Energy Secretary Steven Chu aims to
better integrate basic and applied sciences.[1] OSTI's mission [2],
products, and services support this goal. Secretary Chu sees the need
to build networks to connect research within national labs,
universities, and industry. A number of OSTI's research offerings
directly facilitate open communication. Secretary Chu seeks to expand
international science collaboration. WorldWideScience.org, conceived
at OSTI, promotes such collaboration. Secretary Chu wants to link
research with solutions to our nation's pressing problems. OSTI,
through the DOE SBIR program, encourages small businesses to develop
and commercialize technologies that advance the acceleration of
science. Secretary Chu values development of engineering talent. OSTI
is developing technology that will improve science education.

As Walt Warnick explained in a previous
article, "Science Depends on the Diffusion of Knowledge,"
[2] the fabric of science is constructed from the billions of
knowledge transactions that transpire every year. Science advances to
the extent that we can increase the number of such transactions and
their contact rate with scientists new to particular transactions.
Secretary Chu's goal is identical to OSTI's: connect researchers
regardless of the type of facility -- national lab, academic, or
commercial -- anywhere in the world. WorldWideScience.org serves as a
global gateway to science. WorldWideScience.org is built upon a
foundation of global government and government-approved scientific
databases that are mined through federated search technology. This
technology, advanced by OSTI, penetrates the deep Web, where this
high quality content resides, and makes global discovery, the
diffusion of important science ideas, possible, practical, and
efficient. Participating nations freely share their science with the
world, ensuring the vital cross-fertilization of ideas needed to
solve the world's pressing science problems.

OSTI advances the kind of collaboration
networks that Secretary Chu cares about via a three-step model:

1. Conceive and develop wonderful
   tools that foster global discovery of R&D results in any area of
   interest. Science.gov, WorldWideScience.org, the E-print Network, and the
   Conferences Proceedings portal are prime examples, all built by
   OSTI.

2. Create the network by allowing any
   researcher to find and identify other researchers from around the
   world in any area of interest.

3. Grow and sustain the network by
   enabling any researcher to create and tailor alerts for new
   developments and new people to join the network.

Secretary Chu believes it's critical to
invest in science education:

"Developing
Science and Engineering Talent: Several years ago, I had the
honor and privilege of working on the "Rising Above the Gathering
Storm" report commissioned by Chairman Bingaman and Senator
Alexander. One of the key recommendations was to step up efforts to
educate the next generation of scientists and engineers." [4]

OSTI has taken the lead to develop an
inter-agency science education portal specifically to connect
students and teachers with the very best material to stimulate
learning and to produce that next generation of scientists.

OSTI understands the challenges of
advancing science. OSTI's mission of advancing science goes far
beyond making R&D findings available to DOE researchers and to
the public. The mission aims at nothing less than accelerating the
spread of important ideas through the fabric that is science.

Sol
Lederman

Consultant

References:

[1]
DOE:
Chu pledges
R&D overhaul, Ben Geman,
March 5, 2009
(http://www.eenews.net/eenewspm/2009/03/05/5/)

[2]
OSTI Mission (http://www.osti.gov/about/mission)

[3]
Science Depends on the Diffusion of Knowledge, Dr.
Walter Warnick, OSTIblog, March 10, 2009
(http://www.osti.gov/ostiblog/home/entry/science_depends_on_the_diffusion)

[4]
Statement of Steven Chu Secretary of Energy before the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources, March 5, 2009
(http://www.energy.gov/news2009/6964.htm)