[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5634-5636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-2012]
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OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Grand Challenges of the 21st Century; Request for Information
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On September 21, 2009, President Barack Obama released his
``Strategy for American Innovation.'' The strategy outlines the
Administration's plans to foster innovation for sustainable growth and
the creation of high-quality jobs.
One of the goals of the President's strategy is to harness science
and technology to address the ``grand challenges'' of the 21st century.
This Request for Information (RFI) is designed to collect input from
the public regarding (1) The grand challenges that were identified in
the strategy document; (2) other grand challenges that the
Administration should consider, such as those identified by the
National Academy of Engineering; (3) partners (e.g., companies,
investors, foundations, social enterprises, non-profit organizations,
philanthropists, research universities, consortia, etc.) that are
interested in collaborating with each other and the Administration to
achieve one or more of these goals, and (4) models for creating an
``architecture of participation'' that allows many individuals and
organizations to contribute to these grand challenges.
RFI Guidelines: Responses to this RFI should be submitted by 11:59
p.m. Eastern Time on April 15, 2010. Responses to this RFI must be
delivered electronically as an attachment to an e-mail sent to
[email protected].
Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by
the Government to form a binding contract or issue a grant. Information
obtained as a result of this RFI may be used by the government for
program planning on a non-attribution basis. Do not include any
information that might be considered proprietary or confidential.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any questions about the content of
this RFI should be sent to [email protected].
Additional information regarding this RFI is at http://www.ostp.gov/grandchallenges/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Obama Administration believes that grand
challenges should be an important organizing principle for America's
science, technology and innovation policy. Grand challenges can address
key national priorities, catalyze innovations that catalyze economic
growth and quality jobs, spur the formation of multidisciplinary teams
of researcher and multi-sector collaborators, bring new expertise to
bear on important problems, strengthen the ``social contract'' between
science and society, and inspire students to pursue careers in science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics.
There are multiple types of grand challenges. Some define important
problems in a particular field of science and engineering. For example,
in 1900, the German mathematics professor David Hilbert posed 23
``mathematical
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puzzles'' which helped keep his contemporary and future colleagues busy
for a century. Others pursue an advance in technological capability,
such as the development of an exaflop supercomputer capable of one
million trillion calculations per second. The focus of this RFI is on
hard, unsolved scientific or engineering challenges that will have
significant economic or societal impact and address an important
national priority.
The classic grand challenge is the ``moon shot.'' As President
Kennedy said in his speech before a 1961 joint session of Congress, ``I
believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning
him safely to the Earth.'' More recently, in the late 1980s, the United
States launched an effort to sequence an entire human genome, which has
transformed biomedical research and promises to improve healthcare.
The Gates Foundation identified 14 grand challenges in global
health in areas such as developing new or improved vaccines,
controlling insect vectors, and creating low-cost diagnostics for
global health conditions. Their goal is to radically improve in the
developing world by ``engaging creative minds across scientific
disciplines, including those who have not traditionally taken part in
health research.'' See http://www.grandchallenges.org for additional
information.
The National Academy of Engineering identified 14 engineering grand
challenges associated with sustainability, health, security, and human
empowerment, such as providing access to clean water, engineering
better medicines, securing cyberspace, and restoring and improving
urban infrastructure. These grand challenges are already beginning to
have an impact on undergraduate education. Twenty-five universities
have decided to participate in the Grand Challenge Scholars Program.
Undergraduate students at these campuses will be able to tackle these
problems by integrating research, an interdisciplinary curriculum,
entrepreneurship, international activities, and service learning. Some
universities are also organizing campus-wide research initiatives
around grand challenges. See http://www.engineeringchallenges.org for
additional information.
In his ``Strategy for American Innovation,'' President Obama
identified the following grand challenges:
Complete DNA sequencing of every case of cancer; smart
anti-cancer therapeutics that kill cancer cells and leave their normal
neighbors untouched; early detection of dozens of diseases from a
saliva sample; nanotechnology that delivers drugs precisely to the
desired tissue; personalized medicine that enables the prescription of
the right dose of the right drug for the right person; a universal
vaccine for influenza that will protect against all future strains; and
regenerative medicine that can end the agonizing wait for an organ
transplant.
Solar cells as cheap as paint, and green buildings that
produce all of the energy they consume.
A lightweight vest for soldiers and police officers that
can stop an armor-piercing bullet.
Educational software that is as compelling as the best
video game and as effective as a personal tutor; online courses that
improve the more students use them; and a rich, interactive digital
library at the fingertips of every child.
Intelligent prosthetics that will allow a veteran who has
lost both of his arms to play the piano again.
Biological systems that can turn sunlight into carbon-
neutral fuel, reduce the costs of producing anti-malarial drugs by a
factor of 10, and quickly and inexpensively dispose of radioactive
wastes and toxic chemicals.
An ``exascale'' supercomputer capable of a million
trillion calculations per second--dramatically increasing our ability
to understand the world around us through simulation and slashing the
time needed to design complex products such as therapeutics, advanced
materials, and highly efficient autos and aircraft.
Automatic, highly accurate and real-time translation
between the major languages of the world--greatly lowering the barriers
to international commerce and collaboration.
Clearly, support for addressing such specific challenges should be
only one element of the federal government's overall R&D portfolio. The
government also plays a critical role in supporting investigator-
initiated research and research that is motivated solely by an interest
in expanding the frontiers of human knowledge.
RFI Response Instructions: The White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy and the National Economic Council are interested in
responses that address one or more of the following topics:
Input Regarding Any of the Grand Challenges Identified by President
Obama's Strategy for American Innovation
Should the United States make it a priority to achieve
this grand challenge? Why or why not?
What existing activities in the public and private sector
could the United States build on to achieve this challenge?
What specific metrics or goals should the United States
use to evaluate its progress towards this grand challenge? What roadmap
would help inform decision-makers in the public and private sectors?
What are the most important scientific and technical
challenges that would need to be addressed to realize this challenge?
What are the most important gaps in the nation's R&D
portfolio that should be addressed? What kinds of R&D investments (e.g.
supports for individual investigators, small teams, centers, research
infrastructure, etc.) should the United States Government emphasize?
What are the appropriate roles of the government,
industry, academia and other stakeholders in achieving this challenge,
and what new forms of collaboration should be explored? What are the
appropriate roles for pre-competitive collaboration and market-based
competition?
What are the economic, ethical, legal, and societal issues
raised by pursuit of this challenge? What roles are there for
researchers and scholars in the humanities and the social and
behavioral sciences?
In addition to investment in R&D--what are other policies
should the United States Government be considering to achieve this
challenge and to realize the broader economic and societal benefits
associated with related scientific and technological advances (e.g.
procurement, incentive prizes, development or adoption of technical
standards, international collaboration, targeted investment in
education and workforce development, sponsorship of pilots or test
beds, changes in legal, regulatory or other public policies)?
Identification of Additional Grand Challenges
What are other grand challenges should the United States
be considering, such as those identified by the National Academy of
Engineering? Please provide input to one or more of the questions
identified above.
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Identification of Partners
The Administration is interested in stimulating multi-sector
collaborations to achieve these grand challenges that might involve
companies, research universities, foundations, social enterprises, non-
profits, and other stakeholders.
What partners or types of partners would need to
collaborate to accomplish this goal?
What specifically would your organization be willing to do
to achieve this grand challenge?
What models, institutions, technologies, and networks
would enable broad participation by individuals and organizations in
achieving these grand challenges?
M. David Hodge,
Operations Manager, OSTP.
[FR Doc. 2010-2012 Filed 2-2-10; 8:45 am]
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