Laura Lautz's Avatar

Laura Lautz

@llautz.bsky.social

Hydrogeologist and Program Director for Water, Landscape, and Critical Zone Processes (WaLCZ) at the National Science Foundation. Views are my own, not NSF’s.

796 Followers  |  457 Following  |  23 Posts  |  Joined: 10.08.2023
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Posts by Laura Lautz (@llautz.bsky.social)

US GEO folks: A few NSF POs are traveling again (!!) & several are hitting the regional GSAs. @drrocks1982.bsky.social + @llautz.bsky.social are headed to the Triple-Joint meeting in Memphis, I'll be in Hartford for the Northeastern. We are hype to see the community! Reach out if you'll be there!

06.03.2026 16:24 — 👍 18    🔁 7    💬 4    📌 1
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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...

26.02.2026 22:35 — 👍 86    🔁 65    💬 6    📌 10
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First #WARR of 2026!

Dr. Laura Lautz @llautz.bsky.social from WaLCZ NSF
and
Dr. Kathy Bloomer from FFAR will kick off 2026 with a panel on

"Navigating funding uncertainties"

Register: psu.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
WARR 2021 - 2026: www.cee.psu.edu/events/women...

09.01.2026 02:23 — 👍 7    🔁 3    💬 0    📌 1
Conference badge and button for science meeting

Conference badge and button for science meeting

I’m here at #AGU25! Looking forward to connecting with the research community and talking science. Looking for the NSF booth? Out of necessity we’ve gone mobile! See you out there…

16.12.2025 17:19 — 👍 13    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 1
Boxing up the NSF at Eisenhower Av for the forced relocation. Boxes have “Details Matter” signage.

Boxing up the NSF at Eisenhower Av for the forced relocation. Boxes have “Details Matter” signage.

NSF

- Forced reorg

- POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements)

- Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …)

I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing.
“Details matter” 🙃

11.12.2025 11:16 — 👍 373    🔁 206    💬 12    📌 24
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Resumption of Operations at NSF Information for NSF staff and the research community regarding the agency's resumption of operations after a lapse in appropriations.

Science People: We at NSF are still recovering/catching up/getting our lives together. But the agency posted these FAQs about post-shutdown resumption of operations which might answer a lot of Qs for you: www.nsf.gov/resumption-o...

18.11.2025 18:08 — 👍 140    🔁 100    💬 1    📌 2
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NSF to move to Carlyle Innovation Campus after HUD displacement Agency will co-locate with USPTO at Randolph Building in early 2026

The U.S. National Science Foundation will relocate to the Randolph Building at 401 Dulany Street in early 2026.

14.11.2025 19:00 — 👍 1    🔁 4    💬 0    📌 1

Nooooo! Just like the agency itself, if something breaks we can fix it. We’ll get you a new one!

10.09.2025 00:39 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Making my voice heard.

09.09.2025 22:14 — 👍 21    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent

“More than 140 employees of the National Science Foundation have signed a letter denouncing what they described as efforts to undermine one of the country’s main science funding agencies. … Out of fear of retaliation, all but one of the employees’ signatures are redacted.”

22.07.2025 23:14 — 👍 185    🔁 69    💬 6    📌 0
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Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/s...

23.07.2025 01:11 — 👍 3    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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NSF Division of Earth Sciences Informational Webinar

US Earth Science people: Our June webinar felt so good, we’re making it a series. Join us next Tuesday 7/15 (and again in Aug & Sept) to hear from NSF staff and to get (most of?) your questions answered. www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-d...

10.07.2025 13:29 — 👍 42    🔁 23    💬 0    📌 1

They are kicking the National Science Foundation out of their 8-year-old HQ building, with no alternative plan for housing staff, in order to make a gym for Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Scott Turner and his family.

25.06.2025 01:16 — 👍 114    🔁 59    💬 4    📌 7

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.

NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

24.06.2025 22:20 — 👍 2803    🔁 1522    💬 108    📌 496

National Science Foundation Surprise: Employees Being Relocated to
Accommodate Secretary of HUD’s Palatial New Office

www.afge.org/contentasset...

25.06.2025 02:08 — 👍 4    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 0
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NSF Division of Earth Sciences Informational Webinar

US Earth Scientists: We know you have questions, come get them answered directly from NSF/EAR POs! Tuesday, June 17, 2p Eastern. Register here: www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-d...

09.06.2025 19:24 — 👍 56    🔁 44    💬 1    📌 1

This proposed budget is a policy statement, not an appropriation.
There are still a lot of steps and potential changes ahead before it becomes one. This is not a time to sit quietly, team. Let's go.

31.05.2025 13:38 — 👍 106    🔁 41    💬 2    📌 0
NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

How bad will it be? Catastrophic.

Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.

But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.

Speak up now before it is too late.

