Overview

The Obama Administration hit the ground running in science and technology policy. Well before his inauguration and earlier than any previous chief executive, President Obama had named his science advisor, announced several key appointments to his science and technology team, and put forth an ambitious agenda in which science and technology are key components. Promising in his inaugural address to “restore science to its rightful place,” he proceeded within a few weeks to overturn the previous administration’s policy on stem cell research, to address the sensitive issue of scientific integrity in government with a presidential memorandum, and to give federal R&D an unprecedented $20 billion shot in the arm as part of the stimulus bill.

The stimulus bill – known formally as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or simply “the Recovery Act” – was followed in short order by the fiscal 2010 budget which is currently being taken apart and put back together by Congress. That budget, which can only be assessed in conjunction with the Recovery Act, places high priority on several S&T areas: basic research, energy, health, and safety and security.

It also leaves many questions unanswered:

• Will the Recovery Act increases simply be a spike in the R&D funding chart or will it be followed up by long term investment in science and technology?
• What will be the future of NASA and the space program?
• Can government and industry “play nicely” together in energy R&D?
• Will there be policy changes to enable easier collaboration?
• How can companies realistically take advantage of the Recovery Act? What are the criteria? How should you proceed?

To answer these questions and more, Management Roundtable is pleased to offer a special audiosession, R&D Funding in the Obama Administration, led by Science & Technology policy insider Al Teich, on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 1pm ET/10am PT.

In this 90-minute interactive session, he will share:

• The Obama Administration’s R&D initiatives and the personalities who are shaping them
• Details of the current federal funding picture
• Informed speculation about where things are likely to go in the future 

This session is ideal for CTOs, R&D managers, technology developers, business development managers, and innovation leaders. Teams may listen together for the same low fee - cost is per phone line, attendance unlimited.

Takeaways:

1. Access to slides used during the session via webinar technology
2. Your questions answered directly by an expert during the session
3. Access to synchronized Windows Media file of slides and audio after the session

Session Leaders

Albert Teich
Director of Science & Policy Programs
AAAS
 

Al Teich is Director of Science & Policy Programs at AAAS, a position he has held since 1990. He is responsible for the Association’s activities in science and technology policy and serves as a key spokesperson on science policy issues. Science and Policy Programs, which includes activities in ethics, law, science and religion, and human rights, as well as science policy, has a staff of 40 and a annual budget of over $10 million

A Fellow of AAAS since 1986, Teich is the recipient of the 2004 Award for Scientific Achievement in Science Policy from the Washington Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the editorial advisory boards to the journals, Science Communication; Science, Technology, and Human Values; Prometheus; Review of Policy Research; and Renewable Resources and a consultant to government agencies, national laboratories, industrial firms, and international organizations. He is the immediate past president of the Washington Academy of Sciences; former chair of the Board of Governors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation, where he remains a member of the executive committee; a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Maine Space Grant Consortium; the Norwegian Research and Technology Forum in the United States; the Advisory Board of the University of Virginia’s Department of Science, Technology and Society; the External Research Advisory Board of the University of California, Davis; and the Council of Advisors for Research and Innovation Strategy of the National University of Singapore.

Teich received his bachelor's degree in physics and his PhD in political science, both from M.I.T. Prior to joining the AAAS staff in 1980, he held positions at George Washington University, the State University of New York, and Syracuse University. He is the author of numerous articles and editor of several books, including Technology and the Future, the most widely used college textbook on technology and society, the eleventh edition of which was published in October 2008 by Cengage Learning.
 

What you will learn

• The Obama Administration’s R&D initiatives and the personalities who are shaping them
• Details of the current federal funding picture
• Informed speculation about where things are likely to go in the future
• Will the Recovery Act increases simply be a spike in the R&D funding chart or will it be followed up by long term investment in science and technology?
• What will be the future of NASA and the space program?
• Can government and industry “play nicely” together in energy R&D?
• Will there be policy changes to enable easier collaboration?
• How can companies realistically take advantage of the Recovery Act? What are the criteria? How should you proceed?