The slashed budget, layoff plans, and cancellation of grants appear to stem from efforts by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to Science, DOGE staff set up shop at the NSF on April 14.
In a letter sent to NSF staff Thursday, April 24, and obtained by Ars Technica, Panchanathan only hinted at the attack on the agency’s research mission and budget cuts.
“While NSF has always been an efficient agency, we still took the challenge of identifying other possible efficiencies and reducing our commitments to serve the scientific community even better,” Panchanathan wrote. “This is a pivotal moment for our nation in terms of global competitiveness. NSF is an extremely important investment to make US scientific dominance a reality. We must not lose our competitive edge. A thoughtful approach to efficiencies and investments is incredibly important.”
“I believe that I have done all I can to advance the mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership,” he wrote.
An inside source told Science Magazine that Panchanathan “was trying so hard to present the agency in a positive light. But at the same time, Panch knew that he was alienating himself from the scientific community by being tone deaf to their growing concerns about the fate of the agency we all love.”
Story updated with details of a second NSF memo.
