It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since my graduation from Cary High School. I remember learning about the Doppler Effect in my 12th grade physics class. The teacher, Mr. Philip Goodloe, sent a classmate outside to run past the window yelling (“at a constant pitch!“). We heard our classmate’s pitch getting higher as he came closer to the window, then suddenly dropping after he passed—while the teacher in the next room reassured their class: don’t worry, it’s just a physics demonstration!
Twenty years later, I’m now a second-year Ph.D. student studying planetary science at Johns Hopkins University. I followed a winding path to get here, but I trace it back to my childhood in the Research Triangle, surrounded by scientific discovery and supported by the economic prosperity it provided.
In 2021, after spending a decade working in marketing, I decided to go back to school. While I had been relatively successful in business, I lacked the passion for it. I wanted to get back to my roots, to follow my curiosity and serve the people of my community and my country by expanding the frontier of human knowledge.
NASA provided both inspiration and opportunity. Through their science communication efforts, I learned about the field of planetary science. I was amazed by the discovery of clay minerals on Mars—evidence of flowing water sometime in that desert planet’s past. Through two NASA-funded internships, and one summer position funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), I was able to get research experience and go back to school.
Now, I do laboratory research about Saturn’s largest moon, Titan—a world larger than our own moon with an atmosphere thicker than Earth’s, with lakes and flowing rivers of methane, and a subsurface ocean of liquid water. I feel grateful every day for the chance to investigate this strange version of Earth, and what it might have to teach us about the origin of life and our place in the universe.
Unfortunately, if President Trump’s proposed FY2026 budget passes, our country will be giving up on curiosity. The proposed cuts to NASA Science and NSF—47 percent and 57 percent respectively—would be an extinction event for American scientific research. Already, opportunities like the ones I had are being drastically cut or canceled. Universities that host undergraduates for summer research through NSF’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program have withdrawn offers due to canceled funds. REU internships are one of the major pathways to graduate school, especially for underrepresented groups and students at small or rural colleges. Graduate programs like mine have slashed their acceptance rate—my incoming class was ten students, but the class starting this fall will be three. Perhaps worse, fewer than half of the graduating students from my program this spring have found a research job. Of the graduating students that did find work, half are moving abroad.
The U.S. isn’t just losing scientists and future discoveries—the economic loss of cutting federal research funding is massive. The budget cuts to just the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NSF are estimated to cost at least $10 billion per year. In the Research Triangle, the economic impact will reverberate through every sector—$1.8 B and over 200 jobs have already been lost in the Triangle directly due to canceled NIH grants. That’s not counting indirect losses, or losses from canceled NSF or NASA grants, or future losses if the President’s proposed budget passes.
The impact of the President’s proposed budget cuts will be felt for years into the future. While my journey into space science has taken me away from the Triangle, I visit my family in Cary and Durham often. My nephew, who will be ten years old this October, has a growing interest in geology. My niece turned five in April, and her curiosity about the natural world is starting to bloom. Sharing in their sense of wonder about the universe is one of the greatest treasures of my life. But I worry: will they have the same opportunities I’ve had to follow their curiosity? I didn’t give up on my curiosity. Will we, as a country, give up on it?
I hope not. But it’s up to all of us to make sure that scientific careers don’t end before they start. As the recent Supreme Court ruling on NIH grant cancellations has shown, lawsuits and other reactive efforts aren’t likely to be successful under this regime. Lawmakers must act proactively to protect federally funded research. I urge you to call your representatives in the U.S. House and Senator Thom Tillis (in Raleigh at 919-856-4630) and tell them how the budget cuts have and will affect you. Ask them to support the Senate’s version of the Commerce, Justice, & Science (CJS) spending bill and to fully fund federal research agencies. Talk to your neighbors, friends, and loved ones and ask them to speak up with you. It’s time to stand together and fight for our future—the universe is at stake.
BP Blakley is a second-year PhD student studying astrobiology and icy worlds in our solar system at Johns Hopkins University. They grew up in Cary and lived in Wilmington and Raleigh.
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