The government shutdown is still affecting research at N.C. State, and should it continue, more projects may be put on hold. Students from other countries might also lose their visas.
Millions of dollars in federal research funds have already been held back because of the federal shutdown, according to Terri Lomax, vice chancellor of Research, Innovation and Economic Development.
Currently, 25 research projects totaling $6 million in grants are on hold. Some of the research projects include a $450,750 soil-science project that will help with corn production and another $250,383 U.S. Army project, aiming to improve camouflage manufacturing.
One project from the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State that was put on hold concentrated on medical research. The project, led by Duncan Lascelles, a professor from the Department of Clinical Sciences, was researching tissue engineering for cartilage repair. Originally, the project was supposed to receive a $501,647 grant earlier this month. Now, the future of it remains uncertain.
However, the shutdown doesn’t just affect researchers and their work. Some foreign students face the risk of losing their visas should the shutdown continue.
“We are using reserve funds to keep projects open,” Lomax said. “If we have to lay off students who have H1B visas, they will have to return their visas. We can’t use any state dollars, so we can only use federal dollars we have on hand. If we run out of those, we will have to start furloughing workers and shutting projects down.”
Lomax said the lack of research funding may eventually lead to people being furloughed at N.C. State.
“One thing that we are very concerned about is that it the shutdown goes on too long, is that we will have to start shutting projects down. We are using reserve funds to keep projects open,” Lomax said.
Research that was funded prior to Oct. 1 will not be affected by the shutdown and will be funded by University reserves. However, new research proposals can’t be turned in, and new projects can’t be started since the shutdown began.
According to Lomax, N.C. State receives about $300 million in federal grants each year for research and spends approximately $400 million.
The state of North Carolina will not provide funding for research projects, leaving the fate of research at N.C. State in the hands of the U.S. Congress.
“We can’t start new projects, and we can’t turn in new proposals for funding since the government is closed,” Lomax said. “This is impacting some students who were going to start working on projects and can’t get their Social Security number or other permits that they need to start working.”
The government shutdown is in its16th day, and the country faces a potential default on its debt, according to CNN. House Republicans also cancelled plans to vote about the budget, postponing it until today.
Should the government default, interest rates will likely spike and could have an adverse impact on the nation’s economy.
