Support WBUR

National Science Foundation Director On Potential Cuts To Research Funding

03:48

April 03, 2017

"I think that the emphasis on defense and security is one that NSF funding has really helped," Cordova says. "Without the research, how are we going to know anything? And as human beings, our whole quest is for knowledge and for truth." (National Science Foundation/Flickr)

Northeastern University on Monday opened a nearly-quarter-billion-dollar hub for science and engineering research.

The facility on Columbus Avenue was funded with help from the National Science Foundation. Research there will range from cybersecurity, drug discovery, robotics and climate change.

The opening comes at a precarious time for scientific research in the U.S.. President Trump has proposed cutting billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The director of the National Science Foundation, France Córdova, was at the ribbon cutting at Northeastern.

Massachusetts has a lot at stake in the discussion about funding. The state reaps big rewards from the foundation: Last year $450 million went to more than 30 universities and more than 30 small businesses in the state.

Córdova says it's a prime place for research. She joined WBUR's All Things Considered to discuss Massachusetts's role in research funding, and the future of scientific programs.