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News and updates

DoE Opens S&T Awards Nomination Period

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The Department of Energy is now accepting nominations for the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Awards, which are among the longest running and most prestigious science and technology awards given by the U.S. Government. 

The Lawrence Awards honor U.S. scientists and engineers at mid-career for exceptional contributions in research and development supporting the Department of Energy and its mission to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.

The Lawrence Award was established in 1959 by the Atomic Energy Commission and President Dwight D. Eisenhower in honor of the 1939 Nobel Laureate in physics. The first Lawrence Awards were conferred in 1960 and have since been awarded to 209 recipients. 

Eligibility requires that nominees be U.S. citizens in mid-career and show promise for continued exceptional achievements.  Nominations for the 2011 Lawrence Awards must be submitted by January 15, 2011. Please carefully note the revisions and updates to prior announcements. In particular, this announcement includes two new award categories – “Computer, Information, and Knowledge Sciences” and “Energy Science and Innovation” – as well as new category titles and descriptions. The Lawrence Award’s webpage describes the nomination guidelines and process, and all nominations must be made via an electronic submission process. The Department of Energy encourages the nomination of a diverse pool of candidates.

Questions about the E. O. Lawrence award nominations may be addressed to: lawrence.award@science.doe.gov or james.glownia@science.doe.gov.  Dr. Glownia may be reached at (301) 903 2411.

Pell Grant Funding on Post-Election Agenda

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On November 15th, it is expected that Members of Congress will return to DC to address unfinished legislation before adjourning for the year. Several items of note are likely to considered, including additional funding to fill a shortfall in the Pell grant program. The anticipated $5.7 billion shortfall was created by increased student eligibility for the program. Without funds to close the shortfall, 9 million Pell recipients could see a 15% reduction in their awards at the beginning of next school year. However, the popularity of the Pell grant program has many on the Hill expecting the shortfall to be addressed before cuts to student awards are necessitated. What remains uncertain is exactly how and when the problem will be dealt with. Several efforts to fill the hole in the Pell grant program, by attaching provisions to larger pieces of legislation, have come up short this past year.

Aides to the current congressional leadership have indicated a desire to address the Pell grant shortfall during the post-election “lame duck” session. The session is likely to be devoted largely to completing the spending bills for FY11, of which Pell is a component. However, it’s possible that the spending bills could be tabled until a new Congress is seated in January. The House and Senate that begin work in January are likely to be significantly more inclined to hold or reduce spending levels, so the endgame for the FY11 appropriations process and Pell remain far from clear at this time.

Letter to Congress Asks for Increased Spending for NIH

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The Ad-Hoc Group for Medical Research, in collaboration with the Association of American Universities (AAU) drafted a letter to congress, urging them to provide NIH with the proposed $1 billion dollar increase in the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. The increase was proposed by the administration and supported by both the House and Senate Labor-HHS-Ed subcommittees. The letter will be submitted shortly after the November elections and before both spending bills go before the full House and Senate.

Associations Convey FY 12 Higher Ed Priorities to OMB

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This week two higher education associations – the Association of American Universities (AAU), and the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) sent collaborative letters to the Obama Administration asking the White House to make higher education a priority in their FY 12 budget.

The first letter called for the administration to again propose an expanded Perkins Loan Program. The associations also thanked the administration for it’s support of the Pell Grant Program.

The second letter pushes to continue sustained growth for all federal basic research programs. The letter acknowledges the strained federal budget, but states that “steady growth in federally sponsored basic research provides the essential foundation for scientific progress and training and for ensuring our nation’s continued competitiveness.”

Links to the full letters follow:

Basic Research Letter

Student Aid Letter

‘Gathering Storm’ Report Revisited

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Late last week, the National Academies released a follow-on to their widely discussed 2005 report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm.” The new report, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5,” explains that many of the recommendations in the initial assessment have not been addressed. The National Academies press release follows.

Continue reading “‘Gathering Storm’ Report Revisited”