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Matt Hourihan

@matthourihan.bsky.social
491 followers 157 following 56 posts

Dad (x3) and hub (x1). R&D policy @ AAU.

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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Well I hope it went well!
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Heidi B. Hammel @hbhammel.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
"It’s Official: China Tops U.S. in R&D Spending" by @matthourihan.bsky.social www.aau.edu/newsroom/lea...
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
The smartest bed is the dumbest bed, as it turns out.
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Shalin Jyotishi @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
FABBS is hiring a short-term Tech Policy Fellow to focus on behavioral science and AI (link below). Share with early career policy wonks @ilpfoundry.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @abankston.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @snapcoalition.bsky.social #scipoljobs
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Shalin Jyotishi @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
🆕NSF cuts don't just gut universities. Join New America, the R&D Congressional Caucus, and the American Association of Community Colleges for a briefing around the value of the #NSF for the skilled technical #workforce and #communitycolleges. Register and share: forms.gle/LNaF6PptDr2u... #scipol
forms.gle
Capitol Hill Briefing: Not Just Universities: How NSF Funding Opens Community College Pathways to the Future of Work and the American Dream
REGISTER TODAY: Date & Time: June 3 from noon-1 PM ET Location: Rayburn House Office Building 2168, 45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20515 Hosted by: The R&D Congressional Caucus, New America a...
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
The U.S. Government Accountability Office issued its first impoundment ruling yesterday. Possibly first of many as dozens of investigations are underway. www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
politico.com
Trump administration violated ‘impoundment’ law by freezing electric vehicle funding, GAO finds
The independent watchdog is conducting at least 39 investigations into whether the Trump administration violated the Impoundment Control Act.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Good deep dive in @nature.com. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Are groundbreaking science discoveries becoming harder to find?
Researchers are arguing over whether ‘disruptive’ or ‘novel’ science is waning – and how to remedy the problem.
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Casey Dreier @caseydreier.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Coverage of Senator Kelly's efforts. Use planet.ly/senateletter to encourage your Senators to join him. payloadspace.com/kelly-rallie...
payloadspace.com
Kelly Rallies Senators for NASA Science Fight
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) is leading a letter asking appropriators to provide $9B for NASA’s science mission directorate.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
The MAGA revolution threatens America’s most innovative place economist.com/united-state... from The Economist
economist.com
The MAGA revolution threatens America’s most innovative place
Cuts to funding risk hobbling Boston’s science establishment
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Should have been Episodes 7, 8 and 9.
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Bill Bates @entanglement.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
We don’t get the next mRNA vaccine or moon landing without risk. Short-term grants. Political landmines. Shrinking budgets. Big bets are disappearing—and so are possible breakthroughs. bistromathic.substack.com/p/the-case-f... #science #risk #innovation #NSF #NIH #research #bluesky
bistromathic.substack.com
The Case for Failure
Budget cuts threaten scientific breakthroughs at a time when we should be rewarding risk
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Not great. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
arstechnica.com
Europe launches program to lure scientists away from the US
EU will spend over $500 million to recruit researchers and scientists.
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Congressman Bill Foster @repbillfoster.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
NEWS: I just led 112 of my colleagues in demanding answers from the Trump Administration on their funding freeze of the National Science Foundation. Cutting off NSF funding threatens vital research, stalls innovation, and risks ceding global scientific leadership to China.
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Issues in Science and Technology @issuesinst.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
“Libraries are a trusted source. Let the books battle it out on the shelves. We have different perspectives, and you can choose.” Carla Hayden, who sat down with ISSUES last year, was fired from her position as leader of the Library of Congress yesterday. issues.org/interview-li...
Illustration by Shonagh Rae of Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the Library of Congress.
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Rob Denton @rddenton.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Called and spoke to real humans at each of my three representative's offices this morning (both local offices and in DC). Share your stories, your impact, your students' success, your discoveries, and your hope for the future.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Banger essay on the importance of federally funded R&D to American entrepreneurship from David Singer of Maverick Ventures. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/o...
