"Gravely anxious": Are university chemistry departments across the United States potentially facing closure?
In a series of developments that have disrupted research funding nationwide, concerns about federal decisions on funding chemistry research in U.S. universities have arisen. These concerns focus on drastic budget cuts, particularly in agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and executive orders restricting grant eligibility based on alignment with presidential priorities.
The potential impacts of these funding disruptions are significant. Graduate education in chemistry is being disrupted, with students admitted to doctoral programs at flagship institutions like UCLA and Columbia University losing funding and admission status, forcing them to seek education abroad. This brain drain is attracting U.S. students and researchers to other countries such as Belgium, China, Canada, Australia, and European nations, threatening the U.S. STEM talent pipeline.
Reduced research capacity and innovation are also a concern. Severe cuts, such as the proposed 56% cut to the NSF and 47% cut to NASA, have led to the elimination of over 1,600 NSF grants in Ohio alone, reducing research output, faculty retention, and slowing advances across fields including chemistry, medicine, and antibiotics research.
The impact on crucial fields like antibiotics and infectious diseases research is particularly vulnerable. Even relatively stable programs are collateral damage in broader anti-science funding trends, which may degrade long-term national scientific leadership and public health preparedness.
Administrative and funding uncertainties have further eroded funding stability, discouraging innovative or basic science projects in chemistry. Executive orders limiting federal funding to research aligned only with certain priorities have added to the uncertainty.
Not all is lost, however. The chemistry programs at SUNY were saved because the school was able to demonstrate that nearly all its courses served students on other degrees, including biology and environmental science. Similarly, the merger of three chemical sciences schools that would have seen a number of staff laid off at Akron University was narrowly avoided.
However, some institutions have not been so fortunate. The chemistry department at the University of Hull closed in 2024, and the chemistry program at the State University of New York closed in 2023, but was only averted at the last minute. Aston University announced it will close its undergraduate chemistry and applied chemistry courses, and the University of East Anglia proposed cutting full-time faculty, including 22 from science.
The West Virginia University Institute of Technology also shut five degrees, including chemistry, in June 2024, reportedly to address low enrolment and a $45 million (£33 million) deficit. Fresno Pacific University in California warned of a financial black hole due to 'declining enrolment revenue' and made the decision to close 16 degrees, including chemistry, in November 2023.
The chairs of 36 US chemistry departments have written a letter expressing concern about the state of their subject, arguing that federal decisions to decrease overhead rates, reduce scientific funding, lay-off programme managers, and restrict diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion initiatives threaten the strength of the US research enterprise and the nation's role as an economic and technological leader.
Tinglong Dai, a global supply chains researcher at Johns Hopkins University, warns that the Trump administration's tariffs could make chemistry a more expensive subject, potentially driving up the price of scientific instruments and chemical reagents. Donna J Nelson, a chemist and former president of the American Chemical Society, suggests that as fewer students are enrolling in advanced chemistry courses, it is becoming harder to justify the labs and faculty for these courses.
Mark Soucek, the interim director of the University of Akron's school of polymer science, anticipates losing one or two more faculty members over the next couple of years. Soucek is currently in talks with potential industrial and philanthropic partners to avoid losing faculty and potentially shutting down the polymer science school.
The letter's signatories argue that federally funded academic research in chemistry has led to groundbreaking innovations such as paclitaxel, lithium-ion batteries, and advanced materials like polypropylene carbonate. The loss of these research programs could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. economy and public health.
In conclusion, the U.S. chemistry research community is facing a significant setback due to federal funding disruptions. The potential impacts include graduate education disruption, brain drain, reduced research capacity and innovation, impact on crucial fields, administrative and funding uncertainties, and potential closures of chemistry programs in universities across the country. The loss of these research programs could have far-reaching implications for the U.S. economy and public health.
- Graduate education in analytical chemistry, particularly at esteemed institutions like UCLA and Columbia University, is being disrupted due to federal funding cuts.
- Reduced research capacity and innovation in organic chemistry, biochemistry, polymers, and medicine are concerns resulting from the funding disruptions.
- The potential budget cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have led to the elimination of grants in various fields, including chemistry and health-and-wellness research.
- The education-and-self-development sector is impacted as well, with students being forced to seek education abroad due to loss of funding and admission status.
- The environment is also affected, as research related to antibiotics and infectious diseases could be degraded, leading to potential threats to public health and general-news issues.
- Technology and finance sectors might be impacted in the long run due to the loss of innovative projects and groundbreaking discoveries in chemistry.
- Lifestyle changes could ensue as the closure of chemistry programs in universities across the country may result in increased prices of products derived from chemistry research, such as batteries and advanced materials.
