Capitol Hill Quarterlyw w w . a p s . o r g / p u b l i c a t i o n s / c a p i t o l h i l l q u a r t e r l y / i n d e x . c f m F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 8 , N O . 1

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On the Back PageU.S. Rep. Lamar Smith

discusses the role of S & T in America’s future.

Capitol Hill Quarterly is a publication of the American Physical Society, www.aps.org. APS is a non-partisan, professional society of physicists with more than 50,000 members.

Congressman Randy Hultgren (IL-14) recently announced the formation of the House Science & National Labs Caucus. Hultgren is joined on the caucus by Con-gressmen Chaka Fattah (D-PA-02); Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM-03); and Alan Nunnelee (R-MS-01) all of whom will serve as co-chairs of the new group, with other members of the 113th Congress expected to join this year.

The new caucus will con-centrate on reinforcing federal investment in research and the national laboratories, as well as raise awareness about the role laboratories play in long-term economic growth.

“These laboratories, much like the rest of the economy, deserve certainty from the government so they can continue their important work with confidence,” Hultgren said.

Congressman Hultgren, named

Hultgren Announces House Science & National Labs Caucus

By Michael S. LubellFollowing a last-minute deal to

avert the “fiscal cliff,” sequestra-tion is off the Washington agenda, at least for a while. But as March approaches, discretionary spend-ing will come under increasing scrutiny. Therefore, it will be im-portant for physicists to empha-size the historic role science and technology have played in spur-ring economic growth.

The path to deficit reduction, which polls have shown the pub-lic supports, ultimately lies in growing the economy. And as the Simpson-Bowles Commission noted, federal investments in sci-ence and education are essential for achieving that goal.

If the recent fiscal cliffhanger has any messages for Washington watchers, it is these.

Sequestration Averted - For Now

President Obama recently named 12 eminent researchers as recipients of the National Medal of Science and 11 extraordinary inventors as recipients of the Na-tional Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honors bestowed by the United States Government upon scientists, en-gineers, and inventors.

“I am proud to honor these inspiring American innovators,” President Obama said. “They rep-resent the ingenuity and imagina-tion that has long made this Na-tion great—and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these cre-ative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial environment.”

The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. Awarded annually, the medal recognizes individu-als who have made outstanding contributions to science and engi-neering. A committee of presiden-tial appointees selects nominees on the basis of their extraordinary knowledge in and contributions to chemistry, engineering, comput-ing, mathematics, or the biologi-cal, behavioral/social, and physi-cal sciences.

The National Medal of Tech-nology and Innovation was cre-ated by statute in 1980 and is ad-ministered for the White House

by the U.S. Department of Com-merce’s Patent and Trademark Of-fice. The award recognizes those who have made lasting contribu-tions to America’s competitive-ness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation’s techno-

President Obama Honors Nation’s Top Scientists and Innovators

Sequestration Would Harm Our Future and Nation’s Economic Growth

Six APS Fellows Among National Medal of Science and Technology Awardees

By Tawanda W. Johnson Science and engineering stu-

dents recently hand-delivered a petition to the local offices of all U.S. senators and House leaders, requesting that sequestration be halted because it would harm their future as innovators and hurt eco-nomic growth in the United States. The students represent numerous scientific societies across the Unit-ed States, including the American Physical Society.

Mandatory cuts to federal fund-ing as outlined in the Budget Con-trol Act, were scheduled to take place in early January. But under the fiscal deal that was struck be-tween Congress and the president, across-the-board budget cuts to non-defense discretionary funding fell from 8.2 percent to 5.9 percent due to an agreement on taxation. The percentage cut on defense dis-cretionary funding fell from 9.4 percent to 7.3 percent.

Sequestration is now set to hap-pen in March, unless Congress acts. The cuts would harm budgets at key science agencies focused on research that could lead to advanc-es in energy, national security and health care.

