Here is the formal letter the NIH sent today to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. “These projects are fully reinstated, and the letter dated July 31, 2025 is rescinded without conditions. Funds will be made available immediately and are no longer suspended, terminated, or restricted.”

You know things are rough when the AAUP's advice on how to use social media is just "set all your accounts to private."

Come work with Rachit!

My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up. NYT just covered it. 1/n www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...

Our team @luskininnovation.bsky.social brings the research power of #UCLA to confront climate change while improving people's lives. #ResearchPowersProgress

Hydrology Paper of the Day @gregspierce.bsky.social @edithdeguzman.bsky.social @mullinmeg.bsky.social on understanding the sociohydrology of wildfires in the Los Angeles area: impacts of climate change and water systems underdesigned for firefighting; urban expansion; and the need for resilience.

I moved to CA in 1994 as a 2x college dropout, lured by a university upholding access and excellence all at once. I returned two years ago for the very same reason; I couldn't stay away. Californians, our public higher ed system is an unmatched gem. Please join in the fight to protect it.

Well this is screwed up in all kinds of ways. UCLA is home to substantial medical and policy innovation, and one of the two best public universities in America, which will be devastated. As a proud Bruin for my postdoc (and lifelong UC devotee), I am livid. And donating to UCLA. giveto.ucla.edu

Glad to see @liamjdillon.com set the record straight on a conversation that has such importance for LA fire survivors. And for instructors everywhere, click thru for a textbook example of how innocent use of AI can feed misinformation.

Whether we call it 'reforming' or 'eliminating' FEMA, the Trump Administration intends to shrink the role of the federal government in disaster management. Do states have the fiscal capacity to take on additional responsibilities? New analysis and state-by-state data: www.urban.org/urban-wire/t...

Thrilled that the author of this provocative option piece @samkbloch.bsky.social will be on a panel to kick off A Celebration of Cool @descansogardens.bsky.social on Aug 2 at 10am. Moderated by @awalkerinla.bsky.social and part of the Roots of Cool exhibit. www.descansogardens.org/event/a-cele...

“There’s a lot of reasons to despair right now, but if we change our radio frequency a little bit, we can connect to a whole different feeling. We can actually create the city we want, in the neighborhoods that we deserve.” @edithdeguzman.bsky.social Go see this show if you can!

In a warming world, shade saves lives. What provides shade where you live? Trees, tall buildings, rainbows of umbrellas floating up above you? So proud of my UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation colleagues for their work to advance shade equity -- and shade beauty too. @luskininnovation.bsky.social

from apnews.com/article/cali...

As climate change keeps pushing wildfire into our cities, how will we respond & prepare? We worked with research leaders & LA fire survivors to inform a plan for rebuilding that prioritizes resilience & community-centered recovery. But plans are just paper or pixels unless leaders take action.

With strong guidance, government can streamline rebuilding "that makes these communities more fire-safe, more climate-resilient,” says @mullinmeg.bsky.social, who led the UCLA team & spoke w/ @ianjames.bsky.social @latimes.com @uclasustainablela.bsky.social @uclalawemmett.bsky.social bit.ly/40grypH

@mullinmeg.bsky.social: “We can make it as easy as possible for people to rebuild, but to rebuild in a way that will leave them more protected going forward.” www.latimes.com/environment/... @luskininnovation.bsky.social

Big release! UCLA Research Informing Resilient Rebuilding & the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action & Fire-Safe Recovery Policy Recommendations. Civic leaders, fire survivors & 40+ scholars led by @mullinmeg.bsky.social @uclasustainablela.bsky.social @uclalawemmett.bsky.social bit.ly/3SYRTov

Out today: the final Blue Ribbon Commission report on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery as well as the backdrop UCLA Research Context and Considerations Report sustainablela.ucla.edu/ResilientLA

Out now! A Comment in Nature Water discusses major implications for water supply after the Los Angeles Fires @gregspierce.bsky.social l @edithdeguzman.bsky.social @mullinmeg.bsky.social 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s44...

There are so many reasons university endowments can't make up for the dramatic cuts the Trump administration has planned for science. Here are a few. Thanks to @donmoyn.bsky.social for the platform.

