuchs, Victor R. McCrary, Emilio F. Moran, and Julia M. Phillips to the National Science Board (NSB).

Victor R. McCrary is Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University. Dr. McCrary was the Business Area Executive for Science & Technology at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he managed technology investment strategies for over $60 million for internal research and development (IRAD) projects targeted to the areas of national defense and national security. Dr. McCrary was also a division chief at the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Gold Medal for facilitating and developing the first global industry standard for e-books. He has published over 60 articles and is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

Emilio F. Moran is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor at the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations at Michigan State University. He is also a Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s Population Research Center. He brings experience as a NSF grantee in cultural anthropology, geography, ecosystem science, and other disciplines. He provides an important interface with the physical and biological sciences through his research on human interactions with the environment under conditions of change. Dr. Moran has published over 200 articles, 11 books and 15 edited volumes. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2010.

Julia M. Phillips is Director Emeritus at Sandia National Laboratories. As Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, she managed the Laboratory’s $160 million Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. She was also responsible for research strategy development, implementation, and intellectual property protection and deployment. Dr. Phillips came to Sandia in 1995 after spending 14 years as technical staff and a manager at AT&T Bell Laboratories. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The White House also reappointed Arthur Bienenstock, W. Carl Lineberger, and Anneila Sargent to each serve a second six-year term. Dr. Bienenstock, Professor Emeritus of Photon Science at Stanford University, has led the Board’s initiatives on reducing administrative burdens on federally funded researchers. Dr. Lineberger, E. U. Condon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado, and Dr. Sargent, Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, have both played key roles in NSB’s oversight and guidance of major NSF facilities and programs.

The NSB began accepting nominations for the Board last fall and made recommendations to President Obama for his consideration. Every two years, eight members rotate off the Board and a new class is appointed. Board membership will be complete when one more new member is appointed to the class of 2022.

Federal Agenda Submissions Due Nov. 21

Posted on October 31, 2016

Each fall, the Office of Federal Relations develops recommendations for the University’s next federal fiscal year agenda, which is approved by the Provost and President. The Federal Agenda serves as the roadmap and foundation for the University’s communications with Congress and the federal establishment.

The the entire campus community is invited to participate in this process, which is currently underway for Fiscal Year 2018. Directions for how to participate can be found here. Please turn in submissions to Sarah Castro (smcastro@uw.edu) by November 21st.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 24-28

Posted on October 28, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

October Surprise -Clinton’s FBI investigation is being reopened. Read more in The Hill.

Double Down – Professor Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted three decades of presidential candidates. He says Trump is going to win. Read more in the Washington Post.

Basement of the Russell Building (AOC) Photo: AOC

Challenges – It is harder than ever for young scientists to compete for grants as federal dollars are stagnant and young faculty are under historically high pressure to publish, secure funding and earn permanent positions — leaving precious little time for actual research. Read more in Science.

Down Ballot Money – Republican Party’s biggest donors has begun to flow down to Senate and House races in the final days of the 2016 campaign. Read more in The New York Times.

Money as Motivator – Incentivizing students to get good grades is something parents have done for years, but what happens when the schools themselves to it? Not as much of a success. Read more in The Science of Us.

That Extra 10 – Student debt may be exacerbating inequality. A college graduate with an extra $10,000 in student loans will achieve the nation’s median net worth 26% slower than a college graduate without that debt. Read more at Market Watch.

Scapegoat – Patient 0 became Patient Zero and that became Gaetan Dugas. The only problem is, that the story isn’t true. He isn’t Patient Zero. Read more in The Science of Us.

For Profit$$$ – Many ambitious yet disadvantaged students still end up in schools where they’re most likely to drop out and accrue lots of debt. Read the in-depth piece in the Atlantic.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 17-21

Posted on October 21, 2016

The End of Political Correctness on Campus – Trump says he’ll end it, but can he? More from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Debate: Five Takeaways – The tilt in Las Vegas had a little something for everyone: sharp personal attacks, substantive policy discussion and Trump’s unmatched ability to provoke controversy. More from The Hill.

Nasty Woman: The Coolest Thing Hillary’s Ever Been Called – Within an hour of the debate about a quarter of a million tweets mentioned “nasty woman,” a vast number of them from women proudly declaring themselves nasty women too or, as one woman on Twitter put it, reclaiming their nastiness. More on The Washington Post.

Growing Racial Disparities in Student Debt – Graduate enrollment is a worthwhile investment, the study finds, but comes with more financial risk for African-American students both because of their concentration in the for-profit sector and because of lower rates of graduation. More from Inside Higher Ed.

When Colleges Focus On Mastery – Scrap the lecture halls, final exams, degree plans, and traditional semesters. In a growing segment of higher education, students can enroll in a personalized online degree program that allows them to move through lessons as quickly as they can demonstrate mastery of the material. More from The Atlantic.

Report: Biden’s Cancer Moonshot – By leveraging decades of scientific understanding from the study and care of cancer, creating and aggregating immensely powerful datasets, and developing unprecedented science and technological capabilities, we as a Nation are positioned to end cancer as we know it. More on the Moonshot effort.

Obama Tells Trump: Stop ‘Whining’ – President Obama ridiculed Donald J. Trump on Tuesday for saying that the presidential election was rigged against him. More from the New York Times.

Winning the Internet this Week: #TrumpBookReport – People are tweeting Donald Trump’s take on old classics, and it’s wonderful. More from Buzzfeed.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 3 – 7

Posted on October 7, 2016October 7, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

Vast Benefits of Destruction – Donald Trump has not paid taxes for the last 19 years. In 1996, he declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial, it has allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes since. The losses stem from the financial mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his experiment in the airline business, and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. The total losses would wipe out more than $50 million per year in federal taxes since reporting the loss. Read more in The New York Times.

Reshape – Longwood University, which hosted the vice-presidential duel, is restructuring classes with a focus on civics to teach students to be good citizens. Read more in The Atlantic.

Pocket Change? – This week Harvard University announced that its endowment lost $2 billion from investments. While the institution and the endowment continue to flourish (with $35.7 billion), Harvard’s endowment returns have lagged behind all other Ivy League universities, except Cornell. It has caused the university, and the Harvard Investment Company some significant scrutiny into how and what it invests. Read more The Chronicle for Higher Education.

Be a Role Model – Helping teenagers make the transition from high schoolers in their parents’ homes to college students balancing the freedoms of an unchaperoned social life with the load of academic expectations has always been a big job for R. A.s, most of whom are no older than 21 themselves. Added to this are the complications about sex and sexual assault on campus, and the role of the university in prevention, awareness and disciplinary measures. Read more in The New York Times.

Food Wizard – Danny Meyer, who is a restaurant guru on the East Coast (Ed. Note: Shake Shack is AMAZING), is integrating the iWatch into the eating experience. At the reopening of his flagship restaurant Union Square Cafe in NYC, every manager will have an iWatch. When a VIP walks through the front door, someone orders a bottle of wine, a new table is seated, a guest waits too long to order her or his drink, or a menu item runs out, every manager will get an alert via the tiny computer attached to their wrist. Read more in Eater.