SCU Stands with Science
[Washington, DC, March 7, 2025] – Today, the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) released the following announcement:
The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies (SCU) strongly opposes the federal government’s sudden and capricious funding freezes to public science and research agencies, which include overhead caps, mass firings, blanket credit card freezes, communication blackouts, data deletions, key-word censorship, and other interferences.
These agencies directly and indirectly support our nation’s valuable investment in scientists, scientific institutions, and research programs, including projects related to the study of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).
Every part of the U.S. research landscape is suffering harm from these impulsive actions. We join millions of scientists, citizens, and organizations nationwide in standing up for science.
These funding disruptions have already severely reduced graduate school admissions across the U.S., caused wide-spread hiring freezes at universities, cancelled undergraduate summer and year-long programs, damaged long-term data collection, derailed projects, and choked off the submission of new research proposals. Top researchers and early career scientists are looking overseas for more stable funding opportunities, suggesting the nation risks a “brain drain” if these interruptions continue. This will undermine our economic growth for decades to come.
Federally funded scientific research has already transformed society in profound ways, demonstrating the power of investment in discovery:
● Space Exploration: NASA’s Apollo program not only put humans on the Moon but also led to innovations such as satellite communications, GPS, and miniaturized computer technology, all which power today’s global economy.
● Medical Advancements: Research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been instrumental in developing life-saving vaccines, including those to prevent polio, influenza, and cancer. These science investments have drastically improved American health, prosperity, and longevity.
● Extreme Events: Programs administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have advanced Earth environmental forecasting, allowing for more accurate predictions of severe weather and climate shifts, enabling fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, and tsunami disaster preparedness, and improving asteroid detection. These data, modeling, and forecasts are freely available to all Americans who want to develop effective strategies to confront the harsh realities associated with the rise of extreme events on earth.
“Without robust funding for scientific research, we risk falling behind in the technological race," added SCU Board Member and scientist Dr. Doug Buettner. "Scientific discoveries fuel economies, create high-paying jobs, and ensure that we remain at the forefront of global advancements.”
The federal funding freeze on major research grant agencies, such as NIH, NSF, NASA, NOAA, USGS, and EPA, continues, despite multiple court orders to restore it.
All science, including UAP science, builds on itself. Progress relies on researchers being able to learn from one another through accessing the latest scientific papers on cutting edge methods, which are developed and published openly under public funding from government agencies. UAP research involving ground-based observatories to detect aerial objects relies on real-time and historical public datasets from federal agencies like NOAA, USGS, FAA, NASA, NSF, EPA, and DOD. It also relies on papers describing these data sets written by researchers whose work is paid for by government grants, and websites maintained and supported by staff at these agencies. If the basic foundational work done and/or paid for by these federal science agencies is no longer accessible, Americans will suffer long-term as discovery and innovation slow down.
“History has shown us that every major technological breakthrough—from aviation to the internet—began with curiosity and rigorous scientific inquiry,” said Robert Powell, SCU Executive Director.
As an interdisciplinary STEM science, studying UAP will likely lead to groundbreaking developments in physics, engineering, and materials science. Scientific research that pushes researchers into the unknown guarantees novel discoveries in space exploration, national defense, and advanced aeronautics that could hold the key to new industries and technologies that can enhance the prosperity of all Americans.
SCU urges policymakers, industry leaders, and the public to protect American science by honoring, expanding, and stabilizing public support for the nation’s scientific institutions. Scientific research and exploration have been key to the nation’s long history of celebrating discovery and fostering prosperity. These investments must continue.
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For more information on our research and mission, visit http://www.explorescu.org/ To contact SCU’s media and leadership team, please email exploringscu@gmail.com.
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SCU promotes and encourages the rigorous scientific examination of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, commonly known as Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). SCU's membership includes scientists, engineers, members of the high-tech and defense industries, former military personnel, and other professionals. We utilize scientific principles, methodologies, and practices to advance the study of UAP that are observed and reported around the globe.
The Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions to SCU are tax-deductible.