Requests from US scientists to maneuver to Spain double: “My colleagues are having a very bad time” | Science | EUROtoday

The Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the State Research Agency have introduced that greater than 254 researchers from all over the world utilized for the most recent version of the Atrae program, their dedication to bringing consolidated expertise of acknowledged worldwide status to Spain. Of them, one in three candidates got here from the United States. The determine is unprecedented and happens in a context marked by the exodus of American researchers, following the makes an attempt at political management that Donald Trump needs to train over science within the nation.

In the primary version of the scholarship, in 2023, No US researcher utilized for these grants. In the second, in 2024, the presence of profiles from this nation was 16%. In 2025, the final yr with accessible information, when the perfect science system on this planet is experiencing one of many darkest moments in its historical past, with tried cuts and aggressions which can be unprecedented since World War II, the speed has doubled to 32%.

In this newest name, 37 scientists have been chosen. Of them, 21 come from tutorial establishments within the United States, though not all are Americans.

Vincenzo Calvanese (Naples, 43 years previous) is likely one of the international researchers who determined to take the step within the 2024 name. That yr, his group opened a brand new laboratory on the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute (IJC), in Barcelona, ​​funded by the Atrae scholarship. “It was a very simple decision,” he says.

Before arriving in Spain, Calvanese spent 10 years within the United States—primarily at UCLA—the place he lived throughout Donald Trump’s first presidency. From there he went to University College London after which moved to Spain. The essential purpose for his return to Europe, he says, has to do with the historic second. “You take stock, think about your career and your lifestyle and the possibility of having a supportive environment where you can grow,” he particulars.

As he explains, the state of affairs that his friends are going by has change into sophisticated with Trump within the White House. “It is partly influencing the movement of professionals towards Europe,” says this researcher, who’s presently engaged on new strategies to deal with leukemia and different blood illnesses. “Many of my colleagues are having a very hard time due to the political and economic events that affect science,” he factors out.

However, not all researchers can go away. “Even though they are not comfortable, they have no choice or they would lose too much and they hold on,” provides Calvanese. “I myself have called people who I thought might be interested in the scholarship,” he feedback about this program of the ministry headed by Diana Morant. “What I tell them is that it is one of the few opportunities to ensure the future of research and some professional security. It is not all perfect, they still have things to fix, since it is a new program. But it does offer an opportunity like few others,” he provides.

“The United States is taking a step back”

The case of hydrogeologist Audrey Sawyer (Florida, 43 years previous) is comparable. Her expertise on the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya 4 years in the past ended up defining her determination to use for the scholarship and go away the US. “I couldn’t resist the opportunity to apply for the position. It is an honor to be able to transfer my career here and contribute to research,” says this American scientist, specialised in groundwater. “I had submitted the proposal before the changes in the Government of my country,” he clarifies. And he acknowledges that the American scientific surroundings has modified drastically since he left: “I have never seen a situation like this in the United States. I feel very bad for the researchers and students, they are very talented and are facing serious challenges.”

In the midst of the Cold War, the United States consolidated its management in scientific analysis thanks to an enormous funding of federal funds. It is a actuality that’s now threatened with Trump within the White House. “The United States is taking a step back,” says the scientist.

The Trump Administration has systematically attacked science with cuts and freezing funds and grants that assist key analysis in biomedicine, local weather change and house exploration. Added to that is the conflict declared towards a number of the most prestigious universities within the nation.

Harvard University has suffered the cancellation of federal contracts and the specter of withdrawing funding, which has put the admission and permanence of worldwide college students in verify, in a dispute nonetheless being resolved in court docket. “It is more important than ever that we protect the development of research,” says Sawyer: “It is a very difficult time.”

Look on the origins of the photo voltaic system

The story of the Spanish Noemí Pinilla-Alonso (Oviedo, 55 years previous) is totally different. The determination to return from the United States had a robust emotional part. Her profession pressured her to go away Asturias at a really younger age as a result of, she says, there was no chance of coaching in astrophysics in her homeland at the moment. The path she undertook in 2009 in the direction of the United States led her to direct observations in essentially the most superior telescopes of our time, such because the Hubble. “I noticed that I needed my home, my system, my culture more and more,” he says.

Astrophysics continues its analysis into the primitive supplies of the photo voltaic system—linked to James Webbthe biggest house telescope in historical past—however now he does it on the Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies of Asturias (Ictea), on the University of Oviedo, after acquiring the scholarship in 2024. “It was a great joy to return home,” he says. And he continues: “[La iniciativa Atrae] I think it is exceptional for mobilizing talent and for that talent to come to Spain.”