I don't think people fully appreciate how apocalyptic things are for US science. I haven't received any new funding since 2024, but I'm still ok since grants are typically for 3 years. This means next year I will be completely out of funding and will have to fire everyone in the lab. It's not great.
In my 25-year career, I’ve never NOT had funding. I typically have 4 to 8 grants, which you need if you’re running an observation science program and have a technician, students, and postdocs.
I'm looking forward to the science centre of gravity moving away from the USA - and hopefully past Europe towards the East and South.
Just to be sure: You do know that the EU international aid was significantly more than what the US donated, even before Trump came into office, right? It's not like we are doing nothing.
I can't remember the exact numbers, but it was something like 55/45, with the most aid coming from the EU.
You're painting with a pretty broad stroke here, and that is not really fair.
There is a number of EU countries that have kept their aid at the current level or even increased it slightly, but the general drop is because of Germany and France and their major cuts to their international aid. To be fair, Germany is still pretty close to the 0.7% of GDP.
On top of that, there is the war in Ukraine - that is drawing a lot of funding from European countries as well, where the US has supported Ukraine with exactly zero dollars worth of military equipment in the last year.
I just found the numbers for 2023. The total aid from EU and member countries was 41% of the total aid in the world, while the US provided 20%.
All in all I don't think you can ask for much more from EU at the moment - at least we are doing something, while others do nothing.
The article and the data I found are in unfortunately in Danish, but you could probably run it through Google Translate or something:
@madsenandersc @Nicovel0 @davidho
The EU, like the USA, use aid as a political tool.
How much aid did they give to Gaza?
It is well known the CIA was using USAID around the globe. Here's just one example
https://www.pipr.co.uk/exposed-in-vietnam-usaid-funded-the-cias-murderous-phoenix-program/
A more recent example is the fake vaccination programme run in Pakistan as a from for their war against resistance. No real vaccines were issued.
@madsenandersc @Nicovel0 @davidho
this is why I said originally - we need science to move east and south beyond the USA and Europe
There is absolutely no way you can compare the political agenda behind aid from the US and EU. No way.
@madsenandersc @Nicovel0 @davidho
and that, my friend, is where you are deluded
the EU is a mere puppet of US Empire
OK, let's end this here - there is no way we will ever get to agree on this. Our world view is fundamentally different.
@madsenandersc @Nicovel0 @davidho
Yes we can agree on that.
But let me leave you with one more data point.
Millions and millions of people around the world are increasingly seeing through the propaganda that the US-Israel and EU are benevolent entities. They see them as colonial genocidal monsters with excellent PR and propaganda.
That's aside what you and I think.
Times are changing, and history will turn the tables.
The choice is - which side will you be on?
time for science to pack up and leave the US permanently
@davidho I decided not to pursue academia after my PhD, and have at times regretted it, but I would likely have been at the end of my second postdoc right now and completely and totally screwed. (If I even made it that far as a researcher)
I started my PhD as Trump's first term started, and I was worried at that time. It is nothing compared to now.
This is what happens when you live under a regime that shuns anyone smarter than they are...
@davidho I met with a friend today and the grant her lab was aiming for didn't come through. They're working on the next one but she's now down to 60% paid time. By December it will be 0 and she'll be laid off.
The average person doesn't understand the precariousness of the science community's funding situation. I don't know how you all manage to keep doing the science we need right now, this is beyond bad.
@davidho that is intentional.
Consider moving your research overseas if possible.
@davidho this is one of the reasons BIML is set up as a 501(c)3
@davidho The shortsightedness of not funding the sciences is what leaves me dumbfounded.
Especially since all the innovation from America, not to mention the basis for most of these tech bros’ work, comes directly from scientific research and development.
We are literally shooting ourselves in the collective feet (brains).
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