University Briefs

Different Takes On The Weather Forecast U.S. and Soviet scientists are studying the greenhouse effect using very different methods—and, as a result, are coming up with some vastly divergent predictions for the future. U.S. researchers, who are modeling future scenarios with the help of supercomputers, forecast rising temperatures accompanied by summer droughts. But Soviet climatologists, who lack access to powerful number-crunchers, rely upon analyses of past climates to predict future trends, and their conclusion is the opposite: A slow global warming with adequate rainfall. Under this scenario, the USSR would stand to benefit because the melting of the permafrost would open more Soviet territory to agriculture. Needless to say, this difference of opinion has made it difficult for a U.S.-USSR group of scientists to prepare a joint statement on how the greenhouse effect should be viewed. When the group met recently in Leningrad, the U.S. researchers were prepared to recommend cuts in the emission of “greenhouse gases” such as C02, nitrous oxide, methane, and freon to slow global warming. But the leader of the Soviet group, M.l. Budyko, protested this move. Richard Gammon, a visiting professor at the University of Washington and a researcher at the Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, quotes Budyko as declaring: “Any attempt to restrict or reduce the emission of greenhouse gases would be a crime against humanity.” Gammon says the U.S. scientists had heard that opinion before, but never expressed with such strong language. Gammon’s solution to the disagreement: Overcome the national security problems and allow visiting Soviets time on supercomputers. Good Research Means Good Students The tumabout of the University of Salford in Manchester, England, from an institution suffering losses in govemment funding and enrollment to a thriving school flourishing on industry money, is an academic success story (see The Scientist, October 17, 1988, page 1). And in a recent issue of Nature (volume 337, pages 223-225, 1989), vice chancellor John Ashworth has published statistics to support what he’s been saying all along: that good teaching depends on good research and that it would be folly to create universities devoted strictly to instruction. (This is a suggestion that has been made by Britain’s Advisory Board for the Research Councils.) By assigning a value of 5 to a “first-class” degree (highest honors in the British system), 4 to an “upper second,” 3 to a lower second,” and so forth, Ashworth shows that the average dass of degree at Salworth rose steadily from 2.6 in 1980 to 3.4 in 1988: Furthermore, the percentage of graduates receiving a first-class degree rose from 5% to 12%. Ashworth attributes the improvement of academic performance at the school to the changing ratio of undergraduates to graduates at the school, a change that has come about largely because the faculty is hiring many more junior associates with money obtained through grants and industry contracts. All this data may add fuel to the fire in England where debate rages over, how to best improve the university system. Bringing Math Across The Border One person can make a difference. Five years ago, mathematician William Y. Velez realized that the number of U.S. graduate students in his department at the University of Arizona was declining while at the same time the number of foreign students was climbing. And although he recognized that change was inevitable, Velez wished to have a hand in-the future composition of the department. “If we were going to educate foreign students, I thought we should educate our neighbors,” Velez recalls. So he began making recruitment trips to Mexico, where he knew almost no one, and introduced himself to mathe- maticians there. He tried to “live off the land,” as much as possible, he says, giving lectures in exchange for accommodations. His efforts have yielded fruit: The number of Mexican graduate students in the department has more than tripled, from four to 14. And while this is only a small fraction of Arizona’s 160 graduate students, the Mexican graduate students are among the more effective teaching assistants because they tend to learn English easily and their accent is familiar to students from the Southwest, says Velez. Thanks to Velez’s efforts, the university has realized an added benef it: The Centro de Investigacion en Matematicas in Guanajuato is recruiting at the University of Arizona for its planned expansion from 20 to 60 mathematicians. Outfitting The Farm With Biotechnology Does biotechnology have anything to offer sustainable agriculture—that is, low-input, ecologically sound agriculture? The newly established National Agricultural Biotechnology Council (a consortium of Boyce Thompson Institute, Iowa State University, University of California at Davis, and Comell University) thinks so and has devoted its first annual conference to the topic. “Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture: Policy Alternatives” will be held May 22-24 at Iowa State University. Three keynote speakers are featured: Robert Goodman, executive vice president of R&D at Calgene Inc.; Chuck Hassebrook, field organizer and policy analyst at the Center for Rural Affairs in WaIthill, Nebr.; and Marten Carlsson, president of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden. Walter R. Fehr, conference chair, says he anticipates a “perfect mix” of participants, representing a diversity of viewpoints. For more information, contact: Office of Biotechnology, 1010 Agronomy Building, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 (515) 294-9818.

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Different Takes On The Weather Forecast

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