Science Community News
Congressional Briefing Explores Groundbreaking Research on the Health of the Aging
On June 30, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in collaboration with Friends of the National Institute on Aging (FoNIA) hosted an educational briefing on Capitol Hill on “Advancing the health of an aging population: Groundbreaking Research Supported by the NIA.” FoNIA is a broad-based coalition of aging, disease, research, and patient groups that supports the mission of the Institute; COSSA is a longstanding member. The briefing continues the series of annual FoNIA Congressional briefings designed to share the latest aging research with Congress and its staff. Presenters included NIA Director Richard Hodes; NIA Deputy…
NAS Webinar Puts Recent “Advancing the Power of Economic Evidence” Report in International Context
On June 16, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) hosted a webinar to discuss the findings and limitations of its report, Advancing the Power of Economic Evidence to Inform Investments in Children, Youth, and Families, which was published in May 2016. The report uses cost analysis (CA), which looks at the costs of a program within a specified time period, cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), which determines how much of an outcome is achieved per dollar spent, and benefit-cost analysis (BCA), which determines if the value of the outcome surpass its costs, to evaluate which of the government’s many…
National Science Board Elects New Leadership
On May 24, the National Science Board (NSB) announced that Maria Zuber and Diane Souvaine will serve as the Board’s new Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Zuber has been a member of the NSB, the governing body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), for four years and is the vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Zuber’s research includes planetary geophysics and space-based laser and radio systems. Souvaine has been a member of the NSB for two years, is the vice provost for research at Tufts University, and conducts research in computational geometry. Zuber and Souvaine will…
Researchers Discuss Projects Targeted by Wastebooks at Capitol Hill Poster Exhibition
On April 13, the COSSA-led Coalition to Promote Research (CPR) and the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) sponsored a Congressional exhibition and reception, “Wasteful” Research? Looking Beyond the Abstract, designed to provide researchers whose work had been targeted in the various Congressional “wastebook” publications an opportunity to put their research into context for Members of Congress and their staff. The unique Congressional exhibition and reception featured nine researchers from across the disciplinary spectrum. Also presented were posters on the peer/merit review process by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Participating researchers included: Aletha Akers,…
National Academies Holds Workshop on ACS Respondent Burden
In March, the Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a “Workshop on Respondent Burden in the American Community Survey,” which brought together experts from the Census Bureau and the broader statistical community to discuss how to make the American Community Survey (ACS) a more pleasant, less intrusive experience for respondents.
2016 Golden Goose Awards Choose Landmark Add Health Study
The researchers behind the landmark National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Study, otherwise known as Add Health, have been chosen to receive the first of the 2016 Golden Goose Awards. The study, conceived by Drs. Peter Bearman, Barbara Entwisle, Kathleen Mullan Harris, Ronald Rindfuss, and Richard Udry in the late 1980s and early 1990s while at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a federally-funded study designed to “illuminate the impact of social and environmental factors on adolescent health.” The Award honors “scientists whose federally-funded work may have seemed odd or obscure when it was first conducted but…
CPR & CNSF to hold Congressional Exhibition and Reception: “Wasteful” Research? Looking Beyond the Abstract
Why would a scientist put a shrimp on a treadmill? Can text messages really serve as a health intervention? You may have heard or read about some of these projects, but for the full story, come and speak to the scientists themselves. The COSSA-led Coalition to Promote Research (CPR) and the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) are cosponsoring a reception and poster session for policymakers to provide a closer look at research grants that have been highlighted in recent congressional and media reports. In addition, see posters explaining how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) choose…
New Academies Study on Advancing Social and Behavioral Science within the Weather Enterprise Seeks Committee Members
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has announced a new study, “Advancing Social and Behavioral Science Research and Application within the Weather Enterprise,” and is seeking nominees to serve on the study committee. The goal of the study is to “to develop a framework for generating and applying social and behavioral science (SBS) research within the context of meteorology, weather forecasting, and weather preparedness and response.” The Academies is particularly interested in candidates with expertise in the following fields: weather forecasting, meteorological research, behavioral economics, communication research, decision making, risk perception, assessment and communication, human factors and product…
Friends of IES Briefing Highlights Research on Supporting Students with Disabilities Transition to Adulthood
On March 4, the Friends of the Institute of Education Science (IES), in cooperation with honorary co-chairs Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA) held a congressional briefing, “Transitioning to Adult Productivity: Supporting Secondary Students with Disabilities in Successful Movement to College and Career.” IES’ National Center for Special Education supports research that has identified interventions that can “prepare students with disabilities for postsecondary education and the workforce.” The COSSA-supported briefing featured IES-funded research on improving transition outcomes for students with disabilities. Speakers discussed how the programs assist these students in gaining employment, becoming…
Organizations Form Friends of NIMHD, Hold Welcome Reception for New Director
A diverse group of scientific societies and professional associations, including COSSA, have organized to create a coalition to advocate on behalf of the research supported by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The newly formed group, the Friends of NIMHD, is an independent, voluntary coalition launched in 2015 to support the mission of NIMHD and its role in national efforts to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities. The coalition will serve as a united voice for a broad, diverse network of organizations, institutions, communities, stakeholders, and individuals who care about improving minority health and eliminating…
