Office of Science and Technology Policy explained

Agency Name:Office of Science and Technology Policy
Seal:US-OfficeOfScienceAndTechnologyPolicy-Seal.svg
Preceding1:Office of Science and Technology
Headquarters:Eisenhower Executive Office Building
725 17th Street NW, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Employees:130
Chief1 Name:Arati Prabhakar
Chief1 Position:Director
Parent Agency:Executive Office of the President

The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is a department of the United States government, part of the Executive Office of the President (EOP), established by United States Congress on May 11, 1976, with a broad mandate to advise the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs.

The director of this office is traditionally colloquially known as the Science Advisor to the President. A recent appointed director was mathematician and geneticist Eric Lander who was sworn in on June 2, 2021.[1] Lander resigned February 18, 2022, following allegations of misconduct.[2]

On February 16, 2022, the Biden administration announced that deputy director Alondra Nelson would serve as acting director and former NIH director Francis Collins would serve as acting science advisor. Both assumed positions on February 18, 2022. In October 2022, Arati Prabhakar became Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.[3] [4]

On August 25, 2022, OSTP issued guidance to make all federally funded research in the United States freely available without delay.[5] [6]

History

20th century

President Richard M. Nixon eliminated the President's Science Advisory Committee after his second Science Advisor, Edward E. David Jr., resigned in 1973, rather than appointing a replacement. In 1975, the American Physical Society president Chien-Shiung Wu met with the new president Gerald Ford to reinstate a scientific body of advisors for the executive branch and the president, which President Ford concurred to do.[7] The United States Congress then established the OSTP in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the effects of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The 1976 Act also authorizes OSTP to lead inter-agency efforts to develop and to implement sound science and technology policies and budgets and to work with the private sector, state and local governments, the science and higher education communities, and other nations toward this end.

21st century

Under President Donald Trump, OSTP's staff dropped from 135 to 45 people.[8] The OSTP director position remained vacant for over two years, the longest vacancy for the position since the office's founding.[9] [10] [11] Kelvin Droegemeier, an atmospheric scientist who previously served as the vice president of research at the University of Oklahoma, was nominated for the position on August 1, 2018[12] and confirmed by the Senate on January 2, 2019.

Michael Kratsios was nominated by President Trump to be the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States and associate director of OSTP in March 2019[13] and was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on August 1, 2019.[14] During Trump's tenure, Droegemeier also managed the National Science and Technology Council.

President Joe Biden named, and the Senate later unanimously confirmed,[15] Eric Lander as head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is a cabinet-level post.[16] Lander resigned in February 2022 following reports that engaged in abusive conduct against both subordinates and other White House officials.[17]

In 2022, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy held a roundtable discussion with some of the nation’s leading scientists to discuss the need to combat the climate crisis and counter arguments for delaying climate action. It is the first time that the White House has recognized scientists who study the climate denial operation run by the fossil fuel industry.[18]

On August 8, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the CHIPS and Science Act which included a provision to create a blockchain and cryptocurrency specialist advisory position under the OSTP to be established and appointed by the Director.[19]

Staff

Key positions vary among administrations and are not always published online.[20]

Directors

List of OSTP directors.[23]

class=unsortable ImageNameStartEndPresident
August 9, 1976January 20, 1977
January 20, 1977January 20, 1981

March 5, 1981August 1981
August 1981December 1985

January 1986May 23, 1986

May 24, 1986October 1, 1986
October 2, 1986June 1989

June 1989August 1989

August 1989August 1989
August 1989January 20, 1993
January 20, 1993April 3, 1998

April 4, 1998August 3, 1998
August 4, 1998January 20, 2001

January 21, 2001September 30, 2001

October 1, 2001October 28, 2001
October 29, 2001January 20, 2009

January 20, 2009March 19, 2009
March 19, 2009January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017January 11, 2019
January 11, 2019January 20, 2021

January 20, 2021June 2, 2021
June 2, 2021February 18, 2022
Alondra Nelson
[24]
February 18, 2022October 3, 2022
October 3, 2022present

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: White House science advisor Eric Lander sworn in on Pirkei Avot published in 1492. June 2, 2021 . June 2, 2021 . Jewish Telegraphic Agency. en-US.
  2. Web site: Thompson. Alex. 'I am deeply sorry for my conduct': Biden's top science adviser apologizes to staff. 2022-02-08. POLITICO. en.
  3. Web site: White House unveils 'AI bill of rights' as 'call to action' to rein in tool. washingtonpost.com. 2022-10-05.
  4. Web site: Senate Confirms Prabhakar to Lead White House Science Office. bloomberglaw.com. 2022-10-05.
  5. News: OSTP Issues Guidance to Make Federally Funded Research Freely Available Without Delay .
  6. News: Patel . Vimal . 2022-08-26 . White House Pushes Journals to Drop Paywalls on Publicly Funded Research . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-09-02 . 0362-4331.
  7. Book: Chiang, Tsai-Chien . January 2013 . Madame Wu Chien-shiung: The First Lady Of Physics Research . World Scientific . 184–185 . 9789814579131.
  8. News: Donald Trump's science office is a ghost town . Jacqueline . Alemany . November 21, 2017 . CBS.
  9. Morello . Lauren . Wait for Trump's science adviser breaks modern-era record . Nature . October 24, 2017 . 10.1038/nature.2017.22878 .
  10. News: Trump's war on science isn't what you think . Peter . Aldhouse . January 18, 2017 . CBS.
  11. Reardon . Sara . Witze . Alexandra . July 31, 2018 . The wait is over: Trump taps meteorologist as White House science adviser . Nature . 560 . 7717 . 150–151 . 2018Natur.560..150R . 10.1038/d41586-018-05862-y . 30087470 .
  12. Web site: Trump finally picked a science adviser. He's a meteorologist. Named Kelvin.. Umair. Irfan. August 1, 2018. Vox.
  13. Web site: President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to a Key Administration Post. en-US. National Archives. whitehouse.gov. August 5, 2019.
  14. Web site: Michael Kratsios confirmed as US CTO . Chappellet-Lanier . Tajha . August 1, 2019. Fedscoop. August 4, 2019.
  15. Web site: Eric Lander Confirmed for Top White House Science Post Inside Higher Ed. June 2, 2021. www.insidehighered.com. en.
  16. News: Biden elevates science post to level . January 15, 2021 . msn.com . AFP . Yahoo News . January 15, 2021.
  17. Web site: February 7, 2022 . White House science adviser resigns after probe found he bullied staffers .
  18. News: Joselow . Maxine . February 24, 2022 . White House science office to hold first event on countering climate change denial and delay . .
  19. Web site: Ryan . Tim . 2022-08-09 . Text - H.R.4346 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Supreme Court Security Funding Act of 2022 . 2022-09-06 . www.congress.gov.
  20. Web site: Staff. National Archives. whitehouse.gov.
  21. Web site: White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Announces New Chief of Staff OSTP . 2022-12-18 . The White House . en-US.
  22. News: Egan . Lauren . July 30, 2024 . What if Harris cleans house? . Politico.
  23. Web site: Previous Science Advisors (1973–2009). . .
  24. Web site: Ward . Myah . Biden names 2 people to replace Eric Lander in top science roles . 2022-02-17 . . en.