Halley Froehlich never expected to leave the United States, where her family lineage stretches back to the 1700s, to pursue her scientific career.
asserted
lineage → expect → career
Yet, faced with stalled federal grants and growing uncertainty over the country's research environment, she packed her life into boxes and relocated to Finland alongside her husband and daughter.
asserted
she → face → husband
She now studies how climate change affects edible fish, shellfish, and seaweed at the University of Helsinki.
asserted
change → study → Helsinki
Her departure reflects a wider trend.
asserted
departure → reflect → trend
When the Trump administration began reshaping the American scientific sector last year by altering the federal grant distribution process and seeking greater political influence over funded projects, foreign academic institutions recognized an opportunity.
asserted
institutions → begin → opportunity
Many introduced dedicated schemes designed to entice U.S.-based scholars by offering stable financial support and academic freedom.
asserted
Many → introduce → support
A growing number of academics have accepted these international offers.
asserted
number → grow → offers
Though comprehensive nationwide data remains difficult to aggregate, university officials, researchers, and professional associations describe the ongoing shift as clear, unprecedented, and concerning.
asserted
officials → remain → shift
"You can almost talk to any vice president for research at a university and they will tell you of one or two top faculty that they’ve lost," said Tobin Smith, senior vice president of government relations and public policy for the Association of American Universities.
asserted
Smith → talk → Universities
White House spokesperson Liz Huston said Trump is "ending waste" and is "committed to keeping America the world leader in scientific innovation, and that means funding real science."
asserted
that → say → science
Despite those assurances, an April report from the Business for Federal Research Funding Coalition revealed that more than half of U.S. states have lost scientists to recruitment programs in other countries.
asserted
half → reveal → countries
Survey data from last March indicated that early-career biomedical scientists were about 20 percentage points less likely to say they wanted to stay in the U.S. "now" than they did six months earlier.
asserted
they → indicate → U.S.
Furthermore, figures from the American Institute of Physics show that physics Ph.D. graduates in 2025 departed the U.S. at the highest rate observed in 30 years.
asserted
graduates → show → years
Institutions in nations such as Canada, France, Belgium, and Finland are publicly advertising their success in drawing scholars from U.S. organizations.
asserted
Institutions → advertise → organizations
For a country that far and away leads the world in Nobel prizes for medicine, physics, and chemistry, researchers view this as a disturbing and surprising development.
asserted
researchers → lead → development
"It used to be the shining city on the hill where we all want to go," said Christine Stawitz, now at the University of Birmingham in England.
asserted
Stawitz → use → England
"That reputational loss, I think, is hard to quantify, but also really damaging."
asserted
I → think → ?
Stawitz stepped down from her job at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last year to become a research software engineer in the United Kingdom.
asserted
Stawitz → step → Kingdom
She noted that NOAA no longer aligned with her values, particularly after receiving directives to strip websites of references to climate change and diversity, equity and inclusion topics.
asserted
NOAA → note → change
She added that the state of American science has become a recurring topic of conversation at international gatherings.
asserted
state → add → gatherings
"People talk about the U.S. at conferences in the U.K. now like, I don't know what's going on there.
asserted
what → talk → U.K.
It's not good," she said.
asserted
she → say → ?
For Froehlich, the choice to relocate developed over time.
asserted
choice → relocate → time
Already concerned by issues surrounding school safety and gun violence in the U.S., she watched as the national research landscape was overturned.
asserted
landscape → surround → U.S.
At the University of California, Santa Barbara, grant postponements and cancellations left colleagues struggling and student researchers in tears.
asserted
postponements → leave → tears
Doubts regarding future federal backing for her climate-focused research mounted.
asserted
Doubts → regard → research
"The cumulative effect of those things ultimately ended up making us really serious about, I don’t think here is our home anymore," said Froehlich.
asserted
Froehlich → end → things
She ultimately accepted an offer through an initiative by the Research Council of Finland, securing five years of guaranteed funding totaling about $3 million.
asserted
She → accept → million
She moved into a flat by the Baltic Sea in Helsinki and is taking university-sponsored Finnish lessons.
asserted
She → move → lessons
Foreign researchers who were drawn to the U.S. for its reputation as a global leader in science are also seeking different places to do their work.
asserted
who → draw → work
Married biologists James Letts, who is Canadian, and Maria Maldonado, who is Argentinian, left their academic positions at the University of California, Davis to join Australia's Monash University.
asserted
who → leave → University
Both earned their doctoral degrees in New York and spent over a decade doing science in the U.S.
Grant-related uncertainty—including laying off a staff scientist while waiting for stalled funding—motivated them to make the move.
asserted
uncertainty → earn → move
"All I want to do is do great science and make discoveries, but I want my work to mean something as well.
asserted
work → want → something
And the opportunity to do that seemed very difficult in the U.S.," Letts said.
asserted
Letts → seem → U.S.
Immigrants have historically won 40 percent of the U.S. science Nobel Prizes.
asserted
Immigrants → win → Prizes
However, Omar Yaghi, a 2025 Nobel Prize winner for chemistry, departed his position at the University of California, Berkeley this year
asserted
Yaghi → depart → California
The U.S. remains a science powerhouse, full of institutions with robust research communities and well-resourced facilities that attract foreign talent.
asserted
that → remain → talent
Even if every European country threw open its doors, there still would not be enough capacity to accommodate every American scientist.
asserted
country → throw → scientist
Many researchers are choosing to stay, searching for new sources of funding or pivoting to industry positions.
asserted
researchers → choose → positions
Nevertheless, concerns persist regarding the ongoing erosion of reputation and talent.
asserted
concerns → persist → reputation
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
