“The whole process is insane.” That’s how Dr. Matthew Buckley, a physicist, describes the ongoing impact of Elon Musk’s DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) on the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the grants process that funds scientific research institutions like Rutgers University.

While the Trump Administration tries to get rid of independent attorneys general while installing vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. at the U.S. Department of Health, the world’s richest man continues to try to dismantle the lives of research scientists – faculty and students – at New Jersey’s oldest public university.

The ignorant who applaud the capsizing of these professionals apparently don’t understand the implications and the imminent impact on the general public.

In Buckley’s words, “Whatever people voted for last November, they didn’t vote for the end of cancer research” and chunks removed from the country’s healthcare and economic engines.

For every dollar the federal government invests in NIH grants, universities generate two and a half dollars, said Buckley, a critical enhancement of our economy, especially in New Jersey, where the pharmaceutical industry accounts for 2.4% of the state’s private workforce.

“It’s what we do,” the physicist told InsiderNJ.

The cuts undertaken by Musk simply result in a reduction in opportunities for researchers like Buckley to train undergraduate students and create the next generation of scientific pioneers.

“If you are a student, a grant that enables ten weeks of work in a lab, one-on-one connection with faculty, can get that student to the next level in terms of opportunities in medicine, pharma, or biotech,” he said. “Those grants are being cut.”

Buckley’s been doing this for decades.

A strict review process governs the grants.

“We are good stewards of government money,” he said. “When I get government money, I have to account for every penny. The idea that this is government waste is just ridiculous, and now, my colleagues are just getting an email telling them it’s done. These are government contracts that are just being dismissed. Hopefully a judge will say no.

“It’s absolute chaos,” Buckley added.

The National Science Foundation and NASA just this week endured cuts resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs.

“What we’re talking about is the loss of how to build new things, not today, but 15 years from now. That is how you train people to build.”

Buckley describes his work of teaching students a real privilege. He takes joy in writing letters of recommendation for budding researchers.

“What is happening her is a sad betrayal of the next generation,” he said.