Feb 24 2009
The National Science Board (NSB) will hold its first meeting of the new year related to national science and engineering policy issues and oversight of the National Science Foundation (NSF) on Monday, Feb. 23 through Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009. High on the meeting's agenda will be deliberations about spending and oversight of the portion of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act directed to NSF, $3 billion, to enable U.S. investment in America's scientific enterprise.
The NSB will also discuss work by its Sustainable Energy Task Force. Established in October 2007, this task force was charged with examining the role of the U.S. government in addressing science and engineering (S&E) challenges related to the development of sustainable energy, and providing recommendations to the president and Congress regarding a nationally coordinated S&E research and education initiative on sustainable energy, with specific guidance on the role of NSF in this initiative.
The NSB will also approve and announce its honorary 2009 Vannevar Bush and Public Service award recipients. NSF Director Arden L. Bement will announce the NSF's prestigious Alan T. Waterman awardee. All three awards will be presented at a ceremony in May at the U.S. Department of State.
The NSB is the 25-member policymaking body for NSF and advisor to the president and Congress on science and engineering issues. Drawn from industry and universities, and representing a variety of science and engineering disciplines and geographic areas, NSB members are selected for their eminence in research, education or public service, and records of distinguished service. NSB members serve for six-year terms. The NSF director is an ex officio member of the NSB. The newest members of the NSB were sworn in during the December 2008 meeting. For more background on the NSB and its current composition, visit: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/about/index.jsp.
Reporters are invited to attend all open sessions, subject to provisions of the Government in the Sunshine Act. All sessions will be held at the NSF headquarters: 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. Journalists interested in attending and covering the meeting and/or interviewing NSF or NSB officials should contact Lisa-Joy Zgorski at 703-292-8311 by 7 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, to make arrangements.
For further background on the NSF's Sustainable Energy Task Force and its work, view a video interview with Dan Arvizu and Jon Strauss, cochairs of the National Science Board's Task Force on Sustainable Energy. Additional interviews with the chairmen may also be scheduled during and after the NSB meeting.