Outgoing US National Academy of Sciences head warns of ‘turmoil’ in her final State of Science address

The outgoing president of the US National Academy of Sciences, geophysicist Marcia McNutt, has spoken out on several key issues during her final annual State of Science Address on 2 June. She talked about the current instability facing federal science agencies, the importance of overhauling the promotion and tenure system, and the benefits that artificial intelligence (AI) can bring.

This year has been ‘filled with turmoil’ on the science policy front, just like last year, including ‘a great deal of uncertainty in federal support for science,’ McNutt told the audience. She thanked Congress for standing up for science and rolling back the dramatic budget cuts to federal research agencies proposed by the Trump administration earlier this year. Her second five-year term as head of the NAS ends on 30 June and University of Chicago evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin will succeed her.