MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The federal government has canceled about $11 billion worth of university research funding and is threatening to cut more. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports that when the federal government stops funding research, there's really no one else to take on those costs.
ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: In the first three months of Donald Trump's presidency, dozens of colleges and universities had their federal research grants frozen. Some funds were canceled because of the shuttering of federal departments like USAID and the U.S. Department of Education. Others were halted in response to alleged antisemitism on campus. Cancer research, diabetes, research in new wearable technology, farming solutions, early childhood development and domestic violence - research across nearly every discipline and subject.
SHALIN JYOTISHI: The government-university-industry partnership for R&D built the American economy in the 20th century.
NADWORNY: Shalin Jyotishi is the managing director of the Future of Work & Innovation Economy Initiative at New America, a left-leaning think tank. After World War II, he says, the federal government entrusted and deeply invested in universities to conduct research and development.
JYOTISHI: Everything from the iPhone to GPS technology to fortified vitamin D has had its roots in federally funded research.
NADWORNY: In 2021, the federal government gave colleges and universities about $180 billion across dozens of federal agencies, according to the Government Accountability Office, a government watchdog.
JYOTISHI: American research universities have been the envy of the world for a reason. China and other competitors of the United States are borrowing from the American playbook for innovation.
NADWORNY: Jyotishi says that the biggest worry is that if the government gets out of this business, there won't be anyone to step in.
JYOTISHI: Industry cannot and will not pick up the mantle of the public sector in supporting the R&D enterprise.
NADWORNY: Sabrina Howell, a finance professor at NYU's business school, studies innovation and university research.
SABRINA HOWELL: We would not have iPhones if universities like MIT, that are federally government-funded, hadn't worked on lasers.
NADWORNY: That laser technology wasn't just used on the iPhone. It helped create semiconductors that essentially power everything we use all day long.
HOWELL: No private company would take on on their own because it's really expensive. It's not obvious what the commercial application is for all the work that you're doing. And so only government can fund that kind of work.
NADWORNY: While the Trump administration talks about handing this work off to the private sector, Howell says it's just too expensive to fund that without a clear return on investment. Her research shows that's because industry has a different motivation - on outputs. But there are experts who think changes could be made to this partnership.
RICHARD VEDDER: It's time for someone to shake things up a bit.
NADWORNY: Richard Vedder is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, a libertarian think tank. He's written about scaling back government funding for research overhead and administration. And while he says Trump's arbitrary cuts aren't what he had in mind, it's definitely sending an important message to colleges.
VEDDER: It's not, perhaps, the ideal way to change things. It may be a disruptive way to change things. But on the whole, the attempt to reevaluate research grant money is a valid one.
NADWORNY: He says maybe now that the public sees the high price tag of federally funded research, there'll be a way to make changes or disruptions without abruptly halting essential and lifesaving research.
Elissa Nadworny, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
