In October 2025, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month #NDEAM. Meet the 2025 C&EN Trailblazers, chemists with disabilities who rethink how we do science: cen.acs.org/people/profi... #DisabledInSTEM #chemsky 🧪

"Inclusive design doesn’t just widen participation; it expands the very structure-function relationship of science itself. We all stand to gain from that." #NDEAM #DisabledInSTEM #chemsky 🧪 cen.acs.org/careers/dive...

We saw big disruptions to science during the 2018-19 shutdown, but this one could bring with it a new threat: further reductions in the federal workforce. cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

I admit that when i started working on this project with @kvasquez.bsky.social, i didn’t think i knew any chemists with disabilities 🧵1/ cen.acs.org/people/profi... @cenmag.bsky.social

It so was hard to imagine having successful career in science as a disabled PhD student that eventually I just left. Who could have guessed that years later I would help create a magazine issue dedicated to highlighting Trailblazing disabled chemists! cen.acs.org/people/profi... #DisabledInSTEM

And be sure to read through the rest of the package, ably edited by my colleagues @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social and @kvasquez.bsky.social, featuring how chemists with disabilities are reimagining the discipline: cen.acs.org/people/profi...

Artur Mylin was unfazed when his friend called him in the middle of the night to tell him that the war had begun.

Where have I been the past couple months? Working on a project that will feature #DisabledInSTEM chemists who pushing the boundaries of their fields! Can't wait for that to go live Monday! Until then, I invite you to read about 8 disabled scientists who left a lasting mark on modern chemistry. ⬇️

Many hands make light work! At the @acs.org Chemists With Disabilities (CWD) Braille Periodic Table activity at the #ACSFall2025 Member Lounge, over 100 people have helped glue braille dots for element symbols so far. One is almost done! Aiming to finish both Tuesday, so come join us to help out!

Discover the redesigned C&EN online. The site is built to help you stay informed about chemistry, with a streamlined layout, smarter navigation, and curated selections from our editorial team. cen.acs.org?sc=250723_sc...

NSF staff release their appeal—slightly different format than the declarations of dissent from EPA/NIH/NASA; a more formal petition to Congress to redress attacks on the agency and its employees. 149 signatories (48 named) democrats-science.house.gov/imo/media/do...

Gutting the National Climate Assessment is just one way the Trump administration is undermining the legal justification to limit greenhouse gas emissions. cen.acs.org/environment/... #chemsky 🧪

🧪 For those following indirect rates (not normally an issue with so much drama!): Senate bill, out today, seeks to block the admin from making abrupt changes to indirect rates at NSF, NASA, and NOAA: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

And here's the bill text that was approved by the Senate committee: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do... It would give the NSF $1 billion for STEM education. For comparison: FY2024: ~$1.2 billion President's request: $288 million

📰 Save NSF has another newsletter coming out this week. Sign up for our mailing list, so you don't miss out on any important updates or resources. www.savensf.com/join-our-list #SaveNSF #stayuptodate

Bill passes 19-10 and is off to the full Senate for consideration. The bill currently keeps NSF's budget flat at $9 billion.

19 ayes and 10 nays on the bill, so the it passes and will be reported to the broader Senate.

Senate Appropriations Committee is resuming consideration of the bill that contains the FY 2026 budgets for agencies like NASA, NOAA and NSF. Watch the markup here: www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/ful... @nature.com has a good summary of what's happened so far: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Some NSF-related news from Rebecca Trager at @chemistryworld.com: NSF employees were working on their own version of a dissent declaration, but have since paused the effort after EPA employees faced retaliation for releasing a similar document. www.chemistryworld.com/news/nationa...

🧪 CRITICAL UPDATE: The House draft version is now out. ✅ Like the Senate's version, there's no cut to NASA's budget. ❌ There's a 23% proposed cut to NSF's budget. 8-page summary: appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su... Draft bill: appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

BREAKING: Judge rules that during its large-scale enforcement operation in LA, DHS/ICE has been arresting people without probable cause -- based on factors like accent and line of work. She orders the agencies to stop. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Senate Committee on Appropriations gave the first signs Congress will push back on Trump's proposed budget cuts to science and instead keep funding flat, though an unrelated issue (the location of the FBI headquarters) stalled any vote today. @alexwitze.bsky.social and I report:

Short summary of Senate Appropriations hearing: Bipartisan agreement to keep funding at FY '24 levels for NASA/NSF passes 21-6 Van Hollen adds an amendment on FBI HQ which passes thanks to Murkowski Republican members change votes to no, threatening the bill. Now in... indefinite recess 🤷‍♂️

No. The OBBA covers mandatory spending, taxes, and some policy issues with budget implications. Discretionary spending is handled through appropriation bills now in the works. It is confusing. And Google AI (at least) gets it wrong.

Baldwin (D-WI) offers amendment reinstating over 1500 terminated NSF grants. "Every member of this committee has had research grants terminated for universities in their states." Moran: Appreciate Sen. Baldwin to make sure NSF is fulfilling its mission. Opposes amendment b/c overly broad.

Senate committee on appropriations markup meeting is starting now. They'll be discussing a lot of stuff, but in particular, science agencies like NSF & NASA. Yesterday Sen. Moran indicated funding would be 33.9 billion, preserving FY '24 numbers. www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/ful...

"An absolute moral failure." Around one in three disabled people are on Medicaid. I spoke to disability advocates about how devastated they are that the House passed the budget bill that will slash close to a trillion from Medicaid at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NEW: In more court-related science policy news, there's now a final decision in AAU v. DOE, on the 15% indirect rate policy, which had been frozen by a restraining order since April. Judge Burroughs now vacates the policy. Assume DOE will appeal. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Amid the Trump administration's attacks on science, the National Academies are undergoing upheaval—a 30% reduction in its 1200-person staff by year's end, and possibly a vote of no confidence for its leader, Marcia McNutt. Jeff Tollefson & I report: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This is just from the University of California, it seems. Still, a substantial amount of terminated grants there.

Per the NSF website, the agency is reinstating 114 awards as a result of a preliminary injunction that was issued last week. Source: www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

Science folks: The Big Brutal Bill is 💩💩💩 and needs to be opposed as: -massive transfer of $ from poor to rich -turbocharging of ICE -major cuts to Medicaid and SNAP But it’s also *completely separate* from later appropriations bills that will set FY26 levels for NSF, NIH, NASA, etc (see below)

Last Friday, a judge overturned NSF's 15% cap on indirect costs. Here's a summary of the ruling from @cenmag.bsky.social freelancer Cheryl Hogue: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

Here's the official union statement on the HUD takeover. Small correction that's not included in the screenshot: "Correction: currently 1,833 NSF employees work in the NSF headquarters building."

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years. NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore millions of dollars in canceled grants to University of California researchers, calling the terminations flagrantly illegal and unconstitutional. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Last Friday, the NSF unexpectedly expanded their list of graduate research fellows from 1000 to 1500 people. I spoke to a few of the newly named fellows about what it means to them to be offered this funding: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...

BREAKING: Judge denies NSF's 15% indirect rate plan. Like the DOE and NIH attempts, it too has now been rejected by courts. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

New lawsuit against NSF ⬇️

At the @ire.org conference this week and using the #IRE25 hashtag? Don't forget to add alt text to the images you share so that everyone has access to them. If you're new to writing alt text, this resource from Veronica Lewis can help you out.

Three of the 36 signatories are senior investigators in the CSN! Example of important advocacy work that is part of serving as dept chairs/heads, which these scientists take on along with their research & mentoring responsibilities.

From @maxhenrybarnhart.bsky.social: 36 chem department chairs have published an open letter calling out recent federal policy decisions impacting science. cen.acs.org/policy/resea... #ChemSky @cenmag.bsky.social

The NIH is getting most of the attention but this administration gutting funding across ALL areas of scientific research and investment, in EVERY FIELD. Say goodbye to America being a scientific and innovating leader in biology, physics, chemistry, math, etc. we’re talking 50-90% cuts to funding.

New lawsuit against NSF ⬇️

BREAKING: Coalition Sues to Protect the National Science Foundation from Trump and DOGE Assault We’re suing on behalf of educators, researchers, professors, and graduate students to stop the latest effort by the Trump administration to weaponize federal funding to push their anti-equity agenda. 🧵

Hard to know what to say about all these policy flip-flops, except: as demoralizing as they are for those of us trying to keep scientists informed, they must be 10x worse for NIH staff trying to roll them out and 100x worse for PIs trying to figure out if they can make payroll.

Based on crowd-sourced records of No Kings Day event turnout, and extrapolating for the cities where we don't have data yet, it looks like roughly 4-6 million people protested Trump across the U.S. yesterday. That's nearly 2% of the U.S. pop! Mobilized anti-Trump resistance is exceeding 2017 levels

FYI: The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Democratic Staff, is trying to get more info on the impact of recent research grant terminations. If your award has been canceled since Jan 20, you can fill out this survey: democrats-science.house.gov/grantcancela...

NSF has added 500 new GRFPs, for a total of 1500. (These appear to have come from the list of honorable mentions, which is now down to ~2300) www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...

Mass protests matter, especially when the Trump admin is using the government as a weapon to undermine our rights and freedoms. Saturday's No Kings National Day of Action will send a clear message that millions of people oppose the Trump administration’s illegal power grab. Find your local event: