"It's just such a waste of American talent," said Fiona Coleman, a terminated federal scientist, her voice cracking wit

[riversedge]

Great article--yet so sad.



“It’s just such a waste of American talent,” said Fiona Coleman, a terminated federal scientist, her voice cracking with emotion as she described the long years of schooling and training she and her colleagues went through to serve the government.

Link to tweet

............To scientists abroad, the situation in the US government has marked American institutions and researchers as potentially unreliable partners, several federal workers told me.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Please post the article's URL and not the 'X' post. For folks that would like to read the article:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/02/21/1112274/the-foundations-of-americas-prosperity-are-being-dismantled/


Ever since World War II, the US has been the global leader in science and technology—and benefited immensely from it. Research fuels American innovation and the economy in turn. Scientists around the world want to study in the US and collaborate with American scientists to produce more of that research. These international collaborations play a critical role in American soft power and diplomacy. The products Americans can buy, the drugs they have access to, the diseases they’re at risk of catching—are all directly related to the strength of American research and its connections to the world’s scientists.

They warn that dismantling the behind-the-scenes scientific research programs that backstop American life could lead to long-lasting, perhaps irreparable damage to everything from the quality of health care to the public’s access to next-generation consumer technologies. The US took nearly a century to craft its rich scientific ecosystem; if the unraveling that has taken place over the past month continues, Americans will feel the effects for decades to come.

For starters, the purging of tens of thousands—and perhaps soon hundreds of thousands—of federal workers is removing scientists and technologists from the government and paralyzing the ability of critical agencies to function. Across multiple agencies, science and technology fellowship programs, designed to bring in talented early-career staff with advanced STEM degrees, have shuttered. Many other federal scientists were among the thousands who were terminated as probationary employees, a status they held because of the way scientific roles are often contractually structured.

Many fear the US has also singlehandedly kneecapped its own ability to attract talent from abroad. Over the last 10 years, even as American universities have continued to lead the world, many universities in other countries have rapidly leveled up. That includes those in Canada, where liberal immigration policies and lower tuition fees have driven a 200% increase in international student enrollment over the last decade, according to Anna Esaki-Smith, cofounder of a higher-education research consultancy called Education Rethink and author of Make College Your Superpower.

[Baron2024]

3. Thanks

Thanks for posting the direct link. I will not read anything on X/Twitter.

[Baron2024]

2. The Destruction Of American Civilization

Musk is supposedly a genius technologist but he clearly has no understanding of how the research sector and the related economy works, or he does not care. In any case, the scientific research sector is the crown jewel of American Civilization. Destroying it is a self destructive move that only an idiot would make. So I rank Musk as an idiot. I hope that one day he will pay for his arrogance and stupidity.