Academies Report Calls for Better Integration of Social Science into the USGCRP
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released a new report, Enhancing Participation in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The report offers recommendations on broadening participation of federal agencies in the USGCRP by identifying new partnership and enhancing existing ones. As part of its recommendations on better meeting the USGCRP’s goal of advancing science related to global change, the report reiterates a call from the 2012 Academies review of the USGCRP’s strategic plan that the program “’better integrate the social and ecological sciences’ and…move toward ‘an integrated observational system that connects observations of the physical environment…
NAS Releases New Reports on Immigrants, Forensic Science
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has recently released two noteworthy reports. The first, The Integration of Immigrants into American Society, compiles the available evidence on “how immigrants and their descendants are integrating into American society in a range of areas such as education, occupations, health, and language. The second report, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), examined NIJ’s efforts to advance forensic science research and recommend ways to improve its research program. The report, Support for Forensic Science Research: Improving the Scientific Role of the National Institute of Justice, finds, “NIJ has made progress in the past…
Friends of IES Briefing Highlights Research on Improving Early Math Education
The Friends of the Institute of Education Science (IES), of which COSSA is a member, held a congressional briefing on September 25 on “Building Strength in Numbers: How Do Early Interventions in Math Instruction Add Up?” The briefing highlighted IES-funded research into how to improve math education for young children. It featured presentations from Prentice Starkey, WestEd; Douglas Clements, University of Denver; and Hirokazu Yoshikawa, New York University. Deborah Phillips, Georgetown, introduced the topic and moderated the session, and Taniesha A. Woods, NYC Administration for Children’s Services, made concluding remarks. The briefing was a follow-up to one held the previous…
SBE-Funded Researchers Receive “Genius” Grants
Two of the recipients of the 2015 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (the so-called “genius” grants) are social scientists whose research is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. The fellowship is awarded to individuals in any field “who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” Fellows receive a no-strings-attached cash prize to pursue their work as they see fit. Matthew Desmond is an urban sociologist at Harvard University whose work focuses on “the impact of eviction on poor families and the role of housing…
CPR Briefing Highlights NIH Peer Review Process
The COSSA-led Coalition to Promote Research (CPR) recently organized its second congressional briefing of 2015 (see Update, March 24, 2015) designed to provide an overview of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) peer review process for congressional staff. The briefing, NIH Priority Setting: How Peer Review Assists the NIH in Selecting the Best Science, highlighted the process used by the NIH’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR) with the help of scientific experts from around the country. Briefing speakers included CSR director Richard Nakamura and Danielle Li of Harvard University. Felice Levine, executive director of the American Educational Research Association (AERA),…
Social Science Teams among 2015 Golden Goose Winners
Recipients of the 2015 Golden Goose Award were honored at a ceremony in Washington, DC on September 17. The Golden Goose Award recognizes researchers whose federally funded work may have seemed odd or obscure when it was first conducted but has resulted in significant benefits to society. COSSA is a supporter of the Award. The 2015 recipients included a group of psychologists whose work on delayed gratification in children (the “marshmallow test”) had far-reaching implications for our understanding of human behavior, education, and health. The Golden Goose Award also honored two scientists whose collaborative research on “hypsographic demography” (the study…
AAAS Seeks Stories on the Importance of Scientific Conferences
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is soliciting stories about the value scientific conferences bring to collaboration and the progress of science. As you may know, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued government-wide regulations in 2012 that put hard caps on the amounts federal agencies can spend on conference participation and travel. Congress put further restrictions in place, specifically for international conferences. All of this has resulted in the proliferation of onerous and timely approval processes for travel requests by federal employees and ultimately a major decline in attendance by scientists who work for…
AAAS Calls for Nominations for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award
Nominations are being sought for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award. The award recognizes scientists, engineers, or associations who have acted to foster scientific freedom and responsibility, for example, “acting to protect the public’s health, safety or welfare; focusing public attention on important potential impacts of science and technology on society by their responsible participation in public policy debates; or establishing important new precedents in carrying out the social responsibilities or in defending the professional freedom of scientists and engineers.” Nominations are due by September 1, 2015. Back to this issue’s table…
DBASSE Seeks Science Education Program Officer
The Board on Science Education (BOSE) within the National Academies’ Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) is accepting applications for a Program Officer. The Program Officer “will be responsible for managing programs or projects and is responsible for developing project strategies and ensuring projects meet their stated objectives. He/she will serve as the liaison between expert committee members, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and other applicable parties and will supervise staff.” More information and application instructions are available here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows to Host Live Chat
On August 20, Science and Technology Policy Fellows from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will host a live chat session to answer questions about the fellowship. The session is geared in particular towards those with backgrounds in the social sciences who want to learn more. More details and a link to watch are available on the AAAS website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.