Bud Talbot

The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone.

The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets.

We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.

Christmas day and my apple tree is budding. In northern Colorado.
Record high temperature of 71°F today. Not good

#COwx

Mindscape Holiday Message 2025 | The Romance of the University. After a tough year for higher education, I give a pitch for the most idealistic, aspirational conception of the value of a liberal-arts education. #MindscapePodcast

Happy Holidays all!

www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2025...

Science has named the seemingly unstoppable growth of renewable energy worldwide as the 2025 Breakthrough of the Year.

Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: https://scim.ag/493Tpgx

A stunning map of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor — and one woman's pioneering quest to publish it The geology of the ocean floor is truly spectacular — perhaps even more than land geology. Unfortunately, it's really hard to study.

A stunning map of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor — and one woman's pioneering quest to publish it share.google/N2TMELSqRTx4...

The National Science Board, which oversees NSF, has published recommendations to update the foundation's merit review (which was just updated).

Below are the main points. www.nsf.gov/nsb/updates/...

#NSF reorganization has been coming. He is the latest public announcement and link to the updated org chart.

Overall not very telling

See this post for more details: bsky.app/profile/dang...

www.nsf.gov/od/updates/n...

NSF reorganization is, frankly, a bit odd, and we haven't run a story on it partly because it's hard to know what to make of it. The impetus for reorg, as I understood it, was to limit the siloing that occurs because NSF has so many (35ish) divisions. Now there will be 50+ sections.

Seen on Mastodoon 🤣

#Science
#STEM
#Research
#academicsky

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

#Science
#NSF
#NCAR
#Climate
#academicsky

You are correct

I was a rotator until August and I had to RWR Cat B some proposals that had paneled well and were in consideration for funding.

There is a new process in place since last ~April called "RWR cat B" which is "return without review." This can be applied even after it had been reviewed by a panel if the proposal is not aligned with new federal/NSF prioritites (e.g., no DEI). This is beyond compliance checking.

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 now planning to let POs largely decide what gets funded, and to send PIs reviews that are only 3-5 sentences long. They don't have to use outside reviewers (except maybe 1) and don't have to convene panels. (1/5)

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

To ease the burden on a staff that has shrunk significantly since President Donald Trump took office, the National Science Foundation is reducing the role of outside experts in reviewing grant proposals. https://scim.ag/4oUfVhO

NSF softens grant-review rules to cope with backlog Agency staff members say that the changes are reasonable, but they are worried about the potential effects on review.

Amid a whole host of other upheaval—their last day in the building is this Friday—NSF is making some changes to its grant review process. I spoke to staff about the potential benefits and drawbacks:

Yes 24-1. Thanks. Ironically that typo was in text that I copied from an announcement and I did not catch it!

Many red states are already destroying their institutions of #HigherEd and tenure (see IN). If this gains traction on the national level, knowledge generation in the US is doomed.

But at the same time, they *need* our research and knowledge generation.

Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.

Washington Update - APLU U.S. Department of Education Announces New Interagency Agreements On November 18, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced six interagency agreements (IAAs) with four different federal agencies...

www.aplu.org/news-and-med...

#APLU
#HigherEd
#academicsky

Astronomers observe a coronal mass ejection from a distant star – Physics World Burst from M-dwarf star could be powerful enough to strip the atmosphere of any planets that orbit it, with implications for the search for extraterrestrial life

For the first time, astronomers have detected a coronal mass ejection from a star other than our Sun, and it was a big one – powerful enough to strip the atmosphere from nearby planets. That's bad news for the search for extraterrestrial life. Here's why: physicsworld.com/a/astronomer... 🧪⚛️🔭

Proposed Model Bill Would Change College Tenure, Teaching, & Research Three conservative groups have proposed model legislation that would dramatically change faculty tenure paths, teaching loads, research activities and hiring authority

www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

The attacks on #HigherEd are crazy. Efforts like this one should be a non-starter in a well functioning democratic society.

@academicsky

Of particular now is the change to "minimum number of reviewers", increases to caps for planning, RAPID, and EAGER proposals among other things.

Pro tip: always, always refer to the PAPPG when preparing a proposal. Many times when you reach out to a PO with a question they will refer to the PAPPG

Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1 This notice implements several revisions to NSF's Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1.

#NSF PIs and prospective PIs: be aware that there is a new supplement to the PAPPG 14-1: Policy Notice: Implementation of Policy Changes to Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1, Supplement 1 | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation share.google/ibGqbifrVAqc...

I'm working on securing funding right now to rebuild my research program, and NSF funding will hopefully always be part of that for me. But I'm also trying to rethink how I get that funding and other potential sources to do my work

Having just recently come from serving at NSF, I don't see "getting back to normal" on the near horizon. PIs need to rethink proposals and funding, not just because of more competition and less $$, but also because of new solicitations. Effects of the "great perturbation" will persist for some time

I was asked if I want to #teach #HLM next fall. I'm so rusty- I would need to do a lot of re-engaging and try to work on some old projects again.

But I'm considering it and it could be a fun excuse to get technical again.

#academia
#AcademicSky
🧪

I was with ~40 other STEM educators and STEM Ed researchers who convened @aaas.org HQ in DC last week to talk about issues and opportunities in undergrad STEM Ed. We had great conversations and generated ideas about how to move forward. The group was awesome. Feeling hopeful and positive today