As a physicist born, raised and fully trained in the United States, I am concerned that the Trump administration has been severely defunding scientific research and universities that train the next generation of scientists and engineers. This effort comes at a time when America is $36 trillion in debt and needs to reindustrialize to produce more than it consumes.
We have myriad problems that only science can address — the adverse impact of climate change, food production, the quest for alternative energy sources, the decontamination of our poisoned ecosphere from PFAS chemicals, rampant cancers, safeguarding humanity from AI and natural resource management, for instance. China produces more STEM graduates per year than all U.S. graduates combined annually.
America is a superpower because of investments in science made in the 20th century — particularly after World War II. Some achievements from this funding include the transistor, integrated circuit and microprocessor, the bedrock of modern electronics that produced solar cells, cellphones, satellites, televisions and computers. The laser was invented here and is ubiquitous as a source of concentrated coherent energy. The blueprint of life (DNA) was discovered here and paved the way for gene machines/sequencers that were also developed here. Modern medicines (e.g., synthetic insulin) were made or discovered to help humans suffering from myriad ailments (e.g., diabetes), saving untold millions of lives.
Because of decades of government-funded research, our economy grew tremendously. Our health care has improved with myriad technologies such as MRI and PET scans and proton and radiation therapy, among many others. These miracles of modern medicine have unquestionably helped to steadily increase life expectancy in America.
Beyond this, our military has benefited greatly from STEM, as technological superiority has been the traditional means to win wars. America would never be able to project its power around the world without nuclear submarines, satellites, jet fighters, rockets/missiles, advanced tanks, etc. — all the result of decades of scientific research. Despite their obvious dangers, nuclear weapons have produced the longest period of relative peace in human history and their derivative (nuclear energy) produces a significant amount of our electricity.
Scientific research conducted in the public interest has made life more productive, healthy, comfortable and safe for all of us. Few Americans alive today have not benefited from the investments in science made decades ago to improve America’s standard of living.
Yet today, our leaders do not appear to understand just how vital support is for scientific research and the institutions that perform scientific research, which are largely universities. Universities also train future scientists and engineers. But because of funding cuts, the future of American science and properly trained American STEM professionals is threatened.
Persecuting and defunding universities and banishing foreign students (most of whom study STEM) will hinder our advancement. Where will America’s future scientists and engineers come from? Without scientists and engineers, America will have no future. Who will maintain and further develop nuclear energy? Who will continue the exploration of space and launching of satellites? Who will develop, design and build factories to reindustrialize America?
American technology is like a high-performance sports car. If you can’t train future engineers and technicians to understand, repair, improve and maintain it, the vehicle will soon become undrivable. You will be forced to reinvent the wheel. Knowledge is like a flame that is sustained by education.
Beyond this, China may soon overtake America economically. How will America compete with China when it is unable to innovate novel technologies because of defunding universities (which are repositories of knowledge and technical know-how)? How will we train sufficient engineers to translate scientific discoveries into economic and industrial reality?
Supporting science and higher education should be an apolitical issue. Defunding these pillars of America’s success will cause great harm by dousing the fire of innovation that has sustained, enriched and given hope to Americans for decades.
There is no better investment to make for America than to support science and higher education. This is what truly made America great.
Michael Pravica is a professor of physics at UNLV. He writes from Henderson.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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