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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 17h

Valuable info about the Physics Nobel Prize today from Prof. Joseph Barranco at SFSU on Martinis and Devoret being a grad student and postdoc in Clarke's lab at UC Berkeley & Clark and Devoret being immigrants. "California *public* education made this happen. Immigration made this happen." ⚛️

Joseph Barranco posted on social media: Go Bears! Nobel Prize in Physics goes to 3 physicists studying mesoscopic quantum phenomena... Work was done in the 1980s in UC Berkeley Professor John Clarke's lab with his graduate student John Martinis and postdoctoral fellow Michel Devoret... all 3 share the Nobel Prize. Must also point out that both Clarke and Devoret are immigrants from the UK and France, respectively. All 3 are pioneers in the race to build the most powerful quantum supercomputers. California *public* education made this happen. Immigration made this happen.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 1d

AJ Link is an active member and leader in Black in Astro, and his permanent ban for a description in alt text has me seriously questioning whether Bluesky deserves my presence.

Aveta👾🇭🇹 @aliafonzy.blacksky.app · 1d

Unfortunate update: Link reached out to BlueSky and got email back now on reason.

His appeal is denied. He will remain permanently banned on BlueSky’s side.

Here are the screenshots he just sent me as of 8:22 AM EST(my time)

A screenshot of an email from the Bluesky Moderation Team with the subject line “Bluesky Account Behavior” sent at 22:15. The email states that a Bluesky account controlled by the recipient, with the handle @spacelawshitpost.me, posted a reply with an image where the alt text reads: Charlie Kirk sitting in a white T-shirt that says “Freedom.” A negative consequence follows. The email indicates this post violates Community Guidelines regarding violent or threatening speech, specifically listing threats of violence or physical harm against individuals, groups, institutions, or the general public, and incitement of self-harm or suicide.

A screenshot of an email continuation from the Bluesky Moderation Team displaying a bulleted list of Community Guidelines violations. The first bullet point describes threats of violence or physical harm as including threats or encouragement of violence against individuals, groups, institutions, or the general public. The second bullet point defines incitement of self-harm or suicide as content that encourages self-harm or suicide. The third bullet point explains wishes of harm as expressions of a desire for harm directed at a specific person or group. Below the bullets, a paragraph states that users may not use Bluesky to break the law or cause harm to others and that all users must be treated with respect. The next paragraph informs the recipient that as a result of these violations, your account has been taken down. A closing paragraph thanks the user for doing their part to keep Bluesky a welcoming and empowering place for all users and instructs them to email moderation@blueskyweb.xyz if they have questions or wish to appeal the decision. The email ends with the signature Bluesky Moderation Team.

A screenshot of an email from the Bluesky Moderation Team sent at 08:11 with the subject line Re: Bluesky Account Behavior addressed To: Hide My Email. The email reads:

Hi there,

Thank you for reaching out to appeal the takedown of your account on Bluesky. We have carefully reviewed your case, including the information you provided and the activity that led to the suspension of your account.

After investigating, we have determined that your account activity was in violation of our community guidelines, specifically promoting hateful content or being disruptive to other users. We take these guidelines seriously to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all our users.

As a result, we regret to inform you that your appeal has been denied, and your account will remain suspended. This decision is final and cannot be reversed. We understand that this may be disappointing news, but we must prioritize the well-being of our community and maintain a consistent enforcement of our policies. We encourage you to review our community guidelines to better understand the expectations we have for user behavior on our platform. Please do not create new accounts, since those will be taken down for ban evasion.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 2d

I get so tired from fighting the good fight, and this week has been a lot. This message from Jane Goodall reminds me/us to keep going. 🥹

KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 3d

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

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Reposted by Laura Lopez

Gabrielle Hecht has no more spoons @gabriellehecht.bsky.social · 3d

With proper Alt text

Friendly reminder that’s it’s easy peasy to do this when pix have words. Literally select the text from within the image and copy/paste into the ALT field

RESOLUTION AGREEMENT
University of Kentucky
OCR Case 03-25-2099
University of Kentucky (the University) enters into this Resolution Agreement (the Agreement) to resolve the violation that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) identified in OCR Case Number 03-25-2099.
1. The University will conduct a review of all memberships or partnerships with external organizations to identify any memberships or partnerships with organizations that may restrict participation based on race, in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
REPORTING REQUIREMENT 1: Within 60 days of the date of this Agreement, the University will submit a report to OCR that lists each organization identified, a description of the organization, and the nature and purpose of the membership or partnership. The report will also indicate whether the University plans to discontinue each membership or partnership, and if it does not intend to discontinue, an explanation of the reason.
2. The University will respond to OCR's feedback regarding its plans for each membership or partnership identified. After receiving OCR's approval, the University will take steps to formally cancel any identified membership or partnership.
REPORTING REQUIREMENT 2: Within 30 days of receiving OCR's approval of the report described in Item 1, the University will provide OCR with documentation that it has formally cancelled any identified membership or partnership.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 3d

Asking around among colleagues, it seems different universities are signing the agreement while others are refusing. It also seems some universities are trying to keep the agreement confidential, so it is hard to know which schools were included.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 3d

Text of resolution agreement found in a link at the bottom of this news story about Kentucky: fox56news.com/news/local/l...

fox56news.com

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 3d

It seems several universities, potentially all 45 who participated in the PhD Project (www.ed.gov/about/news/p...) , were pressured to sign a "resolution agreement" that they will not participate in anything that MAY be exclusionary by race. Here's the text of the agreement from U Kentucky.

