NSF funding whiplash leaves some scientists shaken

On Jan. 27, Mj Riches, an atmospheric chemistry postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University, requested her next paycheck from the National Science Foundation’s cash management website, just as she did every month. Riches, who’s funded by one of NSF’s postdoctoral research fellowships, gets paid through a monthly stipend that comes directly from the agency.

She was stunned when, less than 24 hours later, she got an email from the agency saying her February paycheck would be canceled.

The NSF froze payments for existing awards on Jan. 28 as it began conducting a comprehensive review of its grant and fellowship programs to ensure compliance with President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders. The move came in response to a US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum issued Jan. 27 that ordered a temporary pause on federal grants, loans, and other assistance.

But the White House rescinded the OMB memo on Jan. 29 after a federal court issued a temporary stay on the pause. Even so, the NSF didn’t immediately reinstate access to grants and fellowships until a separate temporary restraining order was issued, leaving many scientists, like Riches, in science funding limbo.

Riches cried when she first relayed the news to her research adviser, Delphine Farmer. “One month of an NSF postdoc paycheck isn’t even a drop in the federal budget, but it’s rent, food, and security for an individual,” Farmer says. The two began making a whirlwind of calls and emails to try to find Riches an alternative way of getting paid. “I didn’t really get anything else done,” Riches says.

Then 4 days later, on Feb. 2, the NSF unceremoniously announced that postdocs could now access their fellowship funds and should be receiving their stipends over the next couple of days. An FAQ provided by the agency cited the restraining order as the reason behind the sudden reversal.

Future funding worries

The back-and-forth between the courts and the NSF has been “incredibly frustrating and caused immense stress,” says Kristen Gardner, an organic chemistry postdoc at the California Institute of Technology who was also impacted by the NSF funding freeze. “I already had to pay my rent, so I’m still fortunate that I had savings to do so.”

Beyond worrying about whether she will get paid this month, Gardner is also concerned about the longevity of her fellowship, which specifically supports postdocs from groups “that are historically excluded and currently underrepresented” in math and physical science. That mission goes directly against an executive order that prohibits federal spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

For now, the temporary restraining order prevents the NSF from canceling or terminating existing awards for any reasons related to any of the executive orders. But, as Nature reported on Feb. 3, the agency is still searching for award programs that violate Trump’s executive orders.

The NSF hasn’t responded to C&EN’s inquiry about what would happen to the grants and fellowships that don’t comply with these orders once the restraining order lifts. But terminating grants could prove to be a challenge since the agency’s funds are appropriated by Congress.

Since the 1980s, Congress has repeatedly mandated that the NSF broaden participation of historically underrepresented groups within STEM, which could further conflict with the agency’s attempts to comply with the DEI executive order.

Based on her experience, Rita Colwell, a professor emerita of microbiology at the University of Maryland and former NSF director, says that the agency is likely consulting its general counsel to ensure any actions it’s taking are legally sound. “I think their responses are being made in good faith to meet the requests that have been made of them,” she says.

Broken Trust

Even if Gardner is able to keep her fellowship for the rest of her postdoc, she still wonders what the future holds for her fellowship and other funding programs that support marginalized groups within science. Over the past two weeks, several web pages for funding opportunities at other federal agencies aimed at diversifying STEM have gone dark.

These programs help faculty “recruit and retain students from historically excluded backgrounds,” Danielle Schmitt, a biochemistry professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, says. “To see these programs taken away is really tough because it means that we’re likely going to lose out on some really brilliant, young scientists.”

Federal agencies, like the NSF, “do retire certain programs,” says Alma Faust, a research development professional who helps scientists secure external funding. But Faust says that agencies usually give researchers advance notice. Web pages of the archived funding opportunities also typically remain online.

“This idea that things are just getting taken down, almost like they never existed, is unprecedented,” Faust says. “That’s making everyone panic.”

Even if all these changes at NSF and other federal agencies are only temporary, scientists’ trust in US research funding might be irreversibly shaken. Some researchers say they are looking at private sources of funding to support their labs.

Faust doesn’t think that’s a viable solution, however. “There is not enough private funding to make the kind of progress we want to make in this world,” she says. “Private funding is going to put us back into the era of gentleman science.”

Meanwhile, Farmer expects that all the current uncertainty surrounding science funding could cause students and early-career researchers to reconsider pursuing a research career that’s dependent on federal grants.

Gardner, for example, was planning on becoming a professor, “but it’s getting harder and harder to want to do that.” Now, as she waits to see what the future holds for her fellowship and research funding, she’s considering applying to industry positions instead.