The National Labs: Past, Present, and Future The Department of Energy has some 43 laboratories and weapons facilities. The nine multiprogram labs are the largest and most famous research institutions. These are the labs whose futures are being contemplated by the task force led by former Motorola Inc. chairman Robert Galvin and commissioned by Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary. (Figures are from 1993 unless otherwise stated.) Argo

The National Labs: Past, Present, and Future The Department of Energy has some 43 laboratories and weapons facilities. The nine multiprogram labs are the largest and most famous research institutions. These are the labs whose futures are being contemplated by the task force led by former Motorola Inc. chairman Robert Galvin and commissioned by Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary. (Figures are from 1993 unless otherwise stated.) Argo

As change in law allows science faculty to keep working after age 70, academia must rethink its personnel policies. The end of mandatory retirement for faculty at United States colleges and universities--a policy change that became effective on January 1 of this year--is placing a new burden on the schools as well as individual faculty members. While the end of the longstanding policy has not brought about--as some administrators

As change in law allows science faculty to keep working after age 70, academia must rethink its personnel policies. The end of mandatory retirement for faculty at United States colleges and universities--a policy change that became effective on January 1 of this year--is placing a new burden on the schools as well as individual faculty members. While the end of the longstanding policy has not brought about--as some administrators

Almost without exception, social events at scientific conferences are fertile ground for networking, veteran conference attendees say. Those who go to such activities are usually eager to meet people and are often more relaxed than during the tightly scheduled scientific sessions. Nevertheless, not all social events are created equal. Here is a guide to some of them. Mixers: Many societies hold a mixer or reception on the first night of a conference; others schedule a mixer later in the meetin

One issue that Environmental Protection Agency director-designate Carol Browner will be assessing is the dual nature of the agency's mission. It is a regulatory agency, but through its Office of Exploratory Research (OER), within the Office of Research and Development (ORD), it also funds some basic research. This double focus has made EPA a difficult research partner for environmental scientists, several top EPA managers acknowledge. Unfortunately, EPA's grants program for investigator-initiat

George Soros, a Hungarian-born investor active in promoting free and open societies in Central and Eastern Europe through his philanthropy, has announced a $100 million donation to support scientific research in the countries of the former Soviet Union. His donation will establish an International Science Foundation for the Former Soviet Union. Although details about the foundation's staff and procedures remained sketchy when Soros announced the donation at the National Academy of Sciences in

George Bush and Bill Clinton may be clogging the airwaves with television commercials promoting their candidacy, but among those vying for the presidency of a scientific society, such a voluble brand of campaigning is considered bad form. In further contrast to the president of the United States, presidents of scientific societies are volunteers, working for free at what is sometimes a full-time job. They usually serve a single, one-year term, and rarely run for a second. They don't have to

To many assistant professors, the tenure process is something of a mystery--a black box, waiting to be opened at the end of the probationary period, generally after six years. But while the determining factors may seem out of reach to some, senior scientists and others who have long experience reviewing candidates for tenure say it is hardly necessary to walk on water to win tenure at most colleges and universities. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all that's necessary, accordin

The entrepreneurial scientist who needs insurance for a start-up, high-technology business--especially in biotechnology or hazardous waste remediation--may find that liability coverage is hard to get. The reasons are simple. "Insurance is a business that depends on the status quo and experience," says Peter Huber, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a New York-based think tank, and a critic of the liability system. It's no wonder that life insurance, with its rich data bank on mortalit

Following the exhilaration of being appointed to one's first job, reality sets in for a new assistant professor. There's a lab to equip and staff, new courses to teach, departmental politics to learn--and, of course, a research program to initiate. Universities often provide start-up funds to a certain extent, but an outside grant is usually essential to give the new scientist's research program the extra momentum it needs to get off the ground. The search for outside funding gives young scien

Fellowships For AIDS Researchers AUTHOR: BILLY GOODMAN, pg. 20, 25. During the mid-1980s, Irene Diamond, the widow of wealthy New York real estate executive Aaron Diamond, had been reading about AIDS. "I came to the conclusion that it was a terrible plague," she recalls, "and I wanted to get involved." Thus, the New York-based Aaron Diamond Foundation, established by her husband in 1955 to fund educational and cultural programs as well as some medical research, branched out to include AIDS fun