Students Continue to Thrive Among Uncertainty

The scientific community has undergone drastic changes within the past year. The federal science workforce — including NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration — has declined sharply and the Department of Energy has seen major reorganization following much of what was outlined in Project 2025. As a result of changes in federal funding, the National Science Foundation has sought new models for graduate fellowships , relying on industry partners. Physics departments chairs around the country have expressed feelings of demoralization, decreased productivity, and a reduced capacity for graduate students as a result of policy changes.

These changes were also reflected in the theme of 2025’s Physics and Astronomy Congress , which brings together undergraduates involved in the Society of Physics Students every three years for frontier physics, workshops, and networking. Last year’s event was focused on “Supporting our Phase Shifts,” which describe “the radical shifts current physics and astronomy majors have experienced in recent years.”

These radical shifts — from loss of funding to the rise of skepticism around science to a changing climate in academia — have been top of mind for students.

“This will probably affect the way research is being done,” said Raisa Rahman Richi, a senior studying physics at Franklin & Marshall College, regarding the shifts in scientific culture and funding. “It’s a big thing, because it not only affects our careers, but it also affects research as a whole moving forward.”

A mistrust of science

Christopher “Logan” Butsavage, a senior studying physics at the South Dakota School of Mines, grew up in a rural community — his high school was in a town of about 300 people — so science was not typically a part of his family’s day-to-day lives. Most of the “little daily doses” they get, as he describes, come from Butsavage showing his parents science videos, or the occasional gathering to watch a space launch.

“Other than that, it’s not something they’re always exposed to,” Butsavage said, so it’s unsurprising that he senses an overall mistrust in science.

With continuing global and domestic attacks on science, K. Renee Horton — a NASA physicist who ran a plenary workshop on supporting your future self at SPSCon — says she often sees the younger generation wondering how they can continue to thrive.

“I’ve watched students go from really excited about being a part of science to them not knowing how they belong or where they belong,” she said.

Butsavage says the modern mistrust of science comes from not understanding its applications, and it’s up to his generation of scientists to communicate these.

“We’ve always had these individuals who are outspoken in their field — Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Hawking, Bill Nye,” he said. “It’s now our generation’s responsibility to step up and become these new people who are outspoken about science and convey the importance of pursuing science objectives.”

A key challenge is that science is a slow process. It is therefore important to express the progress being made, especially to the policymakers that guide its future.

“If they don’t understand what we’re doing, it’s hard for them to make decisions,” Butsavage said.

“This is something that needs to come from an internal effort,” added Nikita Mazotov, a physics senior at Yale University. “We are in the best position to tell people why this is cool.”

Nonetheless, with so much science ongoing, Butsavage and Mazotov both feel optimistic about the future. An international student, Mazotov feels inspired by the U.S.’s role in the Space Race and believes taking steps to instill a similar type of enthusiasm about the sciences is the path for improving public perception.

“Everybody was excited to go explore this new frontier,” Mazotov said. “If we could channel that sort of excitement in people, then we could really make progress that benefits those same people.”

A need for mentors

Despite its current volatility, this is not the first time science has been called into question. Richi and Butsavage would like to see mentors be more open about their own career paths and struggles. They believe keeping the lines of communication open between established scientists and the upcoming generation can help teach students how to thrive among uncertainty.

“It’s a turbulent time. Things are always changing, and that was kind of the same for them, too,” Butsavage said. “Hearing their experiences and how everything might not have gone exactly how they planned, but seeing where they are now and seeing that they’re still successful is very comforting.”

“The adults in this arena, we’ve had a lot more time to deal with the changing landscape and how things fluctuate,” Horton said. “I’m praying that we, as the adults, can provide a little more grace to these students.”

These ups and downs are a cycle, and Horton anticipates that the field will come out on the other side.

“There’s a lot going on in the world besides physics,” she said. “Being a safe space for students or being a place where they’re allowed to fall and get back up is going to be more important than how hard [of a professor] you should be.”

Finding a safe place to fail without judgment is a sticking point for Richi. After seeing a lot of burnout among her peers, she says it can be hard to remember that part of doing research is failing and acknowledging that your hypotheses may be incorrect. What she looks for in a good mentor is guidance on how to accept this failure with grace.

“You give yourself grace by standing in a moment and celebrating what you did get right, celebrate the little bitty things,” said Horton. “Celebrate in the places that you can celebrate for the things you got right, and for the things you did not get right.”

Despite these challenges, Horton is impressed by the students’ resilience. She says science is something you have to make the decision to do every day, and she sees students continue to come back and thrive.

“Even though this is a hard space for them, they’re still showing up,” she said.

Mazotov, who won first prize at the SPSCon poster session for his research, credits his own successes to mentors — professors, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students — that empowered him to fail and make his own mistakes, while also offering support when needed. He’s seen a shift toward faculty being more open and accessible, and treating undergraduates as fellow researchers, which makes them more comfortable with reaching out for advice.

“I think we are developing a culture of an open vertical ladder,” he said. “Physics is a multifaceted task where everybody wears many hats, and I think that being able to generally ask upward for advice is a good thing as a student.”

Going forward, Mazotov believes the field will adopt openness and approachability as important factors to consider when making leadership decisions.

Camaraderie among the next generation

One positive Butsavage, Richi, and Mazotov all experienced at SPSCon was a sense of camaraderie in their generation of scientists, despite attendees coming from different backgrounds, places, and even nationalities. They all credit SPS for helping them cultivate their community.

Richi, who helped restart her university’s semi-defunct SPS chapter, says this community has even opened her up to opportunities she otherwise would not have found, including a Sigma Pi Sigma Leadership Scholarship that helped her fund her graduate school applications.

“Faculty should encourage students to be involved in a community where the students can come together and do physics together,” she said. “If you’re in a community, you can help each other to learn about these opportunities.”

“This upcoming group of scientists feels like a close-knit cohort. Everybody’s willing to talk about what they do and what their plans for the future are,” said Butsavage. “Whenever we do go out into the world — it’s kind of corny — but we’ll have each other.”