Dear Perry et al,
At risk of expressing a somewhat cynical view, I think individual scientists making a fuss publicly, whether in the form of open letters or big public rallies, will have far less of an effect than lobbying US university leaders themselves to get THEM to make a fuss publicly.
Why is Columbia's president not on the front page of the Times every day explaining calmly and clearly that gutting university funding is a bad idea, when they've had literally hundreds of NIH/NSF grants cancelled? Why are university presidents uniformly silent, opting to "work on it behind the scenes" rather than doing serious public advocacy? (with the exception of Wesleyan's Michael Roth). Why were no university presidents visibly part of the Stand Up for Science demonstrations that Sarah Creel mentioned?
Mark Copelovitch has been beating this drum on Bluesky for awhile, eg https://bsky.app/profile/mcopelov.bsky.social/post/3lkm6gfay3k2n. I've said as much in conversation with leadership at Yale, where I'm a part-time faculty member. I think more faculty members should be telling our deans and provosts and presidents to get out in public and make a fuss.
In the absence of any real pushback to the gutting of American science from our own universities, though, students can and should look elsewhere. The science doesn't care if it's done on American soil and the good news there is that there are many excellent auditory folks who don't happen to work stateside. I'm not sure if I count as 'excellent' but here at the Centre for Developmental Science (University of Auckland, New Zealand) we have open PhD spots, with competitive university scholarships and grant-funded positions, in the development of auditory perception. At the moment our team is more immigrants than kiwis and prospective students should feel free to get in touch.
Sam
At risk of expressing a somewhat cynical view, I think individual scientists making a fuss publicly, whether in the form of open letters or big public rallies, will have far less of an effect than lobbying US university leaders themselves to get THEM to make a fuss publicly.
Why is Columbia's president not on the front page of the Times every day explaining calmly and clearly that gutting university funding is a bad idea, when they've had literally hundreds of NIH/NSF grants cancelled? Why are university presidents uniformly silent, opting to "work on it behind the scenes" rather than doing serious public advocacy? (with the exception of Wesleyan's Michael Roth). Why were no university presidents visibly part of the Stand Up for Science demonstrations that Sarah Creel mentioned?
Mark Copelovitch has been beating this drum on Bluesky for awhile, eg https://bsky.app/profile/mcopelov.bsky.social/post/3lkm6gfay3k2n. I've said as much in conversation with leadership at Yale, where I'm a part-time faculty member. I think more faculty members should be telling our deans and provosts and presidents to get out in public and make a fuss.
In the absence of any real pushback to the gutting of American science from our own universities, though, students can and should look elsewhere. The science doesn't care if it's done on American soil and the good news there is that there are many excellent auditory folks who don't happen to work stateside. I'm not sure if I count as 'excellent' but here at the Centre for Developmental Science (University of Auckland, New Zealand) we have open PhD spots, with competitive university scholarships and grant-funded positions, in the development of auditory perception. At the moment our team is more immigrants than kiwis and prospective students should feel free to get in touch.
Sam
On March 19, 2025, Digest recipients <auditory-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
- [AUDITORY] Silence from leaders in auditory science - 3 Updates
- [AUDITORY] Ph.D position in Marseille and Cambridge: Improving Pitch Perception by Cochlear Implant Listeners - 1 Update
- [AUDITORY] Two Fully Funded PhD Opportunities in Speech Enhancement for Hearing Devices and Psychoacoustic Modelling for UK home students - 1 Update
- [AUDITORY] E.A.R.S. Deadline Extention for Trainee Session - 1 Update
Sarah Creel <000001009817b89f-dmarc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: Mar 17 11:37AM -0700
Hi Perry,
I'm so sorry that this is such a stressful time for all of us. It's hard
enough starting out in science without the entire edifice crumbling around
one's ears.
I think that what's going on right now is that there is a sense of science
solidarity: scientists are fighting for scientists across the board, not
just in auditory science. I've been to and seen lots of people at Stand Up
for Science rallies across the country. People are pelting their elected
representatives with demands not to silence science. I've also seen (and
responded to) calls to write supportive notes to program officers, SROs,
etc. at funding agencies who are currently under huge amounts of stress and
anxiety. There is HUGE concern amongst all these groups about what this is
going to do to the next generation of scientists.
One big way that more senior folks can help more junior folks is to do our
best to make sure funding opportunities stay in place. Without that, the
support web for PhDs is really not there. So I think a lot of people are
focusing their energies on advocating for maintaining NIH and NSF.