About 6,200 students signed the

petition and mobilized across all 50 states to ensure the hand-delivery of the document to senators and U.S. House leaders. It states that while Americans must tighten their financial belts, they should not compromise future prosperity. It further urges Congress to find a re-sponsible path toward reducing the deficit as noted by the Simpson-Bowles Deficit Reduction Com-mittee. “We urge you to resume consideration of a comprehensive deficit reduction plan that not only ensures fiscal stability but also sus-tains the scientific and technologi-cal enterprise that is responsible for 70 percent of modern economic growth…As future leaders in sci-ence, technology, engineering and mathematics, we will be the ones to build a better America, but we

cannot begin that journey without the necessary training or future job prospects,” states the petition.

Adds John Mergo, a physics graduate student at Cornell Uni-versity and initiator of the petition, “If you want future growth for the economy, then you should not cut federal funding for science, which has contributed to more than half of U.S. economic growth since World War II. In addition, we want to continue to attract the best and brightest scientists to the Unit-ed States. The transformational breakthroughs that have improved our lives won’t continue if young scientists leave the country and start their labs overseas.”

Wesleyan University student Guy Geyer (right) delivers a petition urging Congress to stop sequestration to Frank Rowe, a staffer in the Hartford, Connecticut, office of U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman.

earlier this year as the Science Coalition’s Champion of Sci-ence, also represents Fermi Na-tional Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill. Fermilab has long been at the cutting edge of phys-ics research, but also serves the community through outreach, teaching, and technological ad-vancement.

“National labs do much more than research,” Hultgren said. “Their reach can be seen in all sectors of the economy, and they help make America the most eco-nomically competitive country in the world.

“Congressmen Fattah, Lujan and Nunnelee understand the importance of this federal invest-ment, and I am thankful for their leadership on this critically im-portant issue.”

(Released by Congressman Hultgren’s Office on Dec. 7, 2012)

Science and Engineering Students Hand-Deliver Message to U.S. House Leaders and Senators in Local Offices:

Congressman Randy Hultgren

Sylvester James Gates

Art Rosenfeld

John Goodenough

Sidney Drell*

Graph by Tyler Glembo/APS

• First, ideological polariza-tion will likely make cutting any deals extremely difficult until the last minute.

• Second, increased revenues from higher tax rates, having been incorporated into the Jan. 1 legislation, will not be part of the near-term debate.

• Third, reductions in entitle-ment spending will be dif-ficult to achieve, at least for now, given significant Demo-cratic opposition.

• Lastly and most importantly, physicists must be ready with the message that sci-ence and technology have paid huge economic divi-dends for our nation, provid-ing the foundation for inno-vation, new industries and jobs for Americans.

logical workforce. Nominees are selected by a distinguished inde-pendent committee representing the private and public sectors.

Recipients who are APS Fel-lows are listed below.

National Medal of ScienceSidney Drell,Stanford University, CASylvester James Gates, Uni-versity of Maryland, MDJohn Goodenough, University of Texas at Austin, TXNational Medal of Technology

and InnovationArt Rosenfeld, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA Team:Rangaswamy Srinivasan, IBM Corporation, NYJames Wynne, IBM Corpora-tion, NY (both are pictured on page 3 next to the president)

(Released by The White House on Dec. 21, 2012).

“If you want future growth for the economy, then you should not cut federal funding for science...”

John Mergo, Cornell University Student

125.0

130.0

135.0

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145.0

150.0

155.0

160.0

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013**

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** 2013 estimate assuming sequester

5 Year U.S. Federal Investment in R&D

**2013 estimate assuming sequester

*Drell photo by Ryan K. Morris/National Science & Technology Medals Foundation

2 February 2013 APS Capitol Hill Quarterly

APS Members in the Media What’s New in Innovation?

APS Physics Capitol Hill Quarterly is published four times yearly by the Washington Office of the American Physical Society (APS). It contains news of the Society and of physics relevant to Capitol Hill as well as opinions. The APS Headquarters is located at One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844. Phone: (301) 209-3200.

