Astrophysicist Kelly Holley-Bockelmann Leaves U.S. at 55 for Europe Over Trump Policies
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 8
Astrophysicist Kelly Holley-Bockelmann Leaves U.S. at 55 for Europe Over Trump Policies
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 8
Summary
Kelly Holley-Bockelmann, a leading gravitational-wave theorist and NASA adviser, has relocated from Vanderbilt to a new post in the Netherlands.
At 55, she said Trump administration policies had begun to affect her work and dismantle the federally funded recruitment pipeline she helped build for young astronomers.
Her move ends a career path often held up as distinctly American: she rose from rural Montana to chaired professor, helped launch a graduate astronomy program and secured millions of federal dollars.
The departure adds to concerns about a wider U.S. scientific brain drain as researchers say political decisions are disrupting research and discovery.