“If you decide to shut down this field of research now, this knowledge will permanently disappear from the Netherlands”, says associate professor Janne Koornneef, referring to the highly specialized research at the NIGel lab of Earth Sciences. In this lab, it is possible to determine the origin and age of small amounts of material by examining isotopes: versions of the same element with a different number of neutrons in the nucleus.
The ratios between isotopes are specific to a particular place and time. Earthscientists use isotope chemistry to study the origin of rocks, but this method is also used by a wide range of other scientists, such as archaeologists, cultural heritage researchers, planetary scientists, and forensic scientists. Even a hair, a material trapped in a mineral, a rock from space or even a speck of paint can be precisely analysed using isotope chemistry.
Perfect timing?
For this research, Earth Sciences received an NWO grant to install a brand-new research facility in its new building. This lab would consist of four large mass spectrometers for sample analysis and a clean lab for preparing the samples. What makes the NIGel lab unique, is its ability to examine minimal amounts of material. The clean lab and mass spectrometers are state-of-the-art. There is no other lab of this scale and quality in the Netherlands.
“When we heard in 2022 that our proposal had been accepted by NWO, we thought it couldn’t get any better. The timing was perfect: our new lab would be part of the new building, allowing us to set it up in the best possible way”, says Koornneef.
NWO funded the mass spectrometer lab, which costs 4.3 million euros, and two postdocs for 500,000 euros. VU was supposed to contribute to the clean lab, which was budgeted at 2.5 million euros. The mass spectrometers are currently being installed in the basement, but construction of the clean lab on the 11th floor has been put on hold for more than a year now.
As a result, VU is failing to meet its matching obligation to NWO, which could mean they need to pay back the 4.3 million euro grant to NWO. “It would be cheaper to just have built the clean lab”, Koornneef points out.
Looming reorganization
The entire delay in construction seems to be linked to the looming reorganization or perhaps even the closure of the Earth Sciences department, although the staff have yet to receive any official confirmation.
Recently, there have been more developments that have increased unrest among earth scientists: since January, there has been a total hiring freeze – including for PhD candidates and postdocs whose funding was already secured – and last week, staff received an email asking to discuss a ‘Plan B’ for fieldwork taking place in May and June. Additionally, the try-out study day for new bachelor’s students was postponed from April 3rd to April 17th.
“If these are indications of what the faculty board wants to do with the department, things aren’t looking good”, says assistant professor Bernd Andeweg.
Meanwhile, staff members are receiving no information. The faculty board has been working on a reorganization plan with a special committee since last summer. The plan was expected to be ready in the first quarter of 2025, but it will likely be delayed until April. One of the key issues being discussed is the amount of cuts that need to be made. According to aforementioned numbers, the faculty board is looking at cutting fifteen to twenty positions, which is half of the current staff, but earth scientists have not received clear, substantiated figures on the actual deficit.
Meanwhile, the staff members have created an alternative future scenario, in which they also make cuts, but try to preserve the department’s existing structure as much as possible, with as few layoffs as possible. This plan is currently with the department committee and the works council.
Positive evaluations
Earth Sciences has been in financial trouble since the Faculty of Science introduced a new funding model that directly charges the costs of labs to the departments that use them. Earth Sciences is relatively small (about 350 students), and the specialized research facilities are expensive.
However, the department is considered world-class both in teaching and research. Students have consistently given the program high evaluations. The program has been rated a top program since 2015, according to comparison site studiekeuze123. Moreover, there is high demand for earth science graduates, both from companies and the government. As a result, there has been protest from the workforce against the proposed budget cuts. Among those speaking out against the threatened closure of Earth Sciences are meteorologist Peter Kuipers Munneke and the director of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Han Dolman.