#264 Neal Lane Remarks; National Academies Capstone; RoRS Workshop; Anti-Asian Hate; More
In This Issue #264
· Dr. Neal Lane Remarks on June 6 Forum and Goals
· National Academies Roundtable Capstone Workshop
· Dr. Tam Dao Update on Research on Research Security (RoRS) Workshop
· Anti-Asian Hate Incident with Columbia University Vice President for Communications
· News and Activities for the Communities
Dr. Neal Lane Remarks on June 6 Forum and Goals
During the APA Justice monthly meeting on July 1, 2024, Dr. Neal Lane, Senior Fellow, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University; Former Director of Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), The White House; Former Director, National Science Foundation (NSF), shared his thoughts about the important dialogue that was held at Rice University on June 6, 2024. Dr. Lane's remarks followed Kei Koizumi, Principal Deputy Director of OSTP.The June 6 forum was a groundbreaking occasion where representatives from the FBI, Asian American communities, and academic institutions gathered for a vital discussion. Dr. Lane explained why this unique gathering may be one of the most significant hosted by Rice University. America’s economy, security, and well-being are deeply intertwined with advancements in science, technology, and private sector innovation. The U.S. heavily relies on researchers and STEM workers from Asia, particularly China. If these talented individuals decide not to come here or those already here choose to leave, it will severely impact our scientific and technological progress.Not long ago, that sentiment would have been unthinkable.If some foreign entity decided to find a way to cause America to fall backwards in science, technology, innovation, and economic growth, and simply become a weaker nation, the China initiative would be an ideal strategy. Even with its cancellation, so much damage has already been done.Existing policies, rules, and enforcement guidelines are not clear, and there appear to be communication gaps between the policy makers and those who must enforce the rules. Dr. Lane is encouraged by Kei's comments that the guidelines will be coming out of the White House soon.
It is hard for those of us who are not there working on this problem in real time to understand the scope of what the challenges are.It is an understatement that policy makers do not always get it right. We have just heard some of the matters that Congress is dealing with right now, and that the White House is pushing back on.That was the reason Dr. Lane felt the June 6 Forum was so important. The fact that the FBI, with some risk, was reaching out to the Asian community, meant that there was a real chance to begin a much-needed dialogue.It brought together leaders from the FBI’s Houston Field Office and Washington headquarters, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and members of the Asian and academic communities. Discussions covered the China Initiative, issues with students at the border, the complex landscape of research security, and the ongoing need to balance research security with attracting and retaining top talent.Rice University's Office of Innovation, led by Vice President of Innovation Paul Cherukuri, spoke at the Forum. Key participants included representatives from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, the ACLU of Texas, the Asian American Scholar Forum, the Texas Multicultural Advocacy Coalition, and APA Justice.Although Customs and Border Protection representatives were invited, they did not attend. The Forum was moderated by Dr. Steven Pei and attended by about 75 in person, with over 400 joining virtually.
One major takeaway was the commitment from FBI leadership, particularly Jill Murphy, Deputy Assistant Director for counterintelligence in Washington, and Alamdar Hamdani, the US. Attorney for the Southern district of Texas. They both said that they are committed to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, and they acknowledge the potential link between the rise of hate crimes against Asians and the unfortunate portrayal of Asian Americans as being untrustworthy and here to steal intellectual property.Jill Murphy emphasized that the initiative was never intended to harm Asians and reassured us that the FBI takes anti-Asian bias seriously.One objective of the Forum was that it would pave the way for potential collaborations between the FBI and Asian communities and other cities, such as San Francisco. We are very happy to learn that FBI leadership in San Francisco, Robert Tripp, and U.S. Attorney from the Northern District of California, Ismail Ramsey, will be meeting with Asian American community there to hold similar discussions.Another goal of the Forum was to encourage the Government to maintain open lines of communication with the Asian community and advocate better coordination research security efforts.As we have heard from Kei, the White House OSTP is working hard to clarify research security policies for universities, researchers and funding agencies. One of OSTP’s many tasks is to manage the National Science and Technology Council. which is chaired by the President. The OSTP Director, Arati Prabhakar, sits on the President's Cabinet.
OSTP works with federal agencies to coordinate the complex funding and research security landscape and reduce the time consuming paperwork and other administrative tasks, many of which simply waste money and researchers’ time.In her annual State of Science talk a week ago, Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, reminded us that on average, surveys show that researchers spend 40% of their research time, not teaching time, on administrative tasks. And now, with new research security requirements being imposed by Congress, the burden could be even greater.OSTP is the place in the White House that keeps a focus on protecting the U.S. research enterprise while dealing sensibly and seriously with research security that can require pushing back on unhelpful, even damaging actions by Congress and some agencies. The challenge is formidable and exhausting, and it takes time.Regarding the border issues, Dr. Lane suggested that perhaps OSTP could convene meetings with officials of Homeland Security, and Customs and Border Protection in particular, to discuss the problems that some Chinese students are having as they try to re-enter the country.During the George W. Bush administration after 9/11, Jack Marburger was Director of OSTP. The office played a key role in establishing the Science and Technology Directorate of the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.Now might be a good time to renew the partnership between OSTP and Homeland Security.
