The Python Software Foundation just had to pass on a US$1.5M grant from the National Science Foundation for PyPI maintenance. One condition of the funding was that the PSF drop any DEI efforts, and if this condition is violated, the NSF can claw back the money even if it's already been spent. That clawback is too risky, so the PSF had to pass on the funding. (This is pretty shameful: PyPI security is a broad benefit, but of course the administration prefers to grind its own ax here.)
If you develop #Python code or rely upon it for your business, it'd be great if your company could become a sponsor of the PSF, or if you could donate personally to the PSF.
See the first images captured by the largest camera ever made.
@PetaPixel reports: "The very first photos captured by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) camera at the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory have been released."
Just taking a moment in my laboratory this afternoon, staring at this investment of my time and love, and taxpayer dollars, and wondering what will become of the USian scientific enterprise as we cede our role in the world.
My little piece of the USian scientific enterprise. A small laboratory about 7 meters by 5 meters, packed with equipment. In the right front, you see green compressed gas bottles, across from that in the left bottom there is an isotope ratio mass spectrometer, and there is a homemade vacuum line and pyrolysis system set up across the background. You cannot see the fume hood and analytical balances tucked in behind the vacuum separations line. Fluorescent light fixtures line the ceiling.
Basic research advances science, and can also have broader impacts on modern society, argues an essay at @ConversationUS.
The author explains how the U.S. National Science Foundation "can make a big difference for K-12 students and teachers, museumgoers, citizen scientists and other people interested in science."
FYI, if you happen to be a scientist in a large English-speaking country with uncertain future research financing; my employer, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) is looking for grad students, postdocs and PIs.
It's a research institute, so no undergraduates, and the working language is English - no japanese required. And its located on a (semi) tropical island in the Pacific.
Staff members at the US National Science Foundation (#NSF) were told on 30 April to “stop awarding all funding actions until further notice,” according to an email seen by Nature.
The policy prevents the NSF, one of the world’s biggest supporters of basic research, from awarding new research grants and from supplying allotted funds for existing grants. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01396-2
From a trusted source: We received a heads up that you should proactively download/print/screen shot any documentation on research.gov pertaining to your NSF awards, both those that are current and any that have closed in the last 5-6 years.
There is credible evidence that such things are being planned for removal, and that their absence would then be used to justify punitive actions, such as terminations or future penalties. 1/n
" 'This kind of cut would kill American science and boost #China and other nations into global science leadership positions,' [said] Neal Lane, who led the #NSF in the 1990s during Bill Clinton's presidency."
PS: I've never liked #nationalist arguments for funding or fostering science. Science is international. But the #Trump admin is putting us in a dilemma. Either we see deep cuts in US science funding. Or we use nationalist arguments to avert those cuts.
There are non-nationalist arguments to fund US science. For example, good science is usually expensive and those who do it well should be funded for the benefit of all. Unfortunately that argument is not likely to work on Trump admin officials. It's not US-specific and applies everywhere, even in China.
"The #Trump administration’s assault on the #NSF represents precisely the kind of political interference [#VannevarBush] sought to prevent — one that threatens not only scientific progress but also the very foundation of academic freedom."
"This survey collects stories showcasing the transformative positive impact of #NSF, #NIST, #DOE, #NASA, and #DOD-funded research and programs as well as what would be lost if support for basic research evaporates. You can document your experiences and share how recent executive actions have impacted you. Individual stories will be only be used publicly with permission or when fully anonymized."
PS: Note that there are other kinds of cuts that Levine does not bring into this calculation, like withholding funds from targeted institutions because of their DEI or antisemitism policies.
PS: This one is more personal for me. In 1996 I visited Palmer Station, an NSF-funded base for polar biology on Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula, and had a wonderful talk and tour with its director, Polly Penhale.
"All new research grants have been frozen at the US National Science Foundation (#NSF) — an action apparently ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency (#DOGE)… Documents seen by Nature show that two members of DOGE…have been given access to grant management systems and used that access to prevent grants from receiving funding that were already approved but awaiting finalization. 'That, of course, raises the hairs on the back of our neck in a worrisome way,' an NSF programme officer says."
"In January, the #Trump administration attempted to freeze grant payments for existing awards at the #NSF. A temporary restraining order lifted the freeze. The order also said that the agency could not terminate active awards to comply with President Trump’s executive orders…In a statement on Friday, the NSF said that its grant cancellations were not in violation of the temporary restraining order. When asked by The Times to provide clarification on the legality of the grant cancellations, the agency declined to comment…On Friday, the NSF went further, canceling grants supporting ongoing research."
"Staff members at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) were told on 30 April to “stop awarding all funding actions until further notice,” according to an email seen by Nature. The policy prevents the NSF, one of the world’s biggest supporters of basic research, from awarding new research grants and from supplying allotted funds for existing grants, such as those that receive yearly increments of money. The email does not provide a reason for the freeze and says that it will last 'until further notice'."