Evolutionary Biologist | @DEB @NSF | Fighter for Science and Scientists | Former Prof of Bio @Univ AL, Postdoc @UC Berkeley, PhD @UVA | More than just science, but science is my love (views always my own)
Leslie Rissler
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Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.
“At NSF, the net reduction of 205 STEM Ph.D.s between 1 January and 30 November constituted 40% of its total pre-Trump Ph.D. workforce of 517, by far the largest percentage at any agency. STEM Ph.D.s also make up a larger percentage of the total workforce at NSF than at any other agency…”.
“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.”
OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.)
NSF at -42%!
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone.
The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets.
We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.
"Getting the budget deal done was crucial. But that was then. The red light is now flashing. All hands, report to stations."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Welcome to the resistance, Dr. Thorp.
Excited to share a new paper written by a AAAS Policy Fellow I mentor, Dr. Lisa Walsh.
“This review synthesizes literature on fieldwork safety across scientific disciplines, highlighting four facets of safety for leaders and researchers to address: physical, social, financial, and psychological.”
News to me:
“The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado," Russ Vought, … said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”
NSF
- Forced reorg
- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)
- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)
I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃
I am shocked to see this language from the NSF.
“The U.S. National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request reflects a strategic alignment of resources in a constrained fiscal environment while eliminating woke and weaponized grant programs that previously funded radical DEI projects.”
US science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions.
Although research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s s...
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...
Jeffrey Mervis
www.science.org
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
