Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 03/07/2026If they’re saying this out loud about NIH, you can bet it’s the same intent for the National Science Foundation. 12815
Reposted by Leslie RisslerJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 03/06/2026"Getting the budget deal done was crucial. But that was then. The red light is now flashing. All hands, report to stations." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Welcome to the resistance, Dr. Thorp.science.orgAnother red alert for American scienceAlthough research has bipartisan support in the US Congress, and trust in science is above 75% across the country, the Trump administration seems as determined as ever to mortally wound the nation’s s... 04916
Reposted by Leslie RisslerDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.nature.comExclusive: NSF puts new research grants to top universities on holdUS science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions. 30893625
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 02/05/2026www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...simonsfoundation.orgSimons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and EvolutionThe purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo... 035
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 20/04/2026“Between January 2025 and February 2026, STEM and health employees at science-focused agencies saw nearly 15,000 jobs cut. The rate outpaced cuts among other federal workers.” OPM data - Figure from Wash Post article 19 April. (Where US science has been hit hardest.) NSF at -42%! 5159128
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 03/04/2026I am shocked to see this language from the NSF. “The U.S. National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request reflects a strategic alignment of resources in a constrained fiscal environment while eliminating woke and weaponized grant programs that previously funded radical DEI projects.”nsf.govFiscal Year 2027 Budget Request to Congress 44545280
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 04/03/2026Excited to share a new paper written by a AAAS Policy Fellow I mentor, Dr. Lisa Walsh. “This review synthesizes literature on fieldwork safety across scientific disciplines, highlighting four facets of safety for leaders and researchers to address: physical, social, financial, and psychological.”science.orgEnabling Fieldwork for All (EFFA) Framework: Supporting physical, social, financial, and psychological safety in the fieldComprehensive review of fieldwork safety literature across disciplines yields synthesized recommendations. 14432
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 27/01/2026“At NSF, the net reduction of 205 STEM Ph.D.s between 1 January and 30 November constituted 40% of its total pre-Trump Ph.D. workforce of 517, by far the largest percentage at any agency. STEM Ph.D.s also make up a larger percentage of the total workforce at NSF than at any other agency…”. 08350
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 18/01/2026The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone. The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets. We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened. 701861849
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 17/12/2025News to me: “The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado," Russ Vought, … said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”usatoday.comTrump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in ColoradoThe Trump administration is breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs. 31311
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 11/12/2025NSF - Forced reorg - POs down ~ 40% (DRP, most rotators not renewed, retirements) - Forced move (and we have to pack and clean) to a building with no furniture, little to no conference space for panels, inadequate 🛜, …) I personally love the boxes they gave us for packing. “Details matter” 🙃 12372203
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 29/11/2025One bright light of 2025 - Cyrus, our new addition. He joins Asa, my beloved golden who was diagnosed with cancer in June. Isn’t he a cutie? 4480
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 19/11/2025All federal employees took an oath to the constitution. I’ve worked with many leaders across multiple agencies, including the military. It’s our duty and an honor to defend the constitution. We believe in America and the principles that made this country special. The oath demands we protect it. 0205
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 13/11/2025NSF is open again! A few comments: *Please be patient. During a shutdown NSF employees cannot open computers or respond to emails. *Merit review will continue. However panels won’t resume until after Dec 8th. *POs remain excited and committed to advancing science and the scientific workforce. 7328120
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 10/11/2025As one of those federal employees, I couldn’t agree more. “Preventing authoritarian consolidation is the most harm-reducing move.” 03411
