OSTP

A nanotechnology regulation hat trick from the US federal government

by Andrew Maynard June 10, 2011

It must be Nanotechnology Regulation week in Washington DC.  Yesterday, two federal agencies and the White House released documents that grapple with the effective regulation of products that depend on engineered nanomaterials. In a joint memorandum, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of the United [...]

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Regulating emerging technologies – Science & Public Participation top a new White House set of principles

by Andrew Maynard April 16, 2011

Cross-posted from The Risk Science Blog: Back in 2007 the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a set of “Principles for Nanotechnology Environmental, Health and Safety Oversight” (no longer available on the OSTP website it seems, but you can read them in this Nanowerk article). At the time, I was less [...]

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Prepare and Inspire: The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology’s take on STEM education

by Andrew Maynard September 16, 2010

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – PCAST – has just released a new report on US K-12 education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (the STEM subjects).  The report provides, in the words of the President’s Science Advisor John Holdren, “a strategy for improving K-12 STEM education that responds to the [...]

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White House plans a new government policy coordination group on emerging technologies

by Andrew Maynard April 10, 2010

According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) plans to form a new interagency group on emerging technologies, including nanotechnology and synthetic biology.  The announcement was make by Tom Kalil, deputy director for policy at OSTP, at a government-organized workshop on Risk [...]

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Geoengineering goes mainstream

by Andrew Maynard April 8, 2009

Twelve months ago, geoengineering seemed little more than the fancy of science fiction writers and fringe scientists.  Now, an increasing number of people are viewing it as a viable – if extreme – option for curbing global warming.  This shift was hammered home today by Dr. John Holdren, President Obama’s science advisor, in his first [...]

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Obama – staking out a science and technology presidency

by Andrew Maynard December 20, 2008

John Holdren is confirmed as the next Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Barack Obama is serious about science and technology.  It was clear in the campaign; clear in the President-Elect’s policies, and doubly clear in the speed with which he has established scientific leadership for the incoming administration. Today’s official announcement that [...]

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John Holdren – Obama’s new science advisor?

by Andrew Maynard December 18, 2008

Reports are coming in that Professor John Holdren – director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School, University of Harvard – is Barack Obama’s pick for science advisor, and head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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