Key decisions about how that money is spent have been made by the National Science Board. Each of the scientists who made up the board until last week was appointed by a US president to serve, at least initially, a six-year term. Those members were responsible for establishing NSF policies, authorizing major expenditures and providing oversight, says Keivan Stassun, a physicist and astronomer at Vanderbilt University who was appointed to the board in late 2022.
A few years ago, the board was responsible for establishing a new “directorate” within the agency to channel funding to “technology, innovations and partnerships,” for example. The board also authorized funding for the US Extremely Large Telescope Program.
“It’s a relatively small group with a tremendous amount of responsibility and authority,” says Stassun. He viewed his appointment as “a tremendous honor.”
Then, last Friday, the email landed in his inbox. “It said: On behalf of President Trump, this letter is to notify you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” says Stassun. “It was deeply disappointing.”
Still, Stassun wasn’t surprised, given the administration’s actions across federal science agencies over the past year.
Since Donald Trump took office at the start of 2025, the NSF—along with many other federal agencies—has frozen, unfrozen, and terminated grants. “The board was not involved in any of those [terminations],” says Stassun. Members had no say in the firing of agency staff either, he says. Staff numbers are currently down 40%, he adds.