APS COUNCIL 2013

PresidentMichael S. Turner*, University of Chicago

President-Elect Malcolm R. Beasley*, Stanford University

Vice PresidentSamuel Aronson*, Brookhaven National Labora-tory (Retired)

Executive OfficerKate P. Kirby*, Harvard Smithsonian (retired)

Treasurer/PublisherJoseph W. Serene*, Georgetown University (Emeritus)

Editor-in-ChiefGene D. Sprouse*, Stony Brook University (on leave)

Past-PresidentRobert L. Byer*, Stanford University

General CouncillorsHaiyan Gao*, Marcelo Gleiser, Marta Dark McNeese, Pierre Meystre*, Warren Mori, Keivan G. Stassun

International CouncillorsMarcia Barbosa, Annick Suzor-Weiner

Chair, Nominating CommitteeSally Dawson

Chair, Panel on Public AffairsRob Rosner Division, Forum and Section CouncilorsNeil Cornish* (Astrophysics), Thomas Gallagher (Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics), Jose Onuchic (Biological), TBA (Chemical), Francis

Hellman (Condensed Matter Physics), Steven Gottlieb (Computational), James Wallace (Fluid Dynamics), TBA (Forum on Education), Eric Sorte, (Forum on Graduate Student Affairs), Michael Riordan (Forum on History of Physics), Gregory Meisner (Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics), Herman Winick* (Forum on International Physics), Lowell Brown (Forum on Physics and Society), Anthony Johnson* (Laser Science), TBA (Materials), David McIntyre (Northwest Section), Wick Haxton* (Nuclear), Marjorie Corcoran* (Particles & Fields), John Galayda (Physics of Beams), Vincent Chan* (Plasma), TBA (Polymer Physics), Nan Phiney (California Section) ADVISORSRepresentatives from other SocietiesFred Dylla, AIP; Gay Stewart, AAPT

International AdvisorGabor Kunstatter, Canadian Association of Physicists

Staff RepresentativesAlan Chodos, Associate Executive Officer; Amy Flatten Director of International Affairs; Terri Gaier, Director of Meetings, Ted Hodapp, Direc-tor of Education and Diversity; Trish Lettieri, Director of Membership, Darlene Logan, Director of Development, Michael Lubell, Director, Public Affairs; Dan Kulp, Editorial Director; Christine Giaccone, Director, Journal Operations; Michael Stephens, Controller and Assistant Treasurer

Administrator for Governing CommitteesKen Cole

* Members of the APS Executive Board

FEBRUARY 2013 • Series 3, Vol. 8, No. 1 • © 2013 The American Physical Society

Capitol Hill Quarterly

APS Washington, D.C. Office 529 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20045Email: opa@aps.org Telephone: 202-662-8700 Fax: 202-662-8711

College Park, MDEditor Alan Chodos Staff Science Writer Michael LucibellaArt Director/Special Publications Manager Kerry G. Johnson Design and Production Nancy Bennett-Karasik

Washington, D.C. Director of Public Affairs Michael LubellAssociate Director of Public Affairs Francis SlakeySenior Government Relations Specialist Jodi Lieberman Office Manager & POPA Studies Administration Specialist Jeanette RussoPress Secretary Tawanda W. JohnsonGovernment Relations Specialist Tyler Glembo

The Denver Post

National Public Radio

The Chicago Tribune

The Washington Post

The Los Angeles Times

The Houston Chronicle

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Just One Word—PlasticsA ‘universal’ plastic coating could lead to lower cost, more flexible electronic devices.Using polymers to develop new low work func-

tion materials, Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) researchers created the first completely plastic solar cell, where not just the cell itself but also its electrodes are made of plastic.

Science fiction writers give us a creative peek into thinking beyond the boundaries of our current ideas of technology. But as we all know, with the passage of time, some imagined science fiction possibilities also occasionally have a way of be-coming realities.

