Biophysical Society Newsletter
7
JANUARY
2014
Public Affairs
BPS Urges Congress to
Support NDD Programs,
Replace Sequestration
Along with 400 organizations representing a variety
of programs funded by the domestic discretion-
ary portion of the federal budget, the Biophysical
Society sent a letter to all members of Congress ask-
ing them to replace sequestration with a bipartisan,
balanced approach to deficit reduction. The letter
was sent to Congress as they returned from their
Thanksgiving recess and faced two weeks before
the December 13 deadline by which they were to
develop a plan for the 2014 fiscal year.
A month earlier, the Society joined more than 180
organizations representing patients, scientists, health
care providers, universities, and industry in sending
a letter to House and Senate Budget Committee
chairs Representative
Paul Ryan
(R-WI) and Senator
Patty Murray
(D-WA) with the same message, but
focused on funding for the National Institutes of
Health. The letter, led by the Ad Hoc Group for
Medical Research, urged Congress and the Ad-
ministration “to work together on a responsible FY
2014 budget agreement that replaces sequestration
with a balanced plan that recognizes the significant
cuts already made to discretionary programs, pre-
serves the nation’s investment in medical research,
and protects the health of the American people.”
In closing, the letter states that “If we are to address
the health challenges of an aging and increasingly
diverse population, and remain a vibrant force in
the global economy, America needs more invest-
ment in medical research, not less.”
You can read both letters in their entirety on the
Society Newsroom under the About Us tab.
Obama Makes Key DOE
Nominations
In mid-November, President
Barack Obama
nomi-
nated
Marc Kastner
to become Director of
the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Sci-
ence,
Franklin “Lynn” Orr
to assume the role of Un-
der Secretary for Science and Energy at DOE, and
Ellen D. Williams
to head the Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) at DOE. Kastner
is currently the dean of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology School of Science, Orr is a petroleum
engineering professor at Stanford University, and
Williams is chief scientist at BP. These nominations
will provide Secretary of Energy
Ernest Moniz
with a
full leadership team—these positions have been filled
by acting Directors since he became Secretary.
If confirmed by the US Senate, Kastner will direct the
office’s $4.6 billion budget that funds basic research
at universities and 10 national labs. The office is
currently managed by Deputy Director
Patricia M.
Dehmer
.
As Under Secretary, Orr will oversee the Office
of Science as well the offices of fossil fuel, energy
efficiency and renewable energy, nuclear energy, elec-
tricity delivery and energy reliability, Indian Energy,
and the technology transfer coordinator. Deputy
Under Secretary for Science and Energy
Michael
Knotek
has been serving in this role temporarily since
2011, when
Steven E. Koonin
left the position.
At ARPA-E, Williams will oversee the DOE’s lead
office for finding breakthrough energy technologies.
If confirmed, she will be the second director of
ARPA-E, replacing
Arunava Majumdar
, who held
the post since the office’s inception in 2010.
Biophysics on
Have you recently given a talk on a biophysical-re-
lated topic that was recorded? Send us the link
and we can add it to the Biophysical Society
YouTube Channel. The channel will make it easy
for those interested in biophysics to find inter-
esting talks to view or use in the classroom. You
can find the channel through the icon on the
Society website or by going to
.
com/user/biophysicalsociety
.
