The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is supposed to coordinate federal policy on science. But low-profile science adviser William Graham, even after 20 months on the job, occasionally still finds himself on the outside looking in. The latest snub is a new report from the Office of Technology Assessment on ways to improve U.S. efforts to commercialize high-temperature superconductivity [to get the report, call (202) 783-3238 and ask for GPO 052-003-01112-3; the price is $8]. In what passes for strong criticism on Capitol Hill, the soft-spoken Graham complained June 28 to the Senate Government Affairs Committee that “I wish my friend Dr. [John] Gibbons, [director] of OTA, had talked with me or other members of the OSTP” as they were working on the report. In comments after his testimony, Gibbons admitted that project director John Alic relied much more heavily on Defense Department and NSF officials than...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!