One recent innovation to cross the border from science fiction to science fact is the idea of printed electronics that could result eventually in paper-thin computers, cell phones, and televisions. Similar in principle to the operation of a standard inkjet printer or the screen-printing of a t-shirt, the printed electronics process deposits functional elec-tronic or optical inks on a surface in layers to pro-duce an electronic device.

Just as the Gutenberg printing press flung open the door making books much more accessible, printed electronics may someday make a range of technologies, including large solar cells, affordable and widely available.

While products such as organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics are being manu-factured as printed electronics through this meth-od, plenty of other possible uses are waiting in the wings, mainly because key technological hurdles remain unresolved. Work funded partly by the Center for Interface Science: Solar Electric Mate-rials (CISSEM) is opening up significant new ave-nues for electronic printing and is addressing these roadblocks. CISSEM—one of 46 EFRCs estab-lished by the DOE Office of Science in 2009—is led by the University of Arizona with the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Princeton University, the University of Washington, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as partners.

A team of CISSEM senior researchers at Geor-gia Tech and Princeton led by Professor Bernard Kippelen focused on the major sticking point of optoelectronic devices (electronic devices that con-vert electricity to light or vice versa): the need for an electrode or conductor with both a low “work function” and good air stability. While developing new low work function materials, the researchers hit on a major “first”: the creation of the world’s first completely plastic solar cell.

Work function is defined as the minimal amount of energy needed for an electron to be extracted from a material. In a solar cell, photons of light striking the cell create electrons and positively charged “holes” that move inside the solar cell and

are extracted by different electrodes to produce electricity. High work function electrodes are re-quired to extract holes while low work function electrodes collect electrons. The lower the work function of the electron-collecting electrode, the higher the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell will be.

A number of low work function metals already exist, including calcium, magnesium, lithium, and cesium. The problem is that when exposed to mois-ture and oxygen, these chemically reactive metals quickly become oxidized and stop functioning. To use these metals in today’s electronics, devices are

built in laboratories where the environment is tightly controlled, reducing the chance for water and/or oxygen exposure. Then for long-term protection, the device is covered with a thick, rigid barrier such as glass. All these mea-sures increase the cost, weight, and complexity of a device.

To get around the oxi-dation problem, research-ers at Georgia Tech and Princeton tried a different

approach. Some metals, such as aluminum and gold, are stable in oxygen and water but have a high work function. To lower the work function of these materials, the researchers applied a thin coat-ing (approximately a few nanometer thick—10,000 times thinner than a human hair) of a polymer sur-face modifier.

Polymer surface modifiers do what their name implies—they alter the surface of whatever they cover, just as a Teflon coating makes frying pans non-stick. While the polymer coating approach has been used before, previous polymer surface modi-fiers were linked to the electrode surface through specific chemical interactions, making them feasi-ble only for particular material combinations. With the current investigation, the researchers wanted something that would be applicable to a wide range of materials.

They settled on using an air-stable, water-based solution processed, commercially available poly-ethylenimine (PEI or PEIE) polymer, used for capturing carbon dioxide or used in biology for gene delivery. PEI “physisorbs,” meaning it physi-cally adsorbs, sticks to a wide range of different materials, including metals, graphene, and even other polymers. By applying this polymer surface modifier, the scientists changed the stable, yet high work function conductor into an efficient, low work function electrode.

“These polymers are inexpensive, environmen-tally friendly, and compatible with existent roll-to-roll mass production techniques,” said Bernard

Using polymers to develop new low work func-tion materials, EFRC researchers created the first completely plastic solar cell, where not just the cell itself but also its electrodes are made of plastic.

“It looks like a Higgs; it quacks like a Higgs; but we need DNA tests (more data) to make sure it is the Higgs… For now, it is time to celebrate a little and spike the ball in the end zone.”

Michael Turner (IL-1st), University of Chicago, The Washington Post, July 4 2012.

