White House unveils science funding overhaul

Washington, July 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Trump administration proposed the most extensive overhaul of America’s scientific research system in more than eight decades, placing artificial intelligence at the centre of discovery and seeking new alternatives to traditional peer review.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released the report, “Science: A New Golden Age,” outlining changes across a federal research enterprise that distributes about $200 billion annually in research and development funding.

The blueprint calls for directing more federal support to individual scientists rather than established institutions, creating agile research organisations and expanding Advanced Research Projects Agency-style programmes capable of pursuing high-risk projects.

“American scientific progress was the beating heart of the 20th century. After World War II, we adapted to a new world by reinventing our scientific institutions, and we must do so again today,” OSTP Director Michael Kratsios said.

“This report lays a policy foundation that frees American scientists to do their most groundbreaking work, revives the national pursuit of ambitious scientific missions, and positions the United States to lead the AI-driven scientific revolution that will define the next century,” he said.

The report argues that consensus-based peer review often favours incremental research and established programmes. It recommends experimenting with “golden tickets” that would allow individual technical reviewers to back unconventional proposals that may not secure support from traditional review panels.

It also asks agencies to explore prizes, advance market commitments, regranting models and other mechanisms intended to support high-risk, high-reward research.

Artificial intelligence forms the centrepiece of the strategy. The administration wants federal agencies to fully fund and expand the Genesis Mission, launched in November 2025 with the goal of doubling the productivity and impact of American science and engineering within a decade.

The initiative would connect supercomputers, scientific datasets, instruments and AI models across national laboratories. Agencies would support specialised scientific foundation models, autonomous laboratories and systems in which AI can generate hypotheses, conduct experiments and analyse results.

The report identifies several national scientific missions. They include developing a quantum computer capable of enabling scientific discovery, demonstrating commercial fusion power in the United States by the mid-2030s and advancing next-generation semiconductor technologies.

In space, it calls for returning Americans to the lunar surface by 2028, constructing a lunar base and developing nuclear power systems for space exploration.

The blueprint also seeks closer integration among government, universities, private companies and philanthropies. It recommends regional innovation clusters connecting research with advanced manufacturing, apprenticeships and technical training.

The report portrays China as America’s first peer-level competitor in research spending, saying Beijing’s expenditure has reached parity with the United States on a purchasing-power-adjusted basis by some measures. It calls for US leadership in AI, quantum science, semiconductors, nuclear energy, robotics and space systems.

The blueprint draws a historical parallel with Vannevar Bush’s 1945 report, “Science: The Endless Frontier,” which helped shape the postwar US research system. The White House describes the new document as the first comprehensive rethinking of that system in more than 80 years.

Federal agencies with at least $3 billion in fiscal 2026 R&D budget authority must submit implementation plans within 90 days. Agencies were also directed to incorporate the priorities into their fiscal 2028 budget proposals to the Office of Management and Budget.

Source: IANS