Office of Government Affairs

Supporting Early-Career Physicists Through COVID-19

By Tawanda W. Johnson

APS strongly supports bipartisan legislation recently introduced by members of the House Science Committee to enable early-career researchers to strengthen their skills and maintain continuity in their careers as they grapple with obstacles due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

Co-sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans, the Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act calls for the director of the National Science Foundation to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified, early-career investigators to carry out independent research.

In a letter to House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) outlining the Society’s support for the legislation, APS President Phil Bucksbaum wrote, “The severe financial stress in our universities means that new opportunities in academia are not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels for some time. It is essential that we maintain our capacity to prepare new members of our R&D workforce for a broad set of career options, including research positions outside of academia. By providing recent PhD graduates and postdocs opportunities to further develop their independent research skills, they will become more competitive candidates regardless of career choice and even stronger contributors to our nation’s research enterprise.”

Bucksbaum’s letter offered two suggestions to the bill for clarity and to broaden its impact:

• clearly define the groups eligible for the award and distinguish it from the current NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), which supports researchers who already hold career positions in academia; and,
• allow the awardees to partner, as appropriate, with research labs located outside of an institution of higher education. These partnerships would broaden the program’s reach and allow for all sectors of the US R&D enterprise to participate.

Supporters of the bill also acknowledge that it would make awardees better scientists as they are afforded more opportunities to conduct independent research, allowing them to improve or augment their research skills. Additionally, the researchers will continue to hone their qualitative and communication skills, among many others, that will make them more prepared and competitive, whether they go on to work in academia, industry, or a national laboratory.