The Great American Brain Drain

July 14—Some 75% of scientists working in the United States are considering leaving the country to continue their science careers in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere, according to a March survey published in Nature magazine. Many participants in the survey cited a climate of “hostility” to science and to those involved in scientific research. There is also a false, but insidious belief that an AI-fueled utopia will make basic scientific research obsolete. At both university research facilities and national laboratories, morale is at an all-time low. Several nations are actively wooing these researchers.

In the recent Big Beautiful Bill, NASA’s budget was cut nearly in half, the National Institutes of Health budget was cut 40%, and the National Science Foundation had its budget cut by more than 50%. According to a recent study conducted at American University a reduction of just 25% in research and development would cause economic damage to the U.S. economy equivalent to the “Great Recession” of 2007 to 2009, about a 3.8% annual drop to the GDP. This 25% cut to R& D would also drop federal revenues by 4.3% per year. The ripple effect from what is already done will produce an effective far deeper cut than 25% in all supported research.

Since the end of World War II, the federal government’s funding of basic research has allowed American companies to be world leaders in electronics, computer science, medicine, aerospace technologies, and many other fields. This commitment to science made America a dream destination for young researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world. Three-quarters of international students who earn a PhD. in the U.S. stayed and became a great asset in the nation’s economy. Nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, such as Google, Amazon, or Moderna.

Scientists who are considering leaving America, or who have already left, often described feelings of anguish about leaving, but felt they had little choice. Their research projects were being defunded, they considered the political climate too threatening, and federal policies had made it too difficult to simply travel in and out of the country when attending international conferences.

Many American companies recognize these difficulties and have set up large research facilities outside the United States. Amazon’s largest office and engineering hub is not in Seattle, but in Hyderabad, India where it competes with Google for engineering staff. Nvidia is building a research facility in Shanghai and also considering building a campus in Israel, which has given it enormous financial concessions, and Microsoft is building a 15-acre research campus in India.

Frances Arnold, a chemical engineering professor at CalTech wrote, “The loss of public R&D spending, and the exclusion of those who are willing to come to the U.S. to make the most of it, will have ripple effects for decades to come. At stake today is our position as a worldwide beacon for brilliant minds.”