Notebook

BASIC ADVOCATE: Maryland's Rita Colwell plans to advocate more basic science funding as the next NSF deputy director. On January 8, President Clinton announced his intent to nominate Rita R. Colwell as deputy director of the National Science Foundation. Colwell, currently the president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, says that if her nomination is confirmed, she will use the position to push for more research dollars for basic science. She remains unfazed by the limits t

| 8 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
8:00
Share

BASIC ADVOCATE: Maryland's Rita Colwell plans to advocate more basic science funding as the next NSF deputy director. On January 8, President Clinton announced his intent to nominate Rita R. Colwell as deputy director of the National Science Foundation. Colwell, currently the president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, says that if her nomination is confirmed, she will use the position to push for more research dollars for basic science. She remains unfazed by the limits the balanced budget agreement places on available federal research funds. "Congress understands the value of science," she asserts. "I'm very optimistic." Colwell says she plans to draw on her experiences gained from serving on the National Science Board in 1983-89 to administer NSF programs. "I worked hard to learn as much as I could about the other areas of science," she recalls. "I'm extremely interested in furthering all the basic sciences and have ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
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!
Already a member? Login Here
December digest cover image of a wooden sculpture comprised of multiple wooden neurons that form a seahorse.
December 2025, Issue 1

Wooden Neurons: An Artistic Vision of the Brain

A neurobiologist, who loves the morphology of cells, turns these shapes into works of art made from wood.

View this Issue
Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

Merck
Stacks of cell culture dishes, plates, and flasks with pink cell culture medium on a white background.

Driving Innovation with Cell Culture Essentials

MilliporeSigma purple logo
Abstract wireframe sphere with colorful dots and connecting lines representing the complex cellular and molecular interactions within the tumor microenvironment.

Exploring the Inflammatory Tumor Microenvironment 

Cellecta logo
An image of a DNA sequencing spectrum with a radial blur filter applied.

A Comprehensive Guide to Next-Generation Sequencing

Integra Logo

Products

brandtech logo

BRANDTECH® Scientific Announces Strategic Partnership with Copia Scientific to Strengthen Sales and Service of the BRAND® Liquid Handling Station (LHS) 

Top Innovations 2026 Contest Image

Enter Our 2026 Top Innovations Contest

Biotium Logo

Biotium Expands Tyramide Signal Amplification Portfolio with Brighter and More Stable Dyes for Enhanced Spatial Imaging

Labvantage Logo

LabVantage Solutions Awarded $22.3 Million U.S Customs and Border Protection Contract to Deliver Next-Generation Forensic LIMS