Doug Jerolmack

The significance of Mars rover's latest discovery This week, NASA said scientists took the biggest step yet toward discovering whether there was ever life on Mars when a rock sample collected by the Mars rover Perseverance contained potential…

Recently, NASA announced that samples from an ancient dry riverbed on Mars may contain potential biosignatures, possible evidence of ancient microbial life. On CBS News, @dougjerolmack.bsky.social of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science discussed the exciting news.

On the "seminar circuit" I keep finding people who didn't know about our #SoftEarthGeophysics conference at @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social and that want to come. Please share with your colleagues and research groups. Details below.

Check me out on @cbsnews.com talking about Mars rocks and using landscape patterns to search for life on other planets. #SoftEarthGeophysics
@upenn.edu

www.cbsnews.com/video/the-si...

If there was ever a time where deep and original thinking in science is needed.
Thanks @davidjonfurbish.bsky.social

Will Struble Tectonic Geomorphology and Surface Processes at the University of Houston

Can forests damp earthquake waves and thus limit co-seismic landslides? What does this mean for Critical Zone development? Postdoctoral position with Will Struble and a multi-disciplinary team (including me🌲🌲🌊🌳🪾). Position is open until filled.

willstruble.com
#CZScience #Postdoc

KITP conferences are special. Early career researchers will find ample opportunities to interact and build new relationships, and more senior scientists will find themselves rejuvenated. Hit me up if you have questions, and please SPREAD THE WORD!

Ezequiel Ferrero, Centro Atómico Bariloche
Rachel Glade, U. Rochester
Jill Marshall, Portland State
Olivia Meng, Purdue
Tejas Murthy, IIT Bangalore
Shravan Pradeep, Penn
David Weitz, Harvard

Paulo Arratia, Penn
Mahesh Bandi, OIST
Katie Barnhardt, USGS
Cacey Bester, Swarthmore
Justin Burton, Emory
Karen Daniels, NC State
Emanuela Del Gado, Georgetown
Itai Einav, U. Sydney
Ahmed Elbanna, USC

There will be lively, long and luxurious poster sessions -- with great interactions and snacks.
There will be surf lessons!
We will be building the community of #SoftEarthGeophysics and defining problems TOGETHER, that will feed a 3-month program to follow.
CHECK OUT INCREDIBLE CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:

Check out the @kitp-ucsb.bsky.social conference we're (Vashan Wright, Sujit Datta, Nathalie Vriend) organizing:
www.kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/s... for THIS JANUARY 6-9!
Geoscientists, physicists and engineers: are you intellectually adventurous and been wondering "is this all there is?" 🧪

🧪 idea for 1 way to address federal cuts to science funding:
if the big dumb bill passes and >middle class people get tax breaks they don't need, can we organize a system to divert these to private foundations that already fund science?

I'm serious. Anybody got ideas on if and how to do this?

Check out PCSSM postdoc @asinclair.bsky.social's latest paper with collaborators in @nathumbehav.nature.com on their SCIMaP project that visualizes cuts to NIH funding & how that impacts economy and employment nationwide.

And check out the map here: scienceimpacts.org

@michaelemann.bsky.social

What losing billions in federal grants means for universities, and the nation The Trump administration has so far frozen about $11 billion in research funding. University leaders say no other source can fill the void.

I think most people don't understand exactly what universities do or how they are funded. It's worth reading this and then talking with folks you know about it.🧪

www.npr.org/2025/04/25/n...

Most Americans use federal science information on a weekly basis, a new poll finds Most Americans frequently use federal science information. But few are concerned that cuts to federal science spending could affect their access to such information, a new poll finds.

Over 90% of Americans rely on federally funded science, But only 10% are worried about losing access to it.

That’s a dangerous disconnect.

Help us close the gap. Join our #SummerFightForScience and help spread the word about how essential science is to everyday lives.

www.npr.org/2025/05/06/n...

CNN Anderson Cooper "Science UnderSiege" promo

Seen on @cnn.com @andersoncooper360.bsky.social this evening, courtesy of my #ScienceUnderSiege co-author @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social

Amen. I'm an adult learner in this area, but let's try to envision a better future out of the ashes of this, rather than fighting for a status quo we didn't love

🧪 YASSSSS!!! 👏👏👏

Sooo excited to see this. Time *for us* to flood the zone!

I'm especially excited to hear about the formation of Stand Up For Science **LOCAL**.

Who will lead each local chapter? Could be you. We're the leaders we've all been waiting for to #StandUpForScience.

In panel discussion at Penn "How did we get here and what do we do?", I answered that generations of increasing competition for funding has narrowed our communication to very small numbers of other scientists... And that an era of direct communication with the pubic is needed. Let's do it!!!

The summer fight for science. The time is now. Join the fight at standupforscience.net.

☀️THE SUMMER FIGHT FOR SCIENCE☀️

🫵 WHO: You + all our friends

🧪 WHAT: Share science with your neighbors and tell them about the impact of proposed budget cuts.

🇺🇸 WHERE: Your local community

🏖️ WHEN: Now to Sept 30th

🔬 WHY: The 9/30 budget vote will determine the future of science in America.

Our Directorates and Offices

To get an idea of what the 37 existing divisions of NSF do, and what is likely to be lost, see the current NSF web site www.nsf.gov/about/direct... But hurry, since this list is apt to disappear at any time.

If you don't know how NSF works, read this

Join, or Die.
If the Big 10 can create a "mutual defense pact", why can't the Ivy League?

As Trump takes away all federal money for research, they have less leverage over us. We have nothing to lose by joining Harvard and saying "No compromise. Bring it".

Dorks, it’s time to throw sand in the gears.

They want us to stop teaching, we will teach in the streets.

They want us to stop our research, we will use archival data.

They want to send us back to the dark ages, we will be a light.

We will not lay down and take this.

The drawing features 8 of the colonies that Franklin considered to share common values.
There are 8 Ivy League universities, that supposedly share common values and histories.
I don't care about the Ivy League per se, but if that title means anything to the universities they must join Harvard.

Trump administration freezes future grants to Harvard The U.S. Department of Education informed Harvard University on Monday that it was freezing billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the nation's oldest and wealthiest college concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
It is time to "Join, or Die". Founding father of the USA, and Penn, recognized the unorganized colonies had to unite for common cause or face destruction. This is where American Universities are now.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join,_o...

Australia and Canada in one week!!
Trump may have single handedly reversed a global political trend. I wish my country wasn't sacrificed in the process...

Open letter from NSF Union:
www.savensf.com/_files/ugd/e...
🧪
They are trying to destroy American science. They can't without our permission. Science without funding sucks, but science without truth isn't science at all.

GOOD EVENING, DORKS.

Did you know you can call your senators and house rep and ask for specific grants to be restored? You can ask for specific jobs to be restored. You can ask for data to be restored. You can ask for teams tracking food safety to be restored.

Do what you want with this info!

⬆️New research from @dougjerolmack.bsky.social @upenn.bsky.social, Gábor Domokos at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, & others; comments from Lucas Goehring at Nottingham Trent University and Nina Lanza at Los Alamos National Laboratory.