Justin Pratt

I really hate comparisons of our current situation to idiocracy. The government in idiocracy was stupid, but they didn't want to kill everyone, and when they saw proof that their methods weren't working, they changed them. I would take that over our system any day.

I still can’t believe the National Science Foundation is being forced to move out of their brand new, purpose-built building because the HUD secretary thought his building was ugly.

The Trump administration is destroying the best parts of this country, and it will take decades to rebuild.

Here's GREAT news for educators! You know all the hard work you put in to design outside of class activities to help your students learn? Well, when they do those things, in the order you intended, they actually learn more! Check it out: dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0... #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #EduSky

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 95 tenure-track positions and 10 teaching-only positions:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #chemsky #chemjobs #facultychemjobs

Excited to share some great news! My PhD advisor, Dr. Ellen Yezierski, has been honored with the prestigious 2026 American Chemical Society Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching and Learning of Chemistry! Congrats!!!
lnkd.in/g6uv8j6U
lnkd.in/guSPdDD8

Latest Yale Bud Lab analysis of Senate Bill. What does an extra $3.3 trillion in debt get you?

2.9% decease in income for bottom 20%
0.6% decrease in income for those in the 20-40% group
10-15 million losing health insurance.

All so the top 10% can have an extra $9,000 vacation each year.

Sigh -- only 14 awards for anything related to STEM Education (0.93% of the awards)

For those of you that prefer to look at the prettier version (after editorializing and such), it is officially live!! doi.org/10.1039/D5RP...

1/ Dr. Sibrina Collins is an inorganic chemist and STEM administrator. She earned her M.S. (1996) and Ph.D. (2000), both in the field of inorganic chemistry, from The Ohio State University . #WomenInSTEM #WomanToday

We examined general chemistry students' approaches to what and how to study, with clear implications for instructors & researchers. We also highlight the limitations of prior survey work and emphasize the need for more qualitative studies, particularly given how much education has recently changed

Very excited to share this accepted article, "Understanding the Reasons and Cues that Guide General Chemistry Students’ Studying Decisions" pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a... (open access if you make a free account).

Resources and Support for Marginalized Women in Chemistry Doctoral Programs: What They Had and What They Needed Marginalized women now enter chemistry doctoral programs and earn more Ph.D. degrees than ever. As such, there is a growing emphasis on exploring their experiences during their degree pursuits and ide...

Excited to share this new article! We examined the resources and support provided to marginalized women in chemistry PhD programs, as well as the resources and support they wished they had received. We end with a table of tangible implications -- and it is open access! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article) The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

New York Times article on NSF

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

1/2

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article) The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

🧪🔭⭐🌌😭😰🤬

For a sense of scale, going from 2B/year to 1B/year does nothing for the deficit. The deficit is 1.8 trillion, so this is less than 0.06% (image from reddit).

You certainly lose more than that in tax revenue since most science spending gets about 8x worth of economic return.

HHMI halting fellowships right after a proposed 10% endowment tax on foundations isn’t a coincidence. The public needs to understand: this directly harms our brightest young scientists. These aren’t slush funds—they’re the pipeline. And their future is what’s being cut.

Come join us! I have startup funds to hire a postdoc for Fall 2025 at Rutgers to study intergroup relations. The job ad is at jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/249... & evaluations begin in 1 wk (5/16) w rolling evaluation. See 🧵below for a write-up on what I'm looking for in a postdoc. Please share widely!

Group photo of 11 people posing in front of a window. All are holding little cards with their names on it.

That's a wrap on our semester-long exploration of learning in STEM and various theories of cognition! What a great group of students in chemistry, biology, and math! They are passionate about improving their learning and teaching others, and I can't wait to see what they do next!

Just a friendly reminder - the priority deadline for the Postdoctoral Research Fellow position with me at the University of Rhode Island is Friday April 18. For more information, see: jobs.uri.edu/postings/14981

a man applauds in front of a sign that says schitts sook proud Alt: a man from schitts creek applauds in front of a crowd with text that says so proud!

I get to celebrate a graduate student becoming a doctoral candidate!! Kendra is my first graduate student and is paving the way for chemistry education research at my school -- she aced her comprehensive exam and I am so excited for her bright future! Woohoo!

The group attended our first regional meeting for chemistry education! Hosted at Tufts University, we got to meet and network with chem edu scholars from across New England! It was an honor being invited to share our work & we are excited to continue conversations and collaborations moving forward!

“The termination of your grant represents an urgent priority for this administration”

My NEH grant has been terminated

Incredible when the funding for your book about the educational culture wars is cut as a result of the educational culture wars

You can’t say history isn’t relevant

Pratt Research Group posing at ACS Spring 2025

Pratt Research Group posing at ACS Spring 2025 - on the beach in San Diego

Popova & Pratt Research Groups posing at ACS Spring 2025 - on the beach in San Diego

Popova & Pratt Research Groups posing at ACS Spring 2025 - on the beach in San Diego

Had a great time at ACS Spring 2025 in San Diego. The group gave 3 oral presentations and 1 poster presentation, and received lots of positive feedback! So glad I get to work with this amazing group of scholars. We also established the P^2 group (Pratt & Popova)!

The Pratt Research Group at the University of Rhode Island invites applications for one (1) Postdoctoral Research Fellow for a full-time, 12-month position with benefits. For more information, see: jobs.uri.edu/postings/14981. Please share and let me know if you have any questions!

Flyer for the Pratt Research Group displaying presentation titles, dates, times, and locations at the Spring 2025 American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego, CA

The group is gearing up for the ACS meeting in San Diego. Looking forward to sharing the great work we've been doing!!

Inclusivity Style Guide - American Chemical Society The ACS Inclusivity Style Guide aims to help American Chemical Society staff and members communicate in ways that recognize and respect diversity in all its forms.

The ACS Inclusivity Style Guide used to include sections on “Gender and Sexuality” and on “Race, Ethnicity, and Sexuality”.

Both are now gone.

www.acs.org/about/inclus...

Education Research Is in the Trump Administration's Cross Hairs (Opinion) DOGE took a "chainsaw" to the Ed. Dept's grant programs. Morgan Polikoff has four suggestions for his research colleagues.

"It’s important that the education research community not surrender in the face of what’s ahead but rather find ways to work hard—in whatever ways we individually can—to continue to support better education for children." —@mpolikoff.bsky.social for @edweek.bsky.social https://bit.ly/412XZb2

I remember my first manuscript submission as a student; it was super exciting! I'm so happy that I now get to share this experience with my students. What they don't know is that this is only my second independent submission, so we've all got things to celebrate!

Today's update: 30 new NSF awards yesterday.

And 1 (!) was in the EDU directorate.

But still massively below FY24 levels...