US LUAApril-May 2011 Archive
5/31/11
AIP FYI #64 – Organizations Urge Congress to make DOE Office of Science a Funding Priority
5/24/11
Densest Matter Created in Big-Bang Machine – National Geographic
5/20/11
Posters for the User Science Exhibition in Washington DC Apr 7 are available:
http://www.nufo.org/facilities/posters.aspx
5/18/11
AAAS Policy Alert
The House Appropriations Committee released its draft 302(b) allocations along with a schedule of subcommittee markups.
http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/?elq=66a736c8bd824ef38aa3aefd79d04986
5/13/11
Understanding the complete meltdown at Fukushima unit 1
http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/05/understanding_the_complete_mel.html
5/13/11
May NUFO News featuring User Science Exhibition on Capitol Hill 7 April
5/12/11
CNN – World’s largest particle accelerator offers window into laws of nature
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/05/11/motherboard.hadron.collider/
5/11/11
AAAS Policy Alert – Budget and other news
http://www.aaas.org/spp/policyalert
5/1/11
Enjoy this dark matter comic by colleagues at UC Irvine – a good outreach tool:
http://amanda.uci.edu/~daniel/comic.html
4/28/11
Boosting luminosity: how to get the most bang for your proton in the LHC – Symmetry
4/27/11
Associate Director of the Office of High Energy Physics Application Deadline Extended
The deadline for applications for the position of Associate Director
of the Office of High Energy Physics in the Department of Energy.s
Office of Science has been extended. Applications will now be
accepted through Tuesday, May 10, 2011. Submissions should be made
through the USAJobs website, a link to which can be found on the HEP
home page (http://science.energy.gov/hep/).
4/27/11
AAAS Policy Alert
AAAS’s preliminary analysis of R&D in the recently enacted FY 2011 continuing resolution indicates that non-defense R&D was spared the worst of the $38.5 billion in cuts.
4/20/11
AAAS Policy Alert
The FY2011 full-year continuing resolution was signed by President Obama on Friday, April 15, six and one-half months after the fiscal year began. It includes $38.5 billion in spending cuts from FY2010 levels. R&D-intensive programs and agencies were spared the worst of the reductions. Basic research programs fared best, while applied research programs, especially at the Department of Energy, did less well, reflecting the current policy debates.
Visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program Website to stay up-to-date on the latest action on the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budgets.
4/15/11
Child Care Grants Available for DPF Meeting Attendees: Apply by July 1
Small grants are available to assist DPF meeting attendees who are
bringing small children or who incur extra expenses in leaving them
at home (i.e., extra daycare or babysitting services). To apply,
please complete the online child care grant application by July 1, 2011:
http://ultron.aps.org/forms/aps.cgi?ID=1055.
4/14/11
Appropriations Update. Budget negotiations came down to the wire last week as a last minute agreement averted a government shutdown.
Visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program Website to stay up-to-date on the latest action on the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budgets, and to register for the annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy, to be held May 5-6 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.
4/12/11
Details of final 2011 Appropriations Bill Emerging – AIP FYI
4/12/11
FY11 Budget Cuts – University of Washington Federal Relations
http://www.washington.edu/federalrelations/
4/12/11
Good News on Science Budgets
From the AAAS web site:
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/04/research-survives-in-2011-budget.html?ref=ra
Whew. That’s what officials at U.S. science agencies and science lobbyists are saying this morning after learning the details of the weekend agreement between the White House and Congress on funding the government for the rest of 2011. The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the measure tomorrow, followed by the Senate on Thursday.
The agreement on a final continuing resolution (CR) for 2011 does take a $38.5 billion cut out of the $1.089 trillion spent in 2010 on discretionary programs across the federal government. That’s an “unprecedented” cut, crows the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Harold Rogers (R-KY).
But it’s also much less than scientists feared when the House passed its version of the CR in February, known as H.R. 1.
“We dodged a bullet,” says Michael Lubell, a lobbyist for the American Physical Society in Washington, D.C. As Rogers’s counterpart, Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), explains in a statement today, “The bill preserved critical programs that were targeted for cuts in H.R. 1, including … vital scientific and medical research.”
For the National Institutes of Health, the final agreement means a cut of roughly 1% from its current $31 billion budget. The National Science Foundation takes a similar 1% hit, to $6.8 billion. Both faced much larger cuts in the House bill.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science really made out well. Instead of a 20% reduction, its $4.9 billion program is reduced by only $35 million. And its fledgling Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy gets an annual appropriation of $180 million, its first, rather than $50 million in the House bill.
4/11/11
APS Forum on International Physics Announcements
The Forum on International Physics of the American Physical Society has the opportunity to nominate candidates to Fellowship in the APS.
All candidates for APS Fellowship should have demonstrated outstanding contributions to physics. Those nominated by the FIP should, in addition, have also shown significant contributions in the advancement of physics between different countries and communities from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is important that such contributions other than routine scientific collaborations are well documented in the nominating materials.
This is a great opportunity to recognize your colleagues whose devotion to the advancement of physics crosses the frontier of science, contributing to further understanding between nations. Any member of FIP can submit a nomination and, therefore, we urge you to nominate fellow physicists of any nationality who fit this profile.
Instructions for nominations can be found at:
http://aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/index.cfm
Please note that the FIP DEADLINE FOR FELLOWSHIP NOMINATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED to MAY 15, 2011.
4/8/11
Hadron 2011 June 13-17 in Munich – Abstracts due April 26
The XIV International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy (Hadron 2011) will be held at the Münchner Künstlerhaus in Munich, Germany from June 13th to June 17th, 2011. It is the 14th in a series of biennial conferences.
