The National Science Foundation (NSF) has suspended new research grants to Harvard University, Duke University, Princeton University, and Yale University. The restriction measures have been enforced since April 9 by the NSF's Award Management Office, with internal databases marking "future funding to this institution suspended." Internal documents obtained by Nature reveal that since the implementation of these measures, these universities have received almost no new NSF funding. With an annual budget of $8.8 billion, the NSF is a major funder of basic research in the United States; however, the agency has declined to explain the reasons behind the restrictions or when they will end. This move follows earlier actions by the Trump administration, which froze or terminated research funding at multiple institutions, citing violations of federal anti-discrimination policies—including failure to protect students from antisemitism. Harvard sued the NSF over the termination of approximately 75% of its research funding and won support from a federal court in September of last year, which ruled the termination illegal and permanently barred federal agencies from taking similar actions against Harvard. Legal experts believe the NSF’s latest restrictions may violate that ruling. The White House denied that the government is targeting these four universities. On May 28—the day after the story was published—the NSF Award Management Office removed the “suspension of future funding” labels for Duke, Harvard, and Yale from its database, and some grants for Harvard and Duke researchers have already been released.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866499777387658/
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