The stimulus bill and energy

The Stimulus Bill and Energy : NPR’s Jeff Brady looks at how the Department of Energy will spend $43 billion on new and sustainable energy programs over the next few years. More than $2.4 billion has been spent already.

Nine universities receive $45 million from an anonymous donor : Since 1 March a number of universities have received large-scale anonymous donations, conditional on the universities not investigating the donor’s identity and with the same stipulation, says Michael J. Crumb of the Associated Press : “Most of the money must be used for student scholarships, and the remainder can be spent on various other items such as research, equipment, strategic goals, and operating support.”

The largest gift went to Purdue University, which received $8 million. The University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and the University of Maryland University College got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million; Norfolk State University and Penn State Harrisburg received $3 million each, while the University of North Carolina at Asheville received $1.5 million.

FY 2010 budget update : The Obama administration is likely to send Congress its much-anticipated FY 2010 budget request by early next month, says AIP’s Richard Jones.

UK should have its own science-based stimulus bill : Martin Rees argues in the Guardian newspaper that a robust UK economy can only be developed if innovation and research are made greater priorities. “Only by investing in science and research now can we take advantage of the massive market prospects as the world develops new, more environmentally friendly ways of making a living,” says Rees.

”...our leading universities ... are major national assets. They will only stay that way if they can continue to attract and retain outstanding academics, by offering adequate funding and the opportunity to explore the most exciting research questions,” he adds.