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The TOI correspondent from Washington: A top US scientist of Indian-origin resigned as the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), whose $ 9 billion budget funds life-changing research in America, amid allegations that the MAGA-infused Trump administration is gutting science and research in the country.
Sethuraman Panchanathan, an alumnus of IIT, Chennai, and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, resigned with 16 months to go before the end of his six-year term, saying “I believe I have done all I can to advance the mission of the agency and feel that it is time for me to pass the baton to new leadership.”
“Panch” as he is popularly known among colleagues, did not delve into reasons for his departure, but the broad take-away in scientific circles from his all-staff memo is that he quit due to frustration over White House pressure to cut NSF’s $9 billion annual budget and cull the agency’s 1,700-person staff.
“This is a pivotal moment for our nation in terms of global competitiveness. NSF is an extremely important investment to make US scientific dominance a reality. We must not lose our competitive edge,” Dr Panchanathan urged in the memo, even as the Trump/Musk DOGE hatchet hacked at what they consider to be bloated expenditure that funds DEI priorities and non-essential research.
The NSF has deep ties with Indian institutions such as the Department of Science and Technology and many universities, collaborating in areas like communications, semiconductors, cyberinfrastructure, secure computing, and green technology, directing millions of dollars to joint research. Although NSF does not directly fund Indian researchers or institutions, it channels grants to US researchers collaborating with Indian counterparts.
Panchanathan was a key driver of 2023 US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies that was signed in the White House. Although he was appointed to the post by President Trump during his first term, the NSF, like many storied American institutions, is running aground as the Trump-Musk credo of eliminating “waste and fraud” is drying up funding.
As with many institutions, including its companion National Institute of Health (NIH), DOGE teams of young whippersnappers are said to have physically infiltrated into the NSF headquarters earlier this month, demanding accountability from senior leadership who they believe have long had a “free run.”
According to one account, the NSF was directed to terminate over $1 billion in grants and halt new awards that conflicted with President Trump’s executive orders relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), clashing directly, given his own background, with Panchanathan’s priorities such as increasing diversity in research.
Born and raised in Chennai, Dr Panchanathan completed his B.SC in Vivekananda College and MSc and MTech at IISC and IIT respectively before coming to Canada for his PhD and later moving to US where he has rose rapidly in scientific, winning praise for his work in assistive and rehabilitative technologies, ubiquitous computing environments for individuals with disabilities, haptic user interfaces, and face/gait analysis and recognition. Among the start-ups he co-founded are MotionEase Inc. and RehabDev LLC, both focused on rehabilitative technologies.
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