It is not easy. If you look at the organization chart for Homeland Security, you find lots of offices and the directorate and connections between offices of all government organizations can be very difficult.
OSTP can perhaps make some of those connections a little easier for the folks who are working very hard within that department.On our part, as concerned Asian, Asian American, and academic and larger science communities, it will require patience and strong support of positive efforts that are underway, such as what Kei described in continuing dialogue with the White House and Federal agencies, including law enforcement.The unprecedented meeting on June 6 was a good start. The job now is to keep the momentum going. Dr. Lane is confident that APA Justice will continue to do its part. A summary for the July 1 APA Justice monthly meeting is being prepared at this time. Watch the June 6 Forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csqLJo869ZY (1:55:23)Additional reading:2024/07/04 Science Editorial: American academic freedom is in peril2024/07/04 Yahoo/Fortune: Washington’s scrutiny of Chinese and Chinese-American scientists is hurting their productivity—and global scientific cooperation2024/06/27 VOA: Reports of visa checks, deportations worry Chinese STEM students in US2024/05/30 Baker Institute for Public Policy: An Urgent Call for Clear and Fair Law Enforcement Guidelines and Procedures for Research Security
National Academies Roundtable Capstone Workshop
Although she was still recovering from COVID, Dr. Karla Hagan, Senior Program Officer and Staff Director of the National Academies Roundtable, gave an update on the Roundtable and the upcoming capstone workshop during the APA Justice monthly meeting on July 1, 2024.The Roundtable was created four years ago under the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. It brought together the law enforcement and intelligence communities with the research community in academia and industry. The Roundtable held 14 meetings in total, including five regional meetings outside of Washington DC in Maryland, Boston, Chicago, Stanford, and Texas. After four years of work, there will be a capstone workshop on July 16 and 17, 2024. It is a public event open to attendance in person or virtually. A public proceeding will also be published following the event. The Roundtable included members from across academia, government, and industry. It is focused on research security. It was pulled together at a time when law enforcement and academia were farther apart than they are now although there is still a long way to go.The capstone workshop will not only summarize the four years of Roundtable work, including impacts that Federal policies are having and concerns heard from the communities, but also to examine some of the potential next steps.Not too surprisingly, the discussions of the APA Justice monthly meeting are also some of the themes coming out of the Roundtable. All of us are invited to join the capstone workshop.
Registration to attend and additional information about the National Academies capstone workshop are posted here: https://bit.ly/3z0PnY7
Dr. Tam Dao Update on Research on Research Security (RoRS) Workshop
The National Science Foundation (NSF) launched the Research on Research Security program in 2023. It was inspired by a JASON report on research security. The report raised critical questions such as: What should research security look like? How should it be studied? What areas need a deeper understanding?On May 23 and 24, 2024, Rice University, in partnership with multiple organizations, hosted a groundbreaking global workshop on May 23 and 24, 2024, to explore the emerging field of Research on Research Security (RoRS).During the APA Justice monthly meeting on June 3, 2024, Dr. Tam Dao, Assistant Vice President for Research Security, Office of Research Security, Rice University, provided background information and outlined the workshop's two primary objectives:
1. Identifying Key Areas for Further Understanding: The workshop aimed to pinpoint specific areas within research security that require deeper understanding. The goal was to generate research questions and testable hypotheses to guide NSF’s funding priorities in this field.
2. Building a Community of Practice: NSF also sought to create a community of practice that could pursue these research opportunities once the requests for proposals are issued. NSF emphasized the importance of not only creating a research roadmap but also engaging scientists across various disciplines to apply for grants in this area.
For the workshop, Tam and Rice University brought together a diverse group of experts from across the United States and overseas, including participants from Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, and the United Kingdom. These experts represented fields ranging from STEM to public policy, economics, business, social sciences, and law, offering a broad perspective on research areas needing further exploration.Ideas were collected from the virtual session. They were then bucketed for the in-person workshop.The workshop materials, including notes and videos, were organized into several thematic buckets, with the first focusing on national security and the cross-cutting clusters identified in the JASON report. Key themes included:
· Defining the Scope of the Problem: Assessing the true scale and scope of research security issues and determining how to study them effectively.
· Data Access: Addressing the challenges of accessing and utilizing relevant data.
· Policy and Governance: Examining the impact of policies at individual, institutional, and societal levels.
· Risk Assessment in the Research Enterprise: Developing models to assess and quantify risks associated with research activities in face of the challenge of defining and understanding the different perspectives of risk.
· International Collaboration: Understanding how policies affect international research collaborations and comparing approaches across different countries.
