Agency Watch
An Overview: What is Happening at the Federal and State AgenciesWhite House Decides To Outsource NASA Work
By Andy Pasztor
(Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2010) The White House has decided to begin funding private companies to carry NASA astronauts into space, but the proposal faces major political and budget hurdles, according to people familiar with the matter. The controversial proposal, expected to be included in the Obama administration’s next budget, would open a new chapter in the U.S. space program. The goal is to set up a multiyear, multi-billion-dollar initiative allowing private firms, including some start-ups, to compete to build and operate spacecraft capable of ferrying U.S. astronauts into orbit—and eventually deeper into the solar system. Congress is likely to challenge the concept’s safety and may balk at shifting dollars from existing National Aeronautics and Space Administration programs already hurting for funding to the new initiative. [Read more...]
Government Opportunities
Current Funding and Procurement OfferingsNOAA Solicitations
Joint Hydrographic Center – The purpose of this notice is to solicit proposals for a cooperative agreement between NOAA and an institution of higher learning to operate a Joint Hydrographic Center as authorized in the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act and the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement should advance the purposes of the Acts including development of hydrographic technologies necessary to ensure safe and efficient navigation; research and development of innovative ocean and coastal mapping technologies, equipment, and data products; mapping of the United States Outer Continental Shelf and other regions; data processing for nontraditional ocean mapping data and uses; advancing the use of remote sensing technologies, for related issues, including mapping and assessment of essential fish habitat and of coral resources, ocean observations, and ocean exploration; and providing graduate education and training in ocean and coastal mapping sciences. [Read more...]
Powerful Partnerships
Success Derived from Leveraging Government OpportunitiesNIGMS Awards Contract To Expand Human Genetic Cell Repository
By Alisa Machalek
(NIH, January 25, 2010) The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) has awarded a $27 million, five-year contract to the Coriell Institute for Medical Research in Camden, N.J., to continue and expand operation of the NIGMS Human Genetic Cell Repository (HGCR). Under the new contract, the HGCR plans to enhance its collection of carefully maintained human cell lines by adding induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells that carry disease gene mutations. “The addition of iPS cells will make the repository an even more valuable resource,” said Jeremy M. Berg, Ph.D., director of NIGMS. “In addition to teaching important lessons about biology, these cells hold great promise for studying — and maybe one day treating — a wide range of diseases.” [Read more...]
Related News
Articles of Interest in the Science & Technology ArenaUsing Supercomputers To Explore Nuclear Energy
(ScienceDaily, January 25, 2010) — Ever wanted to see a nuclear reactor core in action? A new computer algorithm developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory allows scientists to view nuclear fission in much finer detail than ever before. A team of nuclear engineers and computer scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are developing the neutron transport code UNIC, which enables researchers for the first time to obtain a highly detailed description of a nuclear reactor core. The code could prove crucial in the development of nuclear reactors that are safe, affordable and environmentally friendly. To model the complex geometry of a reactor core requires billions of spatial elements, hundreds of angles and thousands of energy groups — all of which lead to problem sizes with quadrillions of possible solutions. Such calculations exhaust computer memory of the largest machines, and therefore reactor modeling codes typically rely on various approximations. [Read more...]