Local opinion: Cuts to scientific research hurt Arizona

I’m a mad scientist.

I’m angry that the Trump administration is destroying what makes America great in science and technology. Slashing science budgets and substituting political ideology for scientific judgment will cripple America’s ability to address our future needs and challenges.

I’m mad because budget cuts are already harming Arizona. Sixty-two existing grants to Arizona organizations have been terminated, according to National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation websites and unofficial Environmental Protection Agency data. Those grants from NIH, NSF and EPA were made before 2025. Approval was based on rigorous review of their scientific merit, not their political ideology. These multi-year grants would have provided more than $93 million in research support to Arizona State University, The University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and other Arizona organizations. Funding has now stopped partway through. The result: research progress has been halted, opportunities for students have been lost, and jobs have been cut.

I’m mad because cutting funding partway through does not save taxpayer money. Instead, it wastes taxpayer money that has already been paid out. Research results are often not realized until the project is completed.

I’m mad because the canceled research projects could have helped Arizonans and all Americans. Rescinded NSF grants supported improvements in science education and more effective recruitment of the next generation of scientists, including a $2.5 million, UA-led effort to reach out to tribal communities. The terminated NIH awards included investigations of breast cancer and a $3 million ASU effort to find ways to prevent diabetes. The EPA grants were designed to put science to work to solve environmental problems. Canceled EPA awards included a project to address the environmental effects of mining in Gila County and a $19.9 million award to the Primavera Foundation to improve the resilience of Tucson and South Tucson communities as southern Arizona faces a hotter and drier future.

These are just a few examples of the short-term scientific, economic and environmental damage already done by the Trump administration’s science policy. They are just a sample of what the future holds for science in Arizona and the rest of the country.

I’m mad because the science we need for America’s scientific productivity, economy, health, technology and environment is at risk in President Trump’s proposed 2026 budget. NSF faces a 57% budget cut, NIH a 40% cut, EPA a 55% cut. The President’s budget also calls for steep cuts to the amount of money that goes to universities to support the infrastructure needed for the research projects. Without those monies, Arizona universities will no longer be research powerhouses.

Other science agencies also face steep cuts. NASA faces a 47% cut. The Planetary Society estimates that translates to a loss of $56.6 million to the UA, ASU, the Tucson-based Planetary Institute and Chandler’s Northrop Grumman. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research budget would be cut by 75%, eliminating research on weather and climate. The budget also calls for eliminating the U. S. Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, which provides impartial information on the health of public lands and nearby communities. This action would shut down Flagstaff’s Southwest Biological Science Center.

I’m not just mad about the money. I’m mad because political ideology will now overrule scientific results. Trump’s May 23 executive order calls for presidential appointees to “correct scientific information,” creating state-dictated science rather than peer-reviewed science. A proposed new application for civil service employees asks for a 200-word essay on how the applicant would “help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities.” Merit will no longer be enough. The correct political ideology will become a condition of employment for scientists and many others.

The Trump administration’s funding cuts and science policy will damage Arizona’s and America’s scientific progress, economy, the health of its citizens and our quality of life. Please contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and tell them that you want to keep America’s and Arizona’s science great.