National Science Board Highlights China’s R&D Gains, Calls for US Response

By: Galen Cobb
Wednesday, August 13, 2025
On July 23, the National Science Board (NSB) – the governing body that, alongside the director, is responsible for shaping the goals and functions of the National Science Foundation (NSF) – held its quarterly meeting to assess current trends impacting NSF’s strategic direction. The agency is currently seeking a new director following the April resignation of past Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

Victor McCrary, PhD, (then Acting) Chair of NSB, presented findings from the new Indicators Report Discovery: R&D Activity and Research Publications, produced by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics under NSB guidance. The report reveals that China is rapidly closing the gap with the United States in key measures of scientific output, such as R&D investment and annual rate of peer-reviewed publications. McCrary underscored these trends as a wake-up call for U.S. policymakers and scientific leadership, reinforcing the message of NSB’s accompanying policy brief,  Winning the Race for the Future, which outlines urgent actions needed to sustain U.S. leadership in science and innovation. These include increasing federal R&D investment, expanding STEM education and workforce pathways, and ensuring that the benefits of innovation are broadly shared across regions and populations.

Additional presentations addressed the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) and implementation of Executive Order 14303: Restoring Gold Standard Science. NSB member Joan Ferrini-Mundy, PhD, noted that NSF is seeking new partnerships to increase funding for the GRFP, a program that supports domestic graduate students and faces high rejection rates due to limited resources. A report on EO 14303 will be released August 22; Simon Malcomber, PhD, Deputy Assistant Director for Biological Sciences, said most of the order already aligns with the principles established by the NSF Merit Review Commission, and implementation will require only minor changes to NSF procedure.

NSF has since announced that the NSB elected Victor McCrary and Aaron Dominguez as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, during the closed session of the meeting.

A recording of the open session is available on YouTube.