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 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...