Articles by Kathryn Phillips

Researchers hold mixed opinions, with some advocating a streamlined approach that credits only germane contributors Geophysicist Marcia McNutt routinely reads a stack of journals ranging from the Journal of Geophysical research to Science and Nature. When she reads a paper in any of these publications, she usually feels safe making a few assumptions about the authors listed on the paper. "I usually assume the first author is the person who actually did the research," says McNutt, a professo

F. Sherwood Rowland, president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Bren Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Irvine, leaning back in his desk chair, is about to hold forth on his favorite subject, atmospheric chemistry. But before he can begin, Donald Blake, a senior researcher and Rowland's right-hand man in the lab, pops in the door. Blake, carrying a clipboard with a checklist of discussion items, quickly apologizes for the interruption as

During a break in a seminar at a biotechnology firm, a chemist approached his lab supervisor to chat about a project. "You know, we're really behind," the chemist said. "I think I need to come in this weekend and run some samples." 1. Don't lose touch with the lab. Take time--even if it's only a few minutes a week--to talk individually to lab team members about their work. 2. Address problems as soon as they arise. 3. Clearly define the objective of each lab project. 4. Let scientists be

Anyone taking a glance around the audience at a large scientific conference can see that there are significantly more women in science than there were just 15 years ago. But just how big a role are these women playing? Are they getting the opportunities to work on important projects or to create new products? The answers to these questions are elusive. But a recently released study by the United States Patent and Trademark Office reveals some interesting data that provide some clues. The repo

For scientists beginning their first year in their own lab, amassing sufficient startup funding can pose a tremendous challenge. This was not the case for organic chemist Eric Anslyn, however. Even before he began his first day as an assistant professor at the University of Texas in Austin last fall, he negotiated a package with the university that gave him $190,000 to equip and start up his lab. Then he won a $25,000 no-strings-attached award specifically designed for startup funding from the

When Indira Rajagopal, a molecular biology postdoc, was called away from a job in San Diego to attend to a family emergency back home in India, she figured she would be back at the lab bench within a few weeks. But visa trouble intervened. While she was in India, her temporary visa to work in the United States expired, so she applied for a new one. She was ready to return to the U.S. within three weeks. Her visa wasn't ready for her, though. "It took several months" to get the new visa, she r

The staff at Immunex Corp. likes to joke that no wall in the biotechnology firm's Seattle headquarters has ever stayed in one place for more than a year. Instead, the walls keep getting moved around at this nine-year-old company to make room for more scientists and more labs. Although the staffers are talking about the tangible plaster and wood walls, they might as well be talking about the invisible divisions that normally define scientific teams. At Immunex, those sorts of walls get moved ar

About a year ago, James O'Brien filed a grant renewal application to support this year's summer program to put five minority undergraduates to work in his scientific labs. A professor in oceanography and meteorology at Honda State University in Tallahassee, O'Brien had received the annual $50,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for several years and expected its renewal to be routine. But a snafu at the federal agency slowed the renewal, so that by May 1, as the students began arri

A handmade poster bearing a brief, " hastily scrawled message leans against a wall in Abmed Zewail’s office. Is a remider of the events that have charmed this chemist’s life for the last two and a half years. “Thank you, King Faisal Three Cheers for AZ.!!! The Femtosecond king,” it says. Signed by about a dozen of Zewail’s students at the California Institute of Technology, the poster celebrates Zewail’s selection in January as the 1989 recipient of Saudi

Five years ago, Bruce Culver had what seemed like a good job. Trained as a chemist, he had worked his way up the corporate ladder to become vice president for Applied Research Laboratories in Valencia, Calif. He was tired of the revolving door at the top that had brought in four different company presidents in five years, but he felt pretty secure and had no plans to leave. Then in June 1983, everything changed. The company’s president became the leader of a leveraged buyout. Culver wa

The name Erkki Ruoslahti appears so frequently below the titles of groundbreaking cell biology papers in top-quality journals, it should be a household word in cell laboratories by now. Three of his team’s papers have been listed among The Scientist’s ‘Hot Papers’ during the past three months; two other papers have made it into the Institute for Scientific Information’s Current Contents listing of the 100 most-cited life-sciences articles for 1986. Many Stars Wh

LA JOLLA, CALIF.—Donald Mosier and Darcy Wilson credit their latest success to what they call “interactive science,” which occurs when experienced researchers with fertile ‘minds get together and new concepts and approaches arise spontaneously. It even occurs, they add, when ideas are exchanged by scientists who do not agree. In fact, as the result of a serendipitous argument, Wilson and Mosier recently made the front page of the New York Times and dozens of other newspap

Around the California Institute of Technology, members of Leroy Hood’s lab occasionally call themselves the “Gang of 70.” In fact, the precise number working for one of the world’s top biologists changes constantly with the natural ebb and flow of graduate students, postdoctorates, and technical staff. But the spirit of the nickname remains constant: Hood’s team is big, anywhere from eight to 10 times bigger than the typical academic lab team. However, the group m