For more than 130 years, scientists at Lowell Observatory have been at the forefront of scientific discovery.
But last month, the observatory announced changes that some say amount to several layoffs.
Lowell plans to slash its research funding and reduce the number of science staff to just two paid positions next year.
The observatory currently has about 12 full-time astronomers.
Most of them have tenure, meaning Lowell has given them a salary regardless of whether they have grant money to pay for their work.
But the observatory says that is about to change.
“Times like this are really tough, especially when it involves people that you care about and you've worked with and that are such great contributors to science,” says Lowell spokesperson Kevin Schindler.
According to Schindler, the observatory's financial struggles have grown for years, especially since the completion of the more than $50 million Lowell Discovery Telescope in 2012.
And Schindler says, moving forward, they expect a reduction in federal grant funding.
In the meantime, observatory management has pulled money from its original endowment to help pay for day-to-day operations and research.
“The cost of doing research, that doesn't lessen. That goes up like everything else with inflation,” Schindler says. “We can't rely on Percival Lowell's endowment to help fill the gaps anymore. We're a nonprofit organization, but we still have to pay the bills.”
The observatory has also reduced its staffing by letting positions go unfilled this past year.
“We had 155 employees a year ago and 135 now,” Schindler says.
But with financial pressure mounting, last month Lowell told its researchers that come January they could continue to use the observatory’s facilities, but would have to find grants to pay for everything else, including their salaries.
“I forecast that such a change would end up in, effectively all of the scientists leaving within about 12 months,” says the former director of science at Lowell, Gerard van Belle.
He resigned last month, ending a 14-year career at the observatory.
“I really couldn't in good conscience continue to be director of science at an institution that was starting to turn away from science, and that there actually is maybe not even so much of a need for a director of science if there are no scientists,” van Belle says.
According to Van Belle, stable support from a research institution is critical to allow researchers the freedom to push the envelope of science and pursue research outside the traditional grant cycle.
“Tenure helps you to pursue dangerous ideas. Galileo needed tenure,” he says.
Lowell says it will continue to partially fund two research positions on planetary defense and exoplanets.
The observatory also says it is working on plans to sustain more research in the long term.
“We're not gonna stop doing science, but we're going to have to step back on it for a while until we can rebuild a sustainable model for how to fund it,” Schindler says.
Editor's note: Lowell Observatory has been a financial supporter of KNAU.
