The White House Blog: Technology

Supporting Stem Cell Research

Today, millions of Americans suffer from conditions like Alzheimer’s Parkinson’s and heart disease. And while we don’t know exactly what stem cell research will yield, scientists tell us that this research has the potential to help treat or cure these and many other diseases and conditions.

That’s why President Obama supports responsible stem cell research and it’s why we’re pleased with a court decision that paves the way for stem cell research to continue.  Earlier today, a court ruled that a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s ability to support stem cell research was unlikely to succeed and allowed federally supported stem cell research to continue.

The ruling was a victory for scientists and the patients who will benefit from their work. And the ruling will help ensure our nation remains at the forefront of scientific and medical research and innovation.  As President Obama said tonight to the students of Miami Dade College at their commencement , “America will only be as strong as our pursuit of scientific research and our leadership in technology and innovation.”

Stem cell research has the potential to cure diseases that have touched virtually every American family. We’re committed to realizing this potential and supporting responsible research that could develop new treatments, improve public health and deliver relief to patients in America and around the world. 

Drawing Inspiration on Smart Grid Innovation from America’s Youth

Last week, I met two high school students who compelled their school to measure energy usage and—wouldn’t you know—empowered with this information, the school was able to realize a 13 percent energy reduction and a 250 percent return on investment. 

These two young women, Shreya Indukuri and Daniela Lapidous, high school juniors at the Harker Upper School in San Jose, California, convinced their school administration to adopt simple off-the-shelf sub-metering technology which helped the school discover that the air conditioning switched on in the gymnasium each night.

Sparked by the ease at which such savings can be achieved, Shreya and Daniela founded their own non-profit organization, SmartPowerEd, which helps other schools in the Bay Area to save energy and money.   

My colleagues and I, as part of the National Science and Technology Council’s Smart Grid Subcommittee, have been engaged on these issues over the last year. Consistent with the President’s commitment to an open government, members of the Subcommittee have reached out to over 100 stakeholders to better understand how the Federal Government can collaborate with partners across the country and set policies to make America’s electric grid smarter. Our outreach efforts have also included Department of Energy Requests for Information and a collaborative blog facilitated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In fact, two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting a coalition to discuss how the deployment of smart grid and smart building technologies can foster innovation in the energy sector, reduce energy waste, and help consumers save money on their electricity bills.  At the meeting, participants emphasized the energy saving potential of enabling electronic access to energy data for all homes and buildings, including examples of how consumers are benefiting through a number of pilot programs around the country.  The comments shared during this meeting will help inform our ongoing efforts to provide policy recommendations and guidance for development of the Administration’s Smart Grid policy.  We also asked members of this group, as we have of other such groups, what efforts they were taking—like the students at SmartPowerEd—to enable consumers to use energy more efficiently. 

Enabling greater levels of energy efficiency is part of why making America’s electric grid smarter is an important part of the President’s vision for a clean energy economy and is a critical part of our Nation’s ability to “out innovate” the global competition on energy technologies while helping Americans keep money in their pockets by lowering electricity bills.

Thanks for all of the input.  Stay tuned for more.

Aneesh Chopra is U.S. Chief Technology Officer

The President’s Facebook Town Hall: Budgets, Values, Engagement

We noted after the President’s town hall in Virginia that the questions he got from the crowd mirrored almost perfectly the issues that are being debated right now in Washington, and that the philosophical differences guiding that debate will have profound implications for the lives of virtually every American throughout their lives.  And so while a Facebook Town Hall on our fiscal future might seem an odd fit at first glance, the President explained in his opening remarks why a platform like that was important:

And historically, part of what makes for a healthy democracy, what is good politics, is when you’ve got citizens who are informed, who are engaged.  And what Facebook allows us to do is make sure this isn’t just a one-way conversation; makes sure that not only am I speaking to you but you're also speaking back and we're in a conversation, we’re in a dialogue. 

Members of the audience take pictures as President Barack Obama participates in a town hall meeting moderated by CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. April 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

The questions came from a number of sources, from Facebook employees in the room to Facebook users across the country who had opportunities to ask questions live or days ahead of time.  As it happened, a Facebook employee raised in Detroit asked a question we hear a lot on all of our channels online, from Facebook to Twitter to YouTube to WhiteHouse.gov:

Do you have the White House app for your phone?

Today, we're announcing two new developments for the White House's mobile apps.

Now, with the newly upgraded White House iPhone app, you can get an alert that President Obama is about to speak, then watch it live, right in the palm of your hand. Over 400,000 people have already downloaded the app, so if you don’t already have it make sure you do.

That’s not all. When we first released the iPhone app, we heard from a lot of Android owners who wanted something for their devices, too. So we’re excited to announce the White House’s new official mobile app for the Android operating system.

With both of these mobile apps, Americans can get alerts directly from the White House, check out behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and read the latest news from the blog or the Briefing Room.

As a reminder, WhiteHouse.gov is also optimized for any mobile phone’s browser. Take a look at http://m.whitehouse.gov/ to check it out.

According to the numbers, more and more of you are using mobile devices to access content on WhiteHouse.gov. In the last two months, 6.6% of visits to WhiteHouse.gov came from the iOS or Android operating system - nearly double the share of visits over the same period last year (3.6%). 

We’re constantly working to make it easier for the American public to connect with the Administration. Please give us feedback on these new apps, the mobile website or anything else related to the White House online program’s technology.