AAU President Barbara R. Snyder is part of a new task force that will provide decisionmakers in the United States with a roadmap for strengthening the nation’s science and technology (S&T) enterprise, which is crucial for maintaining U.S. leadership in global innovation and for bolstering our economy and national security.
The Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST) task force is composed of “more than 60 of the nation’s most influential leaders in science, industry, education, philanthropy, and public policy” and includes Arizona State University President Michael Crow and Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels. The task force is being convened by the Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC), “a group of 25 non-profit, academic, foundation, and corporate leaders working to dramatically strengthen U.S. science and technology.”
According to a STAC press release, the VAST task force will draw from the leaders’ “collective insights and experiences” to create a vision for how the United States can continue to be a global science and technology powerhouse and maintain its competitive edge against other nations.
The task force will share a draft of its roadmap with the incoming Trump administration and Congress during the presidential transition period and will release the final roadmap in February 2025.
According to the press release, the task force is currently “working to identify opportunities and challenges facing the enterprise” and assessing “the steps needed to ensure the enterprise can meet incoming challenges.” According to Axios, among other things, the task force is considering avenues for developing domestic STEM talent; fostering partnerships between industry and government and “facilitating the movement of scientists between the two;” and “following through on the CHIPS and Science Act money that has been authorized, but not appropriated.”
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.