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PASADENA, CALIF.—An industry-funded research institute that pledges to be independent of the companies that are funding it is the latest player in the debate on, the environmental and public health risk of toxic chemicals. The Institute for Evaluating Health Risks (IEHR) says it is the nation’s first independent institute formed to specifically address environment-related health risks. It was put together by ethicist Charles Powers, a former philosophy professor at Yale Universi

IEEE Delegation In The Soviet Union Eight members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. returned home from their visit to the Soviet Union with basically what they were looking for—more insight into the Soviets’ research in optoelectronics. The IEEE delegation met with its engineering counterpart, the A.S. Popov Society, for the first time since 1984 (The Scientist, July 24, 1989, page 8), and toured Soviet industries, labs, and universities in Moscow and Le

Faces In The Crowd November has been a busy time for personnel moves at important science policy positions in and around the government. They include: John Toll, a physicist and former chancellor of the University of Maryland, who was named president of the Universities Research Association Inc. URA, a consortium of 72 schools with strong programs in particle physics, operates the Superconducting Supercollider laboratory being built outside Dallas under contract with the Department of Energy

WASHINGTON—The National Science Foundation has changed its format for proposals in a strong message to applicants about what their priorities should be. The new format reflects the nation’s increasing concern about the training of new scientists and information overload. On October 1, NSF began requiring that all proposals include a statement about a proposed project’s educational potential and a list of the young scientists being trained in the applicant’s laborato

Summer With The Navy Each summer, the U.S. Navy opens its doors to university scientists and engineers who want to work temporarily at 19 Navy research and development centers. The program, which is administered by the American Society for Engineering Education, offers three levels of appointments: summer faculty fellows, who must have two years’ teaching and research experience; senior fellows, who must have conducted research for five years and have significant publications; and distin

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. has presented its second annual Award for Distinguished Achievement in Pain Research to Ronald Dubner. Dubner, 55, is chief of the Neurobiology and Anesthesiology Branch of the National Institute, of Dental Research at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.. Dubner was the first to identify specific pain-sensing cells (nociceptors) and their connections to the central nervous system. Prior to his work, it had been believed that the nerves in the skin respond

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Four months after their $500 million satellite failed to settle into its target orbit, European space scientists are hoping to salvage as much as half of the data that they expected to receive from the Hipparcos mission. Their optimism is based on weeks of hard work modifying the hardware and software that control the astronomical observatory to mitigate the scientific impact of the satellite’s failure to reach its proper orbit. Ironically, the reduced flow of

Since 1972, the National Science Foundation’s Industry University Cooperative Research Center program has been uniting private firms and academic institutions in setting up university centers that aim to conduct industrially relevant research. While over the years new products occasionally have resulted from these collaborations, until six weeks ago no IUCRC had ever spun off an entirely new manufacturing facility. But on October 30, a Philadelphia-based firm opened a plastics-recycling

Los Alamos Wins Laser War... An outbreak of pragmatism in the Defense Department’s “Star Wars” program has tipped the balance toward Los Alamos National Lab in its 10-year competition with Lawrence Livermoew National Labs to develop a ground-based free-electron laser. in October, the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization picked Los Alamos and its partner, Boeing Aerospace and Electronics, for the $500 million project. The decision will mean $75 million over the next five

Although it’s certainly lively enough, it’s not “The Cosby Show.” And while it’s about science, it’s not as grandiose as “Cosmos,” the $30 million astronomy extravaganza hosted by Carl Sagan a few years ago. But for Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann, “The World of Chemistry,” a 26-segment television series produced for the Public Broadcasting System, is a vehicle that’s sufficiently entertaining and stylish to convey his enthusia

Faster Sequencing Ahead A Foster Park, Calif., firm feels it could be holding the key to speedy completion of the human genome project. Applied Biosystems Inc. is developing a device called a sequencer front end that would take over much of the manually done chemical sequencing reactions that now limit the speed of automated sequencers. The publicly owned company, abiotech equipment maker that recorded $160 million in sales last year, is hoping the new device will be ready by the end of next y

PRINCETON, NJ.—Drop a certain name in conversation with a fusion scientist or a Department of Energy official and you’re likely to observe an unusual reaction. Rolling eyes and sighs are common responses; mild cases of apoplexy are not unknown. Usually composed researchers become animated, others simply nod their heads knowingly. Rarely does the name pass without comment. The name is Bogdan Maglich, and the man who owns it claims he’s just a scientist with a relatively mo