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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is calling for applications for the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). Note: Only national laboratories are eligible for funding from this lab call. SEE MORE DETAILS>>> The joint lab call is the result of a collaborative effort between the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), eight DOE program offices, and participating national lab stakeholders. This year’s TCF reflects new flexibilities stemming from modifications to the TCF authorizing language passed in the Energy Act 2020. Each funding office was able to follow the approach that maximized the ability of TCF funding to “pursue promising energy technologies for commercial purposes.” DOE expects to make approximately $13.6 million-$16.7 million in federal funding available for awards under this multi-office lab call, issued jointly by OTT; the Office of Electricity; the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office, Geothermal Technologies Office, Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, Solar Energy Technologies Office, Water Power Technologies Office, and Wind Energy Technologies Office; and the Office of Nuclear Energy. The FY22 TCF collaborative solicitation focuses on Core Lab Infrastructure for Commercialization. Submissions under this new funding solicitation go beyond technology-specific projects to propose programs and activities aimed at streamlining the path to market by addressing barriers, gaps, and root causes of commercialization challenges. Additional funding offices will release their customized TCF programming in the coming months.

Do you have a passion for agricultural and public health? Are you a student who is currently applying to or enrolled in a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program? If so, an internship with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may be right for you! APHIS is accepting applications for the Saul T. Wilson Jr. Internship program: Through this program, you will gain valuable, real-world experience in promoting and protecting the nation’s agricultural animal health. For example, on any given day, you might work in a pasture collecting statistical information, spend time in a laboratory analyzing data, or conduct routine tests alongside seasoned veterinarians, among many other tasks. UNDERGRADS APPLY HERE GRAD STUDENTS APPLY HERE Selected Saul T. Wilson, Jr. interns receive tuition assistance from USDA―up to $7,500 per year for undergraduate studies and $15,000 per year for graduate studies. After you successfully complete the program and have your DVM degree, you may be eligible for a permanent position as a Veterinary Medical Officer.

The International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART)™ is a U.S. government-sponsored conference hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (NTIA/ITS). ISART is a science and engineering discussion-based conference that brings together government, industry, and academic leaders (both domestic and international) for the purpose of forecasting the development and application of advanced radio technologies. For over two decades, ISART has contributed to encouraging sound, forward-looking spectrum management and regulatory policies that rely on careful engineering and ground-breaking research. The current goal for ISART 2022, now planned for the week of June 13, 2022, is to chart a roadmap and gain consensus for specific data-, science-, and technology-driven means to evolve and expedite spectrum-sharing analyses and decision making. To assist in planning, ITS has issued a call for input, particularly in the form of abstracts, recent publications, articles, or papers, relevant to the goal of ISART 2022. The call for input describes the background and concerns that led to defining that goal. A number of possible topics are described and some open questions presented under each topic. Ideas for creative solutions needn’t be fully developed to be submitted in an abstract form. Submissions could lead to an invitation to participate or present in some fashion at ISART 2022, or to have a publication, article, or paper included in a bibliography for the symposium. See more details>>>

Field biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service develop climate information for species status assessments of potentially endangered species using data from ClimateToolbox.org. In this webinar, we will discuss the data needs for these assessments and will provide an overview of the data and tools in the Climate Toolbox with specific examples of how biologists currently utilize the Toolbox for assessments. Hosted by the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. RSVP for the webinar Thursday, February 10, 2022, 11a -12p MST The North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center is a partnership between the US Geological Survey, the University of Colorado Boulder and five consortium partners. The NC CASC fosters innovative and applied research in support of tribal, federal, state, and local natural resource management and decision-making. The North Central center is one of nine regional climate centers in the national CASC network created to help meet the changing needs of land and resource managers across the country. It serves Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska. About the speakers: Katherine Hegewisch is a project scientist at the University of California Merced where she works as a climate data provider, analyst and web tool developer. She is the developer of the Climate Toolbox, a series of web tools for visualizing climate data. She received her PhD in physics from Washington State University in 2010. John Guinotte is a spatial ecologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in its Ecological Services Program, based out of the legacy region 6 office in Lakewood Colorado. John assists FWS field offices across regions 5 and 7 with analytical, geospatial and statistical needs for listing or delisting species under the Endangered Species Act’s Species Status Assessments. In addition to informing listing decisions, John’s work supports habitat conservation plans, recovery, critical habitat, climate vulnerability and mitigation. John has PhD in Tropical Environmental Studies and Geography from James Cook University in Australia. Alex Kasdin is a Species Assessment Team Project Manager with the Ecological Services Program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; she works out of the Regional Office in Lakewood, Colorado. She leads teams of biological experts crafting Species Status Assessments to inform classification decisions under the Endangered Species Act. She also helps decision-makers apply the standards in the Act to determine if species warrant listing. Alex has a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a Master’s in Public Affairs, both from Princeton University.

