在过去的80年,美国’的大胆,对科学研究的持续投资,以及由此产生的发现,思想和创新使美国成为世界领先者。国家’的科学领导力对于我们的共同繁荣和国家安全,至关重要，并为所有美国人带来了真正的利益。
Over the past 80 years, America的 bold, sustained investment in scientific research, and the discoveries, ideas and innovations that flowed from it made America a world leader. The nation的 scientific leadership has been essential to our shared prosperity and national security, and delivered real benefits for all Americans.
6 月 16 日, 《科学美国人》发布了特别版块, “美国青年科学家,”，庆祝积极从事科学研究的早期职业专业人员,，并以麻省理工学院教师的评论为特色，解释他们为什么继续如此致力于好奇心驱动的科学,，展示他们的辛勤工作和奉献精神如何使美国人更安全,、更健康, 和更繁荣。在的的简介中，有许多麻省理工学院的教员,、学生,和校友,，他们分享了他们对年轻科学家的建议以及他们在不确定时期保持乐观的原因。
On June 16, Scientific American released a special section, “The Young American Scientists,” which celebrates early-career professionals actively engaged in scientific research, and features commentary from MIT faculty on why they continue to be so devoted to curiosity-driven science, demonstrating how their hard work and dedication make Americans safer, healthier, and more prosperous. Among the section的 profiles are many MIT faculty, students, and alumni, who share their advice for young scientists and their reasons for optimism in uncertain times.
萨莉·科恩布鲁斯总统强调好奇心驱动的研究, 的重要性，指出发现“ 是我们美国 DNA 的一部分，并为这个国家和全世界的公民带来了巨大的回报。” 她补充说, “ 什么的 需要的是对美国科学公共投资的重新奉献。即使我不是一流科研机构的领导,，这也是我’d 所说的。投资美国科学不是赌博; 如果你回顾过去, 毫无疑问其好处。”
President Sally Kornbluth emphasizes the importance of curiosity-driven research, noting that discovery “is part of our American DNA and has yielded vast returns to the citizens of this country and the world.” She adds, “what的 needed is a rededication to public investment in American science. Even if I were not the leader of a premier scientific institution, this is what I’d say. Investing in American science is not a gamble; if you look back in time, there is no question about the benefits.”
添加研究所教授罗伯特·兰格:“美国科学在过去 50, 100 年里所做的事情是非凡的。”
Adds Institute Prof. Robert Langer: “What American science has done over the past 50, 100 years has been remarkable.”
《科学美国人》指出，在 MIT,，对发现的承诺体现在“好奇心使命”和“生成 AI 影响联盟”, 等举措中，这些举措旨在以对社会有益的方式找到 “ 现实世界问题的解决方案。” “ 一方面, 我们 一次,技术上,，事情再令人兴奋[and]我们的科学[不可能]更前沿。与此同时,，我们’从未见过这样的情况，人们对科学资助的连续性感到如此不确定,，特别是当涉及到推动经济发展并将在十年或两年后推动社会影响的基础发现科学时,” Kornbluth说。
Scientific American notes that at MIT, that commitment to discovery is reflected in initiatives such as Curiosity on a Mission and the Generative AI Impact Consortium, which are aimed at finding “solutions to real-world problems in a way that is beneficial to society.” “On one hand, we’re at a time, technologically, where things could not be more exciting [and] our science [could not be] more cutting-edge. At the same time, we’ve never seen a situation where people felt so uncertain about the continuity of science funding, particularly when it comes to the basic discovery science that fuels the economy and will fuel societal impact a decade or two from now,” says Kornbluth.
见证发明可以激发对科学终生的迷恋。在世界’第一颗人造卫星,发射人造卫星,后，艾伦·莱特曼教授“开始着迷于建造自己的火箭”的想法。在他的文章“My童年的科学,”莱特曼描述了这些早期的科学记忆和实验如何使他成为一名全面发展的作家和物理学家。
Witnessing invention can spark a lifelong fascination with science. After the launch of Sputnik, the world的 first artificial satellite, Prof. Alan Lightman “became entranced with the idea of building a rocket” of his own. In his essay “My childhood in science,” Lightman describes how these early scientific memories and experiments have shaped him to be a well-rounded writer and physicist.
