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Researchers are perturbed by the weak support being given to a discipline that they consider vital to planet Earth's survival The job market for agricultural scientists has shown little or no net growth over the past several years. Fortunately, in a sense, the same weak economic climate that's slowed job creation has also slowed the flow of students through the agricultural science departments, say university officials nationwide. Thus, the production of Ph.D.'s today generally matches the num

The fifth NIH Research Festival, an in-house showcasing of hundreds of research projects supported by the 13 institutes operating under the National Institutes of Health aegis, will be held at the Bethesda, Md., campus September 21-25. Events scheduled for NIH's 16,000 researchers and other staff include five symposia, 31 workshops, three poster sessions with more than 450 presentations, and a scientific equipment show. Although originally planned to serve the intramural research community at N

Weissmann v. Freeman battle is revived as Dingell subcommittee decides to launch a new investigation Since the age of two, Heidi Weissmann says, she always wanted to be a doctor. She started college when she was 15, began medical school when she was 19, and by age 30 her supervisor was calling her one of the nation's premier authorities on biliary imaging in nuclear medicine. Yet now, at age 41, Weissmann is unemployed. Since 1987, she has claimed the United States radiological community has b

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD.--Right now there are 24 acres of mud, grass, and trees. But when construction is completed by the fall of next year, two of the United States' largest physics societies will leave their cramped offices in New York and join a third group in moving to a brand-new, spacious, five-story office building just outside Washington, D.C. The move is designed to improve professional information gathering and interaction with government policy-making institutions and other scien

Their field is blossoming, but many are disturbed by what they see as a lack of official recognition The field of medical genetics--whose practitioners are, for the most part, Ph.D.'s--recently received a significant boost by being offered member status by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), an Evanston, Ill.-based indepen- dent body that evaluates and certifies physician specialists, such as cardiologists. The prestigious ABMS hasn't admitted a new field to its 23-group roste

As some hail the VP nominee's grasp of the issues, others claim he exploits science in order to advance his own political agenda When Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton tapped Tennessee Sen. Al Gore as his vice presidential running mate last month, many political pundits found it easy to challenge the wisdom of Clinton's decision. They pointed out the striking similarities between the two men--both young political moderates from neighboring southern states--wondering what, indeed, Gore was adding to t

The compilers of the new Directory of Federal Laboratory & Technology Resources, due out early next year, say their publication should make it easier for researchers and others to locate like-minded federal investigators and their facilities. Cooperative research projects involving federal and private researchers might be one important outcome, they say. But some in the nonfederal research and development community say that, while the directory may help with its primary purpose of technology

Journals, Journals Everywhere A Who's Who of Persecuted Scientists It Gets Smaller and Smaller... Mars at Coach Prices Seven Eyes Better Than One Wellcome Funding Researchers in physics and in neuroscience have new outlets for showcasing their work, as two new journals make their debut. The American Vacuum Society unveiled its new quarterly, Surface Science Spectra, in June. Journal staff, led by editors Charles E. Bryson III of Surface/Interface Inc., Mountain View, Calif., and Gary E.

The recent Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero may have raised worldwide consciousness on the seriousness of global environmental problems, but it did not raise a lot of cash to study and act against the problems. So, environmental scientists in the United States should not expect to see a flood of new funding or a preponderance of new research directives in the wake of the June meeting, according to environmental policy experts. There are budget difficulties in Congress. There is a presidential

A recent work force survey by the Washington, D.C.-based American Chemical Society (ACS), building on data from a 1990 ACS salary survey, concludes that women in chemistry still face obstacles to advancement, despite an improved professional climate in recent years. Even so, conversations with women chemists working in the public and private sectors Lind many optimistic about their work and futures. But most also point to changes they would like to see in the profession of chemistry to lower the

Academic scientists, their futures uncertain because of budgetary woes in higher education, may be wondering if industrial research and development offers a safer haven. Meanwhile, bench researchers in industry, shaken by recent corporate downsizing and restructuring, may be looking for refuge in academia. The truth is, no scientific environment-not industry, government, or academia-has been spared the impact of the United States' long and deepening recession. The current job market in science

While the job market for scientists is generally dismal these days, you'd never know it from listening to Jonathan Meulbroek. A microbiologist and mucosal immunologist, Meulbroek is finishing a two-year postdoctoral position in infectious disease research at Eli Lilly and Co. in Indianapolis. Recently, he has had more invitations for job interviews than he has had time to accept. After receiving three job offers, he opted for a position with a major pharmaceutical firm. “I'm very pleased