As the University of California faces funding threats at the federal level, the University’s scientific community is coming together to amplify the life-saving research happening at UC through the Speak Up for Science campaign. This campaign, alongside the Stand Up for UC effort, focuses on making the case that cuts to federal research funding would be devastating, not only for the University, but for a global community that relies on UC researchers.
“From developing new treatments for cancer to preventing wildfires and helping farmers find new ways to feed the nation, UC discoveries have transformed industries and improved countless lives,” said UC President James B. Milliken. “Investments in UC scientists and research consistently lead to remarkable benefits that make our communities healthier, our economy stronger, and our nation safer.”
As Congress debates funding for the upcoming year, it’s vital to understand just how much is at stake if UC research falters. It could leave the U.S. dependent on other nations for the technology that will drive the future — whether that’s quantum computing, a more resilient food supply or the frontiers of health care.
Here is some of the research happening at UC that’s poised to deliver transformative benefits to the American people. For these projects to realize their full potential, scientists need the reliable, competitively awarded funding that only the federal government can provide.
What’s at stake?
Cheaper seeds for farmers, with savings passed on to your grocery bill:
“Basic research is what keeps the U.S. ahead of the rest of the world in our technological advances. And if you cut that out, you're surrendering the lead to other countries, and we'll be buying technology from them next. That's not a good position to be in.”
– UC Davis plant scientist Venkatesan Sundaresan, who used funding from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to discover how to clone hybrid crop seeds. Sundaresan’s discovery, a breakthrough that plant scientists have pursued for close to 40 years, is poised to save seed companies time and effort producing hybrid seeds, with significant financial savings passed on to growers and ultimately consumers.
What’s at stake?
The ability to stop cognitive decline from Alzheimer’s disease:
“We have made incredible progress in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s over the past 5 years. Now we are so close to having, if not quite a cure, then very effective therapies. It's just really disappointing to think that the pace of development might be slowed at a time when we’re so close to being there."
– UC San Francisco neurology professor Adam Boxer. With funding from the National Institutes of Health, Boxer is leading a clinical trial to test combinations of new and experimental Alzheimer’s drugs.
What’s at stake?
Quantum computing:
“Any new approaches to this technology, or new applications for quantum hardware, they’re all going to emerge from physics, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy and other basic sciences. If none of the foundational stuff is supported, there’s not much point in keeping quantum research going. Without fresh ideas from basic science research, it’s not going to succeed."
– UC Berkeley physicist Dan Stamper-Kurn, who leads the Challenge Institute for Quantum Computation, a National Science Foundation-funded research institute that brings together scholars from UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and several other leading universities to push the frontiers of quantum information science.
What’s at stake?
Preventing a catastrophic asteroid impact on Earth:
“We can’t do anything about [an incoming asteroid] if we don’t know it’s there. We can build better space telescopes that will better enable us to spot these objects. It’s a problem we can absolutely solve.”
– UCLA astronomer Amy Mainzer, who’s leading a NASA mission to identify and gather data on comets and asteroids in our celestial neighborhood. The project will take several years and lots of money and know-how. Whether the U.S. will still invest in the project and in training her successors is now an open question.
What’s at stake?
Filtering and destroying toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water:
“If the good ideas can’t get supported, we can never know what kind of much better technology could show up.”
– UC Riverside chemical and environmental engineering professor Jinyong Liu. With funding from the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation, Liu has studied more than a hundred long-lasting industrial compounds and discovered processes that destroy most of them. Now he’s working with environmental remediation industries and water utilities across the U.S. to roll out systems that filter PFAS out of local drinking water and groundwater, then destroy these chemicals permanently.
What’s at stake?
The future of the nation’s leading public university system. The federal government’s demand of $1 billion from UCLA would devastate one of the nation’s best public universities, cut off life-saving care, halt tech and economic growth, and reduce educational access.
If you are interested in speaking to a UC scientist about the effects these cuts will have on their research efforts, please contact: media@ucop.edu