Leading Research Universities Report

While FY25 was already one of the worst years in NSF’s recent history in terms of how many grants went out its doors, the current fiscal year is shaping up to be even worse.

If a new administration proposal that changes the way the federal government awards and administers grants takes effect, municipalities, hospitals, and nonprofits could see downgraded credit ratings, making life more expensive for all of us.

A decades-old partnership between federal research agencies and research universities has helped sustain doctoral education in the United States – but new data show that universities are cutting back on admitting new PhD students as they face an increasingly unstable federal research funding landscape. This weakening of the partnership portends serious consequences for the nation’s scientific workforce, innovation capacity, and global competitiveness.

The awards support early-career researchers “pursuing disruptive, unconventional ideas across America’s most critical energy technology priorities.” Eight of this year’s 18 awardees are professors at AAU member institutions.

The United States has been a country of citizen-scientists from its very beginning. As Americans around the country celebrate our nation’s founding this Independence Day, they can also take pride in the 250 years of science and innovation that have shaped the United States.

How do we tell the story of America on its 250th birthday? How do we learn about its past, its culture, its literature, its traditions, and its arts? Chances are the answers can be uncovered at a university campus, including its library, museum, or archive.

As the threat emerges again, university experts continue to build on past knowledge gained through decades of federally funded, basic research to protect farmers’ livelihoods and our food supply.

From the turf under players’ feet to the data collection that tracks disease and protects athletes’ brains, this work won’t show up in highlight reels – but it will help ensure that when the whistle blows, fans can just sit back and enjoy the game.

In a keynote speech during an ARPA-E awards program, Snyder said that, although the young researchers present were among the world’s most promising, the country risks failing to develop future talent – and losing many of our current young researchers to other nations.

Last month, the White House Office of Management and Budget published a proposal that would make significant changes to how federal agencies administer financial assistance, including research grants. If allowed to go into effect, the changes would seriously harm the American scientific research enterprise.