(inflation adjusted $-s below)

31.05.2025 02:50 — 👍 2605    🔁 1369    💬 70    📌 125
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The NSF cuts are nothing short of a scorched-earth attack on US science, orchestrated w/political cynicism & total disregard for US scientific leadership. A 7% success rate doesn’t incentivize innovation; it tells researchers to take their talent elsewhere.
nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

30.05.2025 23:39 — 👍 75    🔁 41    💬 3    📌 3
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The National Science Foundation budget proposal would be a devastating blow to American science. 240,000 fewer people would be involved in federally-funded science in fiscal year 2026, according to estimates in the document.

nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...

30.05.2025 22:59 — 👍 131    🔁 73    💬 4    📌 13
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Trump administration cuts to NSF will result in more than 200,000 FEWER people per year involved in basic science, training, and education - what should have been the next generation of US scientists. This isn't even eating your seed corn, it is setting your seed corn on fire and salting the earth.

30.05.2025 21:32 — 👍 801    🔁 505    💬 16    📌 15
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Is a photo subversive? NSF staff overcome obstacles to 75th anniversary portrait Management tried to quash outpouring of support for beleaguered agency

An amazing group of dedicated federal workers celebrating 75 years of NSF supporting science. What a joy to be a part of! www.science.org/content/arti...

22.05.2025 21:12 — 👍 39    🔁 7    💬 0    📌 2

I am thinking a lot today about how heavy things feel in my world of faculty doing scientific research. There's the immediate chaos and panic about our ability to pay people and continue our research. But there's also a deeper grief at watching everything get bulldozed for no reason

15.05.2025 02:35 — 👍 1198    🔁 249    💬 24    📌 25
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About EES The NSF Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds, especially those historically underrepresented in science and engineering.

NSF’s entire Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EDU/EES), which “aims to provide opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to actively participate and excel in STEM disciplines” and some of it congressionally mandated, was just notified they will be RIFed. www.nsf.gov/edu/ees/about

09.05.2025 15:14 — 👍 61    🔁 57    💬 2    📌 6
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Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund

Exclusive: National Science Foundation staff were told today that the agency’s 37 divisions—across all eight directorates—are being abolished and the number of programs within those divisions will be drastically reduced.

08.05.2025 23:35 — 👍 2101    🔁 1531    💬 155    📌 438
Welcome to Save The U.S. National Science Foundation
A Girl Looking at a Physics Model
TAKE ACTION
Save NSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the U.S. National Science Foundation.

 

Our mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation in various scientific fields. NSF funding is critical to this work.

 

 Join us in our endeavor to ensure a sustainable future for scientific exploration and discovery.

Welcome to Save The U.S. National Science Foundation A Girl Looking at a Physics Model TAKE ACTION Save NSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the U.S. National Science Foundation. Our mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation in various scientific fields. NSF funding is critical to this work. Join us in our endeavor to ensure a sustainable future for scientific exploration and discovery.

I am so heartened to this seriously AWESOME #SaveNSF website go up today!!!!

Has a take action toolkit with:

1. Press outreach templates
2. Social media toolkit
3. Elected official outreach
4. Talking points

Check it out and share widely!!!! Likely more to come.

www.savensf.com

02.05.2025 22:08 — 👍 603    🔁 419    💬 9    📌 13
Home | Savensf

SaveNSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the NSF.

The mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation.

Join: www.savensf.com

03.05.2025 01:03 — 👍 230    🔁 173    💬 2    📌 6
Effective May 5, 2025, NSF will apply a standard indirect cost rate not to exceed 15% to all
grants and cooperative agreements awarded to IHEs for which indirect costs are allowable.1 The
awardee is authorized to determine the appropriate rate up to this limit.

Effective May 5, 2025, NSF will apply a standard indirect cost rate not to exceed 15% to all grants and cooperative agreements awarded to IHEs for which indirect costs are allowable.1 The awardee is authorized to determine the appropriate rate up to this limit.

NEW: Starting May 5, NSF will implement an across-the-board 15% indirect cost rate (mirroring policies at DOE, NIH)

Also, NSF staff expect 341 additional terminations today, bringing the total number of terminations to ~1,380.

02.05.2025 14:20 — 👍 274    🔁 210    💬 12    📌 47
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Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.

Staff members at the US National Science Foundation (NSF) were told on 30 April to “stop awarding all funding actions until further notice,” according to an email seen by Nature.

https://go.nature.com/44Ugf9V

01.05.2025 22:51 — 👍 243    🔁 192    💬 7    📌 60

Science friends, I’ll be honest: We have no idea yet what any of this will mean. But I can tell you that I work alongside some of the best humans around and that we are fighters. www.science.org/content/arti...

25.04.2025 00:06 — 👍 152    🔁 17    💬 8    📌 0