America’s scientists are looking abroad. Can European business cash in? 

Alex Worsham had no intention of leaving America. He served six and a half years in the U.S. military as an IT and cybersecurity specialist, then helped protect the Library of Congress and the Transportation Security Administration from cyberattacks.  

But, when he decided to pursue a PhD on the security of emerging technologies, Worsham found American research gripped by “uncertainty.” Instead, he looked for opportunities elsewhere and this summer, he moved to Norway to study at the University of Oslo. 

Worsham says federal funding cuts and “restrictive” U.S. government oversight was behind his decision to move to Europe. He adds that government influence in American academia is causing funding to predominantly be directed towards research that aligns with the objectives of the White House. 

Worsham is part of a growing exodus of scientists, engineers, and technologists from the U.S. as federal support for research contracts has been cut. Since 2025, the Trump administration has frozen or terminated 8,007 grants across the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, according to data from Grant Witness, which tracks federal research funding. Fewer than two-thirds of these grants (5,187) have been restored. Across all federal agencies, as much as $177 billion (€155 million) in grants has been cut. 

The federal government itself lost more than 10,000 STEM PhDs in 2025, through firings, retirements, and resignations, according to analysis of Office of Personnel Management data. In 2025, the rate of Physics PhD graduates leaving the U.S. reached its highest level in 30 years, according to the American Institute of Physics. The departure rate for non-U.S. citizens doubled from the previous year.  

Marc van Essen, a Dutch professor who spent 12 years at the University of South Carolina, recently returned to Europe to join France’s Emlyon Business School. “It was not a decision I took lightly,” he says. “Following the 2024 election, I became increasingly concerned about pressures on international engagement, academic freedom, and open dialogue in U.S. higher education.” 

Worsham adds: “Researchers are passionate about what they do. If funding is restricted, people will go and seek that elsewhere.” He fears it is the beginning of a brain drain. “The U.S. academic community........

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