Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act

Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act - (Sec. 2) Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out a program of awarding grants to scientists and engineers at the early stage of their careers at institutions of higher education in the United States and at certain research organizations to conduct research in fields relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Permits the existing Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program to be designated as the mechanism for awarding such grants.

Requires: (1) the duration of such awards to be five years; and (2) the amount of such an award per year to be at least $80,000.

Instructs such Director: (1) in awarding such grants, to endeavor to ensure that the recipients are from a variety of institutions of higher education and nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organizations; (2) in support of such goal, to broadly disseminate information about when and how to apply for such grants, including by conducting outreach to historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions; and (3) in awarding such grants, to give special consideration to eligible early-career researchers who have followed alternative career paths such as working part-time or in nonacademic settings, or who have taken a significant career break or other leave of absence.

Instructs such Director, for FY2008-FY2012, to earmark at least 3.5% of funds appropriated to NSF for research and activities related to such grants program, except to the extent that a sufficient number of meritorious grant applications have not been received for a fiscal year.

Requires reports describing the: (1) distribution of the institutions of the awardees of the CAREER Program since FY2001 among specified categories of institutions of higher education; and (2) impact of such program on the ability of young faculty to compete for NSF research grants.

(Sec. 3) Requires the Director of the Office of Science of the Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out a program of awarding grants to scientists and engineers at the early stage of their careers at specified institutions of higher education and the research organizations described in this section to conduct research in fields relevant to the mission of the DOE, giving priority to grants to expand domestic energy production and use through coal-to-liquids technology and advanced nuclear reprocessing.

Requires: (1) the duration of such awards to be up to five years; and (2) the amount of such an award per year to be at least $80,000.

Instructs such Director to give priority to proposals in which the proposed work includes collaborations with DOE national laboratories.

Instructs such Director: (1) in awarding such grants, to endeavor to ensure that the recipients are from a variety of institutions of higher education and nonprofit, nondegree-granting research organizations; and (2) in support of such goal, to broadly disseminate information about when and how to apply for such grants, including by conducting outreach to historically black colleges and universities and minority institutions.

Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 to the Secretary of Energy to carry out such Director's responsibilities under this section.

Requires such Director to transmit a report on efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and engineers at the early stages of their careers at the DOE laboratories.

(Sec. 4) Requires the Director of the NSF to earmark at least 1.5% of funds appropriated for research and related activities to the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program.

Instructs such Director to coordinate with federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, to expand the interdisciplinary nature of such program.

Authorizes such Director to accept funds from other federal departments and agencies to carry out such program.

(Sec. 5) Directs the President to periodically present the Presidential Innovation Award, on the basis of recommendations received from the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy or on the basis of such other information as the President considers appropriate, to individuals who develop one or more unique scientific or engineering ideas in the national interest.

Specifies that such awards shall be made to: (1) stimulate scientific and engineering advances in the national interest; (2) illustrate the linkage between science and engineering and national needs; (3) show the potential of such innovation to substantively enhance the economic competitiveness of the United States through development of commercializable intellectual property; and (4) provide an example to students of the contributions they could make to society by entering the science and engineering profession.

Bars an individual from receiving such an award unless at the time such award is made the individual is: (1) a citizen or foreign national of the United States; or (2) is an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who has filed an application for naturalization and is not permanently ineligible to become a U.S. citizen.

(Sec. 6) Directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish a National Coordination Office for Research Infrastructure to: (1) identify and prioritize deficiencies in research facilities and instrumentation in academic institutions and at national laboratories that are available for use by academic researchers; and (2) institute and coordinate the planning by federal agencies for the acquisition and maintenance of research facilities and major instrumentation required to address the deficiencies identified. Instructs such Office, in prioritizing such deficiencies, to consider research needs in areas relevant to the nation's economic competitiveness.

Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to appoint individuals to serve in such Office from among the principal federal agencies that support research in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering, and at a minimum, to include individuals from the NSF and the DOE.

Requires such Director to provide annual reports to Congress at the time of the President's budget proposal: (1) describing the research infrastructure needs identified; (2) listing research facilities projects and budget proposals for major instrumentation acquisitions that are included in the President's budget proposal; and (3) explaining how these projects and acquisitions relate to the deficiencies and priorities arrived at.

(Sec. 7) Permits the NSF, in carrying out its research programs on science policy and on the science of learning, to support research on the process of innovation and the teaching of inventiveness.

(Sec. 8) Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to transmit a report on efforts to recruit and retain young scientists and engineers at the early stages of their careers at the NIST laboratories and joint institutes.

(Sec. 9) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a balanced science program as authorized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2005 contributes significantly to innovation in, and the economic competitiveness of, the United States; and (2) a robust National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), funded at authorized levels, would offer a balance among science, aeronautics, exploration, and human space flight programs, all of which can attract and employ scientists, engineers, and technicians across a broad range of fields in science, technology , mathematics, and engineering. Instructs the Administrator of NASA to fully participate in any interagency efforts to promote innovation and economic competitiveness through scientific research and development within authorized spending levels.

(Sec. 10) Directs the NSF to establish a program to be known as the Undergraduate Scholarships for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or US-STEM program, for awarding scholarships to undergraduate scholars in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Specifies the requirements that a student must meet to be eligible for a scholarship under such program, including that the student is a citizen or permanent resident alien of the United States.

Provides for scholarship recipients to be selected based on merit and such other criteria as the NSF shall establish.

Instructs the NSF to announce awards before April 1 for each upcoming academic year and allows the NSF to make up to 2,500 awards per year. Permits awards to be made for a maximum of two academic years for each student, and requires that scholarship amounts be paid to the student's institution.

Requires the Director of the NSF to establish an advisory board, which shall make recommendations to such Director for selection criteria for scholarship recipients, and provide guidance and oversight for such program.

Authorizes appropriations to the NSF for FY2009-FY2013 for carrying out such program.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov