WASHINGTON—The view with respect to Yale nuclear physicist D. Allan Bromley seems to be unanimous: The new assistant to the pres- ident for science and technology, in the words of one colleague, “cuts through the crap to get things done.” On April 20, the White House issued an announcement that the science community had been anxiously awaiting for months: President Bush had selected his new science adviser. Long rumored for the position, Bromley comes to the job with true

WASHINGTON—The resignation of James Wyngaarden last month after more than seven years as director of the National Institutes of Health may have caught scientists by surprise. But it was a long time coming for the 64-year-old Wyngaarden. In fact, his last day on the job, July 31, will be nine months past the date when the soft-spoken former Duke University medical schcol administrator had hoped to leave the post. It’s clear that Wyngaarden has had his fill of the political battles

First she was his student, a medical resident working under an internationally recognized expert in the field of nuclear medicine. Then she was his academic and clinical colleague, making her way as a re spected scientist. Finally, after 10 years m the lab, Heidi S. Weissmann became the plaintiff, and Leonard M. Freeman the defendant, in a bitter and costly legal dispute that touches on one of the pillars of the research enterprise: assigning credit for original work. In February, weissman

WASHINGTON—To some scientists the title will sound impressive; to others, it will be simply obscure: associate director for natural resources, energy, and science at the Office of Management and Budget. But scientists ought to know who carries this portfolio, because the person in that office has the potential to relax or squeeze important parts of the federal research budget for science. The current occupant is R6bert Grady. a newly appointed (see story, page 1) political scientist

WASHINGTON—The phone call on that January 1988 morning stunned staffers at the American Association for the Advancement of Science: Forensic pathologist Robert Kirschner, a member of the AAAS Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, had just been thrown into a Kenyan prison. Before heading for Kenya, Kirschner had received official government approval to attend an inquest into the death of a prisoner whose case had become a cause célèbre following allegations of gov

WASHINGTON—Why, wondered Erich Bloch soon after he became director of the National Science Foundation in 1984, couldn’t scien tists submit their grant proposals to NSF electronically? What Bloch had in mind was a gradual shift of the entire grants process—from the development of a proposal through its review by a panel of outside experts—from brown paper envelopes to phone circuits. Spurred by that clear vision, NSF drew up plans, solicited proposals, and in October19

New industry links profut researchers and their work, but critics fear ethics conflicts and damage to NIH's basic science mission. WASHINGTON--In 1983, Ira Pastan was chief of the molecular biology lab within the division of cancer biology and diagnosis at the National Cancer Institute. Like most of NIH's 3,100 intramural scientists, he had spent his career conducting basic research - in his case, probing gene regulation and hormone activity - in the hope of understanding how organisms funct

Competition for research funds will heat up, but most scientists sat that NIH is making the right decision. WASHINGTON, D.C.--The National Institutes of Health have long struggled with a painful dilemma. Given finite dollars, how can a funding agency manage to reward proven investigators while still nurturing fresh talent? In recent years, NIH's answer has been to trim existing grants in order to fund more new scientists. But in a recent major change in policy, NIH has decided to sharply redu

The budget pledges more money for science, but whether this will translate into support for individual scientists remains. WASHINGTON, D.C.--For scientists who depend on funds from NSF and NIH, one important implication of President Reagan's final budget is a new emphasis on raising the size of individual grants. But it's not all good news: The budget, barring radical surgery by Congress, may fund fewer new grants than might be expected. And Reagan's desire to spend more on interdisciplinary c

TI: Will Bush's Record On Waste Be Better Than Reagan's AU: JEFFREY MERVIS DT: January 23, 1989 PG: 7 TY: NEWS (The Scientist, Vol:3, #2, pg. 7-8, January 23, 1989) (Copyright, The Scientist, Inc.) ---------- WASHINGTON--Environmental problems have become so pervasive, that such complex issues as toxic wastes, global warming, and depletion of the ozone layer have become the topics of casual conversation among an otherwise scientifically illiterate public. And yet the one government agency that

WASHINGTON—Anyone who may be wondering why John Sununu wanted to become White House chief of staff need only dig out a speech the retiring New Hampshire governor and mechanical engineer gave five years ago. Addressing the 1983 winter meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Sununu said that good public policy depends on good technical information flowing into the government. But too often, he said, the quality of the information deteriorates as it moves up the chain of

[Ed. note: In the October 31 issue of The Scientist New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu was interviewed as a spokesman for the Bush campaign on science. Now, of course, Sununu has been named White House chief of staff, putting him into position to influence debate on many of the issues he discussed with The Scientist’s, Jeffrey Merivs. As a result, we have decided to print additional parts of the interview.] Q Do you think that some sort of national program is needed to bring about change