SCIENCE“America Can’t Be Great Without Great Science. That Is Where the Academies Can Help.”
Recent actions by the federal government affecting agencies that fund science in the United States have sent shock waves through the research community. “My biggest concern is for the pipeline of talent: We might not have the educated students to meet the needs of the greater STEMM workforce…. I’m concerned that with the cuts in science budgets and the federal workforce, we will not see the same number of students being trained,” says the president of the National Academy of Sciences.
Recent actions by the federal government affecting agencies that fund science in the United States have sent shock waves through the research community. We sat down with National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt to discuss her views on the current situation and how the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are navigating the turbulence.
We are dealing with a lot of uncertainty and disruption in science policy and federal funding for science. What are you most concerned about in terms of how this is affecting the scientific enterprise?
McNutt: My biggest concern is for the pipeline of talent: We might not have the educated students to meet the needs of the greater STEMM workforce. Numerous studies have shown that jobs in science, technology, engineering, and medicine are growing faster than jobs in any other sector, and that industry is counting on universities to train that workforce for tomorrow.
I’m concerned that with the cuts in science budgets and the federal workforce, we will not see the same number of students being trained. And we are not going to see the same level of top young researchers coming to America from other countries for their education and for their jobs. Instead, the brain drain will go the other way. The best and brightest who have already gone through the system here may find that it’s too difficult to get grants to do their research, or it’s too difficult to use their education here profitably. They’ll be going to other countries, which will be only too happy to take the top American researchers.
What worries you about the impact on the National Academies?
McNutt: The mission of the National Academy of Sciences is to provide evidence-based advice to the nation, advice that can promote better decisions and better policies for the country overall. The National Academies don’t set the policies. But science is the only method that humans have ever developed that can peer into the future and see what’s going to happen. We can predict what the outcomes will be for various policy choices. And I’m worried that if the National Academies are not supported as the nation’s adviser, that there is going to be no one else to fill that gap with the same nonpartisanship, lack of bias, and commitment to excellence, quality, and integrity.