The aim of the International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy is to review the status and progress in hadron spectroscopy and the related aspects of hadron dynamics.
In order to apply for an oral presentation in one of the topical sessions, please submit a title and an abstract through the registration web page on the conference home page. The deadline for abstract submission is April 26th, 2011.
4/8/11
Invitation to join the APS Forum on International Physics
The Forum on International Physics of the American Physical Society has the opportunity to nominate candidates to Fellowship in the APS.
All candidates for APS Fellowship should have demonstrated outstanding contributions to physics. Those nominated by the FIP should, in addition, have also shown significant contributions in the advancement of physics between different countries and communities from diverse cultural backgrounds. It is important that such contributions other than routine scientific collaborations are well documented in the nominating materials.
This is a great opportunity to recognize your colleagues whose devotion to the advancement of physics crosses the frontier of science, contributing to further understanding between nations. Any member of FIP can submit a nomination and, therefore, we urge you to nominate fellow physicists of any nationality who fit this profile.
Instructions for nominations can be found at:
http://aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/index.cfm
Please note that the FIP DEADLINE FOR FELLOWSHIP NOMINATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED to MAY 15, 2011.
4/8/11
Hadron 2011 June 13-17 in Munich – Abstracts due April 26
The XIV International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy (Hadron 2011) will be held at the Münchner Künstlerhaus in Munich, Germany from June 13th to June 17th, 2011. It is the 14th in a series of biennial conferences.
The aim of the International Conference on Hadron Spectroscopy is to review the status and progress in hadron spectroscopy and the related aspects of hadron dynamics.
In order to apply for an oral presentation in one of the topical sessions, please submit a title and an abstract through the registration web page on the conference home page. The deadline for abstract submission is April 26th, 2011.
4/8/11
Invitation to join the APS Forum on International Physics
If you are a member of the American Physical Society, I’d like to invite you to join the Forum on International Physics (FIP). We deal with a wide range of international issues of interest to the LHC community, covering everything from international collaboration to equal opportunity and human rights, and electronic access to APS meetings. Working with the APS Office of International Affairs, and other units including DPF and the Forum on Physics and Society, we have been working to increase opportunities for APS members working or living overseas to attend meetings, collaborate with colleagues in the US and abroad.
More information on FIP is available at http://www.aps.org/units/fip/index.cfm, including how to join online. Remember that the first two forums are free, that each additional one is $ 8 per year, and there is an online discount for joining.
You can get a feeling for the activities of the Forum by having a look at our March 2011 Newsletter
http://www.aps.org/units/fip/newsletters/201103/index.cfm (the next issue will come out this Fall).
Forum on International Physics
The Forum on International Physics is a voluntary association of APS members who are interested in advancing the knowledge of physics and its diffusion by fostering cooperation and communication among physicists of all countries. The FIP organizes focused sessions at APS meetings, receives nominations for APS fellowships and the Wheatley Award, and communicates with its members via this page and a periodic Newsletter. The FIP also cooperates with several other APS bodies in charge of international scientific affairs. But the unique strength of the FIP lies in the openness of its agenda, which reflects the grass-roots origin of this Forum. Programs such as international book exchanges, equipment exchanges, travel grants, etc. have been established in the past as a result of individual initiatives of FIP members. So if you feel that something is missing in the area of international scientific cooperation, join the FIP and make it happen! And if you are already a member of the FIP, share the excitement with your colleagues and help us recruit even more volunteers!
4/6/11
AAAS Policy Alert
Budget News
Appropriations Update
The current continuing resolution (CR) expires at the end of this week, April 8, and Congress is moving slowly toward a compromise for FY 2011 funding. Although the two sides appear to have tentatively agreed on an overall figure for total discretionary spending ($1.055 trillion) that is $33 billion less than current spending levels, there seems to be no clear consensus on what specific cuts to make to get to that spending level. In addition, there are a number of contentious policy issues that House Republicans would like to address in the resulting spending bill that have yet to be worked out, including funding for implementing the health care and financial reform bills and EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. There is little support for yet another short-term CR unless it were to be for just a couple of days to finalize an agreement. This leaves negotiators only a few more days to reach a compromise and prevent a government shutdown.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) releases his FY 2012 budget proposal on April 5. Over the past weekend, he revealed that his budget plan will cut $4 trillion in spending over the next 10 years and include both tax and entitlement reform. The plan will propose lower tax rates, but with a broader tax base (by eliminating some special-interest tax breaks) to maintain current revenue levels. Medicare and Medicaid reform will be included in the plan, with proposals to transition Medicare to a voucher system to allow seniors to choose between a variety of private insurance plans, and to change Medicaid to a block-grant system to give states more flexibility in how they utilize those funds. Although certain to attract considerable controversy, the proposal will likely serve as a counter marker to the Administration’s FY 2012 budget proposals as Congress considers appropriations for the coming year.
AAAS to Hold Congressional Briefing on R&D Budget. On April 7 the AAAS Office of Government Relations will host a congressional briefing on the “Outlook for Federal Research and Development.” The briefing, to be held the day before the current CR is set to expire, is organized in conjunction with the House Research and Development Caucus.
University and Industry Leaders Call for Entitlement Reform. Last week the presidents of the Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, National Academy of Engineering, Council on Competitiveness, Business Roundtable, and retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine sent a letter to the President and congressional leaders, stating that reducing the national debt cannot focus solely in decreasing discretionary spending and that national leaders should attend to entitlement reform as a critical element for reducing the deficit.
Visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program Website to stay up-to-date on the latest action on the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budgets, and to register for the annual AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy, May 5-6 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC.