Science Conferences Bucking the Trend

The 2025 Global Physics Summit was the first joint conference between the American Physical Society’s March and April meetings since 1999.

Earlier this summer, dozens of scientists from across the U.S. traveled to Washington, D.C. for a one-of-a-kind science fair. The three-hour meeting, “The Things We’ll Never Know: A Science Fair of Canceled Grants,” was hosted by the Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.  Several researchers whose National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) grants had recently been canceled due to President Trump’s budget cuts displayed posters that demonstrate what the U.S. is losing by defunding their projects.

Zoe Lofgren, a U.S. Representative from California and the ranking member of the committee hosting the event, told the press: “As Trump weakens our leadership in science, other countries celebrate, ready to take our place as the global leader of innovation. For this event, we’ve invited scientists whose research grants have been canceled for not fitting into the Trump administration’s small-minded and ill-informed box of what it deems useful, so we can learn straight from the scientists about what we stand to lose when science is politicized and cast aside.”

While Rep. Lofgren is correct that there have been drastic budget cuts to some of the U.S.’s largest scientific institutions and will likely stifle innovation, the impact on scientific meetings and events hasn’t yet been devastating. In fact, some conferences are shattering attendance records and welcoming more international delegates than ever before.

The 2025 Global Physics Summit, held in Anaheim, California, March 16-19, was the first joint conference between the American Physical Society’s (APS) March and April meetings — which are usually held as separate events — since 1999. The event drew strong engagement, with over 15,000 attendees from more than 60 countries. “We tracked registration for former March and April components separately, and both broke attendance records,” Hunter Clemens, CAE, CMP Fellow, DES, and APS’s director of meetings told Convene. “With the International Year of Quantum as our backdrop, we introduced never-before-held cross-disciplinary sessions, like quantum sensors in nuclear physics and machine learning across particle and condensed matter research. That sparked collaborations people told us they never imagined, and created a real sense of discovery across our Summit campus.”

Hunter Clemens, CAE, CMP Fellow, DES

While the meeting was a resounding success overall, the cancellation of NIH and NSF grants did have an impact. “Most of the travel funding for this year’s Summit had already been secured, so the immediate impact was modest. We did, unfortunately, miss the contributions of more than 100 colleagues who had to withdraw at the last minute, but the meeting’s collaborative spirit remained strong,” Clemens said. The APS team was able to quickly pivot to hybrid solutions for scientists affected by the NIH and NSF grant cuts. “We were mindful of the climate this year and made sure no voice was left out. For members affected by funding cuts, we created the option to upload a video so their research could still be shared in the live sessions.”

Clemens remains sanguine, however, about the international scientific community’s ability to adapt to shifting political winds. “Looking ahead, the physics community is resilient. We’re already finding creative ways to keep global conversations going, whether that’s through virtual participation, international partnerships, or new funding pathways.”

This kind of tenacity was already in evidence at this year’s Global Physics Summit as the APS team worked with delegates who experienced travel challenges to the U.S. due to new restrictions. “We did hear from a number of international colleagues who faced major delays in securing visas this year, and unfortunately that led to more withdrawals than we’ve seen in the past,” Clemens said. “While that was disappointing, we were still able to feature much of their work through virtual participation and other avenues, and we’re continuing to explore ways to support international attendees so their science can be shared regardless of travel hurdles.”

Overall, APS saw only a 3-percent dip in projected international attendance for the 2025 conference. “Engagement stayed strong, and, on average, abstract submissions for our fall meetings are on par with — or ahead of — 2024. Looking forward, we’re building on the momentum of 2025 while also planning carefully for different scenarios to make sure the 2026 Global Physics Summit in Denver continues to bring the community together,” Clemens said.

‘Poised to Meet the Moment’

The Global Physics Summit wasn’t the only U.S.-based scientific meeting to break records this year. BIO 2025, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s International Convention, which took place June 16-19 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, welcomed more than 20,000 attendees, about 500 more participants than its 2024 convention in San Diego. “Biotechnology is driven by collaboration, and there is no greater place in the world for industry, stakeholder, and advocate partnership than the BIO International Convention,” said BIO President & CEO John F. Crowley in a press release on the opening day of the meeting. “Here, innovators, scientists, patients, and investors come together to turn small ideas into life-saving solutions, and at a time when the world needs big breakthroughs, BIO’s convention is poised to meet the moment and help deliver better, longer lives for people in the U.S. and around the world.”

BIO 25 offered more than 180 sessions and 1,100 speakers across 20 focus areas over the course of four days. A new addition to this summer’s program was the BIO Storytelling Stage, an exhibition-floor installation that let attendees connect with the human side of biotech.

Around 46 percent of delegates traveled from outside the U.S. to attend the event, which translated to 72 countries with a presence at the event. Participants represented the full ecosystem of the biotechnology industry, from startups and academic institutions to established pharmaceutical and government leaders.

While strong attendance at these major scientific conferences is a positive sign that funding cuts and new visa policies are having a minimal impact thus far, planners are paying close attention to the sociopolitical landscape. “Our stakeholders are mindful of the dip in international attendance, and it’s something we’re watching closely,” Clemens said. “In response, we’ve adjusted our planning — for example, booking overflow rooms closer in — and built contingency plans so we can adapt quickly if participation shifts. The goal is to make sure the meeting experience remains seamless and engaging for everyone, no matter the numbers.”

Kate Mulcrone is Convene’s digital managing editor.

On the Web

• Read Scientific American’s coverage of the science fair organized by Democrats on a US House of Representatives science committee. bit.ly/2025-science-fair.
• Learn more about the American Physical Society Global Physics Summit 2025 at aps.org and the BIO International Convention at bio.org.

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