CU's Arecibo Observatory faces job cuts

By Tim Ashmore
Special to The Journal

Cornell University's Arecibo radio telescope and radar observatory could be losing up to half its federal funding — about $4 million — a cut that could mean job losses in both Ithaca and Puerto Rico, where the facility is based.

A report issued by the Senior Review, an advisory committee for the National Science Foundation (NSF), on Nov. 3 recommended that funding be cut for Arecibo by 25 percent over the next three years. The Senior Review also advised the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (NAIC) to look for funding from outside partners to cover a 50 percent slash in funding in 2011.

“Basically what's occurred over the last few years, according to government agencies, is that there have been substantial tax cuts and additional expenditures (such as the Iraq war) puts a strain on the federal budget,” said Joe Burns, Cornell's vice provost for physical sciences and engineering.

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