I just heard that Dr. John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, is taking questions on last night's State of the Union Address delivered by our new Science President. You can submit your questions at this web site. But hurry - he is answering the questions at 4 PM Eastern time today (great advance notice, eh?). CV readers, this is your challenge - let's mob the White House with questions about funding for basice science!
Update: The complete transcript for the session can be found here. There are two questions and answers which may be of special interest to CV readers, at least they are of special interest to me. Here they are:
Collin, from Chicago writes: What is the White House definition of 'Basic Science' the funding of which the president proposed to double in 10 years? For example, does the definition (and proposed doubling) include particle physics? What about nano technology? And a mission to Mars? Thanks. John Marburger The American Competitiveness Initiative identifies three priority agencies that are critical to basic research in the physical sciences that provides the foundation for future economic competitiveness. Areas like nanotechnology, information technology, materials science, and quantum coherence will be an important part of the initiative. Particle physics and space exploration are important, but not necessarily a focus of the Initiative.
and
Norman, from Stanford, California writes: Dear Dr. Marburger, I applaud your efforts to raise the priority of funding for basic research and appreciate the fact that the American Competitiveness Initiative seeks to double the funding for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology over the next ten years. Are there any major new projects (such as the International Linear Collider) being considered as part of this initiative, or do you expect to better support existing projects (such as ITER) and basic infrastructure? John Marburger Each of the priority agencies in the American Competitiveness Initiative has detailed plans and programs that are developed in consultation with the science community. Projects like ILC and ITER are included in their plans, which are usually detailed on the agency websites.
Thanks to Collin and Norman for getting Marburger's attention, even it the answers are not particularly encouraging.
