Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

https://www.science.org/content/article/pushed-trump-policies-top-u-s-battery-scientist-moving-singapore

by Metacelsus • 3 months ago

67 37 3 months ago

science.org

mbeavitt• 3 months ago

I wonder - everyone keeps talking about brain drain and how impactful it is, but is it quantifiable?

herbst• 3 months ago

Soon enough it will be

chvid• 3 months ago

I think most researchers who loose their funding choose to do other things rather than migrate.

whynotmaybe• 3 months ago

I guess the tax data can provide some insight but do we trust the current administration's reports?

embedding-shape5• 3 months ago

I was really searching for a position that would let me do my work, which is to translate the fundamental science into industry impact. I’ve been entrusted with a very high position in my home country, but at the same time, I’m seriously concerned that, if I were asked by the [U.S.] Department of War to perform certain tasks, I probably won’t be able to do it. Things like [making better batteries for] drones, or humanoids for war fighting. Maybe they already have their own expertise. But I just don’t want to risk it.
I also think it’s important that I maintain my reputation as someone who’s always building things, not destroying things. So, I decided it’s probably better for somebody else to [direct the DOE hub].

Really inspiring and hearth-warming to see a scientist to consider the full impact of their work, in such a direct way, and then not only thinking these things, but also acting on them to ensure she feels right with what she does. We really need more of these types of people in the world :)

andsoitis7• 3 months ago

And so they chose Singapore, that bastion of human rights? More seriously, it will be interesting to track this person for a few years to see whether they thrive in Singapore. Good luck to her and hope she makes a difference.

ndr422• 3 months ago

It's not the only reason cited, the first one:

  Meng took the job because she thinks the U.S. has turned away from a commitment to decarbonize its economy.

Also:

  The Trump administration’s immigration policies

ben_w2• 3 months ago

Moving, especially internationally, is disruptive. Even in bad times, you need to look to where things are going, not where they are in the moment. The USA is dropping on various freedom indices; if you move for this reason, you must ask if will it drop further, will it stabilise, or will it recover? And the same for the destinations you consider.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/human-rights-index-vdem?t...

delusional• 3 months ago

That's an ironic comment to see on hackernews, a forum most closely associated with silicon valley. Where creating attention traps and gambling apps while claiming to "make the world better" is accepted with a straight face.

That's not to "whatabout" it, but I do find it interesting how blind we are to our own delusions.

embedding-shape5• 3 months ago

What was the last country Singapore waged war against, and when was that? AFAIK, I don't think Singapore has threatened the sovereignty of a single state after the inception of the country.

Probably it isn't a perfect country, probably no country is.

awakeasleep• 3 months ago

When you think of the outlook of the USA, where for example the secretary of health and human services is a crusader against vaccination, do you feel like it’s a country that’s rising to meet the challenges of the future? Because to me it feels like we are in the beginning of a fall of civilization!

I don’t have the perspective to really say I know what’s going on, but I trust the scientist knows her business and her industry well enough to make a call for herself.

Do you have anything specific to show she’s making the wrong decision?

dathinab2• 3 months ago

it isn't

but reading the article helps

her reason wasn't some my tech shouldn't be bad people high moral ground but that she felt she can't do here work on here previous job anymore and the next job happened to be in Singapore, and the reasoning in order was also

- reduced funding / many projects getting side lined

- US moving away from decarbonization

- immigration policies discrimination against Chinese born people (even if they have left Chinese citizenship behind/are US citizens)

- and here not wanting to be put in a position where she is pressured to work directly on batteries for weapon systems like drones (!= general use systems being used in a military context)

so she chose Singapore because someone in Singapore presented here with a good job offer where she doesn't have to worry about this things

i.e. this isn't about the US being "evil" and Singapore being better, but about the US no longer being as good a place for civilian use battery production scientist

awedisee2• 3 months ago

This a nice qoute and all but China has a civil-Military program that allows their government to annex any necessary technology for their military but also puts strict building practices on civil made projects.

What makes anyone think that China as government won't do exactly what she fears, which is putting this battery technology inside drones, or humanoids for war fighting? The difference here is China won't ask.

embedding-shape5• 3 months ago

Are you saying China is gonna invade Singapore, or what are you trying to say? How is China relevant here?

BobbyJo• 3 months ago

Why is China relevant?

dathinab2• 3 months ago

nor will anyone else, the point isn't about weather generic use batteries will be used for military usage, or that someone who licence the technology builds military focused versions

the point is they themselves didn't want to _explicitly_ design components for specific forms of military usage

and they no longer feel safe to not be pressured by the US to do so

but that isn't even the main reason for moving mentioned in the article which are (in order they appear in): reduced funding, moving away from electrification, immigration policies and then the previous point

-----

as a side note your comment did sound a bit like you think Singapore is China, in the unlikely case you did idk. mix it up with Honkon: it isn't China in any form it was

orwin• 3 months ago

This comment have a huge Cotton vibe (48s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLQCfypDLk). Let me guess, you're from the USA?

Tadpole9181• 3 months ago

They moved to Singapore, not China. Those are different countries.

maxglute• 3 months ago

The difference here is China is going to use dual tech for productive civil until they can't vs US will use it to murder children immediately. This fundamental difference, US civil-military (i.e. AI) workers have to grapple with the fact that their work will absolutely kill people / collateral damage, usually within the fiscal quarter. In mean time, PRC talent watch drones do marathons, breakdance, or lift building material up mountains. Now eventually it may snap necks, but mean time talent contributing to PRC sleep soundly at night knowing they're not... you know murdering foreign kids.

Haven880• 3 months ago

Singapore is sovereign country. A lot of Chinese there escaped from China a century ago during Qing era. They are more in common with Malays in that region than China. Plus, if you read up Singapore policies, they are way more pro western countries than China. Try to read more before typing indiscriminately.

xtiansimon• 3 months ago

“I’ve always been an internationalist,” says Meng, who became a Singapore citizen in 2004, “and I think that…”

Choices and decisions. And what of the scientific community in the US who don’t have ties abroad? Who don’t choose to leave the country?

If the government isn’t funding research, and a university position is not open, then you have to turn to industry. And if that doesn’t turn up, then you’re the most overqualified… librarian?

I’m thinking about the more diffused pattern of students with the aptitude and disposition for science going into industry. Is this the environment which drives more manufacturing in the US?

Is this the vision the administration is chasing? (If you look past the racism and corruption, and presume there is an economic outcome the president and all of the republican congress appears to support him for?)

jaybrendansmith• 3 months ago

Completely predictable. Science will leave these shores, either due to lack of funding, threat, or ideological disagreement. The amazing post-WWII economy will become stagnant, then start to fail, just like an engine that is starved of oxygen it will begin to sputter and choke. And everybody will be shocked, and try to assert control to change the behavior, which will work briefly then make it worse. We can only hope that no good alternative will exist, so that the gains by the rest of the world are disperse enough to allow the US to recover if the current oligarchy is overthrown politically.

Pushed by Trump policies, top U.S. battery scientist is moving to Singapore

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