“现在比以往任何时候都,，世界上大部分地区,包括美国,已经失去了道德指南针,导致了狗咬狗的心态,我们需要科学与文学,哲学,历史和艺术相结合。我们不仅需要发现物质世界，还需要发现我们自己的人性,” 莱特曼写道。
“Now more than ever, when much of the world, including the U.S., has lost its moral compass, leading to a dog-eat-dog mentality, we need science combined with literature, philosophy, history and art. We need to discover not only the physical world but also our own humanity,” writes Lightman.
同样, 前 NFL 球员, John Urschel 教授, 强调合作和拥有广泛兴趣的重要性。
Likewise, Prof. John Urschel, a former NFL player, emphasizes the importance of collaboration and having a wide range of interests.
“A 当人们可以利用工具, 技术和来自不同领域, 学科甚至领域的见解时，就会发生很多好的研究。 Urschel 说，我希望我们能够鼓励有前途的年轻科学家建立强大的,广泛的背景，并经常与特定领域之外的人进行交流,”。
“A lot of good research happens when people can draw on tools, techniques and insights from different areas, disciplines and even fields. I hope we can encourage promising young scientists to establish strong, broad backgrounds and to communicate frequently with those outside their particular areas,” says Urschel.
《科学美国人》强调学生和校友希望通过从研究神经系统疾病到确保我们的能源未来等一切事情来改善世界。
Scientific American highlights students and alumni looking to better the world by doing everything from investigating neurological disease to securing our energy future.
在 MIT, 访问科学家 Alice Stanton 开发了 miBrain, 人类大脑, 的 3D 组织模型，以帮助科学家开发针对阿尔茨海默病的 和帕金森的 的个性化治疗方法。 Stanton 开发了 miBrain, 的微型版本，即大脑芯片,，以更好地测试疗法。
At MIT, Visiting Scientist Alice Stanton developed miBrain, a 3D tissue model of the human brain, to help scientists develop personalized treatments for Alzheimer的 and Parkinson的. Stanton has developed a miniature version of miBrain, a brain-on-a-chip, to better test therapeutics.
斯坦顿指出 “ 有效治疗的道路是漫长而崎岖的,” 联邦资金的削减更是雪上加霜。 “当我们的亲人生病时,我们想要一种治疗—我们想要一些东西来治愈他们。她解释说，这并不是 凭空产生的,”。
Stanton notes “the road to effective treatments is long and bumpy,” compounded by cuts to federal funding. “When we have a loved one who gets sick, we want a treatment—we want something to cure them. It doesn’t come out of thin air,” she explains.
Bob Mumgaard 博士 ‘08, Commonwealth Fusion Systems 首席执行官正在致力于聚变能的商业化。 “无论是在融合—等领域，还是在针对阿尔茨海默病的和帕金森病等疾病的药物设计中，的，还是在[中，我们从未想过创造]材料—我们使用新工具来解决这些大,重大问题的能力是超级强大的 exciting,” Mumgaard emphasizes.
Bob Mumgaard PhD ‘08, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems is working to commercialize fusion power. “Whether in areas such as fusion—or in drugs by design for diseases such as Alzheimer的 and Parkinson的 or in [the creation of] materials we never thought possible—our ability to use new tools to tackle some of these big, meaty problems is super exciting,” Mumgaard emphasizes.
研究生 Alex 张 解决了 AI 语言模型在产生更多信息时性能退化的现象。为了解决这个问题, 张开发了递归语言模型(RLMs)，使模型能够与自身一起工作以重新评估推理。
Graduate student Alex Zhang tackles context rot: the phenomenon when AI language models degrade as they produce more information. To solve this issue, Zhang develops recursive language models (RLMs) that enable the model to work with itself to reevaluate reasoning.
“The types of research that I want to work on are things that I think should be shared for the benefit of people in general,” says Zhang.
当科学学科在 MIT? 联手时会发生什么
What happens when scientific disciplines join forces at MIT?
