CCST Newsroom

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) turned fifty last year, and the space agency is both reflecting on the triumphs of the past five decades and navigating the difficult process of mapping a way forward in a climate of tight budgets and changing technologies. “NASA is having a mid-life crisis,” said CCST Council Chair […]

California has two ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The first, proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 and codified in the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), requires that emissions in 2020 be no higher than emissions in 1990. The second, also proposed by the Governor, calls for California’s emissions in […]

As NASA looks back on 50 years of space exploration, Elon Musk is looking ahead to life beyond Earth. The best way to get there, he contends, is business entry into the universe of space travel. Musk, the 38-year-old CEO and chief technology officer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), is the keynote speaker at the […]

The movement to improve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the Golden State took an important step forward in September when Stephanie Couch began work as the project director of the nascent California STEM Innovation Network (CSI-N). Couch brings a strong background in education policy and advocacy to the job of building a […]

The infusion of funds from ARRA promises some relief for the strained California education budget, but the system – already coping with over $7 billion in mid-year budget cuts from 2008-9 – is struggling to cut costs, a struggle that has directly impacted classrooms and teachers. Members of the California Teacher Advisory Council (Cal TAC) […]

The federal stimulus package enacted earlier this year is intended to jumpstart the economy and provide support to individuals through a variety of programs. Overall, the governor’s office estimates that ARRA will result in approximately $85 billion in benefits to California. Projected ARRA benefits for California break down as follows: Tax relief: $30.2 billion Health […]

When the first human-made satellite was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, aeronautic research and development in the United States rested in the hands of multiple agencies and programs including the Air Force, the Navy, and the Army. In 1958 the National Aeronautics and Space Act, signed by President Eisenhower, brought together all these […]

On September 8th, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council held a symposium to release a new report emphasizing the importance of introducing engineering into K-12 education. The report examines the status and nature of efforts to teach engineering in U.S. schools. California Teacher Advisory Council (Cal TAC) member Pete Arvedson attended […]

Robert J. Spinrad, former CCST Board and Council member, died on September 2nd of Lou Gehrig’s disease. “For the many of us who knew Bob, we will remember him as a great mind – acute, passionate and imaginative,” said CCST Executive Director Susan Hackwood. Spinrad was a pioneer in computer science, building his first computer […]

A recent report from the National Research Council says that there is abundant evidence that informal science education settings, such as museums, aquariums, and after-school programs are important contributors to people’s knowledge and interest in science. But for the California Science Center, this is nothing new. “People continue to learn their whole life,” said CCST […]

The National Research Council Center for Education, National Academy of Engineering (NAE), CCST, and the California Teacher Advisory Council (Cal TAC) have hosted three symposia designed to inform and develop a California STEM Innovation Network (CSI-N), in order to more effectively coordinate and drive the issues of STEM education in the public agenda. The first […]

On May 27, 2009, the California Council on Science and Technology convened, on behalf of the State’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BT & H), the first formal meeting of a newly formed Personalized Health Information Technology Task Force (PHIT). This meeting was an outcome of several months of investigative work by a steering committee […]

The worsening of the financial crisis since September 2008 has made it more difficult to finance new clinical information systems (CIS) in the near term, but newly approved federal funding for healthcare information technology (HIT) has the potential to offset these challenges, according to a newly released report by researchers at the University of California, […]

CCST Chair Charles Kennel, former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and CCST Council Member Wanda Austin, president and CEO of the Aerospace Corporation, have been named members of NASA’s Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee. “I am honored to be part of this committee to help NASA through the […]

On April 27, during remarks at the National Academy of Sciences, President Barack Obama announced the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Among the newly appointed members was CCST Senior Fellow Maxine Savitz, retired general manager of Technology Partnerships at Honeywell Inc. and Vice President of the National Academy of Engineering. “This […]

In 1973, a small pilot program placed seven fellows with scientific backgrounds in congressional offices, in an effort to make their expertise available to policymakers facing increasingly technical legislative issues. Over three decades later, the number has ballooned to over 150 Fellows, and demand for the Fellows is stronger than ever. For 35 years, the […]

CCST is pleased to announce the launch of a new fellowship opportunity for professional scientists and engineers to spend a year working in Sacramento with the California State Legislature. The California Science and Technology (S&T) Policy Fellowships provide a professional development opportunity that will enable members of the scientific community to contribute to scientific and […]

The new administration of President Barack Obama has invited CCST Council member Peter Cowhey to serve as a member of the senior leadership team at the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Cowhey will serve as Senior Counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative on strategy and negotiations. Peter F. Cowhey is the Qualcomm […]

Rollin Richmond, president of Humboldt State University, has joined the CCST Board of Directors. The appointment follows a decision to expand representation from the California State University System on the Board. “We are very pleased with the working relationship that we continue to develop with the California State University,” said CCST Board Chair Karl Pister. […]

CCST is completing a study, Overview of California R&D Funding from 2005-2007, which provides a snapshot of R&D spending by the state government. The report provides a partial update to CCST’s 1999 analysis of California state R&D funding, carried out as a component of the “California Report on the Environment for Science and Technology” (CREST). The new study […]

The National Academies and CCST are working with the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation to hold a convocation on building and sustaining effective programs in elementary school science education. The convocation is scheduled to be held on April 29 and 30, 2009 at the Beckman Center in Irvine. “For science to assume fully its role […]