Statement of Jeff Isaacson, USRA President and CEO, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

STATEMENT OF

DR. JEFFREY A. ISAACSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO,
UNIVERSITIES SPACE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION,
UNITED STATES SENATE

Update on How the COVID19 Pandemic Is Affecting Universities Engaged in Space-Related
Research and Education

May 13, 2020

Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Cantwell, and members of the Committee, thank you for requesting an update on how the COVID19 pandemic is affecting universities engaged in space- related research and education, and thank you for your leadership, throughout this pandemic, and for the assistance provided to universities in the CARES Act. I appreciate the opportunity to provide the Committee with this perspective, on behalf of the university community engaged in space-related research and education.

I serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), an association of universities deeply involved in our Nation's space program. USRA was formed by the National Academy of Sciences in 1969, at the height of the Apollo program. In concert with the vision of NASA Administrator James Webb, USRA was created to provide a means of collaboration among the U.S. Government, universities, and other research organizations toward the development and application of space-related science, technology, and engineering. Our mission is to advance the space- and aeronautics-related sciences and exploration through innovative research, technology, and education programs. We celebrated our 50th anniversary last year, as NASA completed its 61st.

USRA’s governance is grounded in 113 Ph.D.-granting universities, spanning 40 U.S. states and 10 countries. The universities establish USRA’s bylaws, elect members to our board of trustees, elect new university members of USRA, and provide guidance on public policy and advocacy. Each of these universities has Ph.D.-granting space science and/or engineering programs, in order to qualify for membership. Our advocacy is guided by our university membership, to provide an insightful voice in Washington on issues important to this part of the university community.

As you know, the university community educates the next generation of space scientists and engineers, and it embraces that mission in close cooperation with NASA. Together with universities, moreover, NASA plays a crucial role in developing the next generation of space professionals that will be able to design and deploy the U.S. space systems of the future. Training our future space workforce has significant implications for national defense, as well as civilian space applications. In the defense realm, U.S. space assets are critical to applications from communications, to navigation, to reconnaissance and surveillance, to meteorology. Space has been described as “the ultimate high ground,” and recent efforts to develop new operational doctrine within the Department of Defense put space on par with other warfighting domains, including air, land, maritime, and cyber.

Now, more than ever, partnership is needed between government and academia. Space-related research is typically only a modest part of the overall research portfolio at universities, but it has outsize impact on the U.S. space enterprise. It is imperative to our Nation’s future space workforce that we continue to prioritize investments that will advance our knowledge, create new industries and jobs, and give our students the technical background in space science and engineering that is necessary to succeed in a competitive world economy.

I am deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic on the university community, including, in particular, that part of the community engaged in space-related research and education. After only a few months, I fear the pandemic is already having a deleterious effect on the pipeline of talent of our future space scientists and engineers. I also worry that disruptions in current funding may lead promising students to take alternative career paths away from space.

As a part of our effort to respond to the Committee, I requested input from senior university faculty engaged in space-related research and education at our member universities. From their responses, I will outline five common themes on how the COVID19 pandemic is affecting this vital capacity at our Nation’s universities:

1. Disruption to teaching and education;
2. Financial damage;
3. Impact on students;
4. Impact on graduate and post-graduate training; and
5. Impact on our Nation’s research, especially space research.

Following that, I will provide recommendations for Congressional assistance.

USRA strongly supports the recommendations recently presented to the Committee by the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the American Council on Education (ACE), and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The recommendations I provide in this update are consistent with, and complement, those efforts.

To begin, in answer to one of the Committee’s requests, I will describe the efforts USRA itself has undertaken to help during the COVID19 pandemic.

USRA recently hosted a national conference call to connect members of the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) leadership to leaders within the university community engaged in Earth and space science research. NASA SMD participants provided a brief update on important measures being undertaken in response to COVID-19 to sustain the strength of the Nation’s university Earth and space science research enterprise, including steps to protect the health of faculty, staff, and students contributing to NASA’s mission. The majority of time was devoted to questions from the university community to the NASA SMD participants. USRA invited representatives from 130 universities to participate, and we ended up with over 100 universities joining in.

USRA works closely with universities, NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy on many activities, several of which directly drive our nation’s space workforce development. Below, I highlight three important programs that provide student internships and postdoctoral fellowships at U.S. Federal laboratories, and what USRA has done to help ensure some continuity for these programs.

How USRA is Responding in the Recovery from the COVID 19 Pandemic:

• USRA NASA Academic Mission Services (NAMS) Program

• USRA NASA Internships and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars

• USRA NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP)

Let me now describe what we have learned about the impact of the COVID19 pandemic from senior university faculty. These individuals are engaged in space-related research and education at our member universities, and they graciously provided first-hand inputs on this topic to USRA.

(1) COVID 19’s Disruption in Teaching and Education at Universities:

As you know, teaching in science and engineering programs at universities is done with large groups in lectures, smaller lectures in specialty areas, and in laboratory classes that both demonstrate physical principles, close up, while giving students practical training. Many universities have been able to switch large classes to remote learning, using services such as ZOOM. Universities cannot, however, use remote learning to demonstrate scientific processes to large groups. Student learning requires individual experiences. This requires instruction in small groups, typically with teaching assistants. Essential hands-on training at universities has ceased almost entirely.

