james p. collins assistant director for biological sciences bio qem workshop march 31, 2006 biology...
TRANSCRIPT
James P. Collins
Assistant Director forBiological Sciences
BIO QEM WorkshopMarch 31, 2006
Biology as a Bridge to the Future:Biology as a Bridge to the Future:Science at the FrontierScience at the Frontier
Outline
Biology in the 21st century Science policy shift: American
Competitiveness Initiative Consequences of the policy shift:
NSF benefits Science at the frontier
Biology is composed of four overarching theories
All living things are made from cells, the chemical factories of life: CELL BIOLOGY
All life is based on the same genetic code organized as DNA or RNA: GENETICS
All forms of life evolved by natural selection or genetic drift: EVOLUTION
All life is connected to form ecosystems: ECOLOGY
“… the 21st century is going to see a cohesion of the sciences and disappearance of their borders.”
- David Baltimore
21st Century Biology
21st Century Biology
Multidisciplinary Multiscale Multimodal Multidimensional Information-driven
& IT driven Education-oriented Internationally
engaged New curricula
Technological Convergence and theEvolution of Life Sciences R&D
big biology
big rewards
big dilemmas
big shifts in science policy….
Twodriversof sciencepolicy
ReleasedFeb. 23, 2006
AnnualS&Esnapshot
Academic R&D expenditures: 1990–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
..and thereare other changes…
Academic R&D as share of total R&D,by country/economy: Most recent year
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
…as the worldgets flat…
Scientific and technical articles, by country/region: 1988–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
Share of U.S. articles among most-cited articles, total S&E: 1992–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
Composition of U.S. college-age cohort: 1990–2020
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
S&Eworkforceis changing…
U.S. S&E bachelor’s degrees earnedby women and minorities: 1990, 1995, and 2001
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
S&E doctorates conferred by citizenship status and race/ethnicity: 1990–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
Composition of academic doctoral S&E workforce by race/ethnicity, sex, and citizenship at degree
conferral: 1989–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
Faculty and tenure-track status of academic S&E doctorate holders 4–7 years after receipt of
doctorate: 1989–2003
SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006
A policyresponse…
American Competitiveness Initiative
President Bush's 2006 education agenda, the American Competitiveness Initiative, aims to strengthen innovation and education in the U.S. by improving mathematics and science education, foreign language studies, and high schools.
300 grants for schools to implement research-based math curricula and interventions
10,000 more scientists, students, post-doctoral fellows, and technicians provided opportunities to contribute to the innovation enterprise
100,000 highly qualified math and science teachers by 2015
700,000 advanced placement tests passed by low-income students
800,000 workers getting the skills they need for jobs of the 21st century
American Competitiveness InitiativeGoals
Meeting the Challenge: President Bush's 2006 Education Agenda
The American Competitiveness Initiative•commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007•more than $136 billion over 10 years
increased investments in research & development
DOE, NIST, and NSF benefit…
Independent agency Established 1950
• To promote scientific progress
• To advance national health, prosperity and welfare
• To secure national defense
NSF benefits…
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1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
Growth in NSF Budget FY 2000-2007(millions)
NationalAeronautic and Space
Administration
EnvironmentalProtection
Agency
Smithsonian Institution
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Other agencies
Commerce
Science Advisor
Other boards, councils, etc.
U.S. President
Independent Agencies
Major Departments
Science AdvisorOffice of Science and
Technology Policy
Office of Management and Budget
Agriculture Health and Human Services
Interior Homeland Security
Defense Energy
Research Directorates
• Biological Sciences• Computer & Info. Science & Eng.• Education & Human Resources• Engineering• Geosciences• Mathematical & Physical Sciences• Social, Behaviorial & Econ. Sciences
Offices
• CyberInfrastructure
• Integrative Activities
• Polar Programs
• International Science and Engineering
National Science Foundation Director
Deputy Director
National Science Board
NSF is unique among federal agencies in supporting research not necessarily tied to resolving
specific societal issues or restricted to falling within the
purview of agency-specific missions.
Primary sponsor of competitively awarded “basic research” in the
U.S.
NSF Proposal Statistics
47,000 Proposals 70,000 Reviewers 10,000 Awards 23% Average funding rate Average duration: 3 years
Who receives awards?
Universities and colleges Academic consortia Nonprofit institutions Small businesses University and industry collaborations National research centers International research and education
efforts
Directorate for Biological Sciences
BIO Mission: To support the vitality of the
biological sciences.
Population & Evolutionary Processes
Population & Evolutionary Processes
Directorate for Biological Sciences(BIO)
Directorate for Biological Sciences(BIO) Information and Automation
Resources Unit (IAR)
Information and Automation Resources Unit (IAR)
Division of Environmental
Biology(DEB)
Division of Environmental
Biology(DEB)
Ecological BiologyEcological Biology
EcosystemScience
EcosystemScience
Division of Integrative
Organismal Biology(IOB)
Division of Integrative
Organismal Biology(IOB)
BehavioralSystems
BehavioralSystems
Developmental Systems
Developmental Systems
Environmental &Structural Systems
Environmental &Structural Systems
Division of Molecular and
Cellular Biosciences
(MCB)
Division of Molecular and
Cellular Biosciences
(MCB)
BiomolecularSystems
BiomolecularSystems
Cellular SystemsCellular Systems
Genes and GenomeSystems
Genes and GenomeSystems
Emerging Frontiers (EF)
Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories
Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories
Functional & Regulatory Systems
Functional & Regulatory Systems
ResearchResources
ResearchResources
HumanResources
HumanResources
Division ofBiological
Infrastructure(DBI)
Division ofBiological
Infrastructure(DBI)
Plant GenomeResearch Program
Plant GenomeResearch Program
National Ecological Observatory Network
National Ecological Observatory Network
How is BIO a distinctive model?
1) Working across "boundaries" (clusters, divisions, directorates, agencies).
2) One biology - ALL of biology within a single administrative unit with extensive cooperation and coordination.
3) Together, these allow us to focus on transformative research.
To Ecology… To Evolution…
From Genes…. To Cells…
Eyeless Cave Fish
Advancing the Frontier
• Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research program (+$5.0 million)
• Plant Genome Research Program (+$2.5 million)
• Long-Term Ecological Research Program (+$1.2 million)
• New Theoretical Biology program ($3.6 million)
• New Biology and Society program ($0.5 million)
• New Center for Microbial Oceanography at the University of Hawaii ($4.0 million)
• New “Life in the Cold and Dark” program as part of the International Polar Year ($2.0 million)
BIO FY 2007 Budget Priorities
Cross-Directorate Activities
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) BIO and SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research
Improvement Grants (DDIG) Graduate Research Fellowships Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training
Program (IGERT) BIO and SBE Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) Faculty Early Career Development Awards (CAREER) ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement
of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
Program (EPSCoR) Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER)
Supports undergraduate students in active research
Involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in specially designed projects
Two mechanisms for support – sites and supplements
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
Announcement: NSF 05-592
www.nsf.gov
How can we transform biological research in the early 21st century?
Biology at the frontier: stimulating the development of research areas that the research community needs but has not yet imagined…
Textbook science
or
frontier science?
Science at the frontier
Outline
Biology in the 21st century Science policy shift: American
Competitiveness Initiative Consequences of the policy shift:
NSF benefits Science at the frontier