Jesse Kroll
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jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll
@jessekroll.bsky.social
690 followers 430 following 150 posts

atmospheric chemist at MIT; also does other stuff sometimes

Videos
Environmental science 45%
Geology 17%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

mcsweeneys.net
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 8h
"I understand that terrible AI systems are technically terrible, but I’ll be damned if they’re not confident... What naysayers don’t seem to realize is that people respond better to a confident liar shouting out answers than a polite expert. Women can back me up on this."
Our Customers Demand Terrible AI Systems
We’ve been banging our heads against the wall, trying to think of the new “it” thing our customers want. At one point, somebody suggested improving...
buff.ly

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

danvisioni.bsky.social
Dan Visioni @danvisioni.bsky.social · 17h
We have a new paper out today, looking more in detail at the potential air quality impacts of Stratospheric Aerosol Injections, finding them more driven by climatic feedbacks than by deposition. This is the 1st questions one receives when discussing this, so really important to explore in depth!
Air quality impacts of stratospheric aerosol injections are likely small and mainly driven by changes in climate, not aerosol settling
Abstract. Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) is a proposed climate intervention method to offset future global warming through increased solar reflection in the stratosphere, but its broader enviro...
acp.copernicus.org

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Jennifer Bussell, Jesse H. Kroll , and 1 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 19h
New at Can We Still Govern: NIH scientist @markhisted.org reviews the damage done to American biomedical science in the last year and looks ahead:
"Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
American biomedical science in 2026
Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next
donmoynihan.substack.com

Reposted by Brian J. Enquist, Jesse H. Kroll, Karen R. Lips , and 8 more

klangin.bsky.social
Katie Langin @klangin.bsky.social · 1d
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year?

My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 3 more

ositanwanevu.com
Osita Nwanevu @ositanwanevu.com · 2d
Years from now, it'll be difficult to explain the things people in media were wailing about before all this. Sophomores writing underconsidered op-eds about cultural appropriation. Protests against demagogues on campus. YA drama. "Mobs" on Twitter. These were the threats to free society.

Reposted by Stephen R. Carpenter, Brian J. Enquist, Monica G. Turner , and 17 more

weatherwest.bsky.social
Daniel Swain @weatherwest.bsky.social · 4d
Attention folks in the weather, climate, disaster, wildfire, and Earth science communities: NSF has just published a new "Dear Colleague" letter inviting feedback (by Mar 13) on the proposal to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). www.nsf.gov/funding/...

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

envirosci.acspublications.org
ACS Environmental Science Journals @envirosci.acspublications.org · 5d
We are proud to announce that Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), a globally respected journal with a rich legacy as a premiere source for the environmental health sciences community, has joined the ACS Publications portfolio.

Read our announcement: buff.ly/Tc1m9Xp
Promotional graphic with text. "Press Release: Environmental Health Perspectives joins the ACS Publications portfolio"

Reposted by Diane Coyle, Dorothy Bishop, Peter Thorne , and 25 more

slowbikeiain.bsky.social
Iain Roberts @slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 7d
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
Headline: "Scientists discover emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite images"

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 6 more

jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 8d
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Gordon Hodson, Jesse H. Kroll , and 5 more

jayvanbavel.bsky.social
Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 9d
Writing is thinking

Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

sarahehancock.bsky.social
Sarah E Hancock @sarahehancock.bsky.social · 10d
Found on LinkedIn alongside text describing how PCR works. 😂. #TeamMassSpec #massspectrometry #science #badai

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Nathan P. Kalmoe

parkermolloy.com
Parker Molloy @parkermolloy.com · 14d
There’s a certain kind of aging provocateur who can’t imagine losing on the merits, so every loss becomes proof of discrimination.

Like... dude, you lost to Ricky Gervais. I don't think it was about "wokeness." variety.com/2026/awards/...
Variety @Variety X.com #BillMaher says he predicted his Golden Globes loss because "this woke town f—ing hates" that "I speak freely": "Obviously, it's something | said. Well, it's everything I said," and "I speak freely, and this woke town fucking hates that. And that's okay. I've made my peace with that. So I know how this goes. This is not something I would ever ... I have good standing. If l win this by some miracle, to go what people always say, 'I can't believe it, I'm shocked. I really should be shocked." Maher has received 41 Emmy nods across his projects, only winning once for outstanding informational series or special for "Vice" in 2014 in his role as executive producer. This year's Golden Globe nomination was his first. He lost to Ricky NEWS Bill Maher Predicted His Golden Globes Loss Because 'This Woke Town F-ing Hates' That i Speak Freely' VARIETY

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Robert Black

scoiattolo.mountainherder.xyz
Scoiattolo @scoiattolo.mountainherder.xyz · 17d
Things are grim right now but as a reminder of who we are and why we fight, this is the US Women’s figuring skating champion.
Amber Glenn wearing her gold medal after winning the US National Championship Women’s Singles Competition. She is dressed in a black short sequined gown and proudly holding a progress pride flag behind her. There is a gaggle of photographers in front of her.

Reposted by Noelle E. Selin, Jesse H. Kroll, Simon J. Greenhill , and 7 more

cdelawalla.bsky.social
Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 17d
This is a HUGE win…and one that happened because we ~collectively~ said “NO!”

But AAAS coming in and saying on record to the NYT “Science is doing ok. Things are not bad at all…” is baffling.

