WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Michael Kratsios, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), unveiled a transformative report to President Trump aimed at rejuvenating the United States’ research and development (R&D) sector. This report, titled Science: A New Golden Age, represents the first major reassessment of the U.S. science and technology landscape in over 80 years, since Vannevar Bush’s seminal work, Science: The Endless Frontier.
“American scientific progress was the beating heart of the 20th century. After World War II, we adapted to a new world by reinventing our scientific institutions, and we must do so again today. This report lays a policy foundation that frees American scientists to do their most groundbreaking work, revives the national pursuit of ambitious scientific missions, and positions the United States to lead the AI-driven scientific revolution that will define the next century,” said Director Kratsios.
Accompanying the report, Director Kratsios and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought released the White House Fiscal Year 2028 R&D Priorities Memorandum. This annual memorandum provides Federal departments and agencies with specific directives to implement the strategies proposed in Science: A New Golden Age.
The report’s recommendations for government, industry, academia, and philanthropy are centered on four main pillars:
- Revitalize America’s Science and Technology Enterprise
Efforts should be directed toward supporting individual scientists over legacy institutions, diversifying funding mechanisms beyond traditional peer review processes, creating agile new research organizations like X-Labs and expanded ARPA-like entities, and establishing metascience units to ensure continuous improvement. - Secure U.S. Dominance in Critical and Emerging Technologies
Federal R&D should focus on national mission-driven scientific initiatives that bring together government, industry, academia, and philanthropy to achieve ambitious goals. These initiatives include the Genesis Mission to double American research productivity through AI, the Quantum Computer for Application Development and Discovery Science (QC-ADDS), demonstrating commercial fusion power by the mid-2030s, crewed lunar return and base development, and advancing next-generation semiconductor technologies. - Launch a New Golden Age Powered by AI for Science
The Federal government should fully fund and expand the Genesis Mission as the leading national AI-for-science initiative to significantly accelerate discoveries. This includes developing domain-specific scientific foundation models and high-value datasets, investing in AI-enabled verification infrastructure and autonomous laboratories, and transitioning towards AI-native scientific institutions that are better adapted to machine-augmented research. - Ensure That Science and Technology Better the Lives of All Americans
Federal agencies should incorporate hands-on technical training and apprenticeships into STEM education, open scientific careers to skilled craftspeople and practitioners, foster dense regional innovation clusters that connect research with advanced manufacturing, and ensure the economic benefits of discoveries are distributed across all regions and communities.
Federal R&D agencies are tasked with submitting an action plan within 90 days to outline the implementation of these priority practices, while aligning their FY2028 budget submissions to the Office of Management and Budget with this guidance.
Visit whitehouse.gov/science to read the report and memo.