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
🚨 Breaking: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions 1️⃣ Removes/demotes division director leaders 2️⃣ Forced layoff notices to NSF staff going out tonight 3️⃣ More grant terminations expected tomorrow One glimmer of hope: the 8 directorates appear to be staying
science.org
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions
Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund
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Holden Thorp @holdenthorp.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Enjoyed talking to @dkthomp.bsky.social about the crisis in American science. Glad to have him on our side in talking about how to protect American science in the future. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
podcasts.apple.com
Megapod: The Crisis in American Science
Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · 05/02/2025 · 2h 6m
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
🧪 BOOM: The AAU, ACE, APLU, and 13 universities just filed suit today against NSF for slashing to 15% indirect rates. Full compliant: www.aau.edu/sites/defaul... Updates: www.aau.edu/resources-aa... A similar group of plaintiffs won a *permanent* injunction against a similar change at NIH.
media.tenor.com
two little girls are dancing on a stage and one of them is telling the other to tell her .
Alt: Wwo little girls are dancing on a stage and one of them is telling the other to tell her.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Excellent news. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/03/b...
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
www.aau.edu/newsroom/pre...
aau.edu
AAU Outlines Concerns About Massive Research Cuts in FY26 Presidential Budget Request | Association of American Universities (AAU)
AAU has issued a statement regarding provisions slashing research funding in the newly released FY26 Presidential Budget Request.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Strong statement from Appropriations Chair Collins. www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit...
appropriations.senate.gov
Senator Collins’ Statement on President’s Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2026 | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
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Alessandra Zimmermann @alesszimm.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
With the release of the skinny Presidential Budget Request, the FY 2026 season officially kicks off and the dashboard goes live! Because this is a -skinny- request not everything was mentioned, so we'll keep updating as more details roll out in the next weeks and months. www.aaas.org/news/fy-2026...
aaas.org
FY 2026 R&D Appropriations Dashboard | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
NSF thread below. bsky.app/profile/davi...
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Aeronautics (-37%) and Space Technology (-48%) suffer as well -- cuts to sustainable aviation, advanced propulsion, other unidentified R&D. These are underappreciated bits of the US tech ecosystem.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
NASA science and tech is ugly too. *Science Directorate* gets a massive cut (-47%) as feared. Mars Sample Return is canceled, climate monitoring satellites canceled, Landsat restructured. *Office of STEM Engagement* -- which runs Space Grant -- is zeroed out.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
(DOE cont.) *ARPA-E* is cut in half. (-57%) This is an incredibly successful agency that historically elicits FAR more in follow-on private capital than it invests in public dollars. Also a $15 billion cut to IIJA programs.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
DOE first. *Office of Science* gets a billion-dollar (-14%) cut. Climate and earth systems research was less than $500 million in FY24, so this will likely effect some math and physical sciences. Budget prioritizes AI, quantum, HPC, fusion, but no concrete numbers on these.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Skinny Budget Day! Another terrible budget for US science and innovation. While attention is on NSF and NIH, some brief notes on energy and space, which also matter for competitiveness. www.whitehouse.gov/omb/informat... 🧵
whitehouse.gov
The President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request
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David Malakoff @davidmalakoff.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
This from Jeffrey Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social) on NSF budget request: Trump has proposed cutting NSF's budget by more than half, to $4B, in FY 2026. The math in his "skinny" budget request is hard to follow, so here's a quick analysis:
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Shalin Jyotishi @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Thanks to @npr.org for interviewing me on Morning Edition about the danger of #DOGE's gutting the federal research enterprise. 🧵A note on reform: I can't think of a serious #scipol researcher who DOESN'T believe in reform. DOGE is not focused on reform or efficiency. one.npr.org?sharedMediaI...
one.npr.org
🔊 Listen Now: What happens when the federal government stops funding university research
Morning Edition on NPR One | 3:35
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
The Comptroller General, who runs GAO, plays an important role as an impartial auditor who holds the Executive Branch accountable. They are appointed by the President, with Senate confirmation, to a 15-year term. Guess when the current Comptroller General's term expires.
