“Your service and dedication [to science]…has been an inspiration to me.”
You facilitated “a watershed moment in my career”
Your feedback when I was a young scientist “meant the world to me”
“My grant wouldn’t exist without your thoughtful encouragement and practical and helpful conversations”
These kudos were among hundreds of messages sent by scientists to National Science Foundation, or NSF, Program Officers, who were abruptly terminated from their positions Tuesday. In total, 10% of the scientists who steward research grants, including all the so-called “experts,” which are specialist scientists who know their fields best, were part of the massacre.
As an NSF-funded researcher myself, I can’t overstate the devastation wrought by firing the people who run federal grant programs. I call program officers to help me understand how best to pitch my research so it gets funded and when I need help strategizing how to make my science as impactful as possible.
I am devastated by what these cuts mean for my ability to train the next generation of scientists and to produce science that helps us understand how to address the biodiversity and climate crises. I am terrified that these and other federal cuts mean we won’t be ready for the next pandemic, wildfire, or natural disaster.
On NPR I recently heard the Trump Administration may seek to give taxpayers some of the savings from these indiscriminate firings. If the dollar amount they estimate is true, and many say it’s orders of magnitude smaller than their estimate, that would yield $11 per taxpayer. I don’t know about you, but if it’s between $11 in my pocket and our country’s continued ability to produce world-class science, I’d choose science every time.
I’m Holly Jones, and that’s my perspective.
