Jeffrey Mervis

NSF officials break silence on how AI and quantum now drive agency grantmaking Leaders acknowledge White House role in controversial moves

NSF leaders have just acknowledged what many scientists have long suspected: Presidential directives to boost AI and quantum have upended its traditional way of doing business. www.science.org/content/arti...

Controversial citizenship question added to upcoming census test Researchers worry question plus other changes will reduce accuracy and boost costs of 2030 count

How the Trump administration blew up the upcoming one-and-only field test of the 2030 census www.science.org/content/arti...

Trump’s NSF pick is a stranger to its research community Jim O’Neill will need to build ties, say former agency leaders

Is Jim O'Neill a good fit for NSF?https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-s-nsf-pick-stranger-its-research-community

Some have speculated that Trump won’t be upset if the Senate votes down O’Neill as the agency’s 16th director. If that happens, the agency could be facing an extended period of interim leaders. 7/7

Last fall NSF announced a major reorganization, with career federal employees replacing academics on leave from their institutions as heads of its eight research directorates and its chief management officer, Micah Cheatham, taking on a larger role. 6/7

An independent agency with a budget of nearly $9 billion, NSF has been led for the past 10 months by Panchanathan’s chief of staff, Brian Stone. During that time, it has lost 40% of its PhD-level staff of senior managers and program officers. 5/7

O'Neill earned a bachelor’s degree in humanities in 1990 from Yale University and was a senior administrator at HHS under President George W. Bush. After leaving government in 2008 he managed a hedge fund and venture capital firm, both led by Thiel, and was CEO of the Thiel Foundation. 5/7

NSF’s most recent director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, resigned in April 2025 a year before his 6-year term ended. “I’ve done all I can,” he said at the time. Winning Senate confirmation could be a steep challenge for O’Neill, who lacks an advanced science degree and any research credentials. 4/7

One source who requested anonymity speculated that O’Neill was offered the NSF job as a consolation prize to placate Thiel, an influential Trump supporter. Another Thiel protégé, Michael Kratsios, is Trump’s science advisor, giving him a voice in the selection of the NSF director. 3/7

The reported nominee, Jim O’Neill, lost two jobs last week, one as deputy secretary of HHS and the other as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to media reports, NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, will also become acting CDC director. 2/7

Trump said to select Thiel protégé as NSF director

President Donald Trump is planning to nominate a libertarian protégé of billionaire Peter Thiel with no research experience to be the next National Science Foundation director, according to reports today in the New York Times and elsewhere. 1/7

NSF’s flagship fellowship program is rejecting applicants without peer review Students seeking graduate research scholarships speculate that biology is being disfavored

NSF's graduate research fellowship (GRF) program is designed to teach aspiring scientists how to write a winning grant proposal. So why are so many applicants being denied that learning experience? www.science.org/content/arti...

How hard is it for US research universities to improve their ranking? Almost impossible, says a new NSF report view.aaas.sciencepubs.org?vawpToken=OB...

Sharp cutbacks in field tests could threaten quality of 2030 U.S. census Efforts to correct historic undercount of poor, immigrant, rural, and minority populations are at risk, critics say

We explain how shrinking the size and scope of the upcoming field tests for the 2030 census could result in a larger undercount www.science.org/content/arti...

Lawmakers spend big on home state science projects Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, king of congressional earmarks, steers $165 million to his alma maters

The 2026 budgets of individual science agencies may be lean, but Mitch McConnell once again lead Congress in earmarking big bucks for homestate university research facilities www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies

The US government lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs last year, according to an analysis by Science of newly released OPM data, with 11 departures for every hire. And many OPM calls "voluntary" separations were probably pushed. www.science.org/content/arti...

Which of Trump’s upheavals to U.S. science are likely to stick? A future president could reverse many changes, but greater White House control of science agencies may be here to stay

One year into Trump's second term, we parse the lasting impact of his policies and executive orders. Here's the first of a four-story package appearing this week. www.science.org/content/arti...

Purdue blocks admission of many Chinese grad students in unwritten policy Faculty members say university is overreacting to pressure from the Trump administration and Congress

Why isn't Purdue talking about its new policy to halt graduate student admissions from China and other "countries of concern"? www.science.org/content/arti...

Appeals court agrees that NIH cannot reduce overhead payments to academic institutions Judges uphold injunction by lower court against a 15% flat rate for indirect costs

Trump's plan to slash indirect costs gets another drubbing in the courts--and in Congress www.science.org/content/arti...

Congress set to reject Trump’s major budget cuts to NSF, NASA, and energy science Appropriators agree instead to keep this year’s spending nearly level

Prending"minibus" would fund NSF, DOE and NASA science programs at roughly 2025 levels www.science.org/content/arti...

The National Science Foundation just had a big reorganization. Here are five things to know Divisions and rotators disappear as more career staff become supervisors

The National Science Foundation starts 2026 with a new management structure that affects every scientist with--or applying for--NSF funding. Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...

Five things to know about NSF’s new rules on merit review Fewer outsiders, less feedback, and an uncertain fate for a new science board report

As you celebrate the holidays, here are 10 things to know about the dramatic changes to how NSF does business. This story looks at merit review. The second part will explain the significance of NSF's new structure. www.science.org/content/arti...

NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities

NSF plans to streamline merit review to heal self-inflicted staffing wound www.science.org/content/arti...

Can a smaller U.S. National Academies remain relevant? Loss of federal support leads to staff layoffs and fewer committees of outside experts

A major reorganization and significant downsizing has left scientists wondering about the future of the US National Academies. www.science.org/content/arti...

NSF could be moving down the street Government sets requirements for new space that sound like nearby patent office campus

And here's the GSA announcement of NSF's new digs: www.gsa.gov/about-us/new...

NSF could be moving down the street Government sets requirements for new space that sound like nearby patent office campus

NSF announced today it is moving a half-mile down the street to be neighbors of the US Patent Office in Alexandria, Va. Here's our earlier story on the possibility. www.science.org/content/arti...

Republican push to make U.S. census surveys voluntary alarms statisticians Pending bills targeting decennial census and American Community Survey would make results less reliable

Republican spending plan for Census Bureau could shrink response rate on decennial census to 28% www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students

Conferees on Defense bill asked to jettison House language that would end US collaborations with Chinese scientists and former students back in China www.science.org/content/arti...

A flood of Chinese graduate students in STEM was a boon to U.S. students Study shows the influx allowed U.S. programs to expand enrollment and also benefited local businesses

Study finds China's higher education boom led to expansion of US STEM masters programs www.science.org/content/arti...

How NSF hopes to keep Antarctic scientists afloat without an icebreaker Ending Palmer lease is one of many belt-tightening moves amid budget uncertainty

Doing research in Antarctica was plenty hard before NSF cancelled its lease on its main ship, the Nathaniel Palmer. Read how scientists are coping. www.science.org/content/arti...