Biden Re-Establishes the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
Biden Re-Establishes the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST)
President Biden has issued an Executive Order re-establishing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). This quick action highlights the importance the new administration places on scientific integrity. PCAST advisors will be responsible for providing the President with input based on the best-available science, data, and technological information available. Under the previous administration, PCAST was only reconstituted 33 months into the Trump presidency, creating a lapse in the body for over 2.5 years.
The President’s decision to immediately reconstitute PCAST aligns with the “Scientific Integrity Presidential Memorandum” also released last week. This memorandum promotes evidence-based policymaking and directs agencies to make evidence-based decisions guided by the best available science and data. The memorandum makes ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies a responsibility of the Director of OSTP and requires that the Director review the effectiveness of agency scientific-integrity policies and assess agency scientific-integrity policies and practices.
Many of the ASME Federal Fellows have supported the work being done at PCAST in past administrations. Michael Molnar, current Director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office at NIST and a former ASME Federal Fellow, referenced his specific work with PCAST in his 2015 Roy V. Wright Public Policy Lecture, which can be read here: https://www.nist.gov/speech-testimony/engineers-federal-fellows-and-four-principles-engineering-public-policy.
No information has been released as to when the White House will announce its PCAST members. ASME will continue to provide updates as they are made available.
The President’s decision to immediately reconstitute PCAST aligns with the “Scientific Integrity Presidential Memorandum” also released last week. This memorandum promotes evidence-based policymaking and directs agencies to make evidence-based decisions guided by the best available science and data. The memorandum makes ensuring scientific integrity across federal agencies a responsibility of the Director of OSTP and requires that the Director review the effectiveness of agency scientific-integrity policies and assess agency scientific-integrity policies and practices.
Many of the ASME Federal Fellows have supported the work being done at PCAST in past administrations. Michael Molnar, current Director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office at NIST and a former ASME Federal Fellow, referenced his specific work with PCAST in his 2015 Roy V. Wright Public Policy Lecture, which can be read here: https://www.nist.gov/speech-testimony/engineers-federal-fellows-and-four-principles-engineering-public-policy.
No information has been released as to when the White House will announce its PCAST members. ASME will continue to provide updates as they are made available.
Related Content
The Evolving Manner of Leadership Skills
Mar 7, 2024
Good leaders must be flexible enough to know how changing times and circumstances affect their role in managing people and teams. But some situations still can benefit from an old-skill approach.
Infographic: Rounding the Peak on Carbon Emissions
Jan 18, 2024
Nearly 78 percent of the decrease in emissions is accounted for by the electric power sector, but auto efficiency also helped.
Energy Blog: Mirage or Oasis for Climate Action?
Dec 14, 2023
A wealthy petrostate might seem like an odd place to hold a major conference on climate action, but the positive results of COP28 show the importance of getting oil-rich nations onboard with carbon emissions reductions.
Material Limits Impact Infrastructure Plans
Dec 1, 2023
Vaclav Smil describes the challenge of building out enough wind turbines and electric vehicles to bring down carbon emissions.