COUNTING DOUBLE: HOW MANY SCIENTIFIC COUPLES?

Those torn between a spouse on one coast and the job of a lifetime on the other can take comfort in one fact: They aren't alone. Nationwide, there were 3.3 million dual-career couples in 1983, and the number has grown considerably since then, according to a Pennsylvania State University study on the status of women.

There are no reliable data on exactly how many of those 3.3 million couples are scientists, but university and industry administrators interviewed for this story say that finding employment for spouses is becoming an increasingly important factor in hiring decisions. Of the six candidates to whom he's recently offered a job, five had professional spouses, says Lawrence Abele, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Florida State University. "I don't think a senior administrator can be successful without being accommodating...