Department of Defense Halts Operations of Several Northwestern Research Labs
Northwestern University researchers are reeling after the Trump administration’s announced plans to cut $790 million in the university’s funding. Over 100 stop-work orders were sent to research faculty across the university by the Department of Defense this week, President Michael Schill said in an email Thursday to Northwestern students and staff.
Background on the Situation
“This situation is changing rapidly, but we are working quickly and deliberately to gather facts to help us understand and respond to this emerging crisis,” Schill wrote in the email. Schill noted that projects affected include research into wearable devices, robotics, nanotechnology, foreign military training, Parkinson’s disease among others.
Impact on Research Projects
Julius Lucks, a professor of chemical and biological engineering, said the order would force him to stop all operations for one of the biggest projects in his lab, which is working to develop and refine technology to detect lead in water. The project sought to bring clean and safe water to homes all over the country.
Julius Lucks, a professor of chemical and biological engineering, said the stop-work order would force him to stop all operations for one of the biggest projects in his lab, which is working to develop and refine technology to detect lead in water.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Impact on Researchers and Students
Lucks said this is only the beginning of the damage to come, and that it won’t only be the elite institution affected. “The public sees that as, ‘Northwestern has a billion bucks, they should be fine,’” Lucks said. “I think it’s really important to reflect that … labs are going to be shut down, scientists are not going to be trained. We are going to have a generational gap in our country’s ability to be the world’s leader in technology.” According to Lucks, several other labs funded by the defense department received the same notice.
University Response
The university has pledged to provide funding for the graduate researchers who lost $45,000 in annual wages from federal grants, according to an email sent to graduate students in the engineering school. Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Studies Erik Luijten wrote in the email, “If you are on a federal grant that has received a work stoppage, your stipend is still being paid by Northwestern and you should use this time to continue appropriate activities to advance your academic progress in ways that do not incur additional expense,”
Julius Lucks, professor of chemical and biological engineering (left), speaks with Tyler Lucci, graduate student researcher in synthetic biology, in the lab at the Richard and Barbara Silverman for Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnostics at Northwestern.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Funding Freeze
In addition to defense department funding, the funding freeze apparently also involves grants and contracts with the departments of Agriculture, Education, and Health and Human Services, according to officials who spoke to The New York Times. Northwestern spokesperson Jon Yates said university leaders had still not received official notice from the Trump administration about the $790 million pause by Thursday afternoon.
<img class="Image" alt="Tyler Lucci, graduate student researcher in synthetic biology, adds water with lead to a control sample for lead detection at the Richard and Barbara Silverman for Molecular Therapeutics and Diagnostics at Northwestern, Thursday, April 10, 2025. Department of Defense stated that funding has been completely cut for their research in lead detection." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/529d23e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024×683+0+0/resize/840×560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F0c%2F60%2F3dff28cb4bd68e7875290d8941bd%2Fnudod-041125-13.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/129eafb/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1024×683+0+0/resize/1680×1120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F0c%2F60%2F3dff28cb4bd68e7875290d8941bd%2Fnudod–
