Since 1983, Hamburg has been president of the Carnegie Corporation, whose philanthropic work traditionally has focused on education and social justice. Under his leadership, the foundation now also addresses such problems as teenage pregnancy and the avoidance of nuclear war. Hamburg has urged universities to study the causes and prevention of violence, including terrorism. His interest in that subject is partly personal: In 1975, he spent 10 weeks in Zaire successfully negotiating the release of four Stanford students who had been taken captive by guerrillas.
Hamburg, who served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1984-85, was interviewed in his Manhattan office January 29 by Tabitha M. Powledge, editor of The Scientist. This is an edited version of their talk.
Carnegie is supporting Admiral Stansfield Turner, the former head of the CIA, who's doing a book with an academic colleague that looks at a series ...
