In an effort to cope with hurdles posed by the post-Cold War "new order," National Science Foundation director Walter E. Massey is looking to a 15-member special panel to assist NSF with charting out a "new strategic plan" to the year 2000 and beyond. Massey says he is hopeful that the newly formed Special Commission on the Future of the NSF, which he announced during an August 13-14 presentation before the National Science Board (NSB), will serve to complement the "long-range planning process" being pursued by officials within the agency.
The initiatives are part of a sweeping attempt by NSF to address challenges facing the United States science community, challenges that Massey cited at an NSF general staff meeting late last month: "We are seeing an unsettling transition in academic research: There is persistent dissatisfaction with funding, a lack of opportunities for young researchers, and the appearance that research pressures ...
