United States research in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) has contributed to the health, prosperity, and well-being of our great nation. We are the envy of the world. However, research is expensive, and conducting cutting-edge research requires personnel and equipment supported by decades of stable funding from the federal government. Universities, the home of academic inquiry and the training ground for the next generation of researchers, need the overhead from this funding to recoup institutional costs of this endeavor. That is why there has been a tremendous outcry against the actions of the current Trump administration that threaten funding, including the $175 million in pauses imposed on Penn last week.
As STEMM faculty, we emphasize that Penn’s great research in STEMM requires more than funding. History has shown that research progress is intimately entwined with freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and human rights. As Galileo Galilei discovered in the 17th century, better funding did not compensate for persecution by the Inquisition for his scientific findings, or for house arrest for the remainder of his life. We cannot give up these freedoms and protections solely for research funding. It is not an even trade.
The U.S. owes its leadership in STEMM to the talent, passion, and hard work of people of every race, gender, and orientation, from the U.S. and from abroad. Our nation’s protection of liberties has not only attracted their participation but has also largely insulated them from reprisal for discoveries that may not be welcomed by all.
Strong STEMM research requires not just funding but human rights, basic liberties, and the rule of law. We urge the University of Pennsylvania administration to stand firm against forces and demands that violate the principles on which our great university was founded.
This letter was signed by this list of STEMM faculty members at Penn. Inquiries can be sent to ajliu@physics.upenn.edu.
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