Join us Feb 20, 2:15-3:30 PM, for "After Wildfire: Migration & Neighborhood Change Post Disaster" with Kathryn McConnell. Explore how communities adapt post-wildfires, focusing on resilience, displacement, & urban change. Register now: innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/event/after-... #UCLA #UCLALuskin

FANTASTIC ICPSR at U Mich is coordinating the archiving of at-risk federal data (all of it?) You can upload data you have & search for data you don’t have www.datalumos.org/datalumos/

What does equitable, resilient LA fire recovery look like? Led by LCI'S @mullinmeg.bsky.social, UCLA research experts will provide data-informed policy recommendations to rebuild; retrofit buildings & catalyze climate-resiliency measures & investments @uclasustainablela.bsky.social bit.ly/40PRo3u

“We have not built for the hazards we face now.” @mullinmeg.bsky.social told @umairfan.bsky.social @vox.com; who also spoke to water, engineering and policy experts. We need a fire strategy, hardened buildings, flexible insurers, and to address the housing and climate crises. bit.ly/42K0K3i

Honored to serve as UCLA PI on this effort. We'll bring expertise from across UCLA & other area universities to support the Commission in rebuilding communities that are resilient to the climate conditions of our present & future. @uclasustainablela.bsky.social @luskininnovation.bsky.social

RIP to a colleague who made people look at the world around us in a whole new way.

"Rebuilding after disaster isn’t just about replacing lost homes—it’s about shaping the future of a community." #UCLA’s @mullinmeg.bsky.social warns against rushed rebuilding, citing amplified inequality & increased risk without long-term planning @marketplace.org www.marketplace.org/2025/01/31/m...

New research from UCLA ITS & @mcgillenvironment.bsky.social shows that connected streets make safer, more resilient cities. Looking across California, neighborhoods with the highest wildfire risk also have the least connected streets, making evacuation harder. www.its.ucla.edu/publication/...

Some concrete ideas from Theda Skocpol newrepublic.com/article/1905...

A useful impoundment primer. www.stevevladeck.com/p/120-the-im...

Justice40 was not just about new $. One impact has been to improve & even streamline agency processes (federal but also states!) so that an array of funds get to where they're needed, not just to communities that are first in line. By many definitions, government efficiency in action.

US DOT climate page, yesterday and today

You should follow @edithdeguzman.bsky.social who is w/ @luskininnovation.bsky.social @ucanr.bsky.social Among many regular streams of engaged research, Edith has been putting in tons of time on water-fire-climate intersections re: to the ongoing LA fires. innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/2025/01/16/f...

EDGI, as part of the Public Environmental Data Project, has been working for the last two months to archive critical federal environmental data. We're working to build public access, so check back here for updates. If you would like to be involved, reach out: envirodatagov.org/volunteer/

As of this morning, the Trump administration removed the Climate and Environmental Justice Screening Tool (CEJEST). Don't worry; we have the code and data backed up.

Bsky is starting to climb toward the Twitter height of delivering threads that prompt amending the syllabus of a class already in progress.

Lots of folks handwaving at managed retreat after the LA fires. It's a thorny business for floods that gets only thornier when applied to fire risk. Essential reading from Liz Koslov @koslov.bsky.social & Katie McConnell on our future of living with fire.

It's been agonizing to have the work we do at @luskininnovation.bsky.social brought so harrowingly to our doorstep. We stand ready to work with partners across the LA region on recovery that advances equity & harmonizes with the environmental conditions of our future.

Critical analysis by the best team to do it. @uclasustainablela.bsky.social

Competition for the narrative of the LA fires has begun. If it stops at dry hydrants, ignoring all the other contributing conditions & barriers to response, we all lose.

This report from UCLA's Luskin Center also lays out the complex links between managing wildfires and water in California: innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/u...

Helpful explainer on the immense pressure on local water systems in LA. Despite the disinformation about northern CA reservoirs from the pres-elect, the real issue is massive multi-site wildfires are nearly impossible to fight with existing local water infrastructure www.latimes.com/environment/...

Dry fire hydrants show city water systems were not built for California megafires "At least the way we’ve always built systems and wanted to pay for systems, you can’t really expect systems, even like DWP’s, to be prepared for this." @gregspierce.bsky.social www.latimes.com/environment/...

This issue of power for water infrastructure is something @gregspierce.bsky.social and I wrote about in our 2021 report on water supply and wildfire challenges in California. Definitely something we hope to see addressed widely! innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/u...

Glad to be reminded of the @aldasky.bsky.social line, "Weather does not do the work of politics." As I look out at the eerie, hazy dusk tonight in LA, I'm imagining how we can come together to build a less precarious future.

Just a reminder that I put together a wildfire expert starter pack (with heavy California representation). Happy to also connect journalists and others with folks specializing in specific topics.

It's a huge privilege to direct the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation, guiding research that directly informs environmental policy. Follow us (@luskininnovation.bsky.social) to see our work on water, heat, clean energy & transportation, community climate action, urban greening & more.

The Economist has discovered federalism - and publius co-editor Paul Nolette‘s data 🤗 cc. @philiprocco.bsky.social & @ecprfederalism.bsky.social