America has already lost its global competitive edge in science, and funding cuts proposed in early 2025 may further a precipitous decline.
Proposed cuts to the federal agencies that fund scientific research could undercut America’s global competitiveness, with negative impacts on the economy and the ability to attract and train the next generation of researchers.
I’m an astronomer, and I have been a senior administrator at the University of Arizona’s College of Science. Because of these roles, I’m invested in the future of scientific research in the United States. I’m worried funding cuts could mean a decline in the amount and quality of research published – and that some potential discoveries won’t get made.
The endless frontier
A substantial part of U.S. prosperity after World War II was due to the country’s investment in science and technology.
Vannevar Bush founded the company that later became Raytheon and was the president of the Carnegie Institution. In 1945, he delivered a report to President Franklin D. Roosevelt called The Endless Frontier.
In this report, Bush argued that scientific research was essential to the country’s economic well-being and security. His advocacy led to the founding of the National Science Foundation and science policy as we know it today. He argued that a centralized approach to science funding would efficiently distribute resources to scientists doing research at universities.
The National Science Foundation awards funding to many research projects and early career scientists. Pictured are astronomers from the LIGO collaboration, which won a Nobel Prize.
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Since 1945, advances in science and technology have driven 85% of American economic growth. Science and innovation are the engines of prosperity, where research generates new technologies, innovations and solutions that improve the quality of life and drive economic development.
This causal relationship, where scientific research leads to innovations and inventions that promote economic growth, is true around the world.
The importance of basic research
Investment in research and development has tripled since 1990, but that growth has been funded by the business sector for applied research, while federal investment in basic research has stagnated. The distinction matters, because basic research, which is purely exploratory research, has enormous downstream benefits.
Quantum computing is a prime example. Quantum computing originated 40 years ago, based on the fundamental physics of quantum mechanics. It has matured only in the past few years to the point where quantum computers can solve some problems faster than classical computers.
Basic research into quantum physics has allowed quantum computing to develop and advance.
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
Worldwide, basic research pays for itself and has more impact on economic…
