Am I reading this right? New divisions of the agency will exclude ecology and evolution? - ThreadSky

kheyduk.bsky.social • 2 days ago

Am I reading this right? New divisions of the agency will exclude ecology and evolution?

NSF officials announced they are essentially abandoning the use of “rotators”— scientists on leave from academic positions who help the agency choose the best research to fund. NSF also plans to reduce the number of administrators classified as senior executive service employees. scim.ag/3EKnxmc

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cenewman0.bsky.social•2 days ago

To me it's ambiguous, and idk if that's due to the writing of the article or the wording/info from the source. But it could also be saying those are the focus areas the rotators will be restricted to? rather than NSF will only fund these areas? Who knows

spicybotrytis.bsky.social•2 days ago

Hmm, and what exactly is AI without new orthogonal data but a record skipping and repeating.

spicybotrytis.bsky.social•2 days ago

And what drives the ability to translate across species but the processes involving ecology and evolution.

carlbergstrom.com•1 day ago

The article is unclear but my understanding is that rotating program officers will be restricted to the five areas listed, not that the agency will only fund the five areas listed.

https://bsky.app/profile/carlbergstrom.com/post/3lortpgpl622y

hormiga.bsky.social•2 days ago

That’s my read of this. This looks like the one endgame unless Congress and the courts actually stop the nonsense.

brackenlab.bsky.social•2 days ago

So the directorates (e.g., Geosciences, Biological Sciences) will remain, but each one will fund research in the five priority “clusters” (artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotech, nuclear energy, translational science)? Is there any funding for basic research in that scenario?

hormiga.bsky.social•2 days ago

🤷🏻

laurenfuess.bsky.social•2 days ago

Doesn’t sound like it, which seems like a violation of NSFs congressional mandate no?? Wasn’t it established to fund basic research?

ecoclimatelab.bsky.social•2 days ago

That’s how I read the article. It makes zero sense.

jmbrkphd.bsky.social•2 days ago

Wait. What are the President’s five priority areas?

jmbrkphd.bsky.social•2 days ago

Okay, found them. Artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, nuclear energy, and translational science. None of which I can eat.

jrossibarra.bsky.social•2 days ago

It'll be fine John. I can translate my biotech science into Spanish and digest it down into quantum bits of information for scicomm in order to energize an entire nuclear family.

jmbrkphd.bsky.social•1 day ago

Nice. Fwiw, I can translate science into gibberish *or* gibberish into science. That’s my super power.

jrossibarra.bsky.social•1 day ago

that's pretty amateur, John. I don't have to translate, my science IS gibberish.

ryanamartin.bsky.social•2 days ago

Those 5 "research areas" make no sense, especially if as they claim they'd keep the directorates

jbyoder.org•2 days ago

indeed any biology that isn't "biotechnology", apparently

jrossibarra.bsky.social•2 days ago

not clear. translational science in BIO could still be a thing. also quantum information in BIO, whatever that means. how plants and eco/evo are gonna compete in this landscape, however... not good

disequilibber.bsky.social•2 days ago

I have wondered about Plant Genome. It was funded by a separate congressional appropriation. Is that still true?

jrossibarra.bsky.social•2 days ago

wondering about that too. WHO KNOWS ANYMORE?!

disequilibber.bsky.social•2 days ago

I just looked around and came up empty. When was the last time we had a new budget that was not just continuing resolution? Is PGRP whole simply because we have continued to kick the can down the road?

disequilibber.bsky.social•2 days ago

Last straight up NSF Authorization Act that I can find and became law is from 2002. America Competes, CHIPS and Science Act more recently.

jrossibarra.bsky.social•2 days ago

PGRP did get a 50% cut in like 2018

hoffsbeefs.bsky.social•2 days ago

there will be lawsuits.

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