We the Geeks Google+ Hangout on Asteroids, 5/31/13

Posted by Phil Larson on whitehouse.gov:

Now that asteroid 1998 QE2 has safely flown by the Earth and Moon, we won’t have another close visit from this particular space rock for about 200 years.

As part of the White House’s ongoing series of “We The Geeks” Google+ Hangouts (focused on highlighting science, technology, and innovation topics), we gathered some leaders in space exploration together for a pregame show to the near-miss of asteroid 1998 QE2.
These experts included:

•Lori Garver, Deputy Administrator, NASA
•Bill Nye, Executive Director, Planetary Society
•Ed Lu, former astronaut and CEO, B612 Foundation
•Peter Diamandis, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources
•Jose Luis Galache, Astronomer at the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is available at: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/, http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch and via Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/asteroidwatch.

Ways to Get Involved

There’s a competition for students and young professionals to share their most innovative ideas for a mission to an asteroid with the world’s leading space experts. Check it out at: http://www.spacegeneration.org/maa.

Have ideas for the next “We the Geeks”? Use the hashtag #WeTheGeeks on Twitter and on Google+ and let us know! Also, you can sign up to receive updates about future “We the Geeks” hangouts at Whitehouse.gov/We-the-Geeks.

Source: http://1.usa.gov/16x68Wy

West Wing Week: 05/17/13 or “We the Geeks”

This week, the President honored fallen officers and top cops, spoke on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, invited the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and of Turkey to the White House and kicked off a new Google+ Hangout series on science and technology. That’s May 10th through May 16th or “We the Geeks.”

President Obama Speaks at the 150th Anniversary of the National Academy of Sciences

“…. But President Lincoln founded the Academy with a mandate that went far beyond the science and technology of war. Even as the nation was at war with itself, President Lincoln had the wisdom to look forward, and he recognized that finding a way to harness the highest caliber scientific advice for the government would serve a whole range of long-term goals for the nation.

It was the same foresight that led him to establish land-grant colleges and finish the Transcontinental Railroad — the idea that the essence of America is this hunger to innovate, this restlessness, this quest for the next big thing. And although much of this innovation would be generated by the powers of our free market, the investments and the convening power of the federal government could accelerate discovery in a way that would continually push the nation forward.

That’s our inheritance, and now the task falls to us. We, too, face significant challenges — obviously not of the magnitude that President Lincoln faced, but we’ve got severe economic and security and environmental challenges. And what we know from our past is that the investments we make today are bound to pay off many times over in the years to come.

So we will continue to pursue advances in science and engineering, in infrastructure and innovation, in education and environmental protection — especially science-based initiatives to help us minimize and adapt to global threats like climate change….

And what I want to communicate to all of you is, is that as long as I’m President, we’re going to continue to be committed to investing in the promising ideas that are generated from you and your institutions, because they lead to innovative products, they help boost our economy, but also because that’s who we are. I’m committed to it because that’s what makes us special and ultimately what makes life worth living.

And that’s why we’re pursuing “grand challenges” like making solar energy as cheap as coal, and building electric vehicles as affordable as the ones that run on gas. And earlier this month, I unveiled the BRAIN initiative, which will give scientists the tools that they need to get a dynamic picture of the brain in action, and better understand how we think and learn and remember.

Today, all around the country, scientists like you are developing therapies to regenerate damaged organs, creating new devices to enable brain-controlled prosthetic limbs, and sending sophisticated robots into space to search for signs of past life on Mars. That sense of wonder and that sense of discovery, it has practical application but it also nurtures what I believe is best in us.”

Full text: http://1.usa.gov/12K7pEe

West Wing Week: 04/26/13 or “This Stuff’s Really Cool”

This week, the Vice President traveled to Boston for a memorial for Officer Collier, and the President memorialized the victims of the West Texas explosion. The President also hosted the Amir of Qatar, the Teacher of the Year, the 3rd White House Science Fair, and visited Dallas with the First Lady for the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

President’s Weekly Address, March 16, 2013: Time to Create the Energy Security Trust

“Here’s how it would work. Much of our energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. So I’m proposing that we take some of our oil and gas revenues from public lands and put it towards research that will benefit the public, so that we can support American ingenuity without adding a dime to our deficit. We can support scientists who are designing new engines that are more energy efficient; developing cheaper batteries that go farther on a single charge; and devising new ways to fuel our cars and trucks with new sources of clean energy – like advanced biofuels and natural gas – so drivers can one day go coast-to-coast without using a drop of oil.”

Transcript: 1.usa.gov/YhUCF3

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infographic/energy-security-trust

President Obama Speaks on American Energy at Argonne National Laboratory, March 15, 2013

“After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to take control of our energy future. We produce more oil than we have in 15 years. We import less oil than we have in 20 years. We’ve doubled the amount of renewable energy that we generate from sources like wind and solar — with tens of thousands of good jobs to show for it. We’re producing more natural gas than we ever have before — with hundreds of thousands of good jobs to show for it. We supported the first new nuclear power plant in America since the 1970s. And we’re sending less carbon pollution into the environment than we have in nearly 20 years….