Resolution agreement with the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights screenshot from University of Kentucky.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 4d

OSU PhD student Sebastian Lopez led 2 papers on arXiv today, including one on the hot & warm gas in the NGC 1266 AGN-driven outflow! It uses Chandra data that Katey Alatalo and I proposed for as grad students; grad students can do great science together without advisors! 😀 arxiv.org/abs/2510.01321

Three-color image of the massive outflow of NGC 1266, with Chandra X-rays in blue, Halpha MUSE data in green, and VLA 5 GHz radio data in red. The + marks the location of the AGN.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 4d

ALSO IMPORTANT FYI : Letters of rec for NSF GRFP are due A WEEK BEFORE the applications on Nov 7!!!! 🔭⚛️

Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 11d

Astronomy 🔭 and physics ⚛️ GRFP applications are due Nov 14! Only seniors and 1st-year grad students can apply now (no second years).

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 11d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 7d

For those asking why OSU advised all students and staff not to attend SACNAS: it was after pressure from the US Dept of Ed.

Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 8d

It was federal pressure from the US Dept of Ed saying we cannot participate in anything that MAY be limited by race. The "may" is ridiculous because the conference and membership is open to everyone, but someone somewhere says that it MAY be limited so it is not allowed.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 8d

It was federal pressure from the US Dept of Ed saying we cannot participate in anything that MAY be limited by race. The "may" is ridiculous because the conference and membership is open to everyone, but someone somewhere says that it MAY be limited so it is not allowed.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 8d

Yes, I plan to pay out of pocket for registration and put a different institution as my affiliation.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 8d

Ohio State just advised all staff and students not to attend the SACNAS (Society for the advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) annual meeting of 6000+ scientists -- which is in Columbus, OH this year! -- saying it may be exclusionary, even though it is open to all.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 11d

Not to my knowledge. I do feel bad for all the second years who thought they could apply this year. 😞

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 11d

Astronomy 🔭 and physics ⚛️ GRFP applications are due Nov 14! Only seniors and 1st-year grad students can apply now (no second years).

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 11d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Reposted by Laura Lopez

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 11d

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

www.nsf.gov

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Reposted by Laura Lopez

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 17d

NEW: Hours before a new entry ban is supposed to go into effect, the federal government officially acknowledges for the first time that the restrictions do NOT apply to people who currently have H-1B visas.

Link: www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

J.S. Citizenshit and Immigratior
Services
September 20, 2025
Memorandum
TO:
Associate Directors,
Deputy Associate Directors, Program Office Chiefs
FROM:
JOSEPH B
Digitaly signed by
JOSEPH B EDLOW
Joseph B. Edlow
EDLOW
Date: 2025.09.20
Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services **00
SUBJECT: Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, H-IB
On September 19, 2025, the President issued a Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, to address systemic abuse of H-1B nonimmigrant visas. Pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), the entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000. This guidance applies to H-IB employment-based petitions filed after 12:01 AM ET on September 21, 2025.|
This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed. The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas. All officers of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or rom the United States.
cc: David V. Roy, Chief Counsel (A)
FOUO, For Official Use Only

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 17d

Also to clarify, the cost is $100K per year of the visa, so it is actually $300K for a 3-year visa. As postdocs cost about $100K/year, this fee doubles the cost of postdocs on H1-B visas.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 19d

I grew up in a VERY Catholic family, full of nuns, priests, & 2-3 masses / week. The use of Jesus to justify hate and anti-science policy is basically the opposite of what Jesus would want. It really irks me every time religion is invoked to hurt others.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 19d

If it helps, it seems like CWRU has said she only does these things in her free time and not in her official capacity: ohiocapitaljournal.com/2021/02/22/s...

She’s a public health professor by day; a COVID-19 truther by night • Ohio Capital Journal

“You can debate methods of dealing with the issue at hand, but to deny there is an issue at hand is just negligence to me."

ohiocapitaljournal.com

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 19d

Here's the complete quote from a new advisor on the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, Prof. Catherine Stein from Case Western.

Screenshot of text from Guardian article quoting Catherine Stein: "“Remember, the Lord Jesus did not fear lepers, and leprosy was (and continues to be) a highly contagious infectious disease,” Catherine Stein, a professor in the department of population and quantitative health sciences at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, wrote in January 2021. “Not only did He heal them, but He touched them. He showed no fear, nor did He ‘socially distance’.”

Stein wrote that she was motivated by her religious ideology to reject precautions like wearing face masks, which she said function as a “symbol of fear” while also harming the wearer’s health, which is not true.

She argued that “as Christians, we should not fear death”. She also claimed that “this virus is not the scary killer the media and government portray it to be”, even in the midst of deadly waves."

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 19d

A great, perhaps the best, >10 min song is "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone. Aside: it features strongly in the movie "Thomas Crown Affair" that Michael B. Jordan is remaking right now!! 😀 Yay! I listen to it when I need to feel motivated. open.spotify.com/track/5xRP5i...

Sinnerman

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Laura Lopez

Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 21d

1. UCLA is in negotiations with Trump. Now we know the demands.

Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more.

Students are fighting back.

The latest from S. Baum.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Trump's UCLA Settlement Proposal Reveals Massive Anti-Trans Attacks: Students And Faculty Fight Back

It’s not only students and faculty who have something to lose—countless doctors, trans youth, and families could see health care vanish.

www.erininthemorning.com

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Reposted by Laura Lopez

Matthew Kenworthy @mattkenworthy.bsky.social · 26d

My periodic reminder for #astrosci #astrodon #exoplanets Early Career Researchers to please, please, please have a simple web site with your current email address on it - rationale here: kenworthy.space/advice/

A pen sketch of a web page for an astronomer, showing name, email, optional phone number, and professional contact details, with a one sentence summary of their research and an ADS link.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 26d

2yo and 4yo successfully vaccinated!! Oh thank goodness!

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