Caltech Faces Uncertainty Pending Federal Funding Cuts

Over the last month, a series of federal funding cuts to scientific research has created disruptions and uncertainty for various agencies and institutions.

The National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds research across all disciplines of science and engineering, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which funds climate research and oversees environmental monitoring, are both facing significant reductions to their budgets and staff cuts of up to 50%. In addition to mass layoffs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a proposal to cap indirect costs—which cover overhead and administrative expenses for grant-receiving institutions—at 15% threatens billions of dollars in medical research funding.

Caltech currently has 174 active projects funded by the NSF, with the awarded amounts to date totaling over $220M. It also has 129 active projects and subprojects funded by the NIH, with total funding exceeding $90M—composed of $64.65M in direct costs and $25.67M in indirect costs.

To learn more about how the federal funding cuts may impact the Institute’s research, the Tech reached out to faculty members who described the uncertainty at this time.

As the political and legal situation is changing rapidly, the size and scope of the cuts remain unclear. For instance, the NIH’s proposed 15% cap on indirect costs has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, leaving its implementation up in the air. “The proposed cuts in indirect costs for the NIH have definitely increased anxiety in the Caltech community, but at this point, not much has changed from a practical point of view,” Professor Marianne Bronner wrote in an email to the Tech. “Altogether, we are still operating under ‘business as usual’ because it’s not yet clear what the changes will be.”

The potential changes at NIH and NSF are already affecting the Institute’s research in terms of the timing of future funding decisions, as both agencies have halted grant reviews. Professor Bronner described:

“I have three people (2 postdocs; 1 graduate student) who got good scores on their fellowship proposals and were supposed to have heard about whether they would be funded or not in January. All of these decisions have been postponed and there is no date set for when things will resume at NIH. I have several other postdocs who don’t know when their grant proposals will be reviewed or what the prospects are.”

Additionally, Professor Paul Sternberg, Chair of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, wrote, “Recruitment of postdoctoral scholars is continual so it is hard to predict, although if grants are held up at NIH offers of postdoctoral employment will likely be delayed.”

As to mitigating the current effects, Professor Sternberg stated, “Caltech is able to provide a short term buffer for delayed grants but if there are real cuts it will have an impact since buffers have limited capacity.” To prepare for this, “Our current approach is to (1) not panic, (2) to identify research efforts that need some stability that we can provide with our small pool of discretionary funds, and (3) to start seeking additional funds to provide a better buffer,” according to Professor Sternberg. “We are also expending more effort to more effectively share equipment and reagents; this will not be a big cost savings but we feel better asking for help if we are tightening our belts.”

At other universities, the funding cuts have also affected graduate programs, leading to temporary pauses in admissions, reduced offers, and even rescinded acceptances. Caltech “has not imposed changes in admissions policies, and I’m not aware of major changes in the options,” Provost David Tirrell wrote to the Tech. However, if the cuts come into effect, they “will ultimately reduce the number of grad students we can take,” according to Professor Gil Refael, Chair of the Faculty Board.

Due to the uncertainty of the extent and impact of the federal funding cuts, Caltech is “avoiding new commitments that create financial risk for the Institute, or that draw unnecessarily from our unrestricted funds,” Provost Tirrell stated. “We want to preserve as much flexibility as we can so we can respond to challenges as they arise.” The Institute does not yet have a clear understanding of where shortfalls may emerge, and it is too soon to determine which programs are most at risk. Overall, “federal funding supports roughly half of what we do on the Caltech campus,” according to Provost Tirrell, so “substantial reductions in federal support would be disruptive to our research enterprise.”