Emery Brown 教授重点介绍了麻省理工学院健康与生命科学合作项目 (HEALS),，指出该项目汇集了来自不同背景的科学家和工程师，共同应对当今时代最紧迫的健康挑战。
Prof. Emery Brown highlighted the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (HEALS), noting that the effort brings together scientists and engineers from a variety of backgrounds to tackle the most pressing health challenges of our times.
Brown 解释说，在 Kornbluth 总统的支持下，, HEALS 鼓励 “ 教师更深入地研究解决医疗保健问题。对 HEALS 的热情已经感染了整个校园。”
Brown explains that with President Kornbluth的 support, HEALS encourages “faculty to look more deeply into solving health care problems. The enthusiasm for HEALS has been contagious across the campus.”
MIT alumna Lucy Jones PhD ‘81, who is known for her work advancing public safety during earthquakes and for developing the first American earthquake drill called the Great ShakeOut, shared the necessity of collaboration in developing scientific solutions for pressing real-world problems.
“解决方案必须通过协作来完成,，这意味着要花时间与政策制定者,” 琼斯说。
“Solutions have to be done in collaboration, which means spending time with policymakers,” says Jones.
琼斯还分享了计算科学的进步如何帮助全国各地的美国人在地面开始震动时变得更加安全。
Jones also shares how scientific advances in computing have helped make Americans around the country safer when the ground starts to shake.
“我读研究生的第一年,我正在阅读纸质地震图。现在一切都电脑化了。我们曾经进行现场部署;，现在我们拥有永久网络。琼斯说，我们’开始使用光纤‑光缆作为地震仪,”。 “计算机改变了一切,，包括科学。”
“My first year in grad school, I was reading paper seismograms. Now everything is computerized. We used to do field deployments; now we have permanent networks. We’re starting to use fiber‑optic cables as seismometers,” says Jones. “Computers have changed everything, including science.”
在简介中, 受访者被问及美国科学目前需要改变什么。许多人对联邦资金表示担忧。
Within the profiles, interviewees were asked what needs to change in American science right now. Many expressed concerns with federal funding.
张峰教授表示，“I’m 很幸运能与杰出的学生和博士后一起工作,，但让他们发挥最佳水平的基础设施面临真正的压力: 美国国立卫生研究院和国家科学基金会的资金不稳定, 国际科学家的移民不确定性以及公众对专业知识的信任受到侵蚀,”。
“I’m fortunate to work with extraordinary students and postdocs, but the infrastructure that lets them do their best work is under real stress: funding instability at the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, immigration uncertainty for international scientists and an erosion of public trust in expertise,” says Prof. Feng Zhang.
Zhang developed CRISPR-based genome editing tools, which could increase our understanding human diseases and lead to new treatments. “We can lose the lead rapidly if we do not protect our innovation ecosystem,” he says.
积极的发展包括艾伦·古斯教授在宇宙学领域所见证的进步。
Positive developments include the progress Prof. Alan Guth has witnessed in cosmology.
“利用新技术,，我们’能够解开,，以理解,我们’正在观察的,”古斯说。 “A 在这些方面已经取得了很多进展,，因此就该领域的物理原理而言, 我认为事情进展顺利。但对我来说,真正的问题是未来融资的前景。”
“With new techniques, we’re able to unravel, to make sense out of, what we’re observing,” says Guth. “A lot of progress has been made on those lines, so in terms of the physics of the field, I think things are going great. But to me, the real problem is the prospects for future funding.”
兰格分享了他对 America 科学和创新生态系统的持久性和强度的信心。
Langer shares his faith in the durability and strength of America的 science and innovation ecosystem.
“I 回顾过去 250 年的美国创新和教育历史,， 非常壮观,” 兰格说。 “很多次’都遇到过挫折。我们’经历过世界大战,你知道,我们’经历过萧条,，人们不断坚持并不断学习。他们不断发现，不断发明。所以这给了我很多希望。无论如何，这还不是最糟糕的时刻。”
“I look at the history of American innovation and education over the past 250 years, and it的 been spectacular,” says Langer. “Plenty of times there’ve been setbacks. We’ve had world wars, you know, we’ve had depressions, and people keep persisting and keep learning. They keep discovering and they keep inventing. So that gives me a lot of cause for hope. This is not the worst time by any means.”