Every year is a busy year for NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), and 2021 proved no different. As the world continued dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued working hard to carry out our mission, providing the nation with the most accurate and timely environmental observations available. For example, NOAA satellites helped us keep careful watch over 2021’s record-breaking weather events, such as the third-most active Atlantic hurricane season on record and devastating wildfires across the country. All together, there were a total of 20 weather and climate disasters in the U.S. with losses exceeding $1 billion. They also resulted in the deaths of 688 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. These events included drought, floods, severe storms, tropical cyclones, wildfire, and a major winter storm. The total dollar-cost of these events was roughly $145 billion—the third highest price tag for the year since records began in 1980. See the full report>>>

NOAA’s Earth-observing data play an integral role in our everyday lives—from understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts, to conserving and managing coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. However, there is still an enormous potential to improve how we understand, value, and use this essential environmental information. Recognizing this, NASA and NOAA are co-sponsoring a Call for Proposals for Socioeconomic Assessments (SEA), which seeks to expand the research, methodologies, tools, and capacity for assessments of the socioeconomic value from Earth science information for real-world decisions and operations. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) serves as a collaborator to this activity and will host the outputs, materials, and results of the awarded groups in their international Societal Benefits Repository. The scope of this call for proposals focuses on broad types of Earth science information, especially satellite-based Earth observations from NASA, NOAA, and USGS, as well as from commercial and international sources. READ MORE>>>

Please join us on Wednesday, January 19, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm MST for the CONVERGE Virtual Forum focused on research needs of the community and proposed research in response to the Boulder County Fires that ignited on December 30, 2021. Participants will have the opportunity to: Learn from emergency management and long-term recovery officials about emergent research needs and available data and resources. Hear from researchers who have already launched or are planning to initiate research focused on the Boulder County Fires. Identify possibilities for ethical and effective cross-disciplinary coordination and collaboration. Participants from all disciplines and from any organization or institution are welcome to attend this research forum - you can register via this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. We hope you will take part in this forum if you are: a locally-affected researcher in Colorado who has been impacted by or involved in the response to the Marshall or Middle Fork Fires; a researcher who has been conducting research on wildfires in Colorado or other regions of the U.S. or internationally; interested in establishing social science and interdisciplinary research priorities for perishable data collection, discussing ethical considerations, or learning more about the early effects and social impacts of the fires; a researcher considering launching a post-event investigation or joining a team; and/or planning to apply for funding to collect perishable data. We will record this online meeting and post written updates, questions, and comments on the CONVERGE Virtual Forum page. If you are new to hazards or disaster research, we hope you will access resources available through CONVERGE, including our online Training Modules and Extreme Events Research Check Sheets. You can sign up for updates and other information through our CONVERGE website. Our thoughts are with the many thousands of people who were recently evacuated, those who remain displaced and have lost their homes as a consequence of these devastating fires, and the Boulder County community as a whole. https://converge.colorado.edu/virtual-forums/converge-2021-boulder-county-fires/

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) seeks information to help it refine the scope and structure of its commercialization programs. These programs are intended to address specific challenges in the commercialization process as ideas move across the research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) continuum. OTT would like to learn: Your feedback on its programs Commercialization challenges that its programs do not currently address Ideas for programs that are applicable to a variety of technologies Ways to better promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all programs. OTT has provided a single list of questions to consider for all programs. If you have general comments on these subjects, you may submit them via Section 3. If you would like to offer feedback on specific programs, please navigate to program-specific questions using the sections below. Stakeholders from, but not limited to, the following domains are encouraged to respond: industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, incubators, accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors. READ MORE>>>

Ball Aerospace is celebrating today's launch of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (Webb) from French Guiana. The Colorado-based company designed and built the advanced optical technology and lightweight mirror system that will enable Webb to detect light from the first stars and galaxies. "It is truly an honor to be such an integral part of the next great space observatory," said Dr. Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager, Civil Space, Ball Aerospace. "Today's launch is the culmination of a lot of hard work by a closely integrated team that spanned across multiple mission partners and NASA. We are tremendously eager to see the science the new observatory captures." Once on orbit, Webb will capture faint light from the very first objects that illuminated the universe after the Big Bang. To make this possible, Ball Aerospace worked with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman, the prime industry partner, to innovate the 25 square-meter (~269 square feet) mirror system consisting of 18 beryllium mirror segments working together as one mirror. It will be the largest mirror and the first segmented telescope ever deployed in space, operating at the extremely cold space temperature of -406⁰ F (30K) necessary for infrared imaging of distant stars and galaxies. Ball also developed the cryogenic actuators mounted on each segment to control individual mirror positioning and curvature radius within one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair. To align the mirror segments, Ball also designed the 22 electronic flight control boxes to operate in a deep-freeze space environment to individually control each of the 132 actuators that keep the telescope segments properly aligned on orbit. (Note: Ball Aerospace is a Champion Member of CO-LABS and Dr. Makenzie Lystrup is a Board Director) Read More>>>