I would love to see suggestions on Auditory list or other places for
additional ways to advocate for junior scientists and for science generally.
Hang in there and please know that we want you here.
Sarah
Brian Frost <brianfrost97@xxxxxxxxx>: Mar 17 10:03AM -0400
Hi Perry -
I am also a young American hearing scientist (postdoc at Rockefeller
University) with serious concerns about the state of auditory
research/NIDCD funding in the United States. It is true that there has been
little in terms of vocal pushback from our community. For example, a quick
google search will show that there are no high-profile articles regarding
our field in response to funding cuts. It is important, if you would like
to organize such a response, to formalize what is meant by:
1) Statement
2) Senior leaders
It may not be productive to chastise people for "looking to comply" or
"save themselves" when later-career researchers are also at threat from
public funding cuts. In my experience, people across the field and across
age groups are concerned not only for themselves but for their students and
colleagues. There is not really a way for such people to comply or save
themselves if their grants disappear. There is a sense of futility and fear
at all levels. It is also important to note that our colleagues span the
political spectrum, and many may be in support of the cuts -- we cannot
speak for the entire field.
I would support, very much, a public statement from scientists in the field
that could hopefully make it to a high-profile publication such as the New
York Times. A productive and well-led team could certainly draft such a
statement, but it would need to be backed by late-career, awarded
scientists to have any impact.
I can say that many young scientists at auditory labs here in New York, and
at least two PIs from institutions I am familiar with would probably be
willing to consider this idea. They are not on this list and I cannot speak
for them, but I can reach out. Such a statement would require significant
organization that is not so easy to achieve in any field. If any senior
scientist in this email chain would be interested in spearheading such an
effort, that would be wonderful. Otherwise, the idea is DoA because the
concern is not sufficiently present in the community -- that would be a
shame, but may be the case.
Thanks,
Brian Frost
Gunter Kreutz <gunter.kreutz@xxxxxxxxx>: Mar 18 08:16AM +0100
Dear list,
the brutal reality is that the US administration has declared war on its
democratic institutions, the legal system, the media, the checks and
balances system, social security, science and humanities, and above all it
(and that is not Trump alone, but equally the "masterminds" of the heritage
foundation) declared war on the values shared by the so-called free world.
- Is this exaggerated?
Who could blame young US scientists to consider their future in Canada,
Britain, the Far East, or in the EU?
Sorry for being off-topic. I wholeheartedly support and applaud to
scientists standing up and rally, wherever there is need to do so. But it
seems to happen in a strange atmosphere as it becomes evident that the
protection of democratic rights is crumbling. And the country where this is
happening is not a small republic on the Balkan.
Sorry also for having no suggestions for how to do better service to young
researchers that getting rid of the current US admin ASAP. The whole world
will hold its breath what the next US administration will look like and
whether they will be able to restore the - in my view - inevitable brain
drain that will hurt the US hearing sciences in the meantime, I am afraid.
Slava Ukraine
Gunter
Am Di., 18. März 2025 um 05:29 Uhr schrieb Sarah Creel <
Olivier Macherey <macherey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: Mar 17 08:34PM +0100
Dear List,
We’re pleased to invite applications for a Ph.D. programme of research
based in Olivier Macherey’s laboratory at the Université Aix- Marseille
in collaboration with Bob Carlyon’s group at the University of
Cambridge. The project involves a number of behavioural experiments
using direct-stimulation methods that bypass the patient’s clinical
processor and that probe the limitations on pitch processing by
cochlear-implant (CI) users. It will be carried out as part of the
Societes, Climate, Health, and Artificial Intelligence Doctoral
<https://schadoc.univ-amu.fr/en/call-candidates/call-candidates/health-well-being/ippi>
programme of Université Aix-Marseille and will involve extended periods
of research in both Marseille and Cambridge. Candidates should hold a
good undergraduate degree in an auditory or numerate discipline and
should ideally hold a Masters degree. Further details on the project are
available here
<https://schadoc.univ-amu.fr/en/call-candidates/call-candidates/health-well-being/ippi>
and interested candidates are encouraged to contact Olivier Macherey
<mailto:%20macherey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> or Bob Carlyon
<mailto:bob.carlyon@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk> for more information. The closing
date for applications is *21^st April 2025*.
