Back in 2005, just after the March Washington lobbying effort by SLAC and Fermilab users, a few of us at SLAC decided to setup a website that could serve as a hub for political action by scientists. It was intended to be a resource more than an organization (unlike SEA, […]
Science
449 posts
Plane flights are an interesting way to learn what people think. The proximity of them to us on the plane makes it impossible to ignore conversations. Sometimes I like to introduce myself, if I feel the circumstances or the timing are appropriate. Once, two businessmen sitting next to me on […]
In my previous musings on this topic, I noted that recently we in the HEP community had been suggested to come up with a concrete theory of spin-offs. This theory communicates the importance of funding basic research in HEP by selling the inevitability of beneficial spin-offs. I criticized the notion […]
On the recent SLAC/Fermilab/U.S. LHC trip to Washington D.C., a challenge was put to us: high-energy physics, as a field, needs a “Theory of Spinoffs”. We sell our field based on the compelling nature of the science, and it’s a great story. But, went the argument, the Congress (and […]
There are some anecdotes from the Washington trip that bear repeating. I found them personally quite enlightening, so here I pass them along to you.
This was among the most exhausting weeks of my entire life, and though it was painful in the planning and tiring in the execution, it was worth it. In the coming weeks, a number of us will be compiling a more complete version of what we learned. Here, I put […]
Recently, a new show has appeared on “The Discovery Channel” called “Smash Lab”. The premise of the show is simple: four smart people – an engineer, an “ideas guy”, a scientist, and a designer – get together and try to approach real-world problems with innovative technology. For instance, using carbon-fiber […]
In the wake of the omnibus bill, a lot of us have been working our asses off to squeeze the science out of the remaining time on our experiments. Many of us are getting ready to go to Washington D.C., to hold the Congress to the commitment it made to […]
Tonight, NPR’s “All Things Considered” interviewed Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate. During the interview, Romney spent about a minute on the topic of increasing the federal basic research funding profile. He was specifically talking about energy and energy independence, but at least that topic nominally includes ITER. […]
I thought that this past summer was nuts, but now I realize it was just the packet of sunflower seeds to this winter’s vacuum-packed can of fancy cashews. With the omnibus bill a living threat to the U.S. science program, the consequences have started to land on the table. Remember […]
This morning I had a short chat with a student at SLAC. During the chat, it was mentioned that certain Presidential candidates didn’t event vote on the omnibus bill. This got me thinking about who did and who did not vote for it, and about who voted for and agaist. […]
Since the Congress was unable to complete, or get the President to sign, appropriations bills by October 1, the U.S. has been living under what is called a “continuing resolution”. That means that every now and then, the Congress votes to fund the government at last year’s levels while they […]