15 USC 278 - Education and outreach

View all text of Chapter 7 [§ 271 - § 286]

§ 278g–1. Education and outreach

(a) In general

(b) Hiring

The Director, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, may revise the procedures the Director applies when making appointments to laboratory positions within the competitive service—

(1) to ensure corporate memory of and expertise in the fundamental ongoing work, and on developing new capabilities in priority areas;

(2) to maintain high overall technical competence;

(3) to improve staff diversity;

(4) to balance emphases on the noncore and core areas; or

(5) to improve the ability of the Institute to compete in the marketplace for qualified personnel.

(1) In general

(2) Acceptance of personnel

The Director may accept, subject to regulations issued by the Office of Personnel Management, voluntary service for the Institute for such purpose if the service—

(A) is to be without compensation; and

(B) will not be used to displace any current employee or act as a substitute for any future full-time employee of the Institute.

(3) Federal employee status

(d) Research fellowships

(1) In general

The Director may expend funds appropriated for activities of the Institute in any fiscal year, as the Director considers appropriate, for awards of research fellowships and other forms of financial and logistical assistance, including direct stipend awards to—

(A) students at institutions of higher learning within the United States who show promise as present or future contributors to the mission of the Institute; and

(B) United States citizens for research and technical activities of the Institute, including programs.

(2) Selection criteria

(3) Financial and logistical assistance

(e) Educational outreach activities

The Director may—

(1) facilitate education programs for undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and academic and industry employees;

(2) sponsor summer workshops for STEM kindergarten through grade 12 teachers as appropriate;

(3) develop programs for graduate student internships and visiting faculty researchers;

(4) document publications, presentations, and interactions with visiting researchers and sponsoring interns as performance metrics for improving and continuing interactions with those individuals;

(5) facilitate laboratory tours and provide presentations for educational, industry, and community groups; and 1

1 So in original. The word “and” probably should not appear.

(6) conduct outreach to and develop research collaborations with historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and minority serving institutions, including through the recruitment of students and faculty at such institutions to participate in programs developed under paragraph (3);

(7) conduct outreach to and develop research collaborations with community colleges, including through the recruitment of students and faculty at such institutions to participate in programs developed under paragraph (3);

(8) carry out other activities to increase the participation of persons historically underrepresented in STEM in the Institute’s programs; and

(9) conduct outreach to and develop collaborations with nontraditional educational organizations, including those that offer training through nonprofit associations and professional associations or professional societies, to engage persons historically underrepresented in STEM through programs developed under this subsection.

(Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 872, § 18, as added Pub. L. 114–329, title III, § 306(b), Jan. 6, 2017, 130 Stat. 3008; amended Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title II, § 10241, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1486.)