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 28/10/2025“So basically, we swear we’re going to follow Trump’s policies, which is ridiculous,” the HHS employee, who was granted anonymity, told the outlet.rawstory.comFederal workers must now 'clearly' show support for Trump on year-end reviews: reportThe Trump administration has added a new requirement to its performance reviews this year that requires workers in the Department of Health and Human Services to produce evidence that they “clearly an... 121
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 01/10/2025NSF’s doors will be closed at 1:30 pm today. While you may be able to submit things, there will be no staff to process anything. In fact it is illegal for us to even open our work computers or email during a shutdown. A very few rotators may be able to communicate, so check out of office responses.raskin.house.govNavigating A Government Shutdown: One-Stop Resource PageAs of 12:01 AM on October 1, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have shut down the government. 22014
Reposted by Leslie RisslerJoshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 24/09/2025New from #SCIMaP - analysis of the White House’s Proposed FY 2026 National Science Foundation Budget. Take-home: Slashing NSF by >50% will lead to ~$11 billion in economic loss and extensive job loss and reduced training opportunities in communities nationwide. Report: osf.io/e8rnc a 🧵 8212146
Reposted by Leslie RisslerJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2025My quote of the day 726165
Reposted by Leslie RisslerKaitlin Is Just Getting Started @gothamgirlblue.com · 03/09/2025If there’s one thing that I have learned from engaging with primary sources, it is that people in the past weren’t smarter or more principled than we are today they just weren’t drowned in omnipresent propaganda and/or prosperous enough to be detached from material conditions 419724
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 08/08/2025“This Executive Order is nothing short of obscene," said Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). "In what world does Donald Trump think that Americans want political appointees – who, need I remind the President, are unelected bureaucrats – making decisions on what science gets funded?”democrats-science.house.govRanking Member Lofgren Calls Trump Out for Corrupt Executive Order Requiring Political Appointees to Approve Federal Grants | House Committee on Science, Space and TechnologyThe House Committee on Science, Space and Technology 37535
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 28/07/2025“Federal workers can hold prayer circles with members of the public and tell colleagues to rethink their religious beliefs, according to new guidance the Trump administration released...” 🤯 Well as long as I can tell people to rethink their religious beliefs, I’m good. Thanks for the reminder.govexec.comTrump administration reminds federal employees they can proselytize in the officeSupervisors can solicit employees to attend their church, OPM says in new guidance. 280
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 27/07/2025NSF’s Union President epitomizes moral leadership. I’m proud to have him as a colleague and friend.english.elpais.comJesús Soriano, union leader in the scientific rebellion against Trump: ‘You’ll go to a restaurant and won’t know if the meat is contaminated or not’The Spanish doctor, of the US National Science Foundation, is the only employee to put his full name to a letter against the dismantling of the government agency 0123
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 27/07/2025The best week of my summers is spent doing this grant workshop, sometimes in VA and sometimes in CO. It’s always filled with amazing people, and I am inspired by you! 090
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 23/07/2025Letter to Representative Lofgren - Appeal to Defend Civil Service Protections and the Mission of the NSFdemocrats-science.house.gov 02822
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 23/07/2025“More than 140 employees of the National Science Foundation have signed a letter denouncing what they described as efforts to undermine one of the country’s main science funding agencies. … Out of fear of retaliation, all but one of the employees’ signatures are redacted.”nytimes.comAmid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent 618469
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 04/07/2025Started the day by reading the Declaration of Independence. Happy 4th - the original No Kings Day 🇺🇸 1135
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 26/06/2025Another day testing the limits of resilience. The Alexandria NSF building was designed for the NSF merit review process (gold standard), complete with a floor devoted to panels. Now we aren’t allowed to have in person panels. The loss of US science leadership will haunt this country for decades.nbcwashington.com‘This is bull——”: National Science Foundation employees protest HUD's takeoverDozens of National Science Foundation employees crowded the agency’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, Wednesday to protest the news that the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, w... 14910438
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 25/06/2025HUD has been touring the building for months. NSF says nothing…”nothing to see here”. I’m quite sick of gaslighting, bullying, and lack of respect for science and academia. It’s getting harder and harder to take. 29345
