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Ronald C. Davidson, professor of physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1978, has been named director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Funded by the United States Department of Energy, PPPL operates on an annual budget of nearly $100 million. Research at the laboratory focuses on the creation of energy from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei confined by magnetic fields. Davidson's new position began on January 1. Davidson joined the physics faculty of MIT in 1978,

An epidemiologist's move to attend a closed meeting spurs debate over freedom of information versus the right to privacy WASHINGTON--No grant applicant had ever tried to breach the sanctity of an advisory council at the National Institutes of Health--until last summer, when University of Texas epidemiologist Darwin Labarthe knocked on the door. Notwithstanding the closed-door policy of the outside panel that advises the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Labarthe told the NHLBI directo

Drug Firms Tackle Drug Abuse Conflicting Conferences Fun With Numbers DOE Inspectors: No Paper Tigers Rowland Voted In At AAAS The pharmaceutical industry is finally picking up the ball on the development of medicines to treat drug abuse (The Scientist, Nov. 26, 1990, page 1). The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has established a nine-member Commission on Medicines for the Treatment of Drug Dependence and Abuse to work with the National Institute of Drug Abuse to develop scree

Minorities at the agency work largely on their own to help their peers land high-level science jobs BETHESDA, Md.--Ron King wants to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. But King, an intramural research fellow in the laboratory of molecular biology at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, thinks that it's even more important to encourage other blacks to enter science fields. That's why he takes precious time out from his work in the lab

Bioscientist Royston turns his attention to creating a center in San Diego's crowded research community WASHINGTON--The debate is over, says presidential science adviser Allan Bromley. The federal science budget is a question of priorities. And for members of the United States scientific community, this means that from now on they must persuade the politically powerful that their cause is more worthy of precious federal dollars than the other domestic needs facing the country. Throughout the

The Scientist 4[24]:0, Dec. 10, 1990 News Profiles of Black Scientists JOHN DIGGS Background: Raised in rural Tennessee. B.S. in biology, Lane College, Jackson, Tenn., 1956; Ph.D. in physiology, Howard University, 1972. Came to NIH extramural program in 1974, spent eight years as director of extramural activities, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Current position: NIH deputy director for extramural research. "When I first came to NIH, there were a

Bioscientist Royston turns his attention to creating a center in San Diego's crowded research community Ivor Royston, who at the age of 33 founded Hybritech Inc., the first company in the United States to exploit monoclonal antibodies commercially, and who became a millionaire in the process, is taking his vision for enterprise to a new nonprofit venture. Among the palm trees, a handful of research institutes, and the 90 biotechnology companies that make San Diego an idyllic place for scient

SIMON SILVER Department of Microbiology & Immunology University of Illinois Chicago The hype is out of proportion, but the 12 October issue of Science spotlights the Human Genome Project with an attractive cover montage, a removable centerfold of current human chromosome maps (intended for wall display), and a status report. Real progress is being made, however, as exemplified by the promising new approaches presented in the same issue. J.C. Stephens, M.L. Cavanaugh, M.I. Gradie, M.L. Mador,

U.S. students found their summer in Japanese labs professionally as well as culturally productive, but not many plan to return WASHINGTON--A National Science Foundation program to forge closer ties with Japanese scientists is gaining popularity among the next generation of United States scientists, say NSF officials. The Summer Institute in Japan, which sent 25 U.S. graduate students in science and engineering to Japanese research facilities last summer, will support 50 such students this com

Pounding Out A Victory Walgren Dumped, Brown Survives Both Sides Now Carrying On A Tradition Full-Speed Ahead At OSTP The residents of California's San Diego County have voted by a 2-to-1 margin to continue to allow unclaimed pound animals to be used in medical research. More than 600,000 voters cast ballots November 6 in the largest-ever electoral rebuff of the animal rights movement's efforts to curb the use of pound animals in research. Supporters spent $130,000 to campaign for the r

Minority scientists say that the agency must do more to hire, promote, and reward them in the lab and in administrative jobs BETHESDA, Md. -- The voices of black scientists at the National Institutes of Health are filled with pride, anger, and frustration. Pride in working hard at jobs that they love. Anger that there are so many obstacles in their path and so few people willing to help them. And frustration that the situation has changed little over the past 30 years and isn't likely to get b

NIDA offers financial and regulatory incentives, but reluctant pharmaceutical companies are worried about the legal risks WASHINGTON--The federal government wants to persuade the pharmaceutical industry to join its war on illegal drugs. At a two-day conference here this week the two sides will discuss financial and regulatory inducements to drug companies that create medications to fight mental illness to join the battle. Agencies within the Public Health Service are hoping that pharmaceutica