Change and response

Chemistry has been shaken.The US government’s radical cuts to research funding, the scrutiny on research mobility, and the tariffs on supply lines for industry affect not only those in the US but anyone with connections to the economic superpower. And given that chemical research and engineering account for an estimated 25% of US gross domestic product, the consequences of these changes could be profoundly far reaching.Our cover story explores these changes and the hope for building a more resilient chemistry enterprise from the disruption. After all, the disruption to German industry in the aftermath of World War I proved to be an inflection point for shaping future research funding in the UK. The British sent a delegation to Germany looking for inspiration and realized a thriving research sector is based on more than a physical plant.There is a similar sense of opportunity and concern in Europe at the moment. Scientists across the continent recognize the outsized impact of US science and the dependency that that impact has bred. The European Research Council, taking a cue from member states like France and Germany, has pledged to double its budget and invest in strategies to attract US researchers. This sense of urgency is reflected in other global regions.Acknowledging our audience’s preferencesThe cover is timely for what’s next for chemistry, but it is also prescient for C&EN.Changes in science journalism and how people consume it have been evolving for more than the 7 months of the second Donald J. Trump administration. Nonetheless the consequence