Math Funding Crisis: Federal Grants Freeze, REUs Canceled

Resources

Resources & Recommendations

Books

• "The Silicon Reckoner" by Michael Harris - A newsletter talking about mathematics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, which has also been covering topics related to federal funding and DEI.

Organizations & Institutions

• NSF (National Science Foundation) - The primary federal funder for mathematics research, providing about 64% of the funding.
• Department of Defense (DOD) - Provides 18% of math funding, largely through the National Security Agency (NSA).
• HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) - Provides 12% of math funding, mainly through the NIH.
• DMS (Division of Mathematical Sciences) - A division within the NSF that provides federal funding for mathematics, particularly for direct math research.
• NIH (National Institutes of Health) - A federal agency under HHS that funds biomedical research, including some math research.
• Department of Education - A federal department mentioned as a source of grants.
• USAID - A federal agency mentioned in the context of funding freezes.
• AIM (American Institute of Mathematics) - One of the big math institutes funded by the NSF.
• ICRM (Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics) - One of the big math institutes funded by the NSF, located at Brown University.
• IAS (Institute for Advanced Study) - One of the big math institutes funded by the NSF, located at Princeton.
• SLMath (Mathematical Sciences Research Institute) - One of the big math institutes funded by the NSF, formerly known as MSRI.
• Reos Institute - An organization where Carrie Diaz Eaton serves as Executive Director.
• Institute for Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (Qside) - An organization where Jude Higdon serves as Chief Operating Officer, focused on data science and social justice.
• Arnold Foundation (Arnold Ventures) - A private foundation that funds work related to criminal legal system reform.
• Walmart Foundation - A private foundation mentioned as a funder for Qside.
• Bloomberg Foundation - A private foundation mentioned as a funder for Qside.
• Hewlett Foundation - A private foundation mentioned for its relational and trust-based philosophy in funding.
• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) - A federal agency that might support biology research.
• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) - A professional society for broadly STEM policy.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) - A private funding agency with a research side and an outreach granting agency for education, which terminated its inclusive excellence funding.
• CZI (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) - Mark Zuckerberg's foundation, which removed one of its fellows programs.
• Sloan Foundation - A foundation mentioned for potentially shifting its funding strategy to more awards for less money.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison - An institution mentioned for a reduction/pause in admissions and hiring.
• UNC Chapel Hill - An institution mentioned for delaying offers.
• University of Pennsylvania - An institution mentioned for a significant admission cut.

People Mentioned

• Carrie Diaz Eaton (Mathematician and Associate Professor of Digital and Computational Studies at Bates College, Executive Director of the Reos Institute) - Joined the seminar to discuss funding in mathematics.
• Drew Lewis (Mathematician and Independent Consultant) - Joined the seminar to discuss funding in mathematics.
• Jude Higdon (Chief Operating Officer of the Institute for Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) - Joined the seminar to discuss funding in mathematics.
• Ted Cruz (Senator, Head of the Senate Commerce Committee) - Mentioned for releasing a report on NSF funding.
• Shandra Prescott Weinstein - Mentioned for pointing out that certain actions are effectively a resegregation effort.
• Elon Musk - Mentioned in a hypothetical scenario regarding the use of LLMs and firing employees.
• Carolyn Iverson - Shared a spreadsheet on Blue Sky detailing reductions in admission and hiring at institutions.

Websites & Online Resources

• Blue Sky - A social media platform mentioned as a community hub for discussing current events and sharing information.
• railprime.com - The podcast's website where listeners can find links to guests' work and news stories related to the episode.
• lowercase n bandcamp com - The website for the podcast's music provider.