AIBS News April 2010

• AIBS Comments on Federal K–12 Science Education Policy

  Among the priorities for the House Committee on Science and Technology during the final session of the 111th Congress is reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act (Public Law 110-69; Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science). Enacted in 2007, this law authorizes programs and funding levels for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and NASA. Title VI of the law addresses science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.

  As the committee and science stakeholders review and consider the next version of the America COMPETES Act, AIBS provided several suggestions for how the science education provisions might be reshaped to better leverage limited federal resources while also developing resources and educators prepared to help students learn about 21st-century science.

  You can read AIBS's complete statement here.

• AIBS, ESA Review Federal R&D Priorities

  AIBS Director of Public Policy Robert Gropp and Ecological Society of America Director of Public Affairs Nadine Lymn have teamed again to conduct an analysis of the administration's fiscal year 2011 budget request for the nonmedical life sciences. The analysis will appear as a chapter in a forthcoming report of the Intersociety Working Group, and will be published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

• Policy Office Publication Helps Biologists Follow the Money

  This year, the AIBS Public Policy Office produced a new document, The President's FY 2011 Budget for Biological Sciences Research. The report gives biologists a snapshot of the president's proposed fiscal year 2011 investments in key federal extramural and intramural research programs. The nine-page document provides a summary and analysis of the budgets for the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, US Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service, and US Geological Survey. The complete report is available here.

  The Public Policy Office also provides news and analysis of the federal budget and appropriations process in its biweekly public policy reports. To receive this free resource, visit www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports/.

• AIBS Comments on Open Access to Scientific Publications

  In January, AIBS responded to a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) request for information about public access to scientific publications. Among AIBS's recommendations to the OSTP were that (a) the process be extended to allow all stakeholders time to consider the findings of the recently released Report and Recommendations from the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable, (b) any policymaking process related to public access to scientific literature be decoupled from White House transparency initiatives, and (c) the OSTP should work with the scholarly publishing community to foster innovation without imposing artificial and potentially damaging open-access mandates.

  To read the complete text of the AIBS comments to the OSTP, please visit www.aibs.org/position-statements/20100120_aibs_submits_co.html.

• 2009 AIBS Public Policy Office Annual Report Available Online

  The AIBS Public Policy Office is pleased to announce that its annual report for 2009 is now available online. This concise document summarizes the office's many accomplishments from 2009 and outlines the work ahead for 2010. To read this document, please go to www.aibs.org/public-policy/annual_reports.html.

• Public Policy Office Hosts Student Intern

  The AIBS Public Policy Office will host a student intern this spring. Maretta Fan is an honors student and senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. Fan is participating in the school's science policy program. During her six-week internship, Maretta will gain first-hand policy experience at AIBS by assisting with research, preparing policy documents, and attending congressional hearings.

• New Online Group for Natural Science Collections Leaders

  AIBS public policy director Robert Gropp recently launched a new online group to encourage networking among natural science collections professionals. This group gives leaders from natural science collections across the nation the opportunity to identify and discuss common public policy issues and other challenges facing natural science collections professionals. To join this group, first join LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com); there is no cost for creating a profile on this site. Once you have registered, simply search the groups function for "Natural Science Collections Leadership." Membership in this group is limited to natural science collections professionals, but there is no cost to join or participate.

• Apply Now for Cyberlearning at Community Colleges Project Workshop

  The first Cyberlearning at Community Colleges (C3) Project Workshop will take place on Thursday, 20 May 2010, in San Diego. The C3 Workshop will be in held in conjunction with the American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators.

  The C3 Project is an effort funded by the National Science Foundation to explore the integration of digital library materials, networked computing and communications technologies, and e-science resources into biology education. This full-day professional development workshop is designed for community college biology faculty. Participants will gain experience using innovative teaching approaches that take advantage of free online resources for teaching and learning.

• Recent Articles Online at www.actionbioscience.org

  Original article in English
  

  
  
  • "Seawater Desalination: Panacea or Hype?" In this article, Heather Cooley, senior research associate with the Pacific Institute's Water Program, examines whether seawater desalination is the ultimate solution to our water problems, or if it is likely to be a piece of our water management puzzle. Read the article.
  
  

  "Technology: An Educational Issue" blog posts
  This blog about issues in educational technology discusses ways to learn and teach the biological sciences using technology. Visit it at http://teachissues.blogspot.com. Recent posts and discussions include
  

  
  
  • AIBS Webinar series
  
  
  • Citing electronic resources
  
  

  Spanish translations of previously posted articles
  

  
  
  • "Los Arrecifes de Coral Bajo Presión" [Coral Reefs Under Stress], by Peter J. Mumby and Rosanna Griffith-Mumby, of the University of Exeter, United Kingdom. The authors illustrate how coral reefs provide many important ecosystem services and give examples of the effects of climate change and ocean acidification on the reefs. Read this article in Spanish or in English.
  
  
  • "La Ingeniería Genética y el Xenotrasplante" [Genetic Engineering and Xenotransplantation], by Shane Grey, of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney Australia. Grey explains why xenotransplantation, or the transplanting of organs and tissues from other species to humans, offers hope to people with type I diabetes. Read this article in Spanish.
  
  

• Recent Public Policy Reports Online at www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports

  Public Policy Report for 16 February 2010

  • New AIBS report reviews president's FY 2011 budget for biology. The AIBS Public Policy Office prepared a new report that analyzes the president's fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget request for biological and environmental science. This initial analysis provides key details that will be useful in the coming months as Congress works to develop the FY 2011 appropriations legislation that will ultimately fund scientific research next year.
  • Director of the National Science Foundation to retire. Arden L. Bement will retire at the end of May to lead Purdue University's new Global Policy Research Institute. Bement has served as director of the National Science Foundation since 2003.
  • NOAA creates one-stop shop for climate data. NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) launched a new online portal for climate information and predictions. Climate.gov will serve as "a single point-of-entry for NOAA's climate information, data, products and services," according to the agency. The Web site is designed to address the needs of decisionmakers, scientists, educators, business users, and the public by providing climate forecasts to data end-users, such as natural resource managers, water utilities, and state governments.

  Public Policy Report for 1 February 2010

  • Science funding up in the president's FY 2011 budget. President Obama released his $3.8-trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 on 1 February 2010. Despite the president's promise to freeze nonmilitary discretionary funding at FY 2010 levels, most federal science agencies could receive a spending boost next year. Overall, federal investments in research and development would increase by 6.4 percent to more than $61 billion under the president's budget.
  • Attention graduate students: Deadline approaching for 2010 EPPLA applications. AIBS is now accepting applications for the 2010 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA). This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who have demonstrated initiative and leadership in science and science policy. To learn more about the application process and the award, click here.
  • AIBS comments on public access to scientific literature. On 20 January 2010, AIBS submitted comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy regarding public access to scientific publications. AIBS drew attention to recommendations from a recent report commissioned by the House Committee on Science and Technology, Report and Recommendations from the Scholarly Publishing Roundtable, which called for flexibility in the public access policy.

• AIBS eNewsletter, April 2010

  Click here to view now.

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