This week: funding for IT research, studying social mobility and speeding up cyberdefence
In depth: Members of the public are being asked to review a series of strategies for mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions that have been proposed by the United States’ atmosphere monitoring and research agency.
Full story: NOAA asks for help guiding US carbon capture research
Also this week from Research Professional News
US doctorate awards plummeted during pandemic—Number of annual doctorates awarded by US universities fell by almost 3,000 in 2021
Reviewing the reviewers—Handing out research money fairly is harder than ever—what can be done to improve things?
Here is the rest of the US news this week…
IT R&D allocated $8.76bn of federal funding
The US federal government spent $8.76 billion on information technology R&D in the 2022 financial year, a year-on-year increase of 4.9 per cent ($410 million), according to an analysis by the Computing Research Association. The official government figures summarise budget investments and activities by the 26 agencies of the federal government engaged in IT R&D, including the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. Across all agencies, $2.58bn was spent on artificial intelligence R&D in 2022, CRA found—5.3 per cent ($130m) more than the previous year.
Academies look for social mobility gaps
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have announced the launch of a new study to identify gaps in knowledge about influences on economic and social mobility in the US. The study will be led by the academies’ Committee on Population and Committee on National Statistics, with input from a committee of experts in economy, sociology, statistics and other key areas. An open call for nominations for individuals to contribute closes on 16 December.
Darpa accelerates cyberdefence research
A pilot programme designed to accelerate cyberdefence capabilities has been launched by the United States Cyber Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Constellation programme aims to support the development of new technologies coming from high-risk research projects and speed up their transition into operational use by US cyberdefence experts at Cybercom. It will provide virtual and physical infrastructures to help “bridge the gap” between science and “warfighting capabilities”, Darpa said.