Terence Tao, one of the world’s main mathematicians, who is often called the “Mozart of Mathematics”, prefers not to talk about politics.
“I do scientific research,” Tao said. “I vote, I sign a request, but I don’t consider myself an activist.”
But after the suspension of July of $ 584 million in federal subsidies in UCLA, to which he joined as a member of the Faculty at age 20, Tao said he feels obliged to speak against what he sees as “indiscriminate” to the sciences that could move away the scientists of the United States, including the inclusion of himself, if the trends continue.
“I find that this particular administration has been extremely radical with the way the scientific ecosystem is changing in a way that even Trump’s first administration was not,” Tao said. “This is not normal, and I think many people do not see the damage that is being done.”
Tao is one of the most prominent mathematicians and academics to publicly oppose the actions of the administration, calling them an “existential threat” for their field and academic science, in general. He said that public defense is a priority over his investigation, for now.
“The United States is the world’s largest scientific research, and the Administration remains committed to consolidating the innovative mastery of the United States. However, federal research is not a constitutional right,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “The Administration has the responsibility to ensure that taxpayers funded is aligned with the priorities of the US people.”
The Trump administration attacked UCLA for reform by suspending federal subsidies throughout the university, claiming racial discrimination and “not promoting a free research environment of anti -Semitism and bias.”
About three decades ago, Tao emigrated to the United States at age 16, and a mathematics prodigy. The American Australian researcher built a career in UCLA and received the 2016 Fields Medal, the equivalent of a Mathematics Nobel Prize. Tao has also won a MacArthur scholarship and an innovative award, among other awards.
The National Science Foundation, as part of a broader federal action addressed to UCLA, suspended two of Tao’s subsidies, including one that directly supported Tao’s work in UCLA and another for the Pure and Applied Mathematics Institute of the University (IPAM), where Tao Supervisa Special projects.
On August 12, the United States District Judge, Rita F. Lin, ordered the restorate NSF subsidies of the University, to enforce a preliminary prior court order in a legal battle that is ongoing. The failure only applies to NSF subsidies in UCLA, including Tao. Federal subsidies from other agencies, such as National Health Institutes and the Department of Energy, remain suspended.
“The National Foundation of Sciences of the United States has restored the suspended awards to the University of California, Los Angeles,” said a NSF spokesman in a statement, rejecting more comments on Tao’s comments.
In the long term, the financing for IPAM, which was founded in 2000 and built to promote collaborations between mathematicians, industry and engineers, remains uncertain. The subsidy expires next year and is waiting for renewal. The Institute is almost completely financed by NSF, and the Trump administration has proposed a budget cut of 57% to NSF, according to its fiscal year application 2026.
The research funded by NSF of Tao focuses on a technical branch of mathematics that focuses on determining if patterns are produced in long sequences of numbers and when and when they occur in long sequences of numbers. It is a basic investigation without a direct application in mind, but Tao said that its findings could have implications for cryptographic security protocols.
However, IPAM research has more obvious public benefits. Two decades ago, Tao collaborated with scientists focused on signal processing problems in medical images.
“One of the algorithms that we develop on IPAM is routinely used in modern magnetic resonance machines to accelerate magnetic resonance scanning in a factor of 10 in some cases,” said Tao.
The Trump administration has used cuts or suspensions to grant funds such as leverage, since it seeks a reform on university campuses. Its approach has been multiplied: the administration first tried to reduce funds for science by reducing federal reimbursements for indirect costs such as equipment, maintenance and office personnel.
Then, he went to specific types of subsidies, such as those involving diversity, equity and inclusion or gender identity, among other issues.
He also addressed specific institutions, such as Harvard University, Columbia University and more recently UCLA, for accusations of racism and anti -Semitism.
The demands have followed many of these financing actions, and the subsequent legal battles of round trips have left some hesitant subsidies between canceled and reinstalled.
Tao said that the recent interruption of the financing of his project forced him to differ part of his own salary to continue paying his postgraduate students. It has spent the last weeks working not in mathematics, but in emergency meetings with university administrators, fundraising meetings with donors and writing opinion articles to oppose the cuts.
“This is the moment I would normally have for my own research, but this has priority,” Tao said.
He is increasingly concerned about the general landscape: he believes that the actions of the administration are increasingly pressing the young scientists to leave the United States, and if the trends continue, Tao said he could not rule out the game too.
From his hanger in UCLA, Tao said he has noticed that postgraduate students and postdoctoral students are increasingly choosing opportunities outside the United States as uncertainty grows around financing.
“There have been past periods in history where other countries with a great scientific tradition have experienced great agitation or war and many of them fled to the United States as a safe shelter,” Tao said. “It is a bit ironic that there may now be an inverse process in which other countries can begin to collect talent that is currently in the United States.”
A year ago, Tao said he would never have considered leaving UCLA or the United States, but that he received a handful of recruitment consultations and that he is no longer sure he will stay in the United States, if the trends continue.
“I have roots here. I lifted my family here, so I would take a good amount to uproot me, but these days, it is really difficult to make predictions now,” Tao said. “I wasn’t thinking of moving at all. This was not even on the radar, and now, for better or worse, each possibility must be considered.”
