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Harvard's E.O. Wilson And B. Holldobler Share 1991 Pulitzer Prize For The Ants University Of Wyoming President Named Head Of Western Science Consortium Joseph W. Plandowski Leo W. Buss Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University's Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science, and Berthold H”lldobler, formerly Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard, have won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for The Ants. The 732-page, seven-pound book was published by Harvard Univers

DOD Supports Multidisciplinary Studies The U.S. Department of Defense has announced the latest round of funding for its ongoing program of multidisciplinary research grants to universities. The department's University Research Initiative will fund three- to five-year projects on a variety of defense-related science and engineering topics. It hopes to award approximately $45 million in grants each year. The grants are designed to allow researchers to emphasize complex problems requiring a multi

A chemist who was fired by the Canadian health department after criticizing the Mime breast implant now consults on the issue OTTAWA--For J.J.B. Pierre Blais, doing good science has also turned out to be good for business. Two years after the Canadian chemist was fired from his country's health department in 1989 after his repeated attempts to have the MÆme breast implant removed from the market (The Scientist, September 4, 1989, page 7; also see accompanying story), Blais is running a b

No More Room At The Top Can't Come, But Send Money A Picture Worth A Thousand Hearings SSC-Backed Students Win Science Bowl An Embarrassment Of Riches The National Academy of Sciences has rejected a drive to increase the number of scientists elected each year. That figure stands at 60, but this year the chairmen of the six disciplinary classes that make up NAS petitioned for nine more slots--a 15 percent increase--arguing that the number of scientists has grown so rapidly in the past de

TAKING GOOD SCIENCE AND SOUND MANAGEMENT TO THE BANK (The Scientist, Vol:5, #11, pg. 9, May 27,1991) (Copyright, The Scientist, Inc.) ---------- Regeneron's windfall of April 2 may have shocked a number of technology watchers and inspired dark predictions from others. But the fact remains that while Regeneron's wildly successful initial public offering may be due in part to Wall Street hype, the company's promising science, growing market potential, experienced management, and s

New policies may make it more difficult for them to work temporarily, but may make it easier for them to get permanent visas Universities, industries, and government agencies that employ foreign scientists see the 1990 Immigration Act, which revamps the visa application process for skilled workers and the quotas of temporary and permanent visas issued, as a mixed blessing. The 110-page law, signed by President Bush last November, triples the number of permanent visas for skilled workers to 1

Some members fear that wealthy organizations like ACS and AAS may be losing sight of their charters as they pursue revenue As an information specialist with Spring House, Pa.-based chemical manufacturer Rohm and Haas Co., chemist Joann Witiak is a regular user of the American Chemical Society's Chemical Abstract Service. She is also a member of the society. So is Steve Weininger, a professor of chemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. Witiak generally pays about $68 per

Countering the widespread predictions of a future scientist shortage, several analysts predict a crisis in quality, not quantity WASHINGTON--The idea of an upcoming massive shortage of scientists and engineers is now being assailed and discredited on many fronts. But that doesn't mean that labor economists and statisticians are anticipating only bright skies ahead for scientists entering the job market. What is emerging is a more limited assessment of employment prospects and the economy that

While the agency's halt to `downward negotiations' may promote fairness, it fails to brighten overall research support vistas WASHINGTON--The National Institutes of Health has officially ended its highly unpopular practice of applying unilateral, across-the-board cuts to the grants of those researchers it funds. But most scientists will find that the varying approaches adopted by individual institutes to replace what were euphemistically called "downward negotiations" do not yield any more mon

Fulbrights Back Teaching And Research The Fulbright Scholar Program for 1992-93 will award 1,000 grants for research and teaching in more than 100 countries to academic faculty at all levels, professionals, and independent scholars. Grant periods range from two months to an academic year and may include research, university lecturing, or a combination of the two. Basic requirements for Fulbright awards are U.S. citizenship and a Ph.D. or equivalent professional qualifications. Most lecturing

Healy unveils $30 million plan to provide interim funding for researchers struggling to secure NIH grants for their research WASHINGTON--In her first official appearance before Congress as National Institutes of Health director last month, Bernadine Healy delivered a gift to the scientific research community: a new $30 million awards program. Healy told the House appropriations subcommittee headed by Rep. William Natcher (D-Ky.) that by the end of September, NIH hopes to have thrown a lifelin

Healy's Family Ties Soften Pay Cut Penn Researcher Fights Sanctions Astronomers To Get SDI Technology Soon They'll Want A Sports Car Try Dial-A-Prayer New NIH director Bernadine Healy received copious condolences last month from members of a House appropriations subcommittee for the "substantial pay cut" that she was taking to come to Washington. Indeed, her financial disclosure statement reveals that she earned $251,000 last year in salary as director of the research institute at the