For 18 months, the Trump administration has been accused by science advocates of shredding a social contract between academic researchers and the federal government that made the United States the world’s most powerful engine of discovery. Now it’s proposing a way to rebuild American science. Taking inspiration from “Science — The Endless Frontier,” a 1945 manifesto that became the blueprint for the rise of American research universities, Trump’s science adviser, Michael Kratsios, this week put forth his version of such a report. Called “Science: A New Golden Age” and drafted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, it calls for shifting hundreds of billions of research dollars from universities to industry, primarily tech and artificial intelligence companies.
The report acknowledges problems scientists have long attempted to grapple with, but advocates and scientists expressed concern that the report’s espoused goal of improving science is being undermined by other administration actions, chiefly the grievances expressed by President Trump and his aides against immigration, universities, and programs that they deem as promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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