Each Friday, I summarize what is happening to American science & higher ed. 🧪 (Failed to post here this weekend)

Week 36:
- Reinstatement of UCLA funding
- analysis of H1B visa impacts
- pocket rescissions, "domestic terrorism" & so much more
buttondown.email/liminalcreat...

I'm a current Harvard graduate student and I found out today that I had my NSF GRFP terminated without notification. I was awarded this individual research fellowship before even choosing Harvard as my graduate school

All NSF GRFPs to students choosing to attend Harvard in the Fall were just terminated

Under its new leadership — who spread misinformation throughout the pandemic — the FDA announced it will limit all Covid vaccines to adults over 65 and those with certain medical conditions.

Covid continues to spread and cause harm. This an anti-science move that will kill more Americans.

Takes five seconds, and might mean you can still get COVID boosters.

Our uni has good policies for this on campus but I'm not sure they're prepared to do anything if our colleagues are snatched around town. Vulnerable folks: please don't go anywhere alone right now. If you live in CU I'll drive you door to door if you don't have a buddy.

From 91 professors at Harvard Law School: a letter to our students.

tinyurl.com/letter-to-ou...

What's happening to Rumeysa Ozturk is devastating and unjust - we should ALL be concerned about the federal government detaining law-abiding civilians off the street.

My office continues to be in touch with Rumeysa's attorneys about how we can be supportive.

This is much more worrisome than the attack on Columbia because public universities, especially in poor states, do not have an endowment to help keep the institution running.

They have to review and respond to every unique comment by law, so every message you send below supports efforts to block this policy from further harming trans people.

🧪🚨 NSF's Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) has halted making nearly all new awards since inauguration day.

Among *many* other things, EDU runs the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

We need to protect the education & training of the next gen of scientists #StandUpForScience

Thread👇🧵

There is a lot of misinformation going around about the mass firing of federal employees. If you were laid off, please share your story (anonymously) here: peopletrumpfired.com We aim to have thousands of stories, more than the media could hope to cover, publicly available in a neutral space.

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025!

Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide!

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

NEW: Trump actions on science may affect a generation as pauses + cuts in graduate admissions begin. “We had just flown them out, we told them we love you, we want to admit you, and then everything just stopped." "It's freezing everybody into inaction."
www.statnews.com/2025/02/19/t...

The committee on Science, Space, and Technology are collecting testimony of Federal employees fired in the past days. Please share with your colleagues and friends. The more testimony, the better we can argue against this injustice.

With science under attack in all areas of research, including climate change, repro health, & public health, political advocacy is more important than ever. @csldf.org offers free legal resources for scientists to engage safely & effectively in political advocacy. www.csldf.org/political-ac...

Firings are happening right now at the National Science Foundation. Essential staff are being cut.

This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.

1/ Within one week of releasing our action alert, almost 10k UCS supporters have sent emails to their members of Congress to support the passing of the Scientific Integrity (SI) Act. Looking for a quick way to add your voice and support for Scientific Integrity? Use the link below!

An inspiring article on courageous community college leaders who are *publicly* organizing and standing up against DEI attacks.. www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

I'm starting to hear that NSF firings have begun. If you're affected and want to talk, please reach out via signal @jonlambert.12

Colleagues, including my partner, with years of service at the agency. Some Permanent POs reclassified as Probationary. Exceptional scientists who were former professors at major institutions, and came to NSF to serve the community and ensure science thrives in the US.

Firings happening right now at the NSF.