“For years, the United States has built itself with talented indi-viduals from abroad. At the same time, many of our young people are not so interested in science and engineering. A number of us who came of age in the post-Sput-nik and post-Apollo era are reach-ing retirement age. Something like 40 percent of the PhDs in sci-ence and engineering we turn out every year are born abroad. But we don’t make it so easy to stay here anymore. And the world has changed. Many of the opportuni-ties are now in their home coun-tries. We also need to look at our domestic talent. Women, under-represented minorities and boys, too. This is a quiet crisis. People don’t pay attention until it creeps up on us. It can’t be fixed over-night. It takes decades to fix.”

Shirley Ann Jackson (NY-20th), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, The Houston Chronicle, October 16, 2012.

“Well, what’s at stake for sci-ence is also what is at stake for the nation. If we go off the fis-cal cliff, and I’m not sure that’s the right term for it, but if we go off the fiscal slope, several things are going to happen. Number one, the economy is likely to contract. That means that fed-eral revenues will decline, and that means there’ll be less money available to spend on a variety of programs, including science.”

Michael Lubell (NY-13th), APS, National Public Radio, No-vember 9, 2012.

“At this point, I wouldn’t rec-ommend anyone buy stock in a quantum computing company… but we’re optimistic that as the technology improves over the years, this quantum computer will bring unique capabilities to computing.”

David Wineland (CO-2nd), NIST, on the future of quantum computing,commenting on win-ning a share of the Nobel Prize, The Denver Post, October 10, 2012.

“I attribute essentially all my success to the very large amount of chocolate that I consume… Personally I feel that milk choco-late makes you stupid…Now dark chocolate is the way to go. It’s one thing if you want like a medicine or chemistry No-bel Prize, OK, but if you want a physics Nobel Prize it pretty much has got to be dark choco-late.”

Eric Cornell (CO-2nd), Uni-versity of Colorado, The Chicago Tribune, October 10, 2012.

“The Higgs particle arises from a field pervading space, known as the Higgs field…Ev-erything in the known universe, as it travels through space, moves through the Higgs field; it’s always there lurking invis-ibly in the background.”

Sean Carroll (CA-27th), Caltech, quoted from his new book, “The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World,” The Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2012.

PLASTICS continued on page 3

APS Capitol Hill Quarterly February 2013 3TM

Kippelen, CISSEM senior inves-tigator and director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Organic Photon-ics and Electronics. “Replacing the reactive metals with stable conduc-tors, including conducting poly-mers, completely changes the re-quirements of how electronics are manufactured and protected. Their use could pave the way for lower cost and more flexible devices.”

While this broadly applicable electronic printing technique rep-resents an important advance and has the potential to lower consid-erably the financial and environ-mental costs of manufacturing low work function metal electrodes, there is still much work to be

done. Preliminary tests looking at the long-term stability and device lifespan are promising. Future research will test the electrodes’ capacity to last the lifetime of a commercial product in real-life conditions. Also to be examined is precisely how the technique might eventually be scaled up for mass production.

Story by Dawn Adin, of the DOE Office of Science, Dawn.Adin@science.doe.gov. Reprinted with permission by the U.S. De-partment of Energy Office of Sci-ence. To read the entire article, go to: http://science.energy.gov/discovery-and-innovation/sto-ries/2012/127033/.

PLASTICS continued from page 2

Foster Victory Adds 2nd Physicist to CongressPhysicist Bill Foster recently

regained an Illinois Congressional seat after being defeated in 2010. The Democrat joins Rush Holt (D-N.J.), thereby doubling the number of physicists in Congress. He unseated Republican Judy Biggert, who had been a member of Congress for 14 years, serving all of her time as a staunch advocate for science on the House Science Committee.

Foster started as a researcher at Fermilab in 1984. He was part of the team that wrote the software for the Collider De-tector at Fermilab collaboration that discovered the top quark in 1995. He also helped design and manage the construction of the Tevatron’s recycler ring.

