300M for Humans on Mars, Robots, and Fighting Solar Storms

It's no secret that President Obama is a blerd--a big-time sci-fi buff and a huge proponent of advancing STEM. He just served as guest editor of popular geek'zine Wired's November issue. President Obama launched a number of STEM-related initiatives and at his most recent event, the White House Frontiers Conference, revealed specifics on how the United States will push technology and innovation. At the conference, held in Pittsburgh last week, the Obama administration announced that 300 million would go toward science, technology, and innovation. The investment is "to develop the industries of the future and harness science and technology to help address important challenges," according to a press release issued by The White House.