Krystal Vasquez
@kvasquez.bsky.social
Science policy reporter @cenmag.bsky.social. Based near LA. I write a lot about science funding and diversity in STEM.
Email: k_vasquez(at)acs.org
Signal: kvasquez.12
Once upon a time, I was an atmospheric chemist.
All views and opinions are mine.
Email: k_vasquez(at)acs.org
Signal: kvasquez.12
Once upon a time, I was an atmospheric chemist.
All views and opinions are mine.
Project is live! bsky.app/profile/did:...
It so was hard to imagine having successful career in science as a disabled PhD student that eventually I just left.
Who could have guessed that years later I would help create a magazine issue dedicated to highlighting Trailblazing disabled chemists!
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
#DisabledInSTEM
Who could have guessed that years later I would help create a magazine issue dedicated to highlighting Trailblazing disabled chemists!
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
#DisabledInSTEM
Trailblazers: Chemists with disabilities rethink how we do science
C&EN’s 2025 Trailblazers issue, curated by guest editor Mona Minkara, looks at how chemists can solve problems in new ways
cen.acs.org
September 15, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Project is live! bsky.app/profile/did:...
"When we design tools that welcome different ways of sensing and thinking, we open new reaction pathways for discovery. Inclusive design doesn’t just widen participation; it expands the very structure-function relationship of science itself."
cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
The tools we build become the questions we ask
Why inclusive design is good for more than access—it expands the boundaries of discovery
cen.acs.org
September 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"When we design tools that welcome different ways of sensing and thinking, we open new reaction pathways for discovery. Inclusive design doesn’t just widen participation; it expands the very structure-function relationship of science itself."
cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
So many were involved in this project, but I want to give a special shout out our guest editor Mona Minkara!
Mona had a hand in selecting our theme and the 12 Trailblazers featured here. She also wrote a stellar guest essay that I highly encourage you to read: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
Mona had a hand in selecting our theme and the 12 Trailblazers featured here. She also wrote a stellar guest essay that I highly encourage you to read: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
The tools we build become the questions we ask
Why inclusive design is good for more than access—it expands the boundaries of discovery
cen.acs.org
September 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
So many were involved in this project, but I want to give a special shout out our guest editor Mona Minkara!
Mona had a hand in selecting our theme and the 12 Trailblazers featured here. She also wrote a stellar guest essay that I highly encourage you to read: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
Mona had a hand in selecting our theme and the 12 Trailblazers featured here. She also wrote a stellar guest essay that I highly encourage you to read: cen.acs.org/careers/dive...
These 12 profiles highlight how this year's @cenmag.bsky.social Trailblazers are expanding our knowledge of the molecular world, while not shying away from talking about the struggles that come with having to navigate inaccessible STEM environments.
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
Trailblazers: Chemists with disabilities rethink how we do science
C&EN’s 2025 Trailblazers issue, curated by guest editor Mona Minkara, looks at how chemists can solve problems in new ways
cen.acs.org
September 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
These 12 profiles highlight how this year's @cenmag.bsky.social Trailblazers are expanding our knowledge of the molecular world, while not shying away from talking about the struggles that come with having to navigate inaccessible STEM environments.
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
cen.acs.org/people/profi...
Reposted by Krystal Vasquez
And be sure to read through the rest of the package, ably edited by my colleagues @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social and @kvasquez.bsky.social, featuring how chemists with disabilities are reimagining the discipline: cen.acs.org/people/profi...
Trailblazers: Chemists with disabilities rethink how we do science
C&EN’s 2025 Trailblazers issue, curated by guest editor Mona Minkara, looks at how chemists can solve problems in new ways
cen.acs.org
September 15, 2025 at 3:00 PM
And be sure to read through the rest of the package, ably edited by my colleagues @mannyfoxmorone.bsky.social and @kvasquez.bsky.social, featuring how chemists with disabilities are reimagining the discipline: cen.acs.org/people/profi...
Reposted by Krystal Vasquez
Many hands make light work! At the @acs.org Chemists With Disabilities (CWD) Braille Periodic Table activity at the #ACSFall2025 Member Lounge, over 100 people have helped glue braille dots for element symbols so far. One is almost done! Aiming to finish both Tuesday, so come join us to help out!
