It’s been years since I’ve featured a PCAST meeting here; I just don’t stumble across the notices all that often anymore.
Unfortunately, I got there late this time, It’s especially unfortunate as the meeting was on “Biomanufacturing, the Federal Science and Technology Workforce, and the National Nanotechnology Initiative.” Held on November 29, 2021, it was livestreamed. Happily, there’s already a video of the meeting (a little over 4.5 hours long) on YouTube.
If you go to the White House PCAST Meetings webpage, you’ll find, after scrolling down about 40% of the way, ‘Past Meetings’, which in addition to the past meetings includes agendas, lists of guests and their biographies and more. Given the title of the meeting and the invitees, this looks like it will have a focus on the business of biotechnology and nanotechnology. This hearkens back to when former President Barack Obama pushed for nanotechnology manufacturing taking the science out of the laboratories and commercializing it.
Here’s part of the agenda for the November 29, 2021 meeting (I’m particularly interested in the third session; apologies for the formatting),
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Public Meeting Agenda
November 29, 2021
Virtual
(All times Eastern)12:15 pm Welcome
PCAST Co-Chairs: Frances Arnold, Eric Lander, Maria Zuber
…
3:45 pm Session 3: Overview of the National Nanotechnology InitiativeModerator: Eric Lander
Speaker: Lisa Friedersdorf, National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
…
The biographies for the speakers can be found here. (I’m glad to see that President Joe Biden has revitalized the council.)
For anyone unfamiliar with PCAST, it has an interesting history (from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology webpage),
Beginning in 1933 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Science Advisory Board, each President has established an advisory committee of scientists, engineers, and health professionals. Although the name of the advisory board has changed over the years, the purpose has remained the same—to provide scientific and technical advice to the President of the United States.
Drawing from the nation’s most talented and accomplished individuals, President Biden’s PCAST consists of 30 members, including 20 elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, five MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, two former Cabinet secretaries, and two Nobel laureates. Its members include experts in astrophysics and agriculture, biochemistry and computer engineering, ecology and entrepreneurship, immunology and nanotechnology, neuroscience and national security, social science and cybersecurity, and more
Enjoy!