Science Needs Private Support

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), the Institute of Medicine (IOM)--along with our "operating arm," the National Research Council (NRC)--are private, independent nonprofit organizations. Most of the work that we do is funded by the federal government in our role as science advisers to the nation. This tradition of service reaches back to our 1863 charter, and providing independent advice to our government remains the central role of the NAS, NAE, IOM, and NRC today. There is also a lesser-known side to the work of the National Academies that has taken on increasing urgency and importance. It is work such as: Addressing the problem of creationism in the classroom, by giving science teachers the tools that they need to teach evolution and the nature of science, while answering parents' and students' questions about why evolution ought to be taught in the science classroom, and why creationism shouldn't. Taking on the first major study of the AIDS epidemic (Confronting AIDS: Directions for Public Health, Health Care, and Research, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1986). Recommending the Human Genome Project to provide the blueprint for mapping and sequencing DNA (Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome, Washington, D.C., National Academy Press, 1988). No federal agency asked us to do this work. But the thanks that we have received from science teachers and school principals nationwide assures us that they desperately needed help in making the case for teaching evolution. The early-1980s initiation of a nationwide--indeed, worldwide--search for a strategy to contain and combat AIDS could not have waited any longer, and our study led the way. And the current medical advances as a result of DNA mapping and sequencing hint at a future that may transform the ways that we fight disease. Private support--donations from foundations, companies, and individuals--has made all of these things possible, enabling us to be proactive and undertake independent studies that are in the best interest of the nation, regardless of federal government support or interest. This type of support has also enabled the National Academies to develop outreach programs that enhance public awareness of science, promote science education, and support the lives and work of scientists. In recent years, we have also been able to increase dramatically the use of the World Wide Web to disseminate all of our work--free of charge--to the world. Consider just one example. As we enter the 21st century, science and technology will be playing an increasingly central role in both society and the lives of every individual. It is therefore dangerous and counterproductive to have most of our population feeling estranged from the scientific enterprise, being left with a feeling that science involves some type of incomprehensible magic performed by an inaccessible priesthood. Our nation is fortunate in having generated a large pool of highly trained, energetic scientists. Over the course of the next few years, our schools are faced with a massive turnover of teachers, with a need to hire two million new teachers. This can be viewed either as a crisis or as a great opportunity. What would it take in the way of career paths, fellowship support, merit pay, and professional development opportunities to entice a large cadre of these scientists into the K-12 educational system--both as teachers and as leaders? This is a question that urgently needs answering, and it is one of many important national efforts for which the Academies presently seek private funding. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council are honored to serve as the science advisers to the nation, and we continue to produce more than 200 studies each year that answer the questions asked by our government. The work we are doing with private support--from scientists, corporations, foundations, and people who believe in our mission--completes the circle, enabling us to provide answers to problems that government can't or won't solve. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council. Address: 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20418; Phone: (202) 334-2000; Web site: www.nas.edu; E-mail:BAlberts@nas.edu

Science Needs Private Support

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