One Decision What a Nuclear Physicist in Congress Thinks of Trump's AI Strategy, Iran's Bomb Threat
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Jul 31, 2025 
Bill Foster, the only Ph.D. physicist in Congress and former Fermi Lab researcher, dives into the chasm between science and policy. He laments the declining support for research in the U.S., worrying it may jeopardize technological supremacy, especially against China. Foster highlights the dangers of deregulated AI and the ambiguous status of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. He underscores the strategic challenges posed by Iran's potential nuclear threat and calls for a reassessment of scientific funding and priorities.
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Foster's Career Path
- Bill Foster shares his journey from particle physics to Congress and entrepreneurship in theater lighting.
- His company, Electronic Theater Controls, now supplies most of the US theater lighting equipment.
US Science Sidelined
- The Trump administration's cuts and ideological attacks harm US science and brain retention.
- International allies are alarmed by the US sidelining scientific expertise and defunding research.
Science as Global Competition
- China views science and research as the frontline in global competition and aims to surpass the US.
- The US is moving in the wrong direction at a critical time for international scientific leadership.