Krystal Vasquez
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kvasquez.bsky.social
Krystal Vasquez
@kvasquez.bsky.social
1.8K followers 700 following 280 posts
Science policy reporter @cenmag.bsky.social. Based near LA. I write a lot about science funding and diversity in STEM.

Email: k_vasquez(at)acs.org
Signal: kvasquez.12

Once upon a time, I was an atmospheric chemist.

All views and opinions are mine.
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kvasquez.bsky.social
More on the Senate bill and NSF's FY26 STEM ed budget based on the committee's report: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

The GRFP + a number of broadening participation programs would maintain current funding levels. The Trump admin's proposal for comparison: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
Table of the NSF STEM education budget. Amounts are in thousands of dollars. STEM education: 1,000,000 Graduate Research Fellowship Program: 285,000 Advanced Technological Education: 75,000 Improving Undergraduate STEM Education [IUSE]: 90,000 Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology: 24,000 HBCU—Undergraduate Program: 36,500 IUSE: HSI: 46,500 Tribal Colleges and Universities Program: 16,500 ADVANCE: 18,000 Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate: 8,000 Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation: 49,500 Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program: 67,000 CyberCorps, Scholarships for Service: 63,000 Advancing Informal STEM Learning [AISL]: 60,000 The Committee’s recommendation provides $1,000,000,000 for STEM Education. The recommendation is $172,000,000 below the fiscal year 2025 enacted level.
July 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Per the NSF website, the agency is reinstating 114 awards as a result of a preliminary injunction that was issued last week.

Source: www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Did NSF recently reinstate previously terminated awards? On June 23, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction in Case No. 25-cv-04737, requiring that NSF reinstate certain awards. NSF is required to reinstate awards to all University of California researchers, including faculty, staff, and academic appointees who are named as principal researchers, investigators, or project leaders on grant applications that were terminated by means of a form letter. As a result, 114 awards to 45 institutions are being reinstated as of June 30, 2025.
June 30, 2025 at 7:47 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Reposting with alt-text:
talk to us. If you are a journalist---or know one---who has been attacked, seriously threatened, denied access by a public official or targeted with a legal order in the course of reporting, let us know. You can now submit tips in English or Spanish. tips@pressfreedomtracker.us. US Press Freedom Tracker. pressfreedomtracker.us.
June 9, 2025 at 5:11 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
For those who might have missed it, the types of awards that NSF is terminating will now include environmental justice, according to its FAQ.

www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
3. UPDATED: What types of awards are being terminated? Awards that are not aligned with program goals or agency priorities have been terminated, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), environmental justice, and misinformation/disinformation.
May 15, 2025 at 4:40 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
ATTN #ChemSky: It's time to nominate folks for C&EN's Trailblazers 🎉

This year, we'll be featuring disabled chemists & chemical engineers, and highlighting their research and how they make their workspaces more accessible!

Nominate someone here by June 4: cenm.ag/nominatetrai...

#DisabledInSTEM
C&EN's Trailblazer Logo on an orange background
May 13, 2025 at 7:59 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Similar to NIH and DOE, the NSF just introduced an indirect cost cap of 15%.

Source: www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...
Policy Summary Effective May 5, 2025, NSF will apply a standard indirect cost rate not to exceed 15% to all grants and cooperative agreements awarded to IHEs for which indirect costs are allowable.[1] The awardee is authorized to determine the appropriate rate up to this limit. This Policy Notice serves as public notification of the policies, procedures and general decision-making criteria that NSF has used to justify deviation from negotiated rates for all awards in accordance with 2 CFR 200.414(c) for the class of NSF financial assistance awarded to IHEs.
May 2, 2025 at 3:56 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
For those at #ACSSpring2025: If you have some free time this afternoon, I’d recommend checking out this panel about the LA fires. It’ll be moderated by @cenmag.bsky.social’s Priyanka Runwal
Beneath the Flames: A Chemical Perspective on the LA County Fires Presented by: C&EN, ACS Office of Scientific Content Management, Division of Environmental Chemistry, Committee on Environmental Sciences, and Division of Chemical Health & Safety Monday March 24, 2025; 2:30 - 3:20 PM Exhibit Hall D-E, Expo Theater 2 San Diego Convention Center Moderator: Priyanka Runwal, C&EN Editor and Journalist Panelist: Danniebelle Haase, Dow Research Scientist Alexander Tardy, NOAA Warning Coordination Meteorologist Slawo Lomnicki, LSU Associate Professor
March 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
My personal take is that I really feel for these students. They went from COVID to this mess.

