Elisabeth Mills
@astronomills.bsky.social
KU professor. Astronomer. UCC. Antiracist. Tired mom of 2. My opinions are my own and not those of my employer or organizations.
Announcing a paid research and mentoring opportunity for US-based undergraduate students interested in studying the Milky Way center, star formation, or radio and (sub)millimeter astronomy! Students will work with researchers participating in the ALMA large program ACES
ACES-CMZ
ACES, the ALMA CMZ Exploration Survey, is a "Large Program" survey of the ‘Central Molecular Zone’ (CMZ) – the inner-100 pc (300 light-years) of our Galaxy – with the ALMA telescope, which was awarded...
sites.google.com
June 25, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Announcing a paid research and mentoring opportunity for US-based undergraduate students interested in studying the Milky Way center, star formation, or radio and (sub)millimeter astronomy! Students will work with researchers participating in the ALMA large program ACES
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
June 24, 2025 at 10:20 PM
NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
That's actually the theme for one of our campaign embroidery kits!
June 25, 2025 at 12:28 AM
That's actually the theme for one of our campaign embroidery kits!
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
NEW: Data shows that as of June 15, fully 30% of all people arrested by ICE and sent to detention had NO CRIMINAL RECORD.
11,763 people in detention as of last Sunday had no criminal record and were arrested inside the country by ICE -- an increase of 4,000 people in two weeks!
11,763 people in detention as of last Sunday had no criminal record and were arrested inside the country by ICE -- an increase of 4,000 people in two weeks!
June 20, 2025 at 9:17 PM
NEW: Data shows that as of June 15, fully 30% of all people arrested by ICE and sent to detention had NO CRIMINAL RECORD.
11,763 people in detention as of last Sunday had no criminal record and were arrested inside the country by ICE -- an increase of 4,000 people in two weeks!
11,763 people in detention as of last Sunday had no criminal record and were arrested inside the country by ICE -- an increase of 4,000 people in two weeks!
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
In a shocking turn of events, many of the people who said they wanted "free speech" actually just wanted to be the ones in charge of which speech is free.
UPDATE—Mahmoud's attorney says they do NOT know where he is.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
They were first told he was sent to an ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ. But when his 8-month-pregnant wife tried to visit him, she was told he's not there.
They've received reports he may be sent as far away as Louisiana.
March 10, 2025 at 2:44 AM
In a shocking turn of events, many of the people who said they wanted "free speech" actually just wanted to be the ones in charge of which speech is free.
Husband made fun of me today when I explained my belief that when the groundhog does not see his shadow, it is because he is just looking in the wrong direction.
February 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Husband made fun of me today when I explained my belief that when the groundhog does not see his shadow, it is because he is just looking in the wrong direction.
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
@corybooker.com hello I used to run the Wendy’s Twitter account and I am begging you to let me help you with the dems social media strategy, I will literally do it for free at this point
January 31, 2025 at 2:17 PM
@corybooker.com hello I used to run the Wendy’s Twitter account and I am begging you to let me help you with the dems social media strategy, I will literally do it for free at this point
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
Changing grant proposals going forward is one thing, but NSF is reneging on funding agreements. You now have postdocs, research associates, students, etc. going without paychecks on numerous projects that were already funded. This is unacceptable! 1/2 🧪
Exclusive: NSF this week began to search through billions of dollars of grants the agency has already awarded for anything touching on topics that President Donald Trump has criticized. And NSF has blocked grantees and trainees from accessing funds while the review is underway. scim.ag/3El0NZh
EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders
Grantee accounts remain frozen, while union accuses NSF of ignoring rules governing peer review
scim.ag
January 31, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Changing grant proposals going forward is one thing, but NSF is reneging on funding agreements. You now have postdocs, research associates, students, etc. going without paychecks on numerous projects that were already funded. This is unacceptable! 1/2 🧪
Today i will be
-Calling my representatives
-emailing NSF heads
-saying fuck no to a request to sit on an NSF panel
-looking for the gofundmes to support folks impacted
-Calling my representatives
-emailing NSF heads
-saying fuck no to a request to sit on an NSF panel
-looking for the gofundmes to support folks impacted
This is not business as usual.
It’s not just a change in funding priorities going forward; it is the reneging on funding agreements and is profoundly disruptive for even those grants that will be found to be compliant.
Meanwhile, trainees who often live paycheck to paycheck are going unpaid.
It’s not just a change in funding priorities going forward; it is the reneging on funding agreements and is profoundly disruptive for even those grants that will be found to be compliant.
Meanwhile, trainees who often live paycheck to paycheck are going unpaid.
EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders
Grantee accounts remain frozen, while union accuses NSF of ignoring rules governing peer review
www.science.org
January 31, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Today i will be
-Calling my representatives
-emailing NSF heads
-saying fuck no to a request to sit on an NSF panel
-looking for the gofundmes to support folks impacted
-Calling my representatives
-emailing NSF heads
-saying fuck no to a request to sit on an NSF panel
-looking for the gofundmes to support folks impacted
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
What the NSF is doing this week is damaging *generations* of scientific researchers and American investments in science. Billions of US tax payer dollars in investment, being thrown away, because of a fucking fishing expedition that is intended to terrorize and set the stage for a real witch hunt.
Exclusive: NSF this week began to search through billions of dollars of grants the agency has already awarded for anything touching on topics that President Donald Trump has criticized. And NSF has blocked grantees and trainees from accessing funds while the review is underway. scim.ag/3El0NZh
EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders
Grantee accounts remain frozen, while union accuses NSF of ignoring rules governing peer review
scim.ag
January 31, 2025 at 12:14 AM
What the NSF is doing this week is damaging *generations* of scientific researchers and American investments in science. Billions of US tax payer dollars in investment, being thrown away, because of a fucking fishing expedition that is intended to terrorize and set the stage for a real witch hunt.
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
“That paragraph was gone as of Thursday afternoon, as was the assertion that Rubin shows what can happen when “more minds” participate in science. The word “more” was replaced with “many,” shifting the meaning.” 🧪 🔭
www.propublica.org/article/vera...
www.propublica.org/article/vera...
Vera Rubin Was a Pioneering Female Astronomer. Her Federal Bio Now Doesn’t Mention Efforts to Diversify Science.
The edits to the webpage offer a glimpse into how far the Trump administration will go in refusing to acknowledge today’s inequalities as it purges federal initiatives promoting diversity, equity and ...
www.propublica.org
January 30, 2025 at 9:41 PM
“That paragraph was gone as of Thursday afternoon, as was the assertion that Rubin shows what can happen when “more minds” participate in science. The word “more” was replaced with “many,” shifting the meaning.” 🧪 🔭
www.propublica.org/article/vera...
www.propublica.org/article/vera...
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
I'm not gonna lie, I'm floored that a university would call off a Lunar New Year event open to everyone because it might be "DEI"
MSU college abruptly cancels Lunar New Year event, citing Trump DEI orders - The State News
MSU cancelled an annual Lunar New Year celebration following new executive orders targeting DEI and concerns from students.
statenews.com
January 30, 2025 at 5:46 PM
I'm not gonna lie, I'm floored that a university would call off a Lunar New Year event open to everyone because it might be "DEI"
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
Assuming we make it through the next couple of decades, this will be an incredible image for future historians/students of the Trump era
January 30, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Assuming we make it through the next couple of decades, this will be an incredible image for future historians/students of the Trump era
Exhausting week but got a little boost today when my stickers from peacesupplies.org came! Thanks to the Gloo Factory for having just what i needed.
Peace Supplies
Peace Supplies is an independent media project based in Tucson, Arizona at The Gloo Factory. We design, print, and create stickers, decals, shirts, patches, and can help you with filling custom orders...
peacesupplies.org
January 31, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Exhausting week but got a little boost today when my stickers from peacesupplies.org came! Thanks to the Gloo Factory for having just what i needed.
My impression is that NASA is also busy halting project funding to do this dirty work for the administration, rather than standing up for any of their professed values, let alone following the court injunction. Shameful all around.
It is hard to know where to begin with this. I am not directly affected (yet? thanks, bureaucracy?) — instead, it is largely more junior student and postdoctoral researchers. The NSF is just out here canceling paychecks despite the grants in question already being awarded.
Exclusive: NSF this week began to search through billions of dollars of grants the agency has already awarded for anything touching on topics that President Donald Trump has criticized. And NSF has blocked grantees and trainees from accessing funds while the review is underway. scim.ag/3El0NZh
January 31, 2025 at 2:28 AM
My impression is that NASA is also busy halting project funding to do this dirty work for the administration, rather than standing up for any of their professed values, let alone following the court injunction. Shameful all around.
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
None of your mealy-mouthed webpage-rewriting org-wide-emailing about your commitment to un-DEIA-ing activities are helping anybody get paid or any science get done.
It is a CHOICE to hastily legitimize orders from above YET take months to review and ultimately fund a tiny fraction of proposed work.
It is a CHOICE to hastily legitimize orders from above YET take months to review and ultimately fund a tiny fraction of proposed work.
How quickly scientific collaborations dump previously vocal commitments to inclusivity+ to continue their science without risking losing federal $
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
January 31, 2025 at 1:10 AM
None of your mealy-mouthed webpage-rewriting org-wide-emailing about your commitment to un-DEIA-ing activities are helping anybody get paid or any science get done.