August 18, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Many hands make light work! At the @acs.org Chemists With Disabilities (CWD) Braille Periodic Table activity at the #ACSFall2025 Member Lounge, over 100 people have helped glue braille dots for element symbols so far. One is almost done! Aiming to finish both Tuesday, so come join us to help out!
I do want to point out that any differences between the House and Senate bill need to be resolved before the budget is signed by the president.
And here's a great thread by @davidimiller.bsky.social breaking down what the House's version says right now: bsky.app/profile/davi...
And here's a great thread by @davidimiller.bsky.social breaking down what the House's version says right now: bsky.app/profile/davi...
👎 BOOOO
Draft bill includes general provisions (applies across NSF, NASA, NOAA) to...
1st screenshot: bar funding of DEI initiatives (of course, without defining what that means...).
2nd screenshot: bar **all** funding to those who "educate", "train", or "inform" feds about DEI issues.
Draft bill includes general provisions (applies across NSF, NASA, NOAA) to...
1st screenshot: bar funding of DEI initiatives (of course, without defining what that means...).
2nd screenshot: bar **all** funding to those who "educate", "train", or "inform" feds about DEI issues.
July 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I do want to point out that any differences between the House and Senate bill need to be resolved before the budget is signed by the president.
And here's a great thread by @davidimiller.bsky.social breaking down what the House's version says right now: bsky.app/profile/davi...
And here's a great thread by @davidimiller.bsky.social breaking down what the House's version says right now: bsky.app/profile/davi...
More on the Senate bill and NSF's FY26 STEM ed budget based on the committee's report: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
The GRFP + a number of broadening participation programs would maintain current funding levels. The Trump admin's proposal for comparison: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
The GRFP + a number of broadening participation programs would maintain current funding levels. The Trump admin's proposal for comparison: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
![Table of the NSF STEM education budget. Amounts are in thousands of dollars.
STEM education: 1,000,000
Graduate Research Fellowship Program: 285,000
Advanced Technological Education: 75,000
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education [IUSE]: 90,000
Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology: 24,000
HBCU—Undergraduate Program: 36,500
IUSE: HSI: 46,500
Tribal Colleges and Universities Program: 16,500
ADVANCE: 18,000
Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate: 8,000
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation: 49,500
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program: 67,000
CyberCorps, Scholarships for Service: 63,000
Advancing Informal STEM Learning [AISL]: 60,000
The Committee’s recommendation provides $1,000,000,000 for
STEM Education. The recommendation is $172,000,000 below the
fiscal year 2025 enacted level.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yxfpxkwzjuvqcr6jgvaa3gmv/bafkreid5fvyt4wogo6y623ehyhget3ekin2mlgfkm5kkpgcjzmq2vrk6ma@jpeg)
July 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
More on the Senate bill and NSF's FY26 STEM ed budget based on the committee's report: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
The GRFP + a number of broadening participation programs would maintain current funding levels. The Trump admin's proposal for comparison: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
The GRFP + a number of broadening participation programs would maintain current funding levels. The Trump admin's proposal for comparison: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
For even more context, here's a summary of what Congress passed in FY2024: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
Lawmakers slash US science funding
Many federal agencies, except the DOE, brace for cuts until Oct. 1
cen.acs.org
July 17, 2025 at 10:20 PM
For even more context, here's a summary of what Congress passed in FY2024: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
For context, here is what the Trump administration requested back in May: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
Proposed White House budget would slash science funding
Plan called ‘disastrous’ and ‘catastrophic’ by lawmakers and science advocates
cen.acs.org
July 17, 2025 at 10:16 PM
For context, here is what the Trump administration requested back in May: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
From the Senate committee bill summary:
NSF: $9 billion
NASA: $24.9 billion
NOAA: $6.1 billion
NIST: $1.6 billion
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
NSF: $9 billion
NASA: $24.9 billion
NOAA: $6.1 billion
NIST: $1.6 billion
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
July 17, 2025 at 10:10 PM
From the Senate committee bill summary:
NSF: $9 billion
NASA: $24.9 billion
NOAA: $6.1 billion
NIST: $1.6 billion
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
NSF: $9 billion
NASA: $24.9 billion
NOAA: $6.1 billion
NIST: $1.6 billion
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...