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Nico Voelcker

@nicovoelcker.bsky.social
44 followers 44 following 18 posts

Materials scientist and sci-fi fan Professor - Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Scientific Director - Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication; Director - ANFF-VIC; ARC Laureate Fellow

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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Poor supervision is pushing young researchers out of academia www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Poor supervision is pushing young researchers out of academia
A survey finds that academic supervisors can have a huge impact on their students’ mental health.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
www.innovationaus.com/the-quiet-in...
innovationaus.com
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Probably not immediately transferable to Australia (take at least 10% off the numbers presented). But still true: scientists should recognize their own political biases to build public trust www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Scientists should recognize their own political biases to build public trust
Public trust in science can’t be sustained by the support of narrow constituencies at one end of an ideological spectrum.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
What an embarrassment indeed! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Australia’s erosion of peer review
Throughout the world, peer review serves as the cornerstone of the scientific enterprise, providing rigorous quality control and building the confidence that underpins progress for both science and so...
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I’m the Prime Minister of Spain. This Is Why the West Needs Migrants. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I’m the Prime Minister of Spain. This Is Why the West Needs Migrants.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Great science happens in great teams — research assessments must try to capture that
Europe must reform the ways in which science is evaluated. To boost innovation, it must improve research culture.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
www.nature.com/articles/d41... In Australia, the thrall is to the business model. Government schemes like past ERA are totally secondary.
nature.com
To reform universities, first tackle global rankings
Universities are in thrall to a rankings system that prioritizes narrow aspects of academic life. Three changes would give institutions the freedom to explore fresh ways of working.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Europe plans to double research spending in next Horizon Europe scheme
Starting in 2028, the EU’s flagship research program will have a new focus on boosting European competitiveness
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
How do I choose a principal investigator for my next postdoc?
A computer scientist is struggling to trust their postdoctoral research adviser after negative experiences with the previous two. How do you find one that’s right for you?
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
‘AI models are capable of novel research’: OpenAI’s chief scientist on what to expect
Jakub Pachocki, who leads the firm’s development of advanced models, is excited to release an open version to researchers.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Hell yeah! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Read Harvard’s Response to the Trump Administration
Harvard University’s lawyers responded on Monday to the Trump Administration’s letter demanding a series of policy changes, saying the demands were unlawful and that Harvard would not comply.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Just wow! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Read the Trump Administration’s Letter to Harvard
A letter sent to Harvard on Friday by the Trump administration demanded that the university make a series of policy changes in order to continue to receive federal funding.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
At the moment we don't really have the research ecosystem support that this could become 'your loss, our gain' kind of thing. And less with the proposed changes to the ARC's NCGP policy. But we really should capture this opportunity! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
A brain drain would impoverish the United States and diminish world science
Europe is advertising itself as a destination for embattled US scientists. It seems many are considering leaving.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
I had not seen the questionnaire itself before. Quite interesting going through those questions. 36 of them, and with the average response stated at the end, that's 18 hours of work. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
theguardian.com
Australia’s science agency sent questions from Trump administration asking if it is taking ‘appropriate measures’ against gender ideology
Other questions include whether science organisation receives funding from China and whether it is a climate or ‘environmental justice’ project
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Overseas universities see opportunity in U.S. ‘brain drain’
But many U.S.-based scientists seeking to leave may struggle to find positions in countries grappling with funding issues of their own
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Similar approaches will also soon transform nanofabrication processes www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A generative model for inorganic materials design - Nature
MatterGen is a model that generates stable, diverse inorganic materials across the periodic table and can further be fine-tuned to steer the generation towards a broad range of property constraints.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Fascinating analysis www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
How a PhD student’s lab size affects their chance of future academic success
Trainees in big research groups tend to go on to greater academic success than their small-group counterparts — but are more likely to quit academia altogether.
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Nico Voelcker @nicovoelcker.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
I wonder if this fascinating perspective also resonates with Indigenous people in Australia? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Two-Eyed Seeing and other Indigenous perspectives for neuroscience - Nature
Combining Indigenous insights with neuroscience methods through Two-Eyed Seeing can broaden the understanding of brain function and mental wellbeing by merging reductionist and holistic perspectives a...
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