Foster was first elected to the Illinois 14th Congressional dis-trict in a special election in 2008 after former house speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) stepped down. The district encompassed the cities of Aurora and Batavia, home to many of the physicists who work at nearby Fermilab.

In 2010, Foster lost his seat to Randy Hultgren as part of the Re-

publican takeover of the House.Following the 2010 census,

the congressional district lines were redrawn, splitting Biggert’s former district and reforming the 11th over some areas that used to encompass Foster’s 14th. The re-drawn district abuts Fermilab and

Argonne National Lab. After a cam-paign that focused on the importance of science, Foster won the district with 56 percent of the vote.

The importance of scientific re-search to Ameri-ca’s economy was a central theme of Foster’s cam-paign. Previously he served on the

House Science, Space and Tech-nology Committee, and will likely return.

“Investments in basic sci-entific research are among the highest return on investment of any that our society can make,” according to Foster’s website. “[K]eeping the technological pipeline full–from basic research, to technology development, to market driven deployment of ad-vanced manufacturing technolo-gies–is crucial to our country’s long term economic health.”

Innovation Task Force Releases New Benchmarking Report on American Competitiveness & Innovation

The Task Force on American Innovation recently released the report, American Exceptionalism, American Decline? Research, the Knowledge Economy, and the 21st Century Challenge. The report is the third installment in a series of studies benchmarking American competitiveness in key science and engineering indica-tors. The TFAI benchmarking report series began with the 2005 report The Knowledge Economy: Is the United States Losing Its Competitive Edge?, which found that, “The United States still leads the world in research and discov-ery, but our advantage is rapidly eroding, and our global competi-tors may soon overtake us.”

A November 2006 update of the report expanded these bench-marks and found a continuation of the disturbing trends. TFAI held a review of its most recent report on Jan. 23 on Capitol Hill, in conjunction with Rep. Rush

Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), co-chairs of the Congres-sional Research and Development Caucus. Perspectives on U.S. competitiveness in key STEM workforce, energy, and manufac-turing indicators were discussed during the event. The full report is available online at: http://inno-vationtaskforce.org/docs/Bench-marks%20-%202012.pdf. See report graphs on page 4.

President Obama presented the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation on Feb. 1 to a total of 21 distinguished scientists and engi-neers. Among the winners were six Fellows of the APS: Sidney Drell, Stanford Univer-sity; Sylvester James Gates, University of Maryland; John Goodenough, University of Texas at Austin; Art Rosenfeld, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and. Rangas-wamy Srinivasan and James Wynne, both of the IBM Corp. In the photo, President Obama congratulates Srinivasan and Wyn-ne, who were honored, together with their late colleague Samuel Blum, for the inven-tion of excimer laser surgery, the technique that makes LASIK surgery possible.

Photo by Michael Lucibella/APS

Congressman Bill Foster

By Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, American Chemical Society and Robert Byer, American Physical Society

Scientific and medical re-search conducted in our na-tion’s laboratories and agencies that sustains national defense, addresses health challenges and develops energy security could be severely hampered under new rules imposed by the Of-fice of Management and Budget (OMB) that limit federal em-ployees’ travel to participate in meetings. Legislation pending on Capitol Hill, such as H.R. 4631, the Government Spend-ing Act, could go even further with new requirements.

OMB has ordered federal agencies to reduce travel and meeting expenses by 30 percent in fiscal year 2013. Its directive also requires senior-level ad-ministrative staff to review the costs of participating in meet-ings that exceed $100,000 and cap at $500,000 the amount any agency can spend on a single meeting. Congress has legis-lation pending that contains provisions more onerous than those in the OMB memo.

Science and technology are key drivers for American inno-vation, and to work optimally they require unhampered col-laboration and communication among multiple institutions and laboratories. If scientists can’t collaborate, their research, which drives economic growth, would be severely constrained. And if they can’t communicate, project costs would rise, and taxpayers’ dollars would be wasted. The OMB rules, and pending Hill legislation, pose significant risks for American innovation.

