Hacker News with Generative AI: Academia

Top US Scientists "SOS" Letter to the Government (nytimes.com)
Researchers at academic institutions nationwide say that U.S. science is being dismantled.
Xiaofeng Wang (researchgate.net)
FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado (arstechnica.com)
A prominent computer scientist who has spent 20 years publishing academic papers on cryptography, privacy, and cybersecurity has gone incommunicado, had his professor profile, email account, and phone number removed by his employer Indiana University, and had his homes raided by the FBI. No one knows why.
When the physicists need burner phones, that's when you know America's changed (theguardian.com)
At international academic conferences recently, one sees an interesting trend. Some American participants are travelling with “burner” phones or have minimalist laptops running browsers and not much else. In other words, they are equipped with the same kind of kit that security-conscious people used to bring 15 years ago when travelling to China.
Open letter to graduate students and other procrastinators: it's time to write (nature.com)
Let me begin with a hard truth. As scientists, writing is our chief activity. It can be argued that it is the only thing we do that matters. It is the singular activity that you as a young scientist partake in that will raise your salary.
Mathematical Compact Models of Advanced Transistors [pdf] (eecs.berkeley.edu)
ICE detains Harvard researcher from Russia who protested Ukraine war (msn.com)
A 30-year-old Harvard researcher from Russia has been held for more than a month at a private detention center in Louisiana where federal immigration officers are sending a growing number of international students with lives here suddenly in jeopardy.
Is AI the new research scientist? Not so, according to a human-led study (warrington.ufl.edu)
In a comprehensive study examining the capabilities of artificial intelligence in academic research, University of Florida researchers have found that while AI can be a valuable assistant, it falls short of replacing human scientists in many critical areas.
75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll are now considering leaving the US (nature.com)
Cuts to research funding in the US have forced many scientists to rethink their careers.
Yale professor who studies fascism fleeing US to work in Canada (theguardian.com)
A Yale professor who studies fascism is leaving the US to work at a Canadian university because of the current US political climate, which he worries is putting the US at risk of becoming a “fascist dictatorship”.
Ai2 Paper Finder (allen.ai)
Inside arXiv–The Most Transformative Platform in All of Science (wired.com)
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” With a sly grin that I’d soon come to recognize, Paul Ginsparg quoted Michael Corleone from The Godfather. Ginsparg, a physics professor at Cornell University and a certified MacArthur genius, may have little in common with Al Pacino’s mafia don, but both are united by the feeling that they were denied a graceful exit from what they’ve built.
How to Read a Paper (2016) (dropbox.com)
A French university is offering 'scientific asylum' for US talent (theguardian.com)
In six weeks, the Trump administration’s “rapid scheduled disassembly” of American science has been as sharp and deep as its trashing of the US’s alliances and goodwill; Earth science, weather forecasting and early warning systems, medical research (including cancer research), Nasa.
How 'animal methods bias' is affecting research careers (nature.com)
Some early-career researchers report feeling pressure to use animal models to meet journal and grant requirements, even in disciplines and projects that don’t require them.
‘The Celts: A Modern History’ by Ian Stewart Review (historytoday.com)
Around the 1990s, the historical Celts endured something of an identity crisis. First in academic articles, then in popular books, and eventually in newspaper headlines, people started loudly declaring that ‘Celts’ did not really exist.
When Will US Academia and Business Speak Up Against Trump? (scmp.com)
America’s prodigious wealth and power are founded on two pillars: universities and businesses.
Trump is surveying Australian academics about gender diversity and China (theconversation.com)
Shortly after taking office, US President Donald Trump issued executive orders banning federal funding on so-called “woke” research.
Dutch institutes seek to attract sacked American academics (dutchnews.nl)
Dutch universities and scientific institutes are looking to attract American academics who have lost their jobs since president Donald Trump took office, according to the Financieele Dagblad.
'It Is Facing a Campaign of Annihilation': 3 Columnists on War Against Academia (nytimes.com)
Patrick Healy, the deputy Opinion editor, hosted an online conversation with the Times Opinion columnists M. Gessen, Tressie McMillan Cottom and Bret Stephens about Donald Trump’s attacks on Columbia University and other elite colleges and how they became vulnerable to a political and ideological reckoning.
The PhD Metagame: Don't try to reform science – not yet (maxwellforbes.com)
Don’t try to reform science. Not yet. Not in your PhD.
'My career is over': Columbia University scientists hit hard by Trump team's cut (nature.com)
The US government has begun slashing US$400 million in research grants at Columbia University over pro-Palestinian campus protests.
NASA, Yale, and Stanford Scientists Consider 'Scientific Exile' (404media.co)
Last week, Aix Marseille University, France’s largest university, invited American scientists who believe their work is at risk of being censored by Donald Trump administration’s anti-science policies to continue their research in France.
Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link (nytimes.com)
The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.
His manuscript was rejected. Then he saw it published by other authors (retractionwatch.com)
A chemist at a university in Pakistan found a surprise when he opened an alert from ResearchGate on a newly published paper on a topic related to his own work.
Matters Computational (2010) [pdf] (jjj.de)
A Software Engineer's Guide to Reading Research Papers (codingconfessions.com)
Reading research papers is becoming an essential part of a software engineer's job.
Safe Place for Science: French University Ready to Welcome American Scientists (univ-amu.fr)
At a time when academic freedom is sometimes called into question, Aix-Marseille Université is launching the Safe Place For Science program, offering a safe and stimulating environment for scientists wishing to pursue their research in complete freedom.
Show HN: Scholium, Your Own Research Assistant (github.com/QDScholium)
Researchers spend days finding relevant papers because Google returns non-credible and unscholarly sources without citations. Scholium is an AI agent that finds and cites the relevant scholarly papers in seconds.
Bluesky will trap academics in the same way Twitter/X did (lse.ac.uk)
Commercial platforms and social media companies are designed to maximise switching costs in order to retain users. Reflecting on the rise of Bluesky, Mark Carrigan warns the same market dynamics could ensnare academic Bluesky users.