Albuquerque‘s Research Sector Fueled by directed Energy Funding
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – November 19, 2025 – Directed energy research is providing a stable funding source for Albuquerque’s academic adn corporate laboratories, even as other scientific fields face cuts, according to recent reporting by Undark. The influx of military funding is shaping research priorities, with scientists focusing on areas where grants are readily available.
John Tierney, Executive Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and a former Congressman, explained the dynamic. “You look to where you’re going to get a grant to keep open your laboratory, whether you’re at a university or a company-whatever,” Tierney said. “If the military is where the money is, that’s probably where you’re focusing your grant application. And you’re hoping it’s going to have some spinoff great effect for society as a whole,or whatever story you tell yourself,so that you do that.”
Researchers like Schamiloglu are actively working to address challenges in directed energy technology. Harrison and Richardson, as cited in the Undark report, attribute the sustained funding to the necessity of this basic research. The article highlights a broader trend of defense spending influencing scientific direction in Albuquerque and beyond.