Some hurdles identified included data access, especially when dealing with classified information, and the need for innovative methods to share and analyze sensitive data. The integration of social scientists with experts in hard sciences was seen as crucial for advancing research in this area.One of the biggest challenges is encouraging researchers to engage in this new field. NSF expressed concerns that despite generating research questions, scholars might hesitate to shift their focus to research security due to a lack of familiarity. Therefore, a key message from the workshop was to motivate the scholarly community to pursue these research grants.The workshop’s findings will be compiled into a report for NSF, with a planned delivery by the end of July or early August. NSF is eager to move forward quickly, likely driven by the requirements of the CHIPS and Science Act, which mandates progress in this area.Overall, the workshop marked a significant step toward understanding and improving research security, fostering collaboration among scientists, and addressing the critical challenges identified. A summary for the June 3 APA Justice monthly meeting is being finalized. Read the Rice News report on RoRS: https://bit.ly/45ForsU
Anti-Asian Hate Incident with Columbia University Vice President for Communications
According to NBC News on June 24, 2024, Ben Chang, Columbia University’s spokesperson and vice president for communications, was on his way to work on June 17 when a man approached him just a few blocks from school, began yelling at him and hit him with a metal water bottle. Chang told NBC News that during the altercation, the man told him to “go back to your f‐‐‐‐‐‐ country” and continued following him for some time after the assault.So far, no arrests have been made, but the New York Police Department (NYPD) said the Hate Crime Task Force was notified about the attack. “It’s important to report what happened both in my own case, but also for overall, trying to make sure this sort of thing doesn’t happen in the future,” Chang said. “I’m born and raised in the D.C. area. My mom grew up in West Virginia. We don’t get much more American and apple pie. And that’s jarring.”Chang, 52, said the confrontation was unprompted, that he didn’t speak to the man or bump into him. As the man yelled at him, Chang said he attempted to ignore him and kept walking, but the man then struck him anyway. Read the NBC News report: https://nbcnews.to/3XLVQ3n. Read the AsAmNews report:
Stop the Hate Event from San Francisco
On June 22, 2024, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association organized Stop the Hate event in San Francisco. The event raised awareness on education, awareness, safety, protection and prevention of hate crimes with emphasis on the elderly people, assaults, theft, drugs and homelessness. Police Commissioner Larry Yee served as moderator for the event and the speakers included Mayor London Breed, District Attorney Broke Jenkins and Police Chief Bill Scott. Ding Ding TV served as a media partner on the event and livestreamed it to its audience. Over 100 people watched the event live. Watch a video of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFkXHI7chWQ (1:27:16).
News and Activities for the Communities
1. APA Justice Community Calendar
Upcoming Events:2024/07/10 2024 Asian American Voter Survey Press Briefing2024/07/11-12 National AAPI Leadership Summit2024/07/13 APIAVote: Presidential Town Hall, Philadelphia PA2024/07/15 APIAVote: RNC Convention, AAPI Briefing &Reception, Milwaukee, WI2024/07/16-17 National Science, Technology, and Security Roundtable - Capstone2024/07/27-28 Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony2024/08/04 Rep. Gene Wu's Town Hall Meeting2024/08/05 APA Justice Monthly MeetingThe Community Calendar has moved. Visit https://bit.ly/3XD61qV for event details.
2. 2024 Asian American Voter Survey Press Briefing
WHAT: 2024 Asian American Voter Survey Press BriefingWHEN: July 10, 2024, 1:00 pm ETWHERE: Virtual eventHOSTS: APIAVote, APIA Data, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC, AARPDESCRIPTION: Leaders from APIAVote, APIA Data, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC, and AARP will present findings from their bi-annual Asian American Voter Survey, the longest-running longitudinal survey of AAPI voters. Since 2012, this comprehensive, multilingual survey has revealed what issues matter most to this rapidly growing part of the electorate and how those issues impact their voting habits.REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/4bD2c8E
3. Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony
WHAT: Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and CeremonyWHEN: July 27, 2024, 8:30 am - 9:00 pm PTWHERE: In-person fee event at Stanford Memorial Auditorium, 551 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305HOST: Asian American Scholar ForumDESCRIPTION: The Inaugural Asian American Pioneer Medal Symposium and Ceremony will honor the transformative contributions by the Asian American pioneers, and will bring together some of the most distinguished minds in the fields of energy, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and leadership. Nobel Prize laureates Steven Chu and Randy Schekman and Turing Award laureate Raj Reddy will deliver keynote speeches and former Stanford president and Turing Award laureate John Hennessy and distinguished industry leader Eric Yuan will engage in fireside chats, providing a unique platform for intellectual exchange and inspiration. The winners of the “Youth Ambassador for Science” competition will also be recognized at the Symposium.REGISTRATION: https://bit.ly/3XLApPN
4. Vince Fong Elected to U.S. Congress
According to AP on June 3, 2024, Republican Vince Fong of California was sworn into Congress after winning a special election to complete the remainder of the term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Fong was a member of the California State Assembly before running for the House. He was backed by former President Donald Trump and McCarthy. Fong’s swearing-in gives Republicans a 218-213 majority. Read the AP report: https://bit.ly/45TZ8DJ
5. Committee of 100: 2025 Annual Conference and Gala
The Committee of 100 will host its next annual conference and gala at Fairmont Century Plaza, Los Angeles, on April 24-26, 2025.
July 8, 2024