It is a CHOICE to hastily legitimize orders from above YET take months to review and ultimately fund a tiny fraction of proposed work.
It is a CHOICE to hastily legitimize orders from above YET take months to review and ultimately fund a tiny fraction of proposed work.
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
How quickly scientific collaborations dump previously vocal commitments to inclusivity+ to continue their science without risking losing federal $
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
January 30, 2025 at 7:19 PM
How quickly scientific collaborations dump previously vocal commitments to inclusivity+ to continue their science without risking losing federal $
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
Do I want science and paychecks to continue? Yes. Is it worth this? Everyone in leadership seems to think so.
Disappointing does not begin to cover it
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
LAWLESS NSF:
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
January 31, 2025 at 12:23 AM
LAWLESS NSF:
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Every NSF employee who is following the director on this funding freeze and fishing expedition is in violation of US code.
per the post below, this language has been reauthorized twice, most recently by Biden in 2022 as the CHIPS Act.
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
🧪
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
You’re doing terribly, sweetie bsky.app/profile/jeff...
"Obviously it is not standard to have aircraft collide. I want to be clear on that." -- Sean Duffy, our new secretary of transportation in the new awful administration.
January 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
You’re doing terribly, sweetie bsky.app/profile/jeff...
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
The thing I can't get over: for an NSF postdoctoral fellowship, I once proposed to work in an outreach program teaching astronomy and math skills to underserved middle schoolers in the Boston area.
This is the funding they want to cut: teaching space to kids who might get fewer opportunities.
This is the funding they want to cut: teaching space to kids who might get fewer opportunities.
🧪 FYI, I am hearing that NSF funding is *still* effectively shut down pending a compliance review with Trump’s executive orders. The judge in the relevant court case is leaning toward a restraining order (and resuming funding), but that hasn’t happened yet: www.providencejournal.com/story/news/p...
RI judge poised to block Trump's federal spending freeze. What to know.
The 23 state attorneys general involved in the suit will now draft a temporary restraining order, and the Trump administration will need to respond.
www.providencejournal.com
January 30, 2025 at 4:36 PM
The thing I can't get over: for an NSF postdoctoral fellowship, I once proposed to work in an outreach program teaching astronomy and math skills to underserved middle schoolers in the Boston area.
This is the funding they want to cut: teaching space to kids who might get fewer opportunities.
This is the funding they want to cut: teaching space to kids who might get fewer opportunities.
Need a script?
As a Kansan, a straightforward ask to your representatives right now is to reinstate the ASAC— because examining safety issues at airlines and airports is not ‘misuse of resources’ apnews.com/article/coas...
Trump fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard and guts key aviation safety advisory committee
President Donald Trump has moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security by firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up while...
apnews.com
January 30, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Need a script?
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
Keep it up. He should not know peace until he gets his act together or resigns leadership. archive.is/Rv504
January 30, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Keep it up. He should not know peace until he gets his act together or resigns leadership. archive.is/Rv504
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
REPORTER: Is there an acting FAA director?
DUFFY: *walks away*
(The FAA director resigned on the day of Trump's inauguration under pressure from Elon Musk)
DUFFY: *walks away*
(The FAA director resigned on the day of Trump's inauguration under pressure from Elon Musk)
January 30, 2025 at 2:16 PM
REPORTER: Is there an acting FAA director?
DUFFY: *walks away*
(The FAA director resigned on the day of Trump's inauguration under pressure from Elon Musk)
DUFFY: *walks away*
(The FAA director resigned on the day of Trump's inauguration under pressure from Elon Musk)
Reposted by Elisabeth Mills
NSF grantees - people who have already received their grants based on a previously funded and approved research proposal - are being told to stop any activities related to DEI and accessibility.
Call this what it is: government censorship of ongoing research projects.
www.opm.gov/policy-data-...
Call this what it is: government censorship of ongoing research projects.
www.opm.gov/policy-data-...
January 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
NSF grantees - people who have already received their grants based on a previously funded and approved research proposal - are being told to stop any activities related to DEI and accessibility.
Call this what it is: government censorship of ongoing research projects.
www.opm.gov/policy-data-...
Call this what it is: government censorship of ongoing research projects.
www.opm.gov/policy-data-...
As a Kansan, a straightforward ask to your representatives right now is to reinstate the ASAC— because examining safety issues at airlines and airports is not ‘misuse of resources’ apnews.com/article/coas...
Trump fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard and guts key aviation safety advisory committee
President Donald Trump has moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security by firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up while...
apnews.com
January 30, 2025 at 9:04 AM
As a Kansan, a straightforward ask to your representatives right now is to reinstate the ASAC— because examining safety issues at airlines and airports is not ‘misuse of resources’ apnews.com/article/coas...