Like many of the folks we spoke to, I'm also very worried about who'll end up leaving science as opportunities continue to disappear.
"I didn’t get a prom; I didn’t get my high school graduation; my freshman year of college was fully online. . . . It feels really cruel that these next 4 years, we’re kind of going through a situation that’s limiting us." Anonymous student, applicant who was accepted to a PhD program and then moved to a waitlist
March 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Covering @standupforscience.bsky.social from Sacramento!
Stand up for Science attendees in Sacramento
March 7, 2025 at 8:43 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
A few updates on the NSF webpage about EO implementation: www.nsf.gov/executive-or...

As someone who's been thinking about the federal budget quite a bit lately, this one stood out to me, personally.
1. What is the likelihood of changes to the scheduled future year increments of my award? All awards are subject to availability of funding for each fiscal year. Due to the continuing resolution, we are unable to commit to investments beyond the currently available appropriations for the agency.
February 21, 2025 at 9:48 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
New NSF updates recently dropped: www.nsf.gov/executive-or...

Perhaps most relevant to the folks I've been taking to about archived funding opportunities:
5. Will funding opportunities that have been recently archived become available again? If so, when? The community will be notified through normal channels as funding opportunities are made available.
February 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Have any chemistry grad students been affected by the NSF MPS-Ascend fellowship being archived?

#ChemSky
Screenshot of NSF webpage for the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowships showing it's been archived.
February 13, 2025 at 12:04 AM
kvasquez.bsky.social
I believe this is also a new addition to the NSF Q&A:
12. Can awardees resume with activities and spending relative to the non-compliant activities mentioned in the rescinded Memorandum M-25-13? Consistent with the district court's order, NSF awardees may continue activities consistent with the current terms and conditions of their NSF awards at this time.
February 7, 2025 at 9:51 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
A Feb 7th update on NSF review panels.
Source: new.nsf.gov/executive-or...
Panels 1. Is NSF holding review panels? Yes, review panels will continue the week of February 10, 2025. 2. Are there any modifications to the review process as a result of the executive orders? As per the agency's normal practice, program directors manage the review process. Panelists are expected to focus their discussions on evaluating the merit of the proposals under consideration. The review criteria remain consistent. Guidance on reviews and panel summaries has not changed. Program directors do not comment on activities outside of the purview of the panel. The reviews and panel summaries are advisory to NSF. As has always been the practice at NSF, we will consider this advisory material in conjunction with agency-wide guidance and applicable federal standards when making funding decisions.
February 7, 2025 at 9:51 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Seems like that specific question is back up and the info has been updated. Looks like they just provided additional clarification.
5. Will Fellows (GRFP, etc.) receive their February stipend? GRFP Fellows receive their stipends from their institutions. GRFP Fellows should contact the GRFP Coordinating Official at their institution regarding the disbursement of their stipend. For all other Fellows: 1. If you normally receive your stipend through your institution, please contact your institutional payment office. 2. If you normally receive your stipend through ACM$, please log in and verify that your payment request has been accepted. You may need to resubmit your request.
February 3, 2025 at 7:42 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Posting this update since a lot of researchers follow me here. As to what this actually means for NSF grants, I have no clue yet.

Source: new.nsf.gov/executive-or...
Message to the NSF principal investigator community Jan. 29, 2025 Our top priority is resuming our funding actions and services to the research community and our stakeholders. We are working expeditiously to conduct a comprehensive review of our projects, programs and activities to be compliant with the existing executive orders. We will continue to try and communicate with you as these changes are happening in real time.
January 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Cat photos are the best photo. Here's my cat!
A black and white cat with green eyes crouching on a white carpet while staring at the camera
January 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM
kvasquez.bsky.social
Yikes.
Screenshot showing an air quality index of 227 or "Very unhealthy air quality." Screenshot says "Health alert: The risk of health effects is increased for everyone."
January 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM