Whitehouse: State of STEM Address

On Wednesday, January 13, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) held its Fourth Annual State of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Address, or ‘SoSTEM’.

The address featured Dr John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of OSTP, as well as other special guests as they highlight exciting advances in science and innovation.

President Obama just spent the vast majority of his final State of the Union talking about technology.

As Jason Koebler of tech website Motherboard said: “Of course he did, because the future of America—the future of the world—hinges on what technology is doing to the economy and our jobs, what it’s done to our environment (and how it can maybe bail us out of the climate quagmire we’ve found ourselves in).”

“We’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future—especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels,” said President Obama. “I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.”

The the SoSTEM address will builds on President Obama’s final State of the Union speech and details the current state of skills and what is needed to deliver the technological advances the world aspires to achieve.