Author Posts Archive:
Sameer Yousuf
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from May 19 to May 23.
Ramping up computing power for climate modeling can help researchers better understand and predict meteorological phenomena around the world, answer policy questions about the impact of climate change, and save lives from natural catastrophes.
Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing pitted environmentalists, corn producers, oil refiners, grocery manufacturers, and renewable fuel advocates against one another in a contentious debate over the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard.
Science Progress tries to make sense of it all. First up, what’s right with the RFS and ways to make it better.
Thousands of scientists, engineers, corporate executives, and college presidents across the country have mobilized in an effort to convince Congress to set aside a small piece of this year’s wartime supplemental funding bill to boost science research funding.
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from May 5 to May 9.
The Environmental Protection Agency continued its fall from grace at a Senate hearing earlier this week that investigated political meddling with the Agency’s toxic chemical policies. But in the midst of a rain of criticism, there were suggestions of future policy that could better allow the EPA to protect citizens from hazardous materials.
The environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanotechnology and potential regulation were the only points of contention at an otherwise congratulatory Senate hearing held to discuss the reauthorization of the $1.5 billion National Nanotechnology Initiative last Thursday.
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from April 28 to May 2.
Are the growing ranks of well-educated and increasingly well-financed scientists in other countries bad for U.S competitiveness and ultimately the economy? In a “post-scientific” society, not necessarily.
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from Apr. 21 to Apr. 25.
From the Chronicle comes news of a study showing some academic scientists may be adding their names as authors to papers authored by corporations. The study—published in the Journal of the American Medical Association—suggest the practice maybe all too common in medical journals.
“In a weak economy, we should be doing everything we can to spur on innovation and the type of family-wage jobs that increased research and development will create,” said Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA) when he introduced legislation that would streamline the R&D tax credit and make it permanent.
From an online survey of Nature readers comes data suggesting that a significant number of scientists and engineers use drugs for the non-medical purpose of increasing productivity and brain power.
What can fiddler crabs and peacocks teach us about defeating Al Qaeda? Plenty, argues Raphael Sagarin, associate director for Ocean and Coastal Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, and editor of the new book, Natural Security: A Darwinian Approach to a Dangerous World.
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has quietly extended the amount of time foreign students in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics are allowed to remain in the U.S. without a work visa after their graduation.
House Representative Tom Allen (D-ME) today introduced H.R. 5682, the Rural America Communication Expansion (RACE) for the Future Act, a push to bring broadband and its economic and social benefits to rural areas across the country.
After three months of declining job numbers and an economy in recession, the National Science Foundation released a series of reports last week indicating a growing supply of scientists and engineers, along with a strong science and engineering job market to take them in.
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from Apr. 7 to Apr. 11.
On Tuesday, a Virginia district court rejected new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rules intended to rein in the current patent application backlog. The ruling comes as a relief to companies involved in technically complex industries, especially biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms.
The Bush administration appeals court ruling on mercury pollution; the EPA faces congressional subpoena in wrangle over emissions regulations; Greenwire profiles CDC whistleblower; Tech companies call for increased H-1B visa cap; Al Gore launches new climate awareness campaign.
Colleges and universities received close to $2.25 billion from Congressional earmarks this year according to a new study released this week by
The Chronicle of Higher Education. A large chunk, $1.6 billion, will go towards scientific research at some 500 institutions.
Education Week released a report today on the state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in U.S. schools.
The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency today announced a $267 million loan to Open Range Communications to bring portable, wireless broadband connectivity to rural areas in 17 states.
A roundup of some of the science and technology policy events happening around Washington D.C. from Mar. 24 to Mar. 28.
The FCC 700 mhz auction ended yesterday, raking in record $19.6 billion for Federal coffers. While the successful sale of the C-block triggers an “open” network provision, questions linger about the unsold D-block license and the future of a national emergency response network.
Scientists at the University of California-Berkeley have developed a “visual decoder” which employes a computational algorithm to identify what someone saw just by examining their brain activity. The success of the study represents an advance in the scientific understanding of how the brain processes images, but could also have potential ramifications for mind-reading technology.
Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates advised Congress to reform both the United States education system and immigration policies during a hearing yesterday honoring the 50th anniversary of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
The President’s plan to slash two highly successful National Institute of Standards and Technology programs drew the ire of Subcommittee members during a hearing on NIST’s FY 2009 budget request yesterday.
Controversy marred a Wednesday hearing on the Department of Energy’s FY2009 budget request for research and development when two DOE undersecretaries invited to testify decided at the last minute to skip the event.
The House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold a hearing tomorrow to discuss President Bush’s Department of Energy research and development budget proposal for fiscal year 2009. The Center for American Progress has taken a closer look at the numbers and has offered a set of recommendations for the DOE and future Federal spending on alternative and renewable energy research.
While patent reform legislation sits in Congress, the biggest hurdle to protecting intellectual property may simply be the lack of satisfied, qualified examiners at the U.S. Patent Office, says a new GAO report.
Members of the House Committee on Science and Technology met the President’s FY2009 budget request for the National Science Foundation with general praise during today’s hearing.
The LA Times has several recent stories on the latest Los Angeles green energy initiatives and contention over a proposed cap-and-trade system for California emissions.
Edward Markey (D-MA) and Chip Pickering (R-MS) introduced the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008″ bill last week, the most recent legislative foray into the “net neutrality” debate. A look at the competing interests.
The improbability of an HIV vaccine, possibilities for improving scientific communication, and cheap laptops all made news at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting held this past weekend in Boston.
Last week, the House authorized funding for a new learning center dedicated to researching and developing innovative digital learning and information technologies for the nation’s education system. The Higher Education authorization bill includes a provision to create the National Center for Learning Science and Technology Trust Fund which will provide public funding for research in educational technology.
Allegations of professional baseball players abusing human growth hormone have raised the profile of this heavily regulated substance. The House on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing yesterday to sift through misinformation on HGH and get the scientific facts.
Market forces alone are not enough to expand the research and innovation initiatives that will drive a competitive U.S. economy. To bolster the economy, science and technology policy must return to the national priority list, said Science Progress advisory board member Tom Kalil, speaking yesterday at the Congressional Intern Caucus “State of the Net” conference.
Business and blogs in the Middle East, Asia and, North Africa ground to a halt after damage to two undersea communications cables in the Mediterranean crippled Internet services. The incident could be a “wake-up call” to a region heavily dependent on underground lines without much of a back-up infrastructure.
Experts testify that auction would foster green job growth, offset higher energy prices for low-income consumers, and fund R&D in alternative energy sources and technology.
President Bush’s “Vision for Space Exploration,” unveiled in 2004, outlined new plans for the country’s space program. Four years later, some in the science and space community feel the current vision is “blurred” and in need of a new “prescription” for the future of science and space exploration in the United States.
Bush exemption for Navy sonar use; farmer loses to Monsanto; SLAC loses to budget; Japan hikes budget for stem cell research; Supreme Court opening arguments for patent case.
A design flaw in the gusset plates joining steel beams may have been the culprit in the I-35 bridge collapse outside of Minneapolis that killed 13 people last August.
Scientists on Capitol Hill; National Science Board reports on the state of U.S. science; interview with the Department of Energy Undersecretary Orbach; risks to U.S. leadership in biotech; Columbia Journalism Reviews announces The Observatory.
India ramps up science and engineering education; the European Commission has more questions for Microsoft; the International Linear Collider may end up in Japan; Supreme Court rules that terminally ill patients do not have a constitutional right to developmental drugs; FCC could have trouble selling all its wireless licenses.
Free Patents? That’s the idea behind an effort to foster the promulgation of eco-friendly technology and spur innovation in the environmental sustainability arena. The “Eco-Patent Commons” initiative, a project of the World Council for Sustainable Development, goes online today, already boasting thirty-one publicly-available patents from electronics giants like IBM, Sony, Nokia, and Pitney Bowes.
Greenland glaciers melting faster than previously thought; new money to fight African Sleeping Sickness; do plastic drinking bottles leech harmful chemicals?
