Donna Vakalis
thisisdonna.com
Donna Vakalis
@thisisdonna.com
Olympian | ML Post-Doc | into sustainable buildings and urban systems
Reposted by Donna Vakalis
Sign-on campaign: Preserving Scientific Integrity in the PFAS Definition. Scientists raise concerns about ongoing efforts to redefine PFAS and potentially exclude certain fluorinated chemical subgroups from the widely accepted 2021 OECD definition. www.ipcp.ch/news/sign-on...
Sign-on campaign: Scientists’ statement on the chemical definition of PFASs | IPCP
www.ipcp.ch
June 10, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Donna Vakalis
There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
May 31, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Donna Vakalis
In an unprecedented move, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun mass terminations of research grants that fund active scientific projects because they no longer meet “agency priorities”….

🧪 #AcademicSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants
Studies that touch on LGBT+ health, gender identity and DEI in the biomedical workforce could be terminated, according to documents obtained by Nature.
www.nature.com
March 6, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Reposted by Donna Vakalis
This is legit - the organizers (including unions) are organizing. When I ask those in the know what we can do that will actually matter, the answer includes collective action of this type.

I'm joining @nancykanwisher.bsky.social and all the others for this Thurs 3p ET effort. I hope you do too!
Academic workers across the country are organizing to call on our congressional representatives on Thursday, 1/30, at 3pm ET / 12pm PT to demand these restrictions be lifted immediately.
There will be a training over zoom at the beginning of the event.
Join us!
form.jotform.com/250226137228...
Join researchers across the country in fighting restrictions on the NIH
Please click the link to complete this form.
form.jotform.com
January 28, 2025 at 11:15 AM
New policy paper identifying barriers to what we (should know we) need: Sustainable cooling solutions like passive design and hybrids. They exist. kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/pub...
Cooling People, Not Spaces: Surmounting the Risks of Air-Conditioning Over-Reliance - Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
Energy policy research from the University of Pennsylvania
kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu
January 10, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Internship opportunity: Spatiotemporal Graph applications for Smart Buildings⚡⚡⚡ working closely with me, starting in early 2025. Considering applying or/and sharing this with your network please. Apply here: forms.gle/N3kwFxM3yEhS... LinkedIn ad here: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...
December 21, 2024 at 7:41 PM