In the August 30, 1996 Issue:

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August Budget Update
Prior to leaving for the August recess, the House of Representatives completed work on the 13 appropriations bills funding discretionary programs for FY 97, including all federal support for R&D. The Senate must still pass five bills. Of the eight bills that provide support for science and technology, only the Agriculture bill has been cleared by both houses and signed by the President.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) calculates that the House bills would provide $73.9 billion for total R&D in the coming fiscal year. That amount is $2.6 billion or 3.7 percent more than the current FY 96 level. The overall increase, however, is due to large increases for just two agencies: the Department of Defense, which would have $2.4 billion more for its R&D activities, for a total of $38.3 billion (up 6.7 percent); and the National Institutes of Health, which would receive a $785 million (or 6.8 percent increase) to $12.8 billion for its support of R&D. Most other agencies' R&D budgets would either increase by a few million dollars at best, or fall sharply.

Under the House-passed Commerce appropriations bill, funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would decrease by 14.1 percent to $468.4 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee allocated $445.3 million. An amendment in the House bill specifies that $110.5 million provided for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) should be used to close out the program in FY 97 and could only be used for the continuation of awards made before October 1 to companies with fewer than 500 employees. The Senate bill does not limit ATP fund to small companies, but does restrict funding to grant continuations.

The total NASA budget would decline by 2.2 percent (to $13.6 billion) under the House bill or 1.4 percent (to $13.7 billion) under the Senate's provisions. Hardest hit by the House reductions would be the Science, Aeronautics, and Technology (SAT) program, with Mission to Planet Earth dropping 8.7 percent to $1.2 billion.

The Senate provided an additional $35 million over the House appropriations of $3.2 billion for National Science Foundation. The Senate bill increased funding by $5 million to support EPSCoR and informal science education programs.

The AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Project tracks the status of the various appropriations bills as they move through Congress and calculates their impact on R&D funding. The information is available on the AAAS web site: http://aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/rdwwwpg.htm.

DOE Releases Laboratory Plan
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through its Laboratory Operations Board has begun a comprehensive review of the Department's research and development activities. The first phase of the activity has resulted in a report with descriptive material about DOE's activities.

The Strategic Laboratory Missions Plan - Phase I, a two-volume report, provides information on the department's missions and describes how the missions are carried out through its laboratories, academic partners, and industry.

Strategic Laboratory Missions Plan - Phase 1

Volume I: an overview of how DOE uses its laboratories, plus mission profiles for each laboratory.

Volume II: an outline of the department's R&D programs by more than 166 budget functions.

Phase Two of the plan will consist of a series of reviews of the DOE national laboratories. The reviews will assess how DOE research and development is conducted, the roles of its laboratories, and ways in which administrative costs can be reduced. DOE's initial focus will be on how program managers allocate R&D among DOE labs, universities, and industry. This assessment, to be conducted by DOE and its Laboratory Operations Board, is scheduled to be completed by November 1, 1996.

During 1997, DOE will review its seven mission-specific laboratories to determine if they are candidates for privatization, alternative contracting mechanisms, or closure. DOE is already making some movement on this front by agreeing to privatize its principal oil research lab in Oklahoma.

DOE and the Laboratory and Operations Board will then look at the role of the multiprogram laboratories and their institutional and strategic plans. Finally, the external members of the Laboratory Operations Board will review and document the mechanisms used by DOE for evaluating the scientific and technical merit of the work performed at the laboratories.

Copies of the report are available from the DOE Office of Public Affairs at 202/ 586-5575. The first volume is available on DOE's homepage at http://www.doe.gov under the "What's New?" section.

Federal R&D Programs Report Now Online
The materials research and development programs of nine federal departments and agencies are available in a new report, The Federal Research and Development Program in Materials Science and Technology 1995. The report was developed as a guide for materials researchers in industry, government, and universities. The emphasis in the report is on R&D directly linked to industrial applications, particularly in the areas of aeronautics, automotive technology, electronics, environmental technology, and infrastructure. The organizations listed are: the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, Interior, and Transportation; and NASA and the National Science Foundation.

The report is available on the NIST Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory's homepage at http://www.msel.nist.gov. Click on the report's title in the "Technology Policy and Assessment Reports" section. The report is also available in printed form and on CD-ROM. For additional information, contact Samuel Schneider, B309 Materials Building, NIST, Gaithersburg MD 20899-0001 or phone 301/975-5655.

Executive Director Position Open
The New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NJMEP) seeks qualified applicants for the position of Executive Director. A successful candidate will have a established record of entrepreneurship demonstrated through a history of leadership in firm or division status, new product launches, development of new marketing strategies, or similar endeavors. Applicants must have senior-level management experience in an industrial manufacturing firm with full profit and loss responsibility. The job requires experience with public sector or non-profit organizations, and a knowledge of economic development practices and agencies. A degree in engineering or science, and an MBA or equivalent is expected.

The Executive Director reports to a private board of directors, and has full budgetary and staffing authority for the organization. The Executive Director will lead strategic planning for, and the implementation of NJMEP programs serving target sectors in the rubber and plastics, metalworking and machinery, electronics and instrumentation, and food and beverage industries.

For more information contact:

Donald H. Sebastian, Acting Executive Director
New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership
c/o New Jersey Institute of Technology
University Heights, MS/ITC 3500
Newark, NJ 07102
FAX: (201) 596-6056
e-mail: sebastian@admin.njit.edu

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Phone: (614) 901-1690
Fax: (614) 901-1696
Email: ssti@ssti.org

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