"For nearly 100 years, the United States has been the world's leader in a wide variety of scientific fields. No other country has: invested as much in fundamental scientific research, has made more scientific breakthroughs and scientific advances, has attracted more scientific researchers to move there to conduct their research, or has conducted more projects and been home to more scientists that have won Nobel Prizes."
"And yet, this past year - 2025 - has seen much of that scientific legacy dismantled. Facilities and libraries have been closed. Thousands of our best and brightest scientists have had their government positions eliminated. Projects have been canceled and/or defunded. Even entire governmental departments and organizations have been terminated, including the Department of Education and HEPAP: the high-energy physics advisory panel."
For nearly a century the United States led many scientific fields by investing heavily in fundamental research, producing breakthroughs, attracting international researchers, and hosting numerous Nobel-winning scientists. Leadership included public health, food safety, environmental protection, vaccines, disease eradication, rocketry, space exploration, planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics, Earth monitoring, education, energy, chemistry, biology, and medical advances. In 2025 much of that legacy was dismantled: facilities and libraries closed, thousands of government science positions eliminated, projects canceled or defunded, and some departments and advisory bodies terminated, including the Department of Education and HEPAP. Scientists pushed back and a congressional budget restored key funding for NASA's science directorate and the National Science Foundation. Four key paths forward begin with maintaining funding and advocacy for current and future projects and scientists.
Read at Big Think
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