Scientists Looking to Leave the U.S. for More Welcoming Environments | Hacker News Reader

Scientists Looking to Leave the U.S. for More Welcoming Environments

spiegel.de

56 pointsburkaman19 comments

It would be absolutely shocking if the US managed to mess up its incredible lead in scientific research. But like all things, it is the product of a consistent policy environment. If that environment changes, one day people will be writing thinkpieces about the golden age of US universities.

If the rest of the world spends zero money on the research areas being cut, then no lead is lost.

That is exactly what Germany did with its scientists in the 1930s/1940s.

I am not attempting to draw any parallels between governments or ideologies here. My goal is to state the obvious: such a self-inflicted brain drain has happened before and it will happen again unless we learn from history, which we (humans) rarely do.

The overall funding for starting up a laboratory is much smaller in Europe than the USA.

It's that start up funding that will drive talent, more than anything else.

This. Ivy Leagues will be here in 3.5 years when Trump will not. EU announced 500 million Euros for research while Harvard alone has almost 60 billion endowment.

> Trump will not.

People said that the last time he was elected. Be wary of treating him as an aberration. He’s not magic, he’s exactly what people voted for. What makes you think they won’t vote for the same again with a new face?

He is unusual in that he's boosted by decades of pop culture fame. Other MAGA candidates haven't been able to recreate the same level of success. You're right that there's a lot of stupidity that won't magically go away when he does, but the environment for an adult (of either party) to win won't be so hard.

That endowment is not their budget for scientific research. The EU basically caught up with what Harvard spends of their own money with that €500 million.

> In fiscal year 2024 (FY24), research at Harvard was supported by more than $1 billion of sponsored funds from federal, foundation, and industry sponsors, alongside an additional $526 million funded directly by the University.

https://osp.finance.harvard.edu/osp-annual-report

> The EU basically caught up with Harvard

And the kicker is, they're actually planning to overtake Harvard's $526 million investment by approximately three orders of magnitude.

> Von der Leyen announced the 500 million euros ($566.6 million) incentive package and said she also wanted EU member states to invest 3% of gross domestic product in research and development by 2030.

https://www.reuters.com/science/eus-von-der-leyen-announces-...

Let's hope they have better success than NATO at holding the EU states to their pledges. Otherwise Harvard may gain the upper hand.

> The endowment distributed $2.4 billion in the fiscal year 2024.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Wales_summit

https://finance.harvard.edu/financial-overview

From where will the increased GPD % for defense and research come from? Education? Healthcare? Infrastructure?

Probably from being able to tax corporations effectively and preventing individuals from dismantling functional economies.

"All they ever did was cause trouble."

Ignorance is bliss and the grass is always greener. #SaveBrainCity

If you come can you give me your passport so I can get out of here?

Bounced at their cookie popup just like the scientists will bounce when they see how much their salary is in the EU.

Well, the work culture for scientists specifically is a lot better.

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