Brooks Abel
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brooksabel.bsky.social
Brooks Abel
@brooksabel.bsky.social
110 followers 140 following 3 posts
Assistant Professor, Chemistry, UC Berkeley
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Reposted by Brooks Abel
cenmag.bsky.social
The 2025 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal–organic frameworks.” Stay tuned for the full story to come! cen.acs.org/people/nobel...

#ChemNobel #Chem #Chemistry #chemsky 🧪
The 2025 chemistry Nobel goes to MOFs
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi win the prize for developing metal–organic frameworks
cen.acs.org
October 8, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
aaberhe.com
Today, NSF added another 500 GRFP awardees, bringing this year’s total to 1500
www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...
June 13, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
kvasquez.bsky.social
"Sources said the administration is specifically considering a full termination of federal grant funding for the University of California and California State University systems."

www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/p...
Trump preparing large-scale cancellation of federal funding for California, sources say | CNN Politics
The Trump administration is preparing to cancel a large swath of federal funding to California, an effort which could begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple sources.
www.cnn.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
jakeyeston.bsky.social
no chemistry
no materials
no earth
no space
science.org Science Magazine @science.org · May 9
NSF officials announced they are essentially abandoning the use of “rotators”— scientists on leave from academic positions who help the agency choose the best research to fund. NSF also plans to reduce the number of administrators classified as senior executive service employees. scim.ag/3EKnxmc
NSF slashes number of ‘rotators’ and well-paid managers as part of restructuring
Smaller future budgets will require fewer people, NSF official tells staff
scim.ag
May 10, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
ericcolumbus.bsky.social
🚨🚨 Deranged letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon to Harvard’s president, cutting off federal funding for any new grants.

Worth reading in full. It is NUTS.
THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON, DC 20202 May 5, 2025 Dr. Alan Garber Office of the President Harvard University Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 Dr. Garber, The Federal Government has a sacred responsibility to be a wise and important steward of American taxpayer dollars. Harvard University, despite amassing a largely tax-free $53.2 billion dollar endowment (larger than the GDP of 100 countries), receives billions of dollars of taxpayer largess each year. Receiving such taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right. Yet instead of using these funds to advance the education of its students, Harvard is engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law. Where do many of these "students" come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country—and why is there so much HATE? These are questions that must be answered, among many more, but the biggest question of all is, why will Harvard not give straightforward answers to the American public? Harvard University has made a mockery of this country's higher education system. It has invited foreign students, who engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America, to its campus. In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor. It had scrapped standardized testing requirements and a normalized grading system. This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing "remedial math" program for undergraduates. Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this "acclaimed university"? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected? Harvard has even been embroiled in humiliating plagiarism scandals, exposed clearly and plainly in the media, with respect to your then… running the institution in a totally chaotic way. Harvard alumnus and highly successful hedge fund manager Bill Ackman noted that, under her leadership, Harvard has become "a political advocacy organization for one party." Ackman has called for the resignation of Pritzker, concluding that the "[t)he mismanagement here is Penny Pritzker" and noting that any serious corporation would have removed her after a litany of recent failings and the fact that, incredibly, "Harvard is not in a good financial position." According to Ackman, one of the world's foremost finance experts, Harvard's so-called S53 billion endowment is "massively overstated as far as what it's really worth," and Harvard has irresponsibly taken out $8 billion in debt. If this is true, it is concerning evidence of Harvard's disastrous mismanagement, indicating an urgent need for massive reform-not continued taxpayer investment. If Harvard prefers not to change, then Harvard should have no problem using its overflowing endowment to fund its bloated bureaucracy. At its best, a university should fulfill the highest ideals of our Nation, and enlighten the thousands of hopeful students who walk through its magnificent gates. But Harvard has betrayed this ideal. Perhaps most alarmingly, Harvard has failed to abide by the United States Supreme Court's ruling demanding that it end its racial preferencing, and continues to engage in ugly racism in its undergraduate and graduate schools, and even within the Harvard Law Review itself. Our universities should be bastions of merit that reward and celebrate excellence and achievement. They should not be incubators of discrimination that encourage resentment and instill grievance and racism into our wonderful young Americans. The above concerns are only a fraction of the long list of Harvard's consistent violations of its own legal duties. Given these and other concerning allegations, this letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the fede… Federal Agencies. The Administration's priorities have not changed and today's letter marks the end of new grants for the University. These requests will advance the best interests of Harvard University, so it can reclaim its status as a respected educational institution for the future leaders of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Sincerely, Linda E. McMahon Secretary of Education
May 6, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
scott-delaney.bsky.social
This top line--"nearly 800 NIH grants"--was made possible by every scientist who reported their terminated grant to us. 🙏