Consider the case of an an-ti-cancer drug, developed by Plexxikon, a company based in Berkeley, Calif. Plexxikon cap-italized on high-intensity X-ray studies carried out by a team of

scientists at three geographi-cally diverse national laborato-ries: SLAC in Menlo Park, Ca-lif., Argonne National Lab near Chicago, Ill., and Lawrence Livermore Lab in Berkeley, Calif. These scientists collabo-rated to probe the molecular structure of proteins in malig-nant melanomas. The result: a highly promising drug known as vemurafenib. Conferences were invaluable to the success of this project.

Now let’s look at the con-sequence of budgetary caps contained in the OMB regula-tions and the pending legisla-tion. Scientists are notoriously thrifty as convention bureaus attest, but even on a barebones budget a typical attendee will spend about $2,500 for travel, lodging, meals and registration fees for a weeklong meeting. The OMB cap of $500,000, if imposed, could limit the num-ber of participants to 200 from any single agency.

To put such a number in context, the U.S. Department of Energy, for example, supports 17 national laboratories that directly employ about 16,000 scientists and engineers and 100,000 more workers as con-tractors. The OMB rules apply to all of them. Other federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, the Na-tional Institute of Standards and Technology and National Insti-tutes of Health are also covered by the OMB regulations.

At the March Meeting of the American Physical Society, 600 or more researchers from DOE facilities usually attend. Under the OMB rules and the pending legislation, two thirds of them would not be able to do so. They would not be able to exchange ideas with the oth-er 9,000-plus scientists from around the world who typically participate.

The American Chemi-

cal Society’s (ACS) two an-nual national meetings, which each attract on average 13,000 chemists and chemical engi-neers and play a major role in germinating transformational research, draw about 800 fed-eral scientists. Under the new rules and the pending legisla-tion, 50 percent of those federal scientists could be cut off from the global chemistry commu-nity that participates in ACS meetings. These rules will not only adversely impact science, but also the American economy and thus, American taxpayers, whose dollars are an investment in scientific research

Additionally, the OMB rules apply to agency program man-agers who administer federal grants. Wise decision-making requires familiarity with the latest discoveries, and scientific meetings provide administra-tors with the knowledge they require to do their jobs.

Scientific meetings pro-vide much more than a venue for organized presentations by well-known scientists. They offer participants opportunities for synergies that are almost impossible to replicate in any other way. Impromptu conver-sations in the corridors outside the lecture rooms have led to transformational discoveries

Building a better America requires making science a pri-ority. It also requires giving America’s scientists the oppor-tunity to capitalize on creativ-ity. The OMB rules and their pending companion legislation will have extensive and unin-tended negative consequences on American science, innova-tion and economic prosperity.

Shakhashiri is president of the American Chemical Society. Byer is the former president of the American Physical Society.

Reprinted from 9/10/12 with permission from The Hill news-paper.

Federal Travel Restrictions will Hamper Innovation, Stunt Economic Growth

Inscribed on the wall of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee

hearing room is the quote, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” A simple line from the Book of Prov-erbs, it is an appropriate message as we begin a new Congress. We must learn from the past, understand the present, and have a vision for the fu-ture.

As Chairman, I want the Science Committee to be a place where vision drives the dialogue and politics take the back seat. The top priorities of the Committee will be to promote legislation that encourages scientific discoveries, space exploration, and the develop-ment of new technologies.

With broad jurisdiction over America’s federal research and development (R&D) efforts, the Science Committee helps make sure that taxpayer investments provide a strong return.

The Committee oversees agency budgets of $39 bil-lion, most of which is focused on R&D. The purpose of the Committee is to encourage the kinds of R&D that lead to new innovations and job creation.

