Although the timing was a coincidence, the simultaneity of the activities symbolized Kennedy's inability to quell, through personal response, the indirect costs controversy that has plagued the U.S. academic world for the past several months--a controversy that Kennedy and his institution principally precipitated. His peers in academe note that failure even as they give expression to their sympathy. "The events of the past year are a sorry climax to a brilliant career," says Richard Atkinson,

WASHINGTON: On July 29, as Donald Kennedy announced his resignation as president of Stanford University, research institutions throughout the United States were rushing to meet a 5 P.M. deadline to comment on changes in the rules governing how much they can charge for the indirect costs of doing federally funded research. Although the timing was a coincidence, the simultaneity of the activities symbolized Kennedy's inability to quell, through personal response, the indirect costs controversy t

Employees say cronyism and inconsistent leadership have seriously damaged the unit charged with keeping tabs on U.S. research WASHINGTON--The division within the National Science Foundation that monitors the health of the United States' scientific infrastructure is in a state of turmoil, according to knowledgeable sources and internal documents obtained by The Scientist. At the heart of the unrest, these sources allege, are conflicts of interest and favoritism in the awarding of contracts, ins

WASHINGTON--For the first time in the history of the National Institutes of Health, the director of one of its institutes is a person of color. And cancer cell biologist Kenneth Olden would like his appointment as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to be read as a message of hope to prospective minority scientists everywhere. "My appointment says to minority youths that, if they work hard and prepare themselves, they can succeed," says Olden, who until

In Their Push To Improve Science Education AUTHOR: JEFFREY MERVIS, pg. 1 Thousands of scientists may participate in the $75 million effort toward lasting improvements in the way kids are taught WASHINGTON--This month the National Science Foundation kicks off a $75 million program to improve the way that science and mathematics are taught in United States public schools. Thousands of scientists and engineers throughout the nation, from both academia and industry, are expected to play an imp

Projects, Anyway? AUTHOR: Jeffrey Mervis, p.11,13. Twice in a recent eight-day span, the United States House of Representatives debated the proper balance between "big" and "little" science. In both cases, big science won. The debates preceded separate votes on appropriations bills for fiscal year 1992. Although the bills include proposed funding for such items as low-income housing and federal water projects, most of the more than 10 hours spent discussing them centered on the value of two meg

AUTHOR: JEFFREY MERVIS, pg. 3. WASHINGTON--While any conceptual link between modern scientific investigation and Christopher Columbus's landing in the New World back in 1492 is tenuous, the National Institutes of Health nevertheless plans to mark the 500th anniversary of the Italian explorer's first visit to the Western hemisphere by giving awards named after him to leaders in biomedical research. This fall NIH will bestow Christopher Columbus Discovery Awards in Biomedical Research upon a doze

Revelations of the school's squandeing of funds have overwhelmed those who until now had managed to avert arbitrary caps WASHINGTON--The political fallout from Stanford University's questionable use of overhead charges for its federally funded research projects appears likely to achieve what a decade of pressure from the White House could not do: place a cap on how much universities can spend on the administrative portion of their indirect costs. Welcome news for scientists is that such a ca

Volume 5, #13The Scientist June 24, 1991 Close Up Ask Samuel Thier why he wanted to become president of Brandeis University, and he'll point to the obvious reasons--among them the high quality of its faculty, the opportunity to lead a respected research university, and the chance to return to the Boston area, where he trained and taught. With academia under attack from many quarters, Thier says he relishes the chance to show the public that universities are still vital to the co

Observers question whether the institute will find a chief who can match Thier's record of progress in establishing IoM's credibility WASHINGTON--Samuel Thier's decision last month to leave the Institute of Medicine (IoM) after six years as president for a university presidency represents a significant loss to the organization that has only recently become an important voice in health care policy debates, say institute members and others who are familiar with this affiliate of the National Aca

While the agency's program to encourage recruitment of minority investigators is said to be `marvelous,' few grantees apply for it WASHINGTON--Nursing professors Irene Lewis and Faye Whitney think they can spot a good thing. And a program that gives scientists as much as $50,000 a year to add a minority investigator onto National Institutes of Health grants is, as far as they are concerned, one of the best deals around. NIH grantee Whitney, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylv

WASHINGTON--The National Science Foundation has quietly launched a new, highly selective program of research awards to young faculty. The initiative, to be called the Presidential Science and Engineering Faculty Fellows program, will offer more money than and have different ground rules from those of the existing Presidential Young Investigators (PYI) award, which will now be called simply the NSF Young Investigators Program. And more than a name change may be afoot for the original PYI progra