Dear Colleagues,

It was recently announced that, following the radical US Federal Government reorganization plans, the whole Atomic Spectroscopy Group at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will be laid off in a few weeks. The disastrous impact of such a "reorganization" is hard to imagine.

The Group has been providing critically evaluated datasets and unique benchmarks to researchers across numerous fields of science and industry - astronomy and astrophysics, medicine and Martian geology, lithography and nonproliferation. These data are used in advanced collisional-radiative codes, allowing for fast and accurate calculations of light emission from the hot matter of magnetic and inertial confinement fusion, laser-produced plasmas, solar corona, and industrial plasmas. The precise measurements of spectra from neutral atoms to highly charged ions have helped to discover many new exoplanets, accurately measure nuclear radii, and develop new powerful diagnostic techniques.

As a matter of fact, the very first scientific paper from the National Bureau of Standards (the original NIST's name) back in 1904 was on atomic spectroscopy. And now, this entire 120-year legacy of scientific expertise, an immense amount of unique data, and - last but not least - a small crew of dedicated scientists is destined to be demolished.

It is now the time to act swiftly - the layoff letters are expected to be dispatched in four weeks. Please sign this petition (and mention your affiliation in the comment field). Please spread the word among your colleagues. With enough voices from the worldwide scientific community, we should be able to prevent this catastrophe.