WASHINGTON -- On March 22 the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology rolled up its sleeves and got down to business, namely, the task of getting United States industry to play a larger role in strengthening science.
The council has a mandate to provide the president with all manner of scientific and technological advice on pressing issues of the day. And its 12 members, who were sworn in February 2 (The Scientist, March 5, 1990, page 3), represent a diverse elite, from billionaire electronics giant David Packard to academic molecular biologist and Nobel laureate David Nathans. But it was clear during last month's meeting, which featured presentations on high performance computing and materials science, that PCAST chairman and presidential science adviser Allan Bromley is intent on tapping the nation's private sector for timely advice on how to improve the state of the scientific enterprise.
One of Bromley's innovations ...
