These two people, at opposite ends of a professional lifetime, are different in many ways. But they, and three other researchers of different ages interviewed for this article, agree on many issues affecting their workaday lives. And although these scientists aren't among the scientific community's most eminent investigators, they share many of the same concerns.
In a survey of elite, well-known scientists conducted by The Scientist earlier this year (Jan. 7, 1991, page 1), there was a consensus that funding shortfalls for investigator-initiated projects, the need to encourage more young people to take up science careers, and the negative public perception of science are the most crucial problems confronting science in the 1990s. On the other hand, these key players pointed out that, in terms of scientific developments, this is a very exciting era, with new avenues in research opening up in the fields of neuroscience and molecular biology, among ...
