AAS Public Policy Blog

I attended the final open meeting of the Astro2010 Survey Committee this morning.  This is the top-level committee chaired by Roger Blandford that will consider and synthesize the input provided by the Science Frontiers Panels, the Program Prioritization Panels and the various working groups.

Representatives from the 3 major funding agencies (NASA, NSF, DOE) were there to present their answers to questions that had been posed to them.  A loud and clear message that came through was that funds are pretty tight and they are looking to the Decadal Survey Report to provide guidance on prioritizing investments in the coming decade.  NASA Astrophysics in particular expects to have about $4B total for new missions over the 2013-2023 timeframe.  Any augmentations to the R&D budget, extensions to older missions etc. will all have to come out of this $4B pot.  It was also interesting to hear that the stimulus money allowed NSF’s success rate for grants to go up from 21% to 36% this year, but this is unlikely to be sustained in coming years.

Kevin Marvel (AAS) and Kate Kirby (APS) presented the professional societies’ perspectives.  The ground based community was represented by Tony Readhead (Caltech) and Tim Beers (Michigan State Univ.).  Kevin made a strong case for the committee to own this report for the entire decade and not stop after some initial outreach for the final report.

Stay tuned!  In the meantime, you can get more info on Astro2010 at the NRC website.

This isn’t science policy, but NPR has a web feature that showcase numerous AAS members picking their favorite Hubble images. You can hear recently elected AAS president Debra Elmegreen and AAS executive officer Kevin Marvel speak about their favorite images, along with 11 others. NPR solicited suggestions and favorite images from astronomers using the AAS Facebook page.

Do you read this blog regularly? Do you think you could do just as good or a better job? Do you have both a Ph.D. in astronomy or a related field and an interest in public policy? If so I strongly encourage you to apply to be the next John Bahcall fellow at the AAS. The full job ad for the John Bahcall Public Policy Fellowship is now up on the Job Register.

I can personally attest that the Bahcall fellowship is a great introduction to the world of science and public policy. In addition to writing this blog, the Bahcall fellow writes action alerts, informational emails, attends congressional briefings, Decadal survey events, and a wide variety of other activities more spelled out in the job ad itself.

The position is opening a bit earlier than last cycle, as I’ll be leaving for the AIP Congressional Science Fellowship in the fall. I think the Bahcall fellowship gave me a myriad of experiences and skills that prepared me for the AIP application and interview, as well as many other potential future public policy career directions.

The position is one-year, with a second-year renewability option. If it sounds interesting to you, I encourage you to apply.

Over at The Intersection, Sheril Kirshenbaum, with help, has put together quite a list of policy fellowships, which definitely puts my little list to shame. Of course my list was aimed specifically at fellowships that would be appropriate for astronomers / AAS members.

In any event, our own John Bahcall Public Policy fellowship is so good it’s on the list twice! Though, I expect that minor error will be corrected before too long. Thanks to Sheril and her helpers at the AAAS for putting together such a good list, and for mentioning the AAS.

Below, and in the podcast feed is audio from the the two Astro2010 sessions at Long Beach. Specifically, Roger Blandford’s talk Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010: Progress Report to the Community and the subsequent town hall, Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey 2010 Launch

Astronomy and Astrophysics 2010: Progress Report to the Community [ 52:05 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (251)

A long article in the Washington Post discusses IYA, Galileo, the decadal, and the AAS in the context of non-growing budgets and plenty of ideas for expensive astronomical projects:

But even if it’s a Golden Age of Astronomy, it’s also one of feverish competition, a scramble for dollars in a time when governments have bigger worries than black holes at the centers of galaxies.

NASA is astronomy’s biggest supporter, funneling nearly $1.2 billion into astrophysics in its ’09 budget. The National Science Foundation, the Energy Department, the military and nonprofit groups deliver hundreds of millions more. Even so, astronomers have a surplus of great ideas for telescopes and a shortage of funds. “As it is, we’re waiting a decade and a half before we get even one of our highest-priority telescopes up and running,” said Kevin Marvel, executive officer of the American Astronomical Society, which held its annual meeting here last week.

Also, the first Chair’s Bulletin has been posted by Roger Blandford, chair of the Astro2010 decadal committee. It will be emailed to all member’s later today, and a PDF is posted at the Astro2010 web site.

There was a good crowd at the NASA Astrophysics town hall this afternoon (Monday.) Other events for those interested in public policy:

Tuesday –

• 8:30AM – Roger Blandford on the Decadal survey; General Session Hall B
• 10:00AM – Decadal Survey Launch; General Session Hall B (Forum)
• 11:40AM – Science, the Sky, and Society – Penny Sackett, Chief Scientist of Australia

Wednesday –

• 10:00AM – Future Directions of NSF Astronomy, Panel discussion, General Session Hall B
• 12:45PM – NSF Town Hall, General Session Hall B

Also on Wednesday, I’ll be attending at least in part the graduate student reception, so any interested graduate students thinking about science policy should feel free to talk to me. In general, at the meeting, don’t hesitate to approach me about policy issues, the Bahcall fellowship, etc. Look for someone in a suit and the red “staff” color on my name badge (and my name, Marcos Huerta, of course, as well.)