The Steering Committee for the Decadal Survey will generate recommendations from the environmental monitoring and Earth science & applications communities on a sustainable approach for the U.S. government’s civilian space-based Earth-system science programs. These programs are carried out predominantly by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), with supporting and complementary contributions from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. departments of Energy (DoE) and Defense (DoD). This committee will work for 18-24 months. 
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The Committee on the Future of Center-Based Multidisciplinary Engineering Research will develop a vision and make high-level, strategic recommendations for the future of NSF-supported center-scale, multidisciplinary engineering research. The study will focus on the forces that are likely to shape engineering research, education, and technological innovation in the future, as well as the associated challenges and opportunities.

A member of the NAE since 2013, Braun already serves as vice chair of NAE's Space Studies Board and as chair of NAE's U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Program. He also holds the David and Andrew Lewis Professorship in Space Technology and is the director of Georgia Tech's Center for Space Technology And Research (C-STAR). 
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"It's going to be a busy year," he said.