While the headlines have focused on science funding cuts at elite national universities, we shouldn’t lose sight of the local impact. Long Island is home to major research centers, including Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Feinstein Institutes at Northwell and Stony Brook University, among others.
The $47 billion in cuts to the National Science Foundation and other federal sources of research funding affect those institutions, too. The administration has halted thousands of approved grants for projects focusing on infectious diseases, energy management and quantitative computing, while also releasing staff and curtailing new funding, causing major upheavals in research.
Some now argue that the United States model for research, involving universities, research institutes and private corporations, should change because there’s too much reliance on unstable federal support. Fair enough, but first we should ask how we got here, and how federal support became so important.
Our current research enterprise originated in World War II. Reflecting on the immense and immediate response of universities and scientific laboratories to the war effort, Dr. Vannevar Bush, an engineer at MIT, accepted President Harry Truman’s invitation to write a report on what worked and how to plan for the future.
Bush assembled several committees of experts to examine the issues, and wrote an essay entitled, “Science: The Endless Frontier.” In it he summarized the various reports and recommended goals and a strategy for the president to consider.
First, Bush highlighted the fact that many of the discoveries and advances that aided the war effort were made by scholars who had migrated to the United States from countries under totalitarian rule. One conclusion was that immigration was an important source of intellectual talent. A second was that the war had kept millions of Americans from advanced education, and that we should create a program that offered them opportunities to earn college and higher degrees. The G.I. Bill was one result.
A third conclusion was that the country needed systemic support for ongoing research and advanced learning not limited to defense. The National Science Foundation was another result.
The models that Bush’s report inspired have worked well for over 80 years. They include support for federal student aid, immigration policy and grant programs for basic and applied research at universities and private companies.
The war also gave birth to the Grumman Corporation, which mass-produced aircraft as well as an innovative wing configuration that made it possible to fit more planes on aircraft carriers. The story of how this unique folding feature was developed from a model using two paper clips and a soap eraser is engineering legend. That same spirit launched the lunar module that transported two astronauts to the surface of the moon.
Another example is Brookhaven National Laboratory, established on an unused Army base in1946 by a consortium of nine major universities. Today it is a leader in high-energy physics, materials chemistry, national security and nonproliferation, neurosciences and computational sciences.
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health, established in 1999, is home to 50 research labs, 2,500 clinical trial studies and 5,000 professional and support staff. They conduct research in molecular medicine, genetics, cancer, neuroscience, behavioral science and bioelectronic medicine.
A significant source of science innovation is Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, home to eight Nobel Prize winners in physiology and medicine. It has an education division that awards doctoral degrees, hosts international conferences and partners with regional medical schools affiliated with Hofstra/Northwell and Stony Brook University.
Stony Brook’s prominence is grounded in biomedical science, including work that led to the development of magnetic resonance imaging, which was recognized with a Nobel Prize in 2003. Other research is dedicated to understanding and addressing water quality challenges on Long Island, in the interest of restoring the health of bays and waterways, safeguarding fisheries and protecting the coastal environment that is so central to the region’s identity and economics.
Together, these Long Island enterprises employ thousands and operate with millions of dollars in federal grants. They contribute to improved health outcomes and the economic well-being of individuals and communities. The products and services they develop create businesses, expand services and contribute tax revenue that supports our schools and public services. Rather than shutter these programs, let’s work together to remember why they exist and consider how they can improve even further.
Robert Scott is president emeritus of Adelphi University and the author of “How University Boards Work.”