If things are hard for you as a scientist, please share in the comments.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/s...
Congress Is Reversing Trump’s Steep Budget Cuts to Science
www.nytimes.com

jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll @jessekroll.bsky.social · 19d
...Yet more evidence that those who yell the loudest about "merit" have no idea of what "merit" actually is, much less how to measure it

jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll @jessekroll.bsky.social · 19d
Excellent article from @chadtopaz.bsky.social, debunking the newest right-wing proposal to make faculty hiring more "merit-based". Chad (very generously!) accepts their premise that test scores are good metrics for faculty merit…then shows statistically that their proposal simply cannot work.
chadtopaz.bsky.social Chad Topaz Queer DEI Race Traitor @chadtopaz.bsky.social · 19d
A right wing proposal would force public universities to gather/publish standardized test scores (SAT, GRE, etc.) for every faculty applicant across stages of a faculty search, to “restore meritocracy.” 👀 My op-ed today explains one of the many reasons this is nonsense: bad statistics. #AcademicSky
Faculty Merit Act Is Meritless (opinion)
A proposal to mandate publication of SAT and other standardized test scores for all faculty and faculty job applicants is statistically unsound.
www.insidehighered.com

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

chadtopaz.bsky.social
Chad Topaz Queer DEI Race Traitor @chadtopaz.bsky.social · 19d
A right wing proposal would force public universities to gather/publish standardized test scores (SAT, GRE, etc.) for every faculty applicant across stages of a faculty search, to “restore meritocracy.” 👀 My op-ed today explains one of the many reasons this is nonsense: bad statistics. #AcademicSky
Faculty Merit Act Is Meritless (opinion)
A proposal to mandate publication of SAT and other standardized test scores for all faculty and faculty job applicants is statistically unsound.
www.insidehighered.com

jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll @jessekroll.bsky.social · 20d
this new version of Connections is very confusing

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Axel Bruns, Jesse H. Kroll , and 11 more

mehdirhasan.bsky.social
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 21d
A reminder - before Trump, MAGA, Musk and Fox rewrote history - that this is what the entire country agreed had happened five years ago today:

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

neurograce.bsky.social
Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 22d
I'll take it 😎
Funding deal rejects Trump’s push for major science cuts Congressional appropriators released a “minibus” of three bipartisan spending bills today that would pare back the budgets of some science agencies but largely reject Trump’s request for steep cuts. The minibus consists of the Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, and Interior-Environment bills, which cover a substantial portion of federal research funding for fiscal year 2026. The package includes: $24.4 billion for NASA, a 1.6% cut (including $7.25 billion for NASA Science, a 1.1% cut); $8.75 billion for the National Science Foundation, a 3.4% cut; $8.4 billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, a 1.9% increase; $6.17 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, roughly flat funding; $1.42 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, a 2.0% cut; and $1.18 billion to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a 2.3% increase

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

cenguild.bsky.social
cenguild.bsky.social @cenguild.bsky.social · 22d
We are proud to announce the formation of the Chemical & Engineering News Guild. We represent staffers across the editorial and operations teams at C&EN. 1/6
Image with a red, spiked circle and white chemistry flask with a red ampersand in the middle above text that reads, “Chemical & Engineering News is forming a union,” in all caps

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Ryan Enos, Scott A. Imberman , and 1 more

swin24.bsky.social
Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 22d
I extremely hate the policies and personality of Donald Trump to an insane degree but I’d be offended if China sent in team to kill a bunch of our civilians and military personnel and kidnap our leader and his wife and then declare that they now “ran” the United States, this isn’t hard

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, Lisa Diedrich

catconlan.net
Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 23d
oh shit tomorrow is circle back day already

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, David R. Miller

ianbassin.bsky.social
Ian Bassin @ianbassin.bsky.social · 24d
This from @booker.senate.gov

jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll @jessekroll.bsky.social · 24d
Taking a break from Venezuela Doomscrolling to note how fun it is that that DMS, cysteine, and other biomarker organosulfur species can be formed abiotically

( Work by Ellie Browne and coworkers:
iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... )
cenmag.bsky.social C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 24d
On ancient Earth, sulfur biomolecules could have formed without life

Abiotic chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere could have generated biologically important organosulfur molecules as life was beginning. cen.acs.org/physical-che... #chemsky 🧪
On ancient Earth, sulfur biomolecules could have formed without life
Abiotic chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere could have generated biologically important organosulfur molecules as life was beginning
cen.acs.org

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

cenmag.bsky.social
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · 24d
On ancient Earth, sulfur biomolecules could have formed without life

Abiotic chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere could have generated biologically important organosulfur molecules as life was beginning. cen.acs.org/physical-che... #chemsky 🧪
On ancient Earth, sulfur biomolecules could have formed without life
Abiotic chemistry in Earth’s atmosphere could have generated biologically important organosulfur molecules as life was beginning
cen.acs.org

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll, David Johnson, Beatriz Gallardo Paúls , and 1 more

davelevitan.bsky.social
Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 24d
Cancer research costs too much but we have the money to run Venezuela

Reposted by Will Jennings, Jesse H. Kroll, Mark Rice

pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 24d
[wakes up] “I’m sorry, what”

jessekroll.bsky.social
Jesse Kroll @jessekroll.bsky.social · 25d
“A concept known as the Szilard point … describes the threshold at which the total cost of competing for a grant equals (or surpasses) the value of the available funding … GenAI for Africa, a funding call from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, probably crosses that threshold.”
monicamedhist.bsky.social Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · Dec 19
This report in Nature on the costs of competing for & administering scientific grants is shocking: "In other words, European taxpayers will have spent more on the funding process than on the funding itself, and the scientific ecosystem has been drained." www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪
Point of no returns: researchers are crossing a threshold in the fight for funding
With so little money to go round, the costs of competing for grants can exceed what the grants are worth. When that happens, nobody wins.
www.nature.com

Reposted by Jesse H. Kroll

tylerfromtheinternet.com
Tyler, from the Internet @tylerfromtheinternet.com · 26d
If 2025 didn't stop you nothing will