this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026
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Mass migration of US scientists to Europe

"According to data from the European Research Council (ERC), the European Union’s premier funding agency for basic research, applications from the United States for its starting, consolidator and advanced grants to individual researchers — worth up to €2.5 million apiece over five years — rose by 120% in its most recent round of calls, compared with an overall rise in applications of 17% (see ‘Choosing Europe’)."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00362-w
@science

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

Went from Operation Paperclip to Operation Dumpsterfire.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 hour ago

If I had some skill that was in demand, I'd definitely looking for a job offer from Europe.

[–] CH3DD4R_G0BL1N@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 hours ago

Y’all got anymore of them migrations?

[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Advanced Grants — for established principal investigators — saw the greatest leap in US applications, with the number nearly quintupling from 23 to 114.

So 114 applications for one? It would be important to see the raw numbers because even 10x of 114 is miniscule.

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d24/tables/dt24_315.20.asp

840k full-time professors at US universities. And Europe would probably get the lower tiers because why would a tenured US professor give up their tenure to move to Europe.

So article cites 114 for one grant. Let's assume 100x that, so 11,400 professors coming over. That's a little over 1% of professors

[–] mapto@masto.bg 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

@reabsorbthelight an average full-time professor does not cover the requirements for an advanced grants. That's why an average full-time professor doesn't get several millions of funding.

[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 1 points 18 minutes ago

If so, that would effect the statistics and shift the effect higher. For my understanding, could you estimate the effect of the grants and the extent of the drain?

[–] Draegur@lemmy.zip 53 points 10 hours ago (4 children)

I thought i heard about fascism brain-drain happening in the 1930s and early 1940s, although obviously that time they were LEAVING Europe to come to the United States...

... I wonder how much of America's delusions of "excellence" can be traced directly to so many of the smart people fleeing Hitler.

Perhaps the 21st century will take a shape that shall reflect how all the education, skill, and expertise fled Trump.

It is at least thematically appropriate that he's objectively such a moron that he literally repels intellect.

[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 1 points 4 minutes ago

I'm American in Europe. I don't share the below opinions of Europe, just informing what I've seen

A lot of the American exceptionism is because we are only taught WW1/2 and Soviet occupation after. We are taught that Americans basically won WW2, which I've heard is inaccurate, but haven't cared to research. We are taught that the founding fathers wanted isolation from European wars. We are effectively taught that Europe is/has been endlessly in war and conflict.

Americans think Europeans are effectively Soviet occupied or extremely corrupt on the east. Western Europe is viewed as a vacation spot, and nothing more. If you put yourself in this mindset, you can see why Americans (on both sides) view NATO as a financial drain.

The reality is that most Americans (both sides) really just don't think or care about Europe at all, except for holiday. Europe is basically nice food and an archeology site to most Americans

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 8 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

It also happened after the war.

The us gov secretly brought over a couple thousand.

Many were known SS/Nazi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip

[–] in4apenny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 hour ago

US had to continue the fight against communists/marxists. That's what it was all about really, and the US has been carrying the Anti-leftist Nazi torch ever since.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 4 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

only useful for scientists or MDs, anyone less(BS or MS) than that likely doesnt have a career in the field.

[–] frank@sopuli.xyz 5 points 2 hours ago

BS in engineering here

I left the US for the EU in 2024 and a lot of people in my field have done the same. Not uncommon in engineering even without a masters degree

[–] RecursiveParadox@lemmy.world 7 points 6 hours ago

Not in NL. If you have any high demand skill, you can be eligible for the 30% ruling.

[–] mapto@masto.bg 18 points 10 hours ago

@Draegur @science just don't forget all the blinded-by-greed dumb-as-fuck billionaires behind him

[–] mapto@masto.bg 8 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

"Advanced Grants — for established principal investigators — saw the greatest leap in US applications, with the number nearly quintupling from 23 to 114. The ERC does not routinely publish information on the nationalities of applicants, but Kieron Flanagan, a science-policy researcher at the University of Manchester, says that he suspects many of these senior researchers are Europe-born or Europe-trained, and are “opting to use the ERC grant as a mechanism to escape the US system”"

@science

[–] mapto@masto.bg 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

"The EC has budgeted €175 billion for the 10th Framework Programme, a follow-up to Horizon Europe starting in 2028. Eurodoc has called for a budget of €220 billion, Dengo says. “Without a substantial increase in funding, and with Europe-based researchers already facing intense competition, additional incoming mobility will inevitably further increase pressure on the system.”"

@science

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 6 hours ago

this what Chinese netizens were criticizing when the ccp was trying to lure some STEM professional from the states, they already dont have jobs and are mad that they are gifting foreigners.

[–] AntiBullyRanger@ani.social 1 points 8 hours ago