Our first hearing in February will begin this process by examining the positive impact of today’s R&D and look-ing forward to potential breakthrough innovations in the future.

Federally-funded basic research has supported the cre-ation of technologies that have changed and improved our daily lives–including the MRI, GPS, laser technology, and the Internet.

Innovation also is critical to a healthy American econ-omy. Hi-tech companies may only comprise five percent of all businesses, but they account for 40% of America’s increase in productivity and half of all exports. So it is im-portant that we invest in the right kinds of R&D that lead to new innovations and technological advancements.

But in order to achieve the innovations of tomorrow, we must better educate American students today. We need to empower them with the tools they will need to succeed. That means preparing students for advanced degrees and ensuring that young adults have the scientific and math-ematic literacy to thrive in a technology-based economy.

4 February 2013 APS Capitol Hill Quarterly

The Back

PAGE

The views expressed on “The Back Page” are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views held by the American Physical Society.

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“The top priorities of the (House Sci-ence) Committee will be to promote legislation that encourages scientific discoveries, space exploration, and the development of new technolo-gies.”

A Vision for America’s FutureBy Congressman Lamar Smith, Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee

Source: American Exceptionalism, American Decline? Research, the Knowledge Economy, and the 21st Century Challenge pgs. 13 & 28 by the Task Force on American Innovation

Snapshots of STEM Education and Energy R&D

Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/fedbudget/ “Energy includes Energy (270) plus DOE portion of General Science (251) bud-get functions. Actual dollars not adjusted for inflation.

Federal Investment in energy R&D and other non-defense R&D

The Science Committee will look for ways not only to encourage students to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, but also to inspire them to pursue careers in STEM fields. The Committee will set priorities for the National Science Foundation and other federal research agencies, including STEM education initiatives.

Perhaps no career in the world requires more science and math education than a career in human spaceflight.

Astronauts have inspired generations of Americans, but with no clear mission, NASA needs decisive leadership

from Congress. As we move beyond the Space Shuttle era, the Science Commit-tee will help keep our space program moving forward. We will work on a NASA reauthorization bill that promotes the commercialization of space and ad-vances space exploration to expand our knowledge of the universe and inspire our nation.

In addition to encouraging the ex-ploration of new worlds, the Science Committee promotes policies that ben-efit those of us here on earth. We cannot reach our goal of energy independence

without investing in energy development. The Committee will propose an Energy R&D bill, which

includes all forms of energy including nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. This legislation will help harness more do-mestic energy resources and find ways to make production safer, cheaper, and more efficient.

And producing American energy creates American jobs. In South Texas, the increased use of hydraulic fracturing to access oil and natural gas in the Eagle Ford Shale for-mation has created thousands of well-paid jobs. Accord-ing to data from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, average per-capita incomes in coun-ties with Eagle Ford Shale wells jumped over 13 percent between 2008 and 2011. Across the U.S., income fell.

As our country continues to face a fiscal crisis, it is clear that Congress needs to cut spending and prioritize the in-vestments that will provide a good return for American taxpayers. STEM education initiatives, space exploration, and investments in basic research are the long-term invest-ments that will provide economic growth and help us as-sure America’s future prosperity and success.

Lamar Smith represents the 21st Congressional District of Texas. He serves as Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over pro-grams at NASA, the Department of Energy, the Environ-mental Protection Agency, the National Science Founda-tion, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Congressman Smith continues to serve on both the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee.

“Federally-funded basic research has supported the creation of tech-nologies that have changed and im-proved our daily lives–including the MRI, GPS, laser technology, and the Internet.”

“STEM education initiatives, space exploration, and investments in basic research are the long-term investments that will provide eco-nomic growth and help us assure America’s future prosperity and suc-cess.”

Percentage of undergraduates receiving undergraduate degrees in the natural sciences and engineering in selected nations

Source: NSF S&E Indicators Appendix Table 2-35. Data for 2006 or most recent year

Percentage of undergraduate receiving natural science and engineering degrees