And that’s why we have to keep investing in scientific research. It’s why we have to maintain our edge — because the work you’re doing today will end up in the products that we make and sell tomorrow. You’re helping to secure our energy future. And if we do it well, then that’s going to help us avoid some of the perils of climate change and leave a healthier planet for our kids. But to do it, we’ve got to make sure that we’re making the right choices in Washington.

Just the other day, Dr. Isaacs and directors of two of our other national laboratories wrote about the effects of the so-called sequester — these across-the-board budget cuts put in place two weeks ago …. will force him to stop any new project that’s coming down the line. And I’m quoting him now — he says, “This sudden halt on new starts will freeze American science in place while the rest of the world races forward, and it will knock a generation of young scientists off their stride, ultimately costing billions of dollars in missed future opportunities.” I mean, essentially because of this sequester, we’re looking at two years where we don’t start new research….

We can’t afford to miss these opportunities while the rest of the world races forward….

… but the only way to really break this cycle of spiking gas prices, the only way to break that cycle for good is to shift our cars entirely — our cars and trucks — off oil. That’s why, in my State of the Union address, I called on Congress to set up an Energy Security Trust to fund research into new technologies that will help us reach that goal.

…. Basically, my proposal builds off a proposal that was put forward by a non-partisan coalition that includes retired generals and admirals and leading CEOs. And these leaders came together around a simple idea — much of our energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. So what they’ve proposed is let’s take some of our oil and gas revenues from public lands and put it towards research that will benefit the public so we can support American ingenuity without adding a dime to our deficit….

We can support scientists who are designing new engines that are more energy efficient; support scientists that are developing cheaper batteries that can go farther on a single charge; support scientists and engineers that are devising new ways to fuel our cars and trucks with new sources of clean energy — like advanced biofuels and natural gas — so drivers can one day go coast to coast without using a drop of oil….

And in the meantime, we’ll keep moving on the all-of-the-above energy strategy that we’ve been working on for the last couple years, where we’re producing more oil and gas here at home but we’re also producing more biofuels, we’re also producing more fuel-efficient vehicles; more solar power; more wind power. We’re working to make sure that here in America we’re building cars and homes and businesses that waste less energy.”

Transcript: 1.usa.gov/Xdwp2n

Building Africa’s Female Leadership in Agricultural R&D

Via http://feedthefuture.gov/;

The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) program, jointly funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, is a fellowship program providing mentorship and leadership training to African women to facilitate their professional development. This video highlights the program and the activities of three AWARD fellows.

President Obama nominates leaders for Energy, EPA and OMB

THE PRESIDENT:

[Ernie Moniz as Energy Secretary and Gina McCarthy as EPA Director are] going to be making sure that we’re investing in American energy, that we’re doing everything that we can to combat the threat of climate change, that we’re going to be creating jobs and economic opportunity in the first place. They are going to be a great team. And these are some of my top priorities going forward.

But as President, one of the things you learn very quickly is that it’s not enough just to talk a big game; the real test is whether your priorities are reflected in a budget. And that’s where the rubber hits the road. That’s where my third nominee comes in. [Sylvia Mathews Burwell as OMB Director] understands that our goal when we put together a budget is not just to make the numbers add up. Our goal is also to reignite the true engine of economic growth in this country, and that is a strong and growing middle class — to offer ladders of opportunity for anybody willing to climb them….

As I said before, the American people are resilient. And I know that Jeff and Sylvia will do everything in their power to blunt the impact of these cuts on businesses and middle-class families. But eventually, a lot of people are going to feel some pain. That’s why we’ve got to keep on working to reduce our deficit in a balanced way — an approach that’s supported by the majority of the American people, including a majority of Republicans. And I’m confident that we can get there if people of goodwill come together.

So I want to thank Steve and Lisa and Jeff once more for their outstanding service, for all the great work that they’ve done in this administration over the last several years. I want to thank Ernie, Gina and Sylvia, and their families, for agreeing to take on these big roles.

I hope the Senate will confirm them as soon as possible, because we’ve got a lot of work to do and we cannot afford delay. But I can promise you that as soon as the Senate gives them the go ahead, they’re going to hit the ground running and they’re going to help make America a stronger and more prosperous country.

Full remarks: 1.usa.gov/Zae6vf

How NASA spent last week

NASA: It may have been small, appearing so even in the best optical telescopes on Earth, but the flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14 was anything but a minor event to astronomers. Never feared as a threat to anyone or anything on or around our planet, DA14, about the size of half a football field, did come within 17-thousand miles of Earth, about 5-thousand miles close than many of our satellites in geosynchronous orbit. Also, POTUS on STEM; Mohawk Guy Goes to Washington; Two-Chute Test; Antares Hotfire; AJAX, for Cleaner Air; How to Become an Astronaut; and more!

How the Department of the Interior spent last week

A new Landsat lifts off for Earth orbit; a new initiative to honor the heritage of Asian American Pacific Islanders; the nation gets a new National Park; and the Department of the Interior sends out a special Valentine’s Day greeting. Check out more news from the Department of the Interior at http://www.doi.gov