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Posted by Jonathan Nurse on August 24, 2009 at 2:17 pm 

SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing its implementation of Section 7009 of the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act. This section of the Act requires that “each institution that applies for financial assistance from the Foundation for science and engineering research or education describe in its grant proposal a plan to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in the proposed research project.”

The new policy will take effect on January 4, 2010. Institutions apply for grants will be required to certify compliance.

Full Federal Register Notice

Posted by Christy Gullion on August 21, 2009 at 9:32 am 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Education (ED) Secretary Arne Duncan joined with Dr. Beth Bell, Deputy Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to announce new guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) to plan for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

The guidance crafted by the scientists and doctors at the CDC is designed to help colleges and universities start planning and acting now for the impact that seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza could have this fall and winter on their students and faculty members, as well as other university employees.  

Government officials are especially concerned about the impact of H1N1 on schools because the virus appears to disproportionately affect young people. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently found that younger Americans, specifically those ages 6 months to 24 years, are one of the top priority groups when it comes to the new H1N1 vaccine.

HHS has created a special toolkit for administrators and students, as well some badges and widgets that can be used on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter

The new guidance suggests that the most important actions institutions can take are: to encourage and facilitate good hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes; to encourage flu vaccination for recommended groups when vaccine becomes available; and to separate sick people from well people as soon as possible.

The Secretaries and the CDC stressed the need for different institutions to tailor the strategies to their own circumstances, based on their location, student population, resources, and information from local health officials about the severity and spread of flu in their area, and encouraged them to partner with local health officials and others in their community to plan for the upcoming flu season.

For the complete H1N1 guidance for higher education institutions and the special H1N1 Higher Education, please visit http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/higheredguidance.html.

The Toolkit is available at http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/higheredtoolkit.html.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on August 20, 2009 at 2:38 pm 

Science Masters’ Program (SMP)

The NSF has announced a funding opportunity for their Science Masters Program (SMP), which is intended to catalyze the creation of institution-based efforts to prepare graduate students for careers in business, industry, nonprofits, and government agencies by providing students with a strong foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, as well as with research experiences, internship experiences, and the skills to succeed in those careers.  The SMP solicitation is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Grant Solicitation

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on August 14, 2009 at 1:51 pm 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issued this week a request for nominations of individuals for appointment to its eight existing Federal Advisory Committees. Several of these boards may be of interest to faculty, including the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) Advisory Board, Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Advisory Board, and Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT). 

Federal Register Call for Nominations 

Posted by Christy Gullion on August 14, 2009 at 6:43 am 

The Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation has established the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) to serve a critical role in focusing on important emerging areas in a timely manner.  The EFRI Office is launching a new funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research.  For this solicitation, they will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two specific research areas: (1) Renewable Energy Storage (RESTOR), and (2) Science in Energy and Environmental Design (SEED): Engineering Sustainable Buildings.  This solicitation will be coordinated with NSF Directorates listed above, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge.  The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

INFORMATION WEBCAST: The EFRI Office plans to hold an information workshop on September17, 2009, to answer any questions about the EFRI Office and this solicitation.  Details will be posted on the EFRI website (www.nsf.gov/eng/efri) as they become available.

Read more.

Posted by Maggie Mount on August 10, 2009 at 2:17 pm 

Both the House and the Senate are in recess until Tuesday, September 8th.

Posted by Christy Gullion on August 7, 2009 at 5:42 am 

After the historic vote to confirm US Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor – and add more funds to the popular “cash for clunkers” program – the Senate went into their August recess period.  The House recessed last week and both will return after Labor Day. 

To date, only four of the twelve FY2010 appropriations bills have been approved by the Senate.  The remaining measures will likely to dominate the Senate’s floor time in September even as they continue negotiations over health care reform and climate legislation.  Senate leaders appear optimistic that they could complete action on four of the eight remaining appropriations bills before the new fiscal year starts October 1st.  

Democratic leaders and appropriators are still hoping to pass all 12 appropriations bills through regular order, avoiding the need for an omnibus.  However, it appears more and more likely that they will need to approve a short-term continuing resolution.  Stay tuned… 

Throughout the August recess period, Senate and House Democratic staff and lawmakers will begin informal conference negotiations on the four spending bills the Senate has passed: Legislative Branch, Homeland Security, Energy and Water, and Agriculture.  The Senate has named conferees for those bills, but the House has not, which is why these discussions remain “informal” at this point. 

Christy Gullion, Director

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on August 5, 2009 at 4:09 pm 

In a memo released this week, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) directed agencies to make research and development a priority when formulating their FY11 budget requests. Specifically, the memo directs agencies to invest in r&d that drive economic growth, promote energy effeciency and improve quality of life.

In late September, the UW Office of Federal Relations will begin planning its advocacy efforts for FY11, additional details on how to participate in the process will be provide to our campuses at that time.

Full OMB Memo

Posted by Maggie Mount on August 5, 2009 at 12:35 pm 

Dr. Samuel Wasser, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology, and a research professor at the UW Department of Biology,  was invited to DC to testify at a hearing on the Global Wildlife Conservation, Coordination and Enhancement Act of 2009.  The hearing was held by the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife on Tuesday, July 28th.  The day prior to his testimony, Dr. Wasser met with staff from the offices of Washington Senators Cantwell and Murray and Representatives Inslee and McDermott to discuss his work.

UW Provost Executive Vice President Phyllis Wise arrived in DC the last week of July to attend meetings at the National Institute of Health.  She also had lunch at the White House with UW’s Paul Miller, who is working as part of the Obama transition team.

Also in DC the last week of July was Ruth Ballweg, Director of MEDEX at the UW.  While here she met with Federal Relations Director Christy Gullion about the Physician’s Assistant program at the UW.

Posted by Christy Gullion on August 5, 2009 at 6:13 am 

The Senate approved their Agriculture spending bill yesterday – the fourth fiscal 2010 spending bill passed by the Senate.  Informal work to begin reconciling the four spending bills passed by both chambers is expected to occur over the August break so that conference reports can be considered in September.  Before leaving last week for its recess, the House reached its goal of passing all 12 spending bills.

Status of Appropriations for FY10.

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