The Scientist - Home

Plight Of Female Researchers Date:January 10, 1994, pp.1 Through campus `site visits,' AWIS will investigate the prevalence of gender bias in academia The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) is planning an ambitious project to assess the climate for female researchers in academia--by visiting several United States colleges and universities and talking with the women themselves. The effort will take AWIS representatives into

For the first time in its 88-year history, the United States Forest Service has a research scientist at its helm instead of an engineer, a forester, or a public administrator. Environmental researchers are applauding the appointment of Jack Ward Thomas, a wildlife biologist from Oregon, as a breath of fresh air for an agency in the midst of transition from the primarily timber commodity-based outlook of the past decade to an ecosyst

According to a report by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest) in Cambridge, Mass., male high school students won 75 percent of the 471 college scholarships awarded in 1993, the first year of the National Academy for Science, Space, and Technology (NASST) program in the United States Department of Education. This was so even though young women earn higher grades in science and math than young men in both hig

Programs Date:January 10, 1994, pp.1 Report warns of inadequate oversight and ineffective planning and management of the growing number of federal initiatives Science education specialists are endorsing a recently released report by a top-level advisory panel warning that, despite unprecedented government spending on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) education, the United States "remains at risk of losing i

Despite impressive lab achievements, the big news this year has sprung from the corridors of power in Washington Scientists, policy experts, administrators, and observers of the research community appear satisfied that 1993 has been a strong year in terms of research advances. They cite, for example, bold steps taken this year in gene therapies and a continuing frenzy of research on the 60-atom molecules of carbon known as buckminsterfullerenes, or buckyballs. Overall, they feel, researchers

As more researchers flock to the popular field, observers fear a widening gap between supply and demand When scientists convene in New Orleans next week for the 33rd annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), nine symposia, 20 minisymposia, and countless informal gatherings are sure to focus on the recent achievements and continuing progress in this exciting and rapidly expanding scientific field. There is likely to be little excitement in the air, however, concerning the

'Concerned Scientists' organization fosters a coalition determined to promote awareness of global perils In an unusual alliance, a group of prominent scientists has teamed up with several major religious denominations to address what they see as urgent environmental problems. The group aims to educate Americans about such global concerns as deteriorating marine life, loss of important species, and food shortages. It is being led by Henry Kendall, a physics professor at the Massachusetts Ins

The Charles A. Dana Foundation presented its annual Charles A. Dana Awards for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Education at a dinner ceremony last month at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. This year, the New York-based foun- dation's health awards honored seven scientists and educators who won or shared four awards--two in health and two in education. Three neuroscientists who made significant breakthroughs in brain research and applied their findings to clinical disorders won health aw

A `Best-Kept' Secret Broadening Experience Women's Work Robotiquette What's In A Name?l For Returning Scholars Bigger, Better Shrimp Several attendees at--and one recipient of--the 1993 John Scott Awards, presented annually by the Board of City Trusts of the city of Philadelphia (see People, page 22), voiced concern over the lack of publicity for the award. At one point during his acceptance speech, honoree Richard E. Smalley, Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry at Rice Univers

Ruth F. Nutt, a peptide chemist and former senior scientist at Merck & Co. Inc., Rahway, N.J., has joined Corvas International Inc. in San Diego as director of chemistry. In 31 years at Merck, Nutt, 53, was responsible for the development of five major drug candidates, including one now in clinical trials. In addition, she was on the first team to chemically synthesize an enzyme and led the team that first synthesized the HIV protease, preceding recombinant production of the enzyme by about

Foundation, the History of Science Society has seen the development of a number of specialized historical interest groups under its umbrella. In fact, the society has endeavored to remain a unifying instrument for the new groups, rather than see the field become fragmented, says society executive secretary Keith R. Benson. Benson is also a professor of medical history and ethics at the University of Washington, Seattle, and archivist for the history and philosophy of biology division of the Amer

only slowing down hiring but also laying off their current employees. Last month, for example, Pfizer Inc., headquartered in New York, announced that it would eliminate 3,000 jobs; Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Upjohn Co. announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs; and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co. announced 4,000 planned layoffs. The displaced scientists are "excellent hires for us," says Ed Bocko, Jr., a biotechnology human resource consultant for Protran Resources Inc. of Sharon, Mass., &