2007 World Standards Day Paper Competition announced

The Standards Engineering Society (SES) has announced that the theme of the 2007 World Standards Day Paper Competition, "Standards and the Global Village," was selected to encourage papers detailing how standards-developing organizations have encouraged and created global consensus for the economic and social benefit of the global village. The competition is open to any individual in the private sector, government, and academia working in a U.S.-based facility, including employees of standards-developing organizations.

All paper contest submissions must be received with an official entry form by midnight August 31, by the SES Executive Director, 13340 SW 96th Ave., Miami, FL 33176. Authors of the three best papers will receive cash awards on October 18 during the U.S. celebration of World Standards Day. For detailed information on how to submit a paper, see www.ses-standards.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=77.

For information on the U.S. celebration of World Standards Day, go to www.ansi.org/meetings_events/WSW07/wsd07.aspx?menuid=8.

 

ASME Energy Committee offers support, guidance on House ARPA-3 proposal

In response to a request from House Science and Technology Committee Chair Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., the ASME Energy Committee recently submitted a letter offering support and guidance for the newly proposed Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy (ARPA-E).

Inspired by the National Academies' "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report, Chairman Gordon recently introduced H.R. 364, which would "provide for the establishment of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy." The bill would create a new agency within the Department of Energy (DOE) with the "mission of reducing U.S. dependence on oil through the rapid development and commercialization of transformational clean energy technologies." ARPA-E is modeled after the Defense Department's Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA).

In the letter, the ASME Energy Committee said, "We applaud you for introducing this legislation. The kind of new, innovative and independent research and development activities that can be initiated and led by such an organization will contribute to greater energy security for our nation. Professional organizations such as ASME can provide advisory support to this kind of organization. Our members, as innovators and designers of the systems and equipment used in all aspects of energy production, power generation and transmission, and end users are well qualified to provide expertise on all of the important energy technology and innovation issues facing the nation." The letter emphasized that funds for ARPA-E should be "independent of those supporting basic scientific research" at the Department of Energy and other agencies to avoid diluting existing research efforts.

To view the entire letter, please visit: www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/PositionStatements.

More information about H.R. 364 can be found at http://science.house.gov/legislation/leg_highlights_detail.aspx?
NewsID=1235.

ASME task forces submit congressional testimony on NSF, NIST, and NASA

Several ASME task forces recently submitted congressional testimony to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science of the House Appropriations Committee, focusing on the fiscal year 2008 budget requests for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A brief summary of the agency testimony is provided below.

National Science Foundation
The total fiscal year 2008 NSF budget request is $6.43 billion representing a $513 million or 8.7 percent increase over the final amount of $5.9 billion appropriated for NSF in the fiscal 2007 continuing resolution (CR). ASME's NSF Task Force expressed concern that since NSF is the only federal agency that supports all fields of science and engineering research, that NSF, as a whole, and engineering specifically, are severely underfunded. The task force urged the Subcommittee to consider, "A substantial and steady increase in NSF's budget, by increasing both the number and size of its awards, especially in core disciplinary research and education, that will enable NSF to better position itself to direct the nation's research and development activities, with the end goal of improving the quality of life for all Americans."

National Institute of Standards and Technology
The administration's budget request for NIST in fiscal year 2008 is $640.7 million. The NIST Task Force noted that, if funded as requested, this would result in a decrease of $36.3 million, or 5.4 percent, from the amount appropriated in the fiscal 2007 continuing resolution. The task force also expressed concern that the administration proposed to eliminate funding for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) and has proposed only $46 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The Democratic Innovation Agenda highlights MEP and ATP as catalysts of technological innovation, and the NIST Task Force has long supported both programs. Additionally, the task force noted that "the important work of NIST in the area of standards, including serving as the U.S. inquiry point for the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement, is vital to ensuring that U.S. technology and products are not unduly handicapped in the global market."

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ASME's Aerospace Research and Development (R&D) Task Force's testimony noted that, while they were pleased with the administration's support for the space program and NASA's efforts to revitalize its mission, they remain concerned about proposed reductions in funding for the aeronautics research and technology (R&T) programs contained within NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. This is the portion of the NASA budget that has an immediate and practical benefit to the nation, and yet the administration proposes to reduce those programs by $141 million to $554 million in fiscal 2007. This represents more than a $100 million reduction in NASA's aeronautics budget for several consecutive years.

"Strong investment in fundamental engineering research in aeronautics will ensure that the U.S. will retain its long-term leadership in this field. Therefore, the task force recommends that the aeronautics portion of the NASA budget be increased to $2 billion over the next eight years, with a long-term target of attaining a level of 10 percent of the total NASA budget. Achieving this target would reestablish aeronautics funding, as a percentage of the NASA budget, at its pre1990 level and put U.S. R&D funding at levels commensurate with its competitors abroad."

The position statements are available for review at www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/
PositionStatements.

Science Committee reauthorizes NSF and NIST

The House Science and Technology Committee approved reauthorization legislation for both the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, authorizing $21 billion and $2.5 billion respectively for three years, fiscal 2008–10. The National Science Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2007 (H.R. 1867) keeps NSF on a path to doubling its budget, establishing a pilot program of a one-year seed grant for new investigators, and furthering the agency's traditions of education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by increasing funding for certain NSF education programs.

The Technology Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2007 (H.R. 1868) provides the first full reauthorization for NIST since 1991, and puts the agency on a path to doubling its resources by 2017. The NIST Task Force of ASME has been a continued supporter of NIST and sent a letter to the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Innovation and Technology Chairman David Wu, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., regarding their support of H.R. 1868 prior to subcommittee mark-up. "We commend you for your bold leadership in championing this important authorization bill, and look forward to working with you to support its enactment…Part of the mission of NIST is to promote the use of American codes and standards in countries and industries around the world as a means of enhancing U.S. competitiveness."

Read the entire letter at http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/NewsPublicPolicy/
GovRelations/PositionStatements/11851.pdf.

— Anthony Quinn
ASME Government Relations

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