A quantum materials professor. A space weapons researcher. A breast cancer oncologist. In the wake of at least 90 stop-work orders sent to Cornell University by the federal government just in April, researchers across Cornell’s campuses have seen their projects halted and are left grappling for answers.
An April 21 statement from Cornell administration noted the federal stop-work orders began in February of this year, impacting “vital research” across its main Ithaca campus, Cornell Tech and Weill Cornell Medicine. Cornell Media Relations confirmed that stop-work orders on more than 80 research grants were from the Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture.
The stop-work orders impacted research focused on topics including improving cancer treatments, preventing the spread of infectious diseases, conducting research to innovate airplane jet engines and prevent mid-air collisions, according to Cornell Media Relations.
A physics professor, whose research was funded by a $750,000 Air Force Office of Science Research grant, lost access to the funding as part of the federal stop-work orders issued to Cornell. The grant, awarded for research on quantum materials in emerging technologies, was scheduled to support the lab for over five years.
The professor, who requested anonymity due to concerns about his green card status and job security, said he felt limited in speaking out.
“I want to keep my head down,” He said. “I would be more outspoken about my opinions if I were in my home country.”
The professor noted that the stop-work orders will significantly reduce his own summer income, which is not covered by the University and instead relies on external research funding. Additionally, he notes the damage the stop-work orders could cause to the United States’ research capacity and to the well-being of graduate student researchers.
A major worry among faculty, he said, is “shielding” graduate students from the effects of the freeze. Graduate students are typically supported through two income streams: University-paid teaching assistantships and research positions. Professors frequently cover the tuition, healthcare and salaries of graduate students through grant funds, according to the physics professor.
With research projects halted, limited teaching position opportunities and many international students dependent on their research jobs for both income and visa status in the wake of recent visa cuts, the federal orders have left students “nervous,” according to the professor.
The professor added that beyond Cornell, pausing “work of national importance” will weaken the United States’ ability to compete in global science and technology.
That concern is shared by Prof. Gregory Falco, mechanical and aerospace engineering, co-principal investigator on a Brooks School Tech Policy Institute project studying the cybersecurity of the semiconductor industry. The project is supported by a Department of Defense grant of $3 million each year, which has also been frozen under the stop-work orders.
As adversarial space capacity internationally continues to mount, Falco notes the paradoxical “black hole” created by the Trump administration in the U.S.’s own capabilities by halting research on space vehicles, software and weaponry. These innovations are crucially “taken to the next level by government labs” and commercial businesses.
Prof. Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., director of breast medical oncology at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, said the cuts halted clinical trials set to begin within two months to test Syantra DX Breast Cancer, an early-cancer-detection blood test technology project for which he was principal investigator.
Like the work of Falco’s defense engineering team and the physics professor’s quantum materials research, the clinical trial is now on hold.
“The patients are the ones that suffer the most,” Cristofanilli said.
The physics professor described the disruption to research across Cornell as “collateral damage” of what he sees as a political effort by the federal administration to push universities to align with “what they want [them] to agree to.” He pointed to an April 11 letter of demands sent to Harvard University, which the university declined to comply to. Soon after, the federal government froze $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard.
Looking ahead, the physics professor said he hopes the University will improve communication, especially for faculty on green cards, who are left particularly vulnerable. Falco echoed that concern and urged the University to offer guidance on “how we start reaching out to the DOD and understanding the next step.”