In a Physics Today article published on February 14, 2025, Physics faculty member Meg Urry, Israel Munson professor of physics, was one of a handful of researchers willing to speak on the record about the uncertainty, fear, and foreboding on University campuses across the country. Urry commented, “I see a lot of upset and outrage. People are shell-shocked. They don’t know what to do.”
The article is written in response to the many executive orders President Donald Trump has signed since he took office on January 20th. It concerns how these executive orders will affect the STEM research community, particularly in academia.
At the federal agencies that fund the bulk of scientific research in the US, budgets are threatened, spending is on hold, jobs are being cut, funded grant proposals are to be scrutinized under new lenses, and grant review panels are being moved online, delayed, or canceled. Some of the orders and enactments are being challenged in court, but legal rulings are likely to take a while, and many scientists worry that lasting damage has already occurred.
Several senior faculty say they are especially worried about young scientists. Will principal investigators continue to win grants and be able to pay graduate students and postdocs? Will tenure-track scientists obtain the funding they need to advance their careers? Will universities be able to offer sufficient startup packages to new hires? Will young scientists leave research?
Recently, an undergraduate stuck his head into Urry’s office and asked if he should forget about grad school. “It would be terrible if bright young people decide not to go into STEM,” says Urry. “This country runs on scientific discoveries. Long-term investments pay off and are what have made and kept the US a world leader.”
This article is adapted from the Physics Today article of February 14, 2025, by Toni Feder.