Trust in Science
Science Funding Roundtables
As federal assist for science declines and uncertainty relating to the long run of science analysis grows, there’s a urgent want for considerate, cross-sector dialogue about methods to maintain the scientific enterprise in service of the general public good.
Academy President Laurie L. Patton participated in these roundtables, which draw on the Academy’s convening energy to convey thought leaders collectively to mirror on the present science funding panorama and discover how philanthropy, authorities, and trade can collaborate to construct a extra resilient ecosystem. By analyzing the science funding disaster, the Academy can develop a long-term blueprint for motion to tell and empower leaders.
Roundtable: Urgent Threats to Science Funding
August 15, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Nancy C. Andrews, Chair
Boston Children’s Hospital
Angela Bednarek
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Rita Colwell
University of Maryland
Harvey Fineberg
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Frances Hellman
University of California, Berkeley
Jennifer Hochschild
Harvard University
Cynthia Larive
University of California, Santa Cruz
Terry Magnuson
UNC School of Medicine
Marcia McNutt
National Academy of Sciences
Richard Meserve
Covington and Burling LLP
Louis Muglia
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
David Spergel
Simons Foundation
Maria Zuber, Moderator
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Roundtable: Building a Resilient Funding Model
August 22, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Nancy C. Andrews, Chair
Boston Children’s Hospital
Angela Bednarek
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Rita Colwell
University of Maryland
Jennifer Hochschild
Harvard University
Cynthia Larive
University of California, Santa Cruz
Terry Magnuson
UNC School of Medicine
Marcia McNutt
National Academy of Sciences
Richard Meserve
Covington and Burling LLP
Louis Muglia, Moderator
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
David Spergel
Simons Foundation
Maria Zuber
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Roundtable: Systematic Challenges in Science
August 29, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Nancy C. Andrews, Chair
Boston Children’s Hospital
Angela Bednarek
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Tony Coles
Cerevel Therapeutics
Rita Colwell
University of Maryland
Harvey Fineberg
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Jennifer Hochschild, Moderator
Harvard University
Charles L. Isbell Jr.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Cynthia Larive
University of California, Santa Cruz
Jonathan Levin
Stanford University
Terry Magnuson
UNC School of Medicine
Marcia McNutt
National Academy of Sciences
Richard Meserve
Covington and Burling LLP
Louis Muglia
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Sudip Parikh
American Association for the Advancement of Science
David Spergel
Simons Foundation
Maria Zuber
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bridging the Gap Between Science and the Public Roundtables
In February, March, and April 2025, the Science, Engineering, and Technology program space hosted a collection of 5 digital roundtables on belief in science that convened educators, communicators, philanthropists, and consultants in science. Participants mentioned long-standing challenges and recognized what lies on the coronary heart of public belief. The conversations had been candid and introspective, exploring methods scientists and communicators can enhance their public engagement methods and strategies. The roundtables centered on 5 matters: misinformation, local weather change, civic engagement, the scientific enterprise, and science and democracy. Each group mentioned how the media, social networks, and political views impression the general public’s understanding of and belief in science.
Funders
Rita Allen Foundation
Doris Duke Foundation
Roundtable: Misinformation
February 6, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Laurie L. Patton, Moderator
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Maya Ajmera
Society for Science
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
Trinity College
Lenore Blum
University of California, Berkeley
Nicholas Donofrio
NMD Consulting, LLC
Jennifer Hochschild
Harvard University
David Karpf
George Washington University
Walter E. Massey
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Laura Otis
Emory University
Jeannette Wing
Columbia University
Roundtable: Climate Change
March 10, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Cristián Samper, Moderator
Bezos Earth Fund
Bernard Harris
National Math + Science Initiative
Kathleen Hall Jamieson
University of Pennsylvania; Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands
David Kaslow
Food and Drug Administration
Anthony Leiserowitz
Yale University
Diana Liverman
University of Arizona
Richard Meserve
Covington and Burling LLP
Shelley Minteer
Kummer Institute Center for Resource Sustainability; Missouri University of Science and Technology
Megan Ranney
Yale University
Anne Thompson
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Herbert Weiss
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (retired)
Roundtable: Civic Engagement
March 28, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Sean Decatur, Moderator
American Museum of Natural History
Paola Arlotta
Harvard University
Cynthia Beall
Case Western Reserve University
Judith Bronstein
University of Arizona
Johanna Drucker
University of California, Los Angeles
Juan Enriquez
Excel Venture Management
Sindy Escobar-Alvarez
Doris Duke Foundation
Adam Falk
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Efi Foufoula-Georgiou
University of California, Irvine
Sam Gill
Doris Duke Foundation
Paula Johnson
Wellesley College
Laurie L. Patton
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Sudip Parikh
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Marilyn Simons
Simons Foundation
Shirley Tilghman
Princeton University
Roundtable: The Scientific Enterprise
April 3, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Cristine Russell, Moderator
Harvard Kennedy School
Ken Alder
Northwestern University
Nancy C. Andrews
Boston Children’s Hospital
Deborah Blum
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Roxane Cohen Silver
University of California, Irvine
Stefanie Friedhoff
Brown University School of Public Health
Fred Gage
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Stephen Mackwell
National Science Foundation
Shirley Malcom
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Gilbert Omenn
University of Michigan
Indira Raman
Northwestern University
Daniela Vasella
Novartis International AG
Yanqin Wu
University of Toronto
Roundtable: Science and Democracy
April 8, 2025
Virtual
Participants
Mark Trahant, Moderator
previously, Indian Country Today
Megan Bang
Northwestern University
Louise Bryson
Public Media Group of Southern California
Elizabeth Christopherson
Rita Allen Foundation
France Córdova
Science Philanthropy Alliance
Stephanie Fryberg
Northwestern University
Ronald Linde
The Ronald and Maxine Linde Foundation
Stephen J. Macedo
Princeton University
Kelly Mack
American Association of Colleges and Universities
Laurie L. Patton
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Prithi Trivedi
Packard Foundation