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Shalin Jyotishi @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Today NSF eliminated all its advisory committees (except TIP) enacting Feb Trump EO @science.org @politico.com @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social @chronicle.com @kvasquez.bsky.social @scipolguy.bsky.social @techiewonk.bsky.social @policyhound.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @asa-scipol.bsky.social
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Important story amid everything else. | DOGE comes for the data wonks economist.com/united-state...
economist.com
DOGE comes for the data wonks
America may soon be unable to measure itself properly
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Kathryn Palmer @kathrynpalmer.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
A new lawsuit argues that canceling billions in research grants will delay scientific advancements, compromise human health and even result in deaths.
insidehighered.com
Researchers, Higher Ed Union Fight NIH’s Grant Terminations
A new lawsuit argues that canceling billions in research grants will delay scientific advancements, compromise human health and even result in deaths.
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Daniel Clery @danclery.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
“People are coming to realize the stellarator maybe is the way to go” - Chris Hegna, Type One Energy 🧪 @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Stellarators, once fusion’s dark horse, hit their stride
Multiple companies aim to generate power by corraling plasma with twisted magnets
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Great reporting on the enormous value of science to the nation. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/b...
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Tim Clancy @viewfromarchstreet.com · 28/03/2025
House passes legislation that would lower gift reporting thresholds for universities and require waivers for contracts with “countries of concern.” ww2.aip.org/fyi/house-pa...
ww2.aip.org
House Passes Bill to Tighten University Reporting Requirements for Foreign Gifts
The DETERRENT Act would lower gift reporting thresholds and require waivers for contracts with “countries of concern.”
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
NIH, which began this week terminating projects studying long COVID, has reinstated the grants, after pressure from Sen. Todd Young's (R-IN) office, an HHS source tells me. Young had secured a commitment from RFK Jr that he'd continue funding long COVID research. Story by @thesicktimes.bsky.social
thesicktimes.org
UPDATE: RECOVER Long COVID pathobiology grants restored - The Sick Times
Long COVID research grants from the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER program will be restored following news stories about their abrupt cancellations and advocacy to restore the funding, accord...
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Very good deep dive from the Post-Gazette into what layoffs have meant at the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) - the only DOE lab operated by government (whereas others are contractor-operated). www.post-gazette.com/business/pow...
post-gazette.com
The national lab in Pittsburgh's backyard is a place for innovation — and worry
The National Energy Technology Laboratory in South Park, a century-old institution, is at once a pillar of federal fossil fuel research and a shape shifter,...
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Annika Barber @annikabarber.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
docs.google.com
2025 Study section tracking
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Dr. Stephen Bieda III @drwildcatwx.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
“My weather app does it better!” -Weather Watches/Warnings? NWS -Forecast data? NWS -Observations? NWS -Satellite? NOAA/NESDIS -Futurecast modeling data? You guessed it, NWS (via EMC). -Climatology data? The weather data compiled over a long period by techs. -Outlooks? NWS Food for thought. 💭
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Pleased to join several science and tech organizations in the Accelerate Science Now campaign launching today, to support policy for AI tools to drive scientific discovery. www.seedai.org/media/asn-la... acceleratesciencenow.com
seedai.org
“Accelerate Science Now” Launches to Make Science Deliver Faster for Americans | SeedAI
Facilitating community-focused AI resources across the country. We meet people where they are to enable the next wave of transformative technology by a representative, new, diverse generation of the A...
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BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
The serial continuing resolutions from Congress are a slow death for science. NIH has to function not knowing what their budget is. So they delay funding decisions, or issue grants with reduced budgets. DoD research is also impacted as they cannot release new funding under continuing resolutions.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
Great item from @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social on Jimmy Carter's legacy in the Department of Energy research enterprise. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
John Deutch recalls how Jimmy Carter left his mark on energy research
Longtime MIT professor served as the first director of research in the Department of Energy
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
The new House rules package includes a continuation of the Select CCP Committee in the 119th Congress. docs.house.gov/floor/
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Adriana Bankston @abankston.bsky.social · 26/12/2024
Looking to build a community of folks working to improve and advance scientific #research, #innovation and #STEMworkforce development. #competitiveness #policy @chrispickett5.bsky.social @ubadahsabbagh.com @scipolguy.bsky.social @matthourihan.bsky.social @jpflores.bsky.social go.bsky.app/FQk37Ba
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
K-12! And nearly high school.
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Matt Hourihan @matthourihan.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Maybe it's a Catholic school thing but it seriously never occurred to me until I was an adult that faith and science couldn't comfortably coexist.
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