Researchers at the University of Oregon say the new Trump administration is having a chilling effect on their work.
The federal government is aiming to make cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, while introducing new anti-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion criteria for grants.
Edward Davis, a professor of Earth Sciences at UO, said that leaves researchers uncertain about future funding as they prepare new grant proposals.
Davis said funding cuts could especially hurt UO’s graduate employees, since a portion of them are hired using federal research dollars. He said this may make it harder for students to start a career in the sciences.
"There'll be fewer opportunities for young people to move up in the career ladder," said Davis. “We're going to end up with—I expect—a brain drain of young, smart people moving to other countries to find opportunities, and eventually a dearth of scientists available to do the research in the United States.”
Davis said paleontology and archeology researchers could feel the effects of cuts at the Bureau of Land Management. And he said if Trump pulls highway improvement funds from sanctuary communities, that would also hurts these fields, as researchers sometimes excavate land ahead of highway construction crews.
UO isn't the only university impacted by the new administration's policies. As reported by OPB, researchers at Portland State and Oregon State received orders to stop or change some federally-funded projects last month.
On Wednesday, a federal judge issued an injunction, which blocked some cuts to grant funding at the National Institutes of Health. The Trump administration is expected to appeal.
