Series on Science Funding in Wash Post

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

forwarded to me


  Series on Science Funding in Wash Post


The Washington Post begins a three-part series this week on
"American Science: Losing Its Cutting Edge."  The first article
appeared on the front page of the Christmas paper.


Here is a short summary.




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"Scientific Ranks Outpace Funds: Imbalance
May Put Nation's Technological Primary at Risk"




  "The post Word War II boom in American science funding
that sustained the world's greatest expansion of knowledge
and improvement in living standards ended in 1987, and
many scientific leaders say that as a result, the United
States may eventually see slower rates of technological
advancement and flagging battles against disease, hunger,
and environmental degradation."
   "In 1987, the long-sustained increase in federal funds
for research stopped growing faster than inflation."


 The articles includes several key findings based on
data provided by the National Science Foundation and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Among the findings:


* Funding has not kept pace with the number of
scientists. "Many young scientists cannot find
permanent research jobs in research and are
quitting a profession that was once viewed as
a lifelong calling. . . . Researchers suggest
that younger scientists are not seeking grants
because they have no permanent job base from
which to apply."


* "The unemployment rate among scientists with
PhDs is now among the highest for all professionals.
Since 1981 it has tripled, from 1 percent to 3
percent, the sharpest rise occurring even as
the overall unemployment rate has been falling
in recent years."


The article present a range of views about what
should be done:


* "Some scientific groups" contend that the answer
is to boost research funding, especially for basic
science.


* The National Academy of Science says that current
spending is sufficient, but the nation must set
scientific priorities.


* The American Physical Society urged university
physics departments and professors to tell their
students about the poor job market and to steer them
to other careers.


* Leon Lederman, Nobel laureate, former director
of Fermilab, and former president of AAAS, warns
that the United States is abandoning its role as
technological leader.


A few other notes:


- Since 1987, the growth is spending for nonmilitary
research has been almost precisely offset by a decrease
in Defense research spending. But "the relative good
fortune for civilian research ended in 1992 when budgets
for civilian and military research each flattened."


- Young scientists in particular have been hit hard. "A
generation ago the postdoctoral fellowship was a brief
internship that virtually guaranteed a permanent job
on a university faculty.  Now many young scientists move
from postdoc to postdoc, hauling their families with them.
A young physicists calls these scientists, 'the migrant
workers of today's high-tech economy.'"


- Private industry is also cutting back on scientific
research. "AT&T, IBM, GE have been downsizing, eliminating
thousands of jobs in research and development."


Funding and Congress


- "Far from being a temporary squeeze, scientific and
political leaders say the constriction is likely to continue
for the foreseeable future for one simple reason The
1993 budget agreement between Congress and the
White House, intended to fight the deficit, effectively
prevents Congress from increasing federal science
spending over the next five years unless it makes
offsetting cuts elsewhere,


- "Nor is science funding likely to increase under
a Republican-led Congress.  Although Rep. Robert Walker
(R-Pa), who is to chair the House Science Committee
and speaker-to-be Newt Gingrich (R-Ga) are both known
as supporters of science and technology, they remain
constrained by the budget agreement."


The article ends with the thought that American science
'at least for the moment, is a powerhouse of new ideas and
bright promises." But a "slump in in practical
payoffs will come decades from now, when discoveries of
today's basic science would be expected to bear fruit."




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