Research and Education Are Key to Future U.S. Competitiveness

RESEARCH/RESEARCHERS Research and Education Are Research Roundtable Los Alamos Researchers Key to Future U.S. Appoints New Members Grow Single Competitiveness Five new members have been ap Superconducting Crystals A national report of attitudes among pointed to the Council of the Los Alamos National Laboratory re business, university and state leaders, re Government-University-Industry Re searchers engaged in growing single su leased by the National Science Founda search Roundtable (GUIRR), a discussion perconductivity crystals have grown a tion, shows that an overwhelming forum of scientists, engineers, adminis quarter-inch crystal based on the metal yt majority of survey respondents rate re trators, and policy makers sponsored by trium. ''This is one of the largest crystals, search and education as the key to future the National Academies of Sciences and perhaps even the largest, grown from this U.S. competitiveness. The report also Engineering and the Institute of Medi type of material;' says Dean Peterson, a identified university/industry coopera cine. Newly appointed to three-year high temperature physical chemist in the tive ventures and greater commercializa terms are Joel S. Birnbaum, vice president Lab's Materials Science and Technology tion of research findings as special areas and general manager, information tech division. for improvement. nology group, Hewlett-Packard Co.; Ri Peterson and colleagues are growing Aimed at assessing the health of the chard F. Celeste, governor of Ohio; the single superconducting crystals be U.S. research system, the survey andre Kenneth H. Keller, president, University cause "a single crystal lets an electrical gional forums were conducted by the of Minnesota; John E. Sawyer, president current flow freely without being blocked Conference Board and the National Gov emeritus, Andrew W. Mellon Founda by other, randomly oriented crystals:' Pe ernors' Association, with the support and tion, New York City; and Alvin W. Trivel terson envisions combining supercon participation of NSF. piece, executive officer, American ducting crystals with other substances to Of particular concern were science and Association for the Advancement of Sci alter their physical properties without re mathematics education from kindergar ence, Washington, DC. The new mem ducing their superconductivity. Such ten through high school. Recommenda bers join 19 current GUIRR members. The changes, he said, might let superconduct tions included improving the quality and Roundtable is chaired by James D. Ebert, ing crystals carry currents quickly and ef quantity of teachers at this level through director, Chesapeake Bay Institute, The ficiently by being stacked end to end, using scholarships, grants and loans; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, stretched into thin wires or molded into changing certification requirements to al MD. specific shapes. low engineers, physicists and mathemati Now in its fifth year, the Research To make the crystals, oxides are slowly cians to become certified to teach; and Roundtable was created to foster discus heated to about 1,600°F, a temperature providing special school settings to em sion of crosscutting science and technol just below the material's melting point phasize mathematics and science. ogy policies and problems by high-level when crystals begin to form. With similar Among the findings, participants in co representatives of government, universi repeated heatings done carefully over operative research relationships between ties, and industry. GUIRR conducts most several weeks, the crystals continue to universities and industries reported that of its work through three working groups lengthen. The crystals are then tested to industry is not committing its "best and that focus on science and engineering tal determine their composition and the ex brightest" scientists and engineers to ent, university research and its manage tent of their superconductivity and to these joint ventures and stressed the need ment, and partