The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has imposed restrictions on new research grants to four universities: Duke University, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University. Internal documents indicate that on April 9, the NSF's Office of Award Management (OAM) marked these institutions with a note stating, "Future Awards to Organization on Hold." The reasons for this restriction and its duration remain unclear, and the NSF has not commented on the matter.
In the past, the Trump administration had frozen or terminated research funding for various institutions, citing violations of federal anti-discrimination policies. A federal judge ruled that such actions against Harvard were illegal and prohibited similar future actions. Legal experts suggest that the current funding restrictions may violate this ruling.
An internal NSF list shows that 33 research proposals from the affected universities are currently stalled. While grant processing has been consistent overall, proposals from these four institutions have been delayed for an average of 91 days. In the previous fiscal year, these universities received a total of 218 new grants, but so far this year, only 13 new grants have been awarded to them, with none going to Duke or Harvard since the restrictions were implemented. Princeton's dean for research stated that the NSF has not communicated any blanket action regarding their projects, and the other universities did not respond to inquiries by the time of publication.