[quote]NAUn wrote:
[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:
I would like to see how much, if any government funding for scientific research is going to be cut.
[/quote]
What are your thoughts on how science funding will likely be affected? Graduate students tend to be somewhat shielded from the inner workings of securing funding, so if you could describe what would likely happen to research-oriented programs if funding were cut, it’d be greatly appreciated.[/quote]
I expect funding for scientific research to take a sizable hit overall and funding for research in the physical sciences in particular to take a hit. It is one of those things that just does not register as vitally important to the average American, they just seem to think that scientific progress just happens magically and that there is something special about America that means it will remain on top in terms of scientific research so most will not balk at the government cutting funding for research.
The bottom line, though, is that there is always money somewhere in the world for scientific research, and education for that matter, and it as very easy for scientists to get visas to work in other countries, especially ones like me with a lot of experience and an excellent track record in both teaching and research, so it doesn’t really matter all that much if the US doesn’t want to put any money into it, scientific progress will happen, just in other countries. One of the main reasons my wife and I are moving to Norway is because our budgets have been cut too much here and we are not getting what we are worth. Our salaries were not touched, but the money we have to do research and for our graduate students has been cut too much. NTNU has offered me a budget that I find acceptable and my salary there will be higher than mine is here, even after taking the higher taxes in Norway into account (which are not that much higher, actually), so that is where I am going for the immediate future.
As for how funding for grad students goes, it varies from school to school, department to department, and even instructor to instructor. For instance, I offer my grad students full tuition, positions as either a TA or RA, which include a monthly stipend of nearly $2000 and will usually supplement that with some of my discretionary income if their performance is excellent, which it almost always is, and the funding for their research comes from my budget. When my budget was cut, I did not mess with what I offer my grad students for several reasons, but mainly because my budget being cut is my problem and not their fault and it would be childish of me to make them pay for my misfortune.
I know some schools make grad students secure their own funding, but I do not agree with that. Grad students have enough to worry about without adding money to the mix. As an aside, most of my grad students are trying to come with me to Norway and I am trying very hard to make it happen since I made a commitment to teach them when I accepted them as grad students and they are all excellent students with very bright futures.
As to the process of actually securing funding, there are many routes to getting money for research. The big ones are federal grants, and funding from the institution you are working at, such as the college I teach at. The application process is usually tedious and the less experience and successful research you have under your belt the harder it is to get funding. You can also go to private sources for funding, but they will usually insist on owning the product of your research. The plus side to this is they will usually offer a sizable fee to you in exchange for those rights.