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 23/06/2025Join NSF-DOE Vera C.Rubin Observatory team at 11 am EST to see first images from world’s most powerful survey telescope! youtube.com/live/Zv22_Am...youtube.comFirst Images from NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory | #RubinFirstLookYouTube video by Rubin Observatory 022
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 17/06/2025“The humiliation and censorship of the world's leading scientists and doctors, destroying research grants on a completely arbitrary collection of buzzwords linked to an imagined ‘woke mind virus,’ is a pathetically childish temper tantrum with utterly criminal impacts on the nation ...”.open.substack.comJay Bhattacharya is Not the NIH DirectorSeventy-Five Days of Embarrassing Ineptitude 063
Reposted by Leslie RisslerJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 15/06/2025It sickens me that the Trump administration is using antisemitism as a pretext for so much destructive behavior. This is cynical and disingenuous. Don't fall for it. /fin 2412
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 10/06/2025“…we need federal leadership that supports, not dismantles, the U.S. science enterprise and whose actions follow a bold positive vision for the future of science. …we must defend scientific integrity not just as a professional obligation, but as a cornerstone of democracy…” (STAT - 3 free articles)statnews.comTrump’s ‘gold standard’ order is a blueprint for politicizing scienceThe Trump executive order is not a pathway to a “gold standard” — it is a blueprint for politicizing science and marginalizing expertise, write Jacob Carter and Gretchen Goldman. 0145
Reposted by Leslie Rissler500 Women Scientists @500womensci.bsky.social · 08/06/2025In case it wasn't clear: this administration is not interested in cutting costs & deficits, just dismantling knowledge and resistance 011334
Reposted by Leslie RisslerBig Biology | A Science Podcast @bigbiology.bsky.social · 25/05/2025In our most recent episode we talk with Bill Zamer and Sam Scheiner, two former BIO program officers at the NSF, about the recently proposed 56% budget cut to the NSF. 🎙️Listen now: bigbiology.substack.com/p/savensf-ep... #scicomm #science #sciencecommunication #SaveNSF #NSF 03922
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 21/05/2025You have 2 days left to comment (by May 23 at 11:59 pm)! Go to the link if you don’t want your NSF or NIH program officers who took an oath to the constitution (not a political party) to instead be subject to the whims of a president and fired if they don’t “conform”.regulations.govRegulations.gov 23236
Reposted by Leslie RisslerDr. David Miller 🏳️🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 16/05/2025🧪😲☝️ New data insight: A DOGE-fueled National Science Foundation has now terminated at least dozens of awards for **especially** bogus reasons. Who this applies to: Terminated NSF grants first awarded BEFORE Nov 12, 2020. This gets a bit wonky, but this is important, so let me explain. 🧵 32818
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 13/05/2025“The entire landscape of American science, research, and engineering are under heavy attack,” the employee says. “It’s really critical that we all speak against it and be unified in our opposition.”cen.acs.orgNSF employees brace for major restructuringAlthough paused by a court order, reorganization plan creates concern about the agency’s future 29551
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 13/05/2025Back from a glorious few days in TCI. Didn’t take my phone. Now back to DC and its mind-melting delirium. Bet I missed some things at work. 2340
Reposted by Leslie RisslerSociety for the Study of Evolution @sse-evolution.bsky.social · 05/05/2025Join us in the evolution tri-societies Week of Action for NSF! Call/write congress, engage with colleagues, friends and family about the importance of NSF funding! Scan the QR code on the attached image for instructions and scripts. We must make noise! Pls RT!!!! #WithoutNSF #SaveNSF #SupportNSF 27279
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 03/05/2025SaveNSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the NSF. The mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation. Join: www.savensf.comsavensf.comHome | Savensf 2230173
Reposted by Leslie RisslerAlex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 03/05/2025The plan is to break the parks, claim they must be privatized, take them from the American people and give them to their friends. 932382899
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 02/05/2025“Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.” … www.whitehouse.gov/omb/informat...whitehouse.govThe President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request 22810
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 02/05/2025About NSF’s new(est) bulletin - 15% indirect cost rates will kill universities. Apparently that’s the point. I am sick. 311745
Leslie Rissler @ljrissler.bsky.social · 25/04/2025Why is the U.S. National Science Foundation important? Please share your stories! Use the hashtags #WithoutNSF or #WithoutScience 38363