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Trump Admin Plans to Cut Team Responsible for Critical Atomic Measurement Data


The team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology publishes measurement data crucial for advanced research in areas like astrophysics, nuclear fusion, and semiconductors.

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is discussing plans to eliminate an entire team responsible for publishing and maintaining critical atomic measurement data in the coming weeks, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to reduce the US federal workforce, according to a March 18 email sent to dozens of outside scientists. Ending the atomic spectroscopy program at NIST “means that the United States would shrink its presence on the international stage, leaving room for someone else to take our place,” says California Representative Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the Republican-controlled House Science Committee. The decision to shutter the Atomic Spectroscopy Group is part of wider planned layoffs and cost-cutting measures that have roiled NIST since President Donald Trump retook the White House and instructed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash spending.

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