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The National Science Foundation named Harvard Mathematics professor Melanie M. Wood one of two recipients of the 2021 Alan T. Waterman Award earlier this month, making her the first woman to win the award in mathematics. The Waterman Award, the nation’s highest honor for early-career scientists, recognizes an “outstanding young researcher” under the age of 40 who has “demonstrated exceptional individual achievements in scientific or engineering research,” according to NSF’s website. Awardees each receive a grant of $1 million to support their research. Wood said in an interview that earning the award is a “tremendous honor.” “When I look at the list of previous awardees, it contains many heroes and role models both inside mathematics and in other sciences so it’s just unbelievable to be included in such amazing company,” Wood said. ....
Dean of Science Christopher W. Stubbs said in an interview that funding for scientific research has the potential to increase under the Biden administration. Stubbs also objected to the notion that there is âacademic espionageâ on Harvardâs campus. Though former President Donald Trump had proposed federal budgets that threatened to significantly cut federal funding for scientific research, sparking anxiety and anger among Harvard faculty and affiliates, Congress rejected those proposals. As a result, science funding generally increased during the Trump administration. According to Stubbs, there is potential for the increase in funding to continue under the new administration. âThere are a number of proposals pending on Capitol Hill that would substantially increase the federal investment in the research and development enterprise,â Stubbs said. âWeâll see how they fare.â ....