Small acts add up, and the country is finally learning the full scope RFK's vandalism.

And don't stop now! Report your terminated NIH grant here: forms.gle/FnGLkUtK3M58...
60minutes.bsky.social 60 Minutes @60minutes.bsky.social · Apr 27
Nearly 800 NIH grants have been terminated so far, including some focused on HIV and AIDS, trans health, and COVID-19, after researchers were told their work was no longer an agency priority. https://cbsn.ws/3YkDndI
April 28, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
vanhollen.senate.gov
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.
Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
April 18, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
davidimiller.bsky.social
🚨 Well fuck…

1. DOGE has finally setup shop at NSF this week.

(everything that’s happened at NSF thus far has largely been *without* direct DOGE meddling)

2. NSF is halting making new awards across *all* directorates to rereview proposals for alignment with exec orders.
NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review
Action comes after DOGE team arrives at science agency
www.science.org
April 17, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
ithacavoice.bsky.social
Amid reports of a $1 billion federal funding freeze, Cornell confirmed it received 75 federal stop work orders for research "profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity and health."
Breaking: Trump administration sends Cornell stop work orders amid reports of $1 billion funding freeze
ITHACA, N.Y. — The Trump administration intends to freeze $1 billion in federal funding to Cornell University, according to two unnamed officials in a report from The New York Times Tuesday evening.  Cornell University leaders responded to the report Tuesday night, saying they have “not received information that would confirm this figure.” But the school’s leaders said that earlier Tuesday, they were sent “more than 75 stop work orders from the Department of Defense related to research that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health.” …
ithacavoice.org
April 9, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
rosemarybraun.bsky.social
NSF REU sites awarded:
2015 - 207
2016 - 232
2017 - 248
2018 - 204
2019 - 209
2020 - 222
2021 - 189
2022 - 219
2023 - 212
2024 - 217
2025 - 52
This is not likely to increase; REU awards are made early in the year to enable recruitment for summer.
April 8, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
maggiebeth.space
According to the posted lists for this year, only 1,000 applicants received the GRFP and ~ 3,000 were named honorable mentions. The solicitation stated there would be 2,300 awards, so this is a massive cut. 🧪🔭
April 8, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
wmwuest.bsky.social
NSF GRFP Awards by the Year:
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000

Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......

@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social
April 8, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
shmemistry.bsky.social
english.elpais.com/science-tech...
John Hartwig, chemist: ‘The situation for science in the United States is terrible, these are the steps of authoritarian regimes to take power’
The scientist talks to EL PAÍS about the key advances in the production of new pharmaceuticals
english.elpais.com
April 7, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
rpslab.bsky.social
Welp. It happened. Our NIH training grant was terminated on Friday.

Just highlighting this incredibly derisive language used in our termination notice.

To focus on the positives, see some of the great things our undergraduates have done over the last couple of years: web.uri.edu/esteemed/
March 26, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by Brooks Abel
emilymullin.bsky.social
Hi all, I'm a WIRED journalist on the science desk. If you're a government scientist or federally funded researcher with info to share about the Trump transition, please feel free to contact me securely on Signal: emullin.06
February 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM