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NIH's Newest Institute Gearing Up
Charles Marwick | | 3 min read
WASHINGTON—Two and a half years after a presidential veto of the concept, Lawrence Shulman is taking charge as director of the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). "There's a lot to do," said Shulman about the 12th and newest institute on the NIH campus, carved out of an existing institute after Congress voted in 1985 to override the Reagan veto. "And Congress has told us to do it." Shulman, 67, joined the NIH a decade ago from Johns Hopkins Univers

Physicist's Fast for Peace Stirs His Colleagues
Seth Shulman | | 3 min read
BOSTON—Two hundred and eight days after he began a fast to protest the nuclear arms race, astrophysicist Charles Hyder stood in the rain across the street from the White House to announce his decision to run for president. He admitted his "candidacy" is an attempt to draw attention to his campaign to get the United States and Soviet Union to begin to dismantle their nuclear arsenals. But his willingness to die for his beliefs has posed a dilemma for many scientists active in the disarmame

Wall Street Is Bullish on the Right Ph.Ds
John Makulowich | | 3 min read
As science spawns a growing number of technically sophisticated industrial and consumer goods, some financial houses have been hiring scientists to help analyze the products and their markets. "Our approach is simple," said William Welty, managing director of research for Hambrecht & Quist, based in San Francisco. "We look for Ph.D.s to analyze those industries where rapid scientific advances will make a major difference to the success or failure of its companies. A classic case right now is bio

A Year Later, Chernobyl Research Still Under a Cloud
Jeffrey Mervis | | 4 min read
Igor Suskov is a cytogeneticist who wants to learn a new technique to analyze the extent of mutation in human cells resulting from radiation. But the Soviet scientist may never get the chance, because the people who have developed the assay are at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the site of classified research on U.S. nuclear weapons. Suskov's request is caught in the political and scientific fallout that continues one year after the accident inside reactor unit #4 at the Chernobyl nucle

Institute Calls Canadians Back Home
David Spurgeon | | 4 min read
OTTAWA—In 1985 J. Richard Bond, then associate professor of physics at Stanford University, returned to his alma mater, the University of Toronto, to spend a year at its Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Last June, despite the attractive climate and an offer of tenure from Stanford, the 36-year-old Canadian decided to stay in Toronto. The choice is unusual for citizens of a country that has traditionally lost its best scientists to its southern neighbor. The deciding factor

Europeans Focus on Environment
Tom Wilkie | | 3 min read
LONDON—One of the starkest contrasts between the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl is in the type of scientific research that each has stimulated. After Three Mile Island, reactor operators and regulators throughout the West reassessed the technology and the policies behind nuclear safety. Research in the wake of Chernobyl has focused instead on the environmental effect of the radionuclides released from the reactor. Within a day after news of the accident, for example, the chai

AAAS's Trivelpiece on Science Support
Tabitha Powledge | | 10 min read
Nuclear physicist Alvin W Trivelpiece, the new executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, brings to the post experience in academia, industry and government. He received his master's degree and doctorate at the California Institute of Technology, then went on to teach at the University of California at Berkeley (1959-66) and the University of Maryland (1966-76). In 1973-75, on leave from his faculty post, Trivelpiece was assistant director for research in the d

Critics Question Need For AIDS Foundation
Amy Mcdonald | | 3 min read
WASHINGTON—Resolution of the dispute between American and French researchers over credit for discovery of the AIDS virus and the development of blood tests for the antibody has delighted the science community. But the related decision to create an international AIDS research foundation is being viewed with skepticism by many experts in the field. Under the agreement, announced March 31 by President Ronald Reagan and French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, the U.S. Department of Health and Hu

Probe Sought In Deaths of 4 Scientists
| 1 min read
LONDON—The deaths of four scientists involved in defense research, and the mysterious disappearance of a fifth, are causing considerable speculation here. Although the police initially treated the incidents as unrelated, opposition politicians have highlighted what could be a significant common factor—the men all were involved with advanced signal processing and software. Last August Vimal Dajibhal, 24, a computer programmer with Marconi Underwater Systems, was found underneath a bri

Stable Funds Fuel Smithsonian's Risky Research
Elisabeth Carpenter | | 4 min read
WASHINGTON—David Challinor smiles as he explains how Smithsonian Institution scientists benefit from about a dozen National Science Foundation grants even though Congress has prohibited the organization from asking NSF for money. "It just takes some imagination. One way is to join a consortium. Another is to approach the NSF with a project it wants done. As any Washington bureaucrat knows, there's more than one way to skin a cat." In fact, the 66-year-old Challinor knows more than most bur

'84 Law Angers Defense Contractors
Daniel Charles | | 3 min read
WASHINGTON—A 1984 law to encourage competition among defense contractors has forced federal agencies to become aware of the importance of evaluating all possible bidders for contracts, but also has slowed the procurement process and angered many industry officials. The Competition in Contracting Act was an attempt by Congress to end "sweetheart" deals between the Pentagon and individual defense contractors. Its requirement that agencies seek bids from a range of contractors has led some ag

Energy Labs Offer Slots For Students
| 1 min read
WASHINGTON—The Department of Energy will boost the undergraduate training of scientists and engineers with a program offering students and faculty a semester of hands-on research at one of five national laboratories. Up to 300 juniors and seniors, each receiving travel, housing and weekly stipends, will participate in energy-related investigations during the next academic year at Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Oak Ridge National L
















