On February 15, the House Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing to explore how participation in mentoring, training, and apprenticeship opportunities impact science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and workforce development. In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX-21) emphasized the increasing STEM workforce demand and importance to the nation’s economic prosperity.
On February 13, the House passed five bipartisan bills to more equitably allocate National Science Foundation (NSF) research funding towards early childhood studies and to support research facilities and programs at Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories.
On January 30, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing to discuss the implementation of the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA). The AICA reauthorized and updated policies at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and other federal science agencies.
According to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Science and Engineering Indicators 2018 report released on January 18, the U.S. is currently the global leader in science and technology (S&T), though our nation’s share of global S&T activities is declining as others continue to rise. This year’s report indicates that the U.S. invests the most in research and development (R&D), attracts the highest venture capital, awards the most advanced degrees, and is the largest producer in high-technology manufacturing sectors. However, U.S. leadership in the global science and engineering landscape is being challenged by rapidly developing nations, particularly China.
Sally Jewell, the conservationist, petroleum engineer, former President and CEO of Recreational Equipment, Incorporated (REI), and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, will serve as a major national spokesperson for the American Geosciences Institute (AGI). The Institute has named Jewell as its Earth Science Education Ambassador; Jewell will highlight the need for strong Earth science instruction throughout K-12 education and will be the principal spokesperson for Earth Science Week 2018 (October 14-20), which will focus on the theme "Earth as Inspiration."
On Monday, December 18, a day that was informally declared “Science Day in Congress”, the House considered three bipartisan pieces of legislation that support careers and education in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
On November 16, the House of Representatives passed H.R.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, introduced by Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX-8). Generally, the bill restructures the tax code with fewer tax brackets and repeals or modifies a number of provisions. The House bill would repeal Sec. 117(d)(5) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, which allows for the tax exemption of tuition waivers for graduate students serving as teaching and research assistants. If the provision was to become law, student taxable income would include both the graduate assistant stipend and the value of the tuition waiver.
The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is excited to announce its participation in the National Science Foundation's Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity (GOLD) program. Five projects were funded through the GOLD solicitation, which "seeks to cultivate a new generation of leaders within the geosciences research and education communities who have the passion, the knowledge, the skills, and the tools to catalyze high-impact efforts to broaden participation of traditionally underrepresented minorities in the geosciences education pipeline and workforce."
The American Geosciences Institute is excited to welcome Pranoti M. Asher, Ph.D., from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) as its first Member Society Scholar-in-Residence. As the Scholar-in-Residence, Asher will continue her current work with AGU while sharing her talents with AGI staff and advancing programs that support geoscience students and the broader community.
Fresh from the Move Mining Competition earlier this year, Jules and Ryan Miles, who pitched a children's book as a way to transform the face of mining in society, completed the work and had it published.