Los Altos’ strong public school system and legacy of innovation makes it a great place to be a kid. I grew up in the Los Altos/Cupertino area and spent many Sunday afternoons lost in the stacks at the Woodland Library, learning about the world around me. An internship at a local startup launched that interest into a career in research, and I’m now pursuing a Ph.D. in genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Federal funding cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) make it much harder for young people in our community to get into science. Startups, like the one that first got me hooked on research, can get funding from the NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research program. This program supports early-stage technologies that promote the social good. In 2024, almost $9 million in NSF funding was awarded to startups in Santa Clara County, with $549,763 of that awarded to Los Altos-based companies. With recent federal funding cuts, those numbers have plummeted.
Aside from the imminent economic losses for the city, this means less funding to support the cutting-edge, high-risk projects that drive innovation and Silicon Valley’s reputation. Federal funding supported the Valley of Heart’s Delight transition to a global powerhouse of technological innovation. And beyond our county, America has had countless additional advances in health, energy and technology from NIH and NSF-funded research. We’ve benefitted tremendously from the nation’s historic commitment to increasing knowledge and promoting technological breakthroughs.
But these are all the later applications from fundamental science. Every new drug, crop cultivar or satellite comes out of years, if not decades, of basic research. These fundamental discoveries about how the world works are then applied in ways that change lives. Since most companies don’t invest in ideas this early in development, federal funds are crucial for discovery-based science.
NSF and NIH grants also fund undergraduate and graduate programs across the country. The UC system, in particular, has greatly benefitted from federal funds – UCSF was the largest public recipient of NIH money in 2024. These funds are used not only to buy chemicals and lab equipment, but also to power classrooms. They pay academic workers, which means losing these funds makes it much harder to train the next generation of scientists.
Federal agencies form the backbone of American scientific research and support the training of graduate students like myself. If you value innovation and education, contact your representatives using the 5calls.org website and app. Research, whether applied or fundamental, is a public good and one of our communities’ greatest strengths. Please join us in protecting scientific progress for current and future generations.
Sannidhi Menon is a Los Altos resident.