UNAVCO, as a university-governed consortium, elected new members to the Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. New members serve 3-year terms beginning January 2021. Board Directors are responsible for managing the business and affairs of UNAVCO, Inc. UNAVCO supports the exploration of our changing Earth through data acquisition, data access, community science meetings, short courses, internships, and educational resources. They operate the National Science Foundation Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of Geoscience (GAGE). More>>> President Becks Bendick thanks everyone involved: “I’m so grateful to all of the members of our community who stepped forward to run for governance positions. Their commitment and the high level of engagement of geodesists in our elections and community events this fall remind me of how special community-led science can be, and how much we gain by working together toward shared goals. I’m similarly appreciative of the contributions of our outgoing Board Directors—Lucy Flesch, Ed Nissen, James Foster, and Emma Hill. Without their leadership, the future prospects of shared geophysics resources might be very different. Finally, a big welcome to the incoming 2021 Board and Nominating Committee; I’m excited and humbled to work with such amazing and visionary scientists.“ Adrian Borsa, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, was reelected to the Board and is joined by new members: Roland Bürgmann (University of California, Berkeley), Gareth Funning (University of California, Riverside), Bridget Smith-Konter (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa), and Leigh Stearns (University of Kansas). Continuing Board Directors include: Ronni Grapenthin (University of Alaska, Fairbanks), Tonie Van Dam (University of Utah), Laura Wallace (University of Texas Institute of Geophysics and GNS Science, New Zealand), and Terry Wilson (The Ohio State University). The Nominating Committee is charged with identifying the Board Director nominees and slate of candidates for the annual election. Newly elected members Eileen Evans (California State University, Northridge) and William Hammond (University of Nevada, Reno) join continuing members Julie Elliott (Purdue University) and Rowena Lohman (Cornell University).

This year’s Q2B (Quantum 2 Business) conference took place on December 7-9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Several big names spoke at the event, and it was a place to forge new partnerships and connections. For one lucky JILAn, the trip to this conference was sponsored by CUbit Quantum Initiative, (CUbit). "I am very grateful to Women in Quantum and CUbit for sponsoring me to attend the Q2B conference," Joanna Lis said. Lis is a graduate student within JILA Fellow Adam Kaufman's laboratory. "My research is looking at neutral atoms in tweezers. I was positively surprised on how much presence neutral atom platforms had within the conference," she added. While the Q2B conference was established in part by the organization Women in Quantum, the conference was open to all. From networking lunches to discussions about the latest developments from some of the biggest names in the industry, the conference was a big hit. "It was an amazing opportunity to get familiar with the industry side of the pursuits in quantum computation," added Lis. "Some pretty impressive results were presented, but also just hearing about what the quantum computing companies are planning for the future was very interesting." The conference hosted many leading companies in the quantum computing industry, including Atom Computing, Ion Q, Quantinuum, QC Ware, and Quantum Delta NL. At the conferences Lis found herself meeting other women within the quantum community. "My favorite part of the event was the first day, which was the Women in Quantum summit," She explained. Women in Quantum is a global non-profit organization led by Denise Ruffner of Atom Computing. The organization's goal is to support women and their careers within the quantum industry while helping to promote diversity. According to Lis: "The day was filled with talks from women who now work in the quantum industry, followed by a networking session. Hearing about their journeys, how they got where they are, the positive experiences and challenges they faced, was deeply inspirational. A common denominator for a lot of the talks was a call to make space for empathy within the quantum research/industry community. I think we can all strive towards that goal." Read more>>>

Four scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) are being honored with awards by two prominent organizations in Earth system science: the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The four NCAR scientists — Clara Deser, Andrew Heymsfield, Everette Joseph, and Isla Simpson — are being recognized for landmark research into the atmosphere and climate system. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is also receiving the Excellence in Earth and Space Science Education award from AGU. GLOBE is a community program of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). “I want to congratulate this year’s awardees for their essential work in Earth system science, and I am very pleased to see them recognized in this regard,” said UCAR President Antonio J. Busalacchi. “NCAR’s legacy of recognition from both AGU and AMS speaks to the quality of our research and its importance to furthering science that is vitally important to society. I am also pleased to see the GLOBE program, which has provided enriching educational opportunities for over 25 years, being honored for its excellence.” Deser and GLOBE will be recognized at the AGU Fall Meeting this week, while the other three scientists will be recognized at the AMS Annual Meeting next month. READ MORE>>>