With classes being moved online, other difficulties have emerged. Virtual classes now reach students, throughout their day, in various time zones across the country and around the world. For some students, classes are held in the middle of the night. Another problem is that not all students have the internet access needed to make online learning accessible.

Online learning will continue throughout the summer for most schools. If campuses reopen in the fall, classes and schedules are forecast to be significantly disrupted, because of the need for social distancing.

(2) Financial Damage to Universities:

Accounting for lost revenue in tuition, fees, housing, conferences, meetings, cancelled intercollegiate athletics and events, some universities have assessed the financial impact of the COVID19 pandemic to be in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. This financial damage to universities will worsen, if classes do not resume in the fall.

Schools are beginning to impose hiring and promotion freezes for postdoctoral researchers, research scientists, and faculty. I can also report that adjunct faculty layoffs are occurring.

Many universities have also incurred the costs of donating massive quantities of personal protective equipment (PPE) from their labs. They have assumed the cost of COVID19 testing for thousands of students, faculty and staff. Some schools have provided partial reimbursement to students for housing, and they have purchased licenses for faculty and staff for video instruction, conferencing, and proctoring of examinations.

The stimulus bills enacted into law, while helpful, are making up for only a small fraction of these kinds of losses. Some universities are considering salary reductions, while others have begun layoffs. Universities have also reported increased teaching loads, which will have major impact on university research.

Tuition and fee declines are anticipated, because cost fee structures for virtual courses are different from traditional on-campus delivery models, and because of economic uncertainties faced by current and potential students and their families. As university closures continue, additional budget cuts will rise.

I can also report that industry investments in universities are declining, in some cases.

Below are quotes from faculty at some of our Nation’s leading space research universities, describing how the pandemic has caused significant financial damage:

(3) Impact on Students at Universities:

Graduation ceremonies are a major part of the university experience. Needless to say, they have lost much of their impact and meaning during this epoch of virtual presence. Most, if not all, commencement ceremonies for spring 2020 will be conducted virtually. In addition, the graduation of many has been delayed for reasons of canceled classes, postponed classes, and sickness. Some students are also affected by a loss of financial support during this period, due to the loss of a student job, or employment within their supporting family.

As previously mentioned, the adjustment of students to remote instruction and online classes has been difficult, especially if they have internet connectivity issues. Depending on how universities grade students, this can potentially have an adverse impact on student scholarships, as well as student admissions to graduate and professional schools.

International collaborations and study-abroad opportunities are ending, which ultimately could lead to a stagnation of innovation. The long-term impact has yet to be determined, but we should identify ways to ensure our Nation continues to attract, train, and retain the top worldwide talent.

Here is a story shared by a professor at a major research university, which details the hardship one of his students is facing:

(4) Impact on Graduate, and Post-Graduate Training at Universities:

We have heard from many institutions that the shuttering of campuses has largely stopped research, both for graduate students who use this research to train for a degree, and for post- doctoral researchers who are just beginning their careers. As a result, doctoral proposal defenses, theses, and dissertation research are being postponed, which will delay time to graduation and completion of M.S. and Ph.D. degree requirements.

The interactions between professors and postdoctoral researchers have decreased, despite sincere efforts to communicate and continue the research remotely. Laboratory-driven postdoctoral research has slowed or completely stalled at many institutions. Delays to program deadlines, due to COVID19, requires them to stretch their existing grant support. This has the potential to slow early-career researchers in getting “off the ground,” which will have financial implications into the future, and could even affect the U.S. workforce.

Here is an example from a professor describing how graduate-level teaching has affected a significant space project:

(5) Impact on our Nation’s Research, Especially Space-Related Research at Universities:

Research progress has diminished significantly, due to lack of in-person interactions. Often, specialized equipment and resources are only available on site, which is currently inaccessible. I am told that that scientific papers will be lost, because of lockdowns of laboratories. I have also received reports indicating that fewer women are submitting journal manuscripts for review, compared to before the pandemic, and that grant proposals from women are also down.

Below is an example of research disruption from a faculty member at a USRA member university:

Recommendations for Congressional Assistance:

Universities play an essential role in nearly all aspects of our innovation economy, from supporting basic research, to training the next generation of scientists and innovators, to collaborating with industry to move new knowledge out of the lab and into the marketplace. As I mentioned earlier, now more than ever partnership is needed between government and academia to ensure that the Nation has the next generation of space professionals to design and deploy the space systems of the future.

A reduction of American capacity in space science and engineering would also impede pursuits such as human space exploration, commercial ventures in space, and national security uses of space. Our national security requires space engineers who are capable of designing and constructing reliable space hardware of exquisite capability, and space scientists who understand in exquisite detail the space environment and the rigorous challenges of operating spacecraft in orbit.

There is a fear within the community that funding to science agencies may decrease, given federal spending associated with the pandemic. We need to reassure the community that we will return to the research paths we were on when the pandemic first arrived.

Please allow me to conclude with recommendations for Congressional support to help mitigate the impact of COVID19 on space-related research and education in the university community:

1. Provide an additional appropriation to NASA, to be utilized by the Science Mission Directorate, to provide augmentations to selected existing grants and contracts to universities.

2. Extend maximum flexibilities to federal funding agencies to modify grants.

3. Increased investment to the NASA EPSCoR program.

I thank you again for your leadership and for your longstanding support of space-related research and education at universities. I am available to answer questions from the Committee or be of any further assistance.