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National Science Foundation Press Release, April 14, 2009

The National Science Board (NSB) today released a draft report, “Building a Sustainable Energy Future,” for public review and comment.  The report calls on the nation to lead the fundamental transformation of the current energy economy from one that is dependent on fossil fuel to one that thrives on sustainable and clean energy. The NSB collaborated with colleagues and stakeholders throughout the federal, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors to address the challenges and opportunities for sustainable energy in the 21st century. The NSB recommends that the U.S. government develop and lead a nationally coordinated research, development demonstration, deployment, and education strategy to advance a sustainable energy economy that is significantly less carbon-intensive.

Complete press release

Complete draft report

The House yesterday passed HR 146, which contains more than 150 measures to designate more than 2 million acres of new wilderness areas, including wild and scenic rivers, historic sites, scenic trails and protected lands.  This should have been a non-controversial bill, but disagreement arose over the issue of gun rights in national parks. 

 The bill contains two measures that affect the state of Washington.  The first measure amends the National Trails System Act to designate the trail extending from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana, to the Pacific Ocean coast in Olympic National Park, Washington, as the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.  The second measure allows Douglas County to purchase land currently owned by the federal government, but they must pay an amount equal to the appraised value of the land.  The proceeds will be deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account and are to be used solely for improving access to public lands in the state of Washington.

 In addition to these measures, there are some interesting “add-ons” to the bill which may affect the university if it is eligible to participate in the research.  Under Section F:  Secure Water, the Secretary of Agriculture is allowed to enter into agreement with any university (among other organizations) to fund research on the conservation, increased efficiency, or enhancement of water management resources, including use of renewable energy in the management and delivery of water.   It also establishes an intragovernmental panel to work with research and nongovernmental organizations on the impact of climate change on the quantity and quality of US water resources.

 Title XII of the bill establishes: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Uundersea Research Program Act of 2009; the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009; and the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009. 

 Title XIV requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop mechanisms to coordinate paralysis research and rehabilitation activities to advance and avoid duplication of such activities.  This is titled the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.

 The bill (H.R. 146) passed by a vote of 285-140 in the House.  The Senate version passed by a vote of 77-20 on March 19.

On March 3rd, the House and Senate judiciary committees introduced bipartisan patent reform legislation. The legislation has been considered by the previous two Congresses with little result to date. The Patent Reform Act of 2009 was introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and by Representatives John Conyers (D-MI) and Lamar Smith (R-TX).

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the measure on March 10; no House Judiciary Committee hearing has been scheduled to date by Chairman Conyers.  

Some initial observations from the Association of American Universities include:  

• The damages language appears to be placeholder language.  It is the language from S. 1145, the bill approved last session by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had little prospect of broad acceptance.
• Inequitable conduct language has been omitted, although Senator Hatch is expected to seek to reinstate language modifying current inequitable conduct provisions.
• The new bill eliminates the requirement that all applications be published 18 months after their effective filing date, a provision recommended by the National Academies and supported by the higher education associations.
• On the issue of post-grant “second window,” the bill adopts the treatment contained in H.R. 1908, the patent reform bill approved by the House last session.  Instead of a post-grant second window, the new bill includes the improved inter partes re-examination procedure of H.R. 1908, which was endorsed by the higher education associations.
• The applicant quality submissions provision, which required mandatory submission by patent applicants of prior art and other material relevant to patentability, has been omitted.  This provision was opposed by virtually all sectors of the patent community.

Press Release

Below, please find individual projects information sheets for the initiatives selected for the UW Fiscal Year 2010 Federal Agenda. The projects identified below combined with a forthcoming set of federal agency/program funding recommendations constitute the University’s primary federal advocacy plan for the coming year.

Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS)

Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI)

Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative (PSERI)

Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center

House of Knowledge

Integrated Transportation Lab and Research Program

UW Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium Training Program

Washington State Biofuels Industry Development

Center of Excellence in Prevention, Diagnosis, Mitigation, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of Hearing Loss and Auditory System Injuries