Best wishes,
Olivier
***********************************
Olivier Macherey, CNRS Research scientist
Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique
CNRS - Aix-Marseille University
4 Impasse Nikola Tesla
13013 Marseille
France
Simone Graetzer <000002e2fa34038f-dmarc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: Mar 17 12:36PM
Dear colleagues,
The UK's new Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Sustainable Sound Futures will train 70 PhD students who have the skills and knowledge to reduce the harms caused by noise and poor acoustics and forge a more positive sounding future. We have created an unprecedented collaboration for doctoral training in Acoustics across four universities and over 50 project partners. We are currently open for PhD applications from UK home students or EU students with settled or pre-settled status, with a deadline of 7th April 2025, for two projects starting this autumn. The CDT provides fully-funded PhD positions. For more information and to apply, go to https://soundfutures.salford.ac.uk/apply/.
The two projects:
* University of Sheffield, Sh.24.4 Better Personalization of Deep Learning-Enhanced Hearing Devices
* University of Salford, Sa.24.3 Psychoacoustic modelling for complex soundscapes with HEAD Acoustics
On Project Sh.24.4, the Supervisors are Professor Jon Barker at the University of Sheffield and Dr Simone Graetzer at the University of Salford. The project will explore a variety of methods to understand hearing device user preferences related to speech in complex settings. New speech quality metrics will be derived for optimising existing deep-learning enhancement approaches in a user-dependent manner. The Project Partner is the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID).
On Project Sa.24.3, the Supervisors are Professor Antonio J. Torija Martinez and Dr Zuzanna Podwinska at the University of Salford. This project will involve updating psychoacoustic models for sharpness and impulsiveness based on the Sottek Hearing Model, optimising the modelling of complex sound fields in this context, and validating these models by means of listening tests. The Project Partner is HEAD Acoustics.
For both projects, the research would suit graduates in Acoustics and Audiology who have a solid understanding and expertise in signal processing and coding and some experience in mathematical modelling. We are seeking applicants who have an interest in sound beyond Acoustics and who want to join and collaborate across a diverse community of researchers. We will provide you with access to bespoke training and specialist laboratories to support your individual research and develop the core skills to make a difference in your future career.
Please share with your networks.
Kind regards,
Simone
--
Simone Graetzer Ph.D., MIOA
Senior Research Fellow
Acoustics Research Centre
School of Science, Engineering and Environment
University of Salford
Greater Manchester M5 4WT
Co-Investigator, EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Sound Futures https://soundfutures.salford.ac.uk/
Researcher Co-Lead, EPSRC Noise Network Plus https://www.ukri.org/news/tackling-tomorrows-engineering-research-challenges/
Early Career Special Interest Group and EDI Lead, UK Acoustics Network Plus https://acoustics.ac.uk/
Roach, Corey <000003378a05123c-dmarc-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>: Mar 17 12:45PM
Dear fellow neuroscientists,
E.A.R.S.<https://www.med.upenn.edu/pennhearing/ears.html?preview=true> has extended the deadline to apply to our next Trainee Session on April 8, 2025. E.A.R.S.<https://www.med.upenn.edu/pennhearing/ears.html?preview=true> is a monthly online seminar series on auditory neuroscience featuring presentations by researchers in earlier stages of their careers with the focus on their latest data. Research trainees at graduate or post-doctoral stage in auditory neuroscience are encouraged to submit their abstract for consideration. The trainee session will feature four presentations, selected by the EARS organizing committee from submissions. Presentations will be 10 minutes long with an additional 5 minutes for questions. The committee will review the applications and inform the applicants whether they were selected to present by March 25, 2025, by email. Please submit your abstract by March 19, 2025, to be given full consideration:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSkLHlaUd6lM0iQNvi_uU6NSZWRL0VpQm5IYVyD_8ODim76A/viewform?usp=dialog
Please spread the word and encourage your trainees to submit!
For updates and reminders about future seminars, please subscribe to our mail list by emailing: ears2022+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
or visiting the following the link: https://groups.google.com/g/ears2022
— Organizing committee
Dr. Anjali Sinha, Dr. Matila Gibbons, Dr. Corey Roach, Dr. Yale Cohen and Dr. Maria Geffen
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Corey Roach
Postdoctoral Researcher
Laboratory of Yale Cohen
Perelman School of Medicine,
Dept. of Otorhinolaryngology
University of Pennsylvania
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Samuel Mehr
School of Psychology, University of Auckland
and Child Study Center, Yale University
Be a citizen scientist at themusiclab.org!