#scientific-leadership

#scientific-leadership

The number of Chinese scientists taking on leadership roles in international science projects is growing rapidly. They now lead more than half of all research projects with the United Kingdom, and are expected to lead an equal number of projects with Europe and with the United States in the next couple of years, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week. Hongjun Xiang, a physicist at Fudan University in Shanghai, China, says the projections are consistent with what he has observed in the country, particularly in fields such as physics and engineering. But China needs to strengthen its leadership capabilities in disruptive basic research, "as Nobel-level original breakthroughs remain rare", he adds.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is pursuing a destructive agenda against science. The White House seems to be intent on telling funding agencies what they can fund, universities who they can hire, and researchers what they can study.