FYI science policy briefs

Stay up to date on science policy with FYI

Science policy is changing at a rapid pace—much faster than can be adequately covered in the pages of a monthly magazine. To stay abreast of the evolving policy landscape, check out the articles, newsletters, and tools available on the FYI website, https://aip.org/fyi . The Monday newsletter previews upcoming science policy events and recaps developments from the previous week. The FYI team also publishes deep-dive articles throughout the week.

FYI’s Federal Science Budget Tracker has comprehensive data on funding proposals and outcomes for agencies that support the physical sciences. For each agency, the tracker has interactive tables and charts with program-level budget details. FYI also maintains a Bill Tracker that follows the most important science legislation advancing in Congress. Although most bills do not make it into law, they signal policymakers’ priorities and contain ideas that are often implemented through other means, such as executive action. And the FYI website profiles key policy figures, including the latest presidential nominees, for each federal science agency.

APS suggests selective R&D on carbon dioxide removal

The American Physical Society released a report in January that recommends cautiously pursuing R&D on various methods for removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. But the report stresses that the technologies have extensive resource requirements and should not be viewed as an alternative to reducing emissions. The report highlights the energy-intensive nature of engineered approaches, such as direct air capture using chemical processes, and the substantial land areas needed for natural processes that capture carbon in plant matter or rocks. Accordingly, it recommends that funding agencies request that proposals for R&D on any CO₂ removal approach identify the expected energy demand, the power source, and the land area needed and impacted.

The report also highlights the need for economic policies that balance the costs and benefits of carbon-removal strategies. For example, it states that chemical direct air capture at scale is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars per gigaton of CO₂ but that those high costs could be offset with emissions-reduction policies that impose a cost for carbon emissions. The report anticipates that even with sharp emission reductions, atmospheric CO₂ removal on the scale of 1–20 gigatons per year may be necessary by later this century to avoid a surface temperature rise of more than 2 °C.

Fermilab searching for new director

Fermilab director Lia Merminga abruptly stepped down in January, with no reason given for the resignation. Merminga had been expected to remain as director under the new management contract that began this year. One potential precipitating factor is that on its 2024 report card from the Department of Energy, the lab received its lowest marks since the current lab appraisal process began in 2006. The lab failed to meet expectations in five out of eight categories, including grades of C+ in program management and contractor leadership and a C in business systems. (The DOE Office of Science defines a B+ grade and above as meeting expectations.)

Merminga was appointed director in April 2022 and was the first woman to hold the position. Young-Kee Kim, a physics professor at the University of Chicago and former Fermilab deputy director, is serving as interim director, and the lab has launched a search for a new director.