Wilson, a chemist and former vice president for research at the University of Michigan, expressed her views last month during a panel discussion--and in subsequent interviews with a reporter--at a two-day meeting focusing on the draft of a National Academy of Sciences report entitled "Fateful Choices: The Future of the U.S. Academic Research Enterprise." She suggested to attendees at the meeting--held at academy headquarters here--that competitiveness comes naturally to Caucasian men, and it is they who, over the years, have set the tone for the way in which scientific investigation has been oriented.
But the era of white-male-dominated science is over, she said, and "what worked well...even for present-day Nobelists, won't do today." During a question-and-answer session after her talk, she elaborated on her views, saying that such characteristics as "ruthless competition and single-minded devotion to the job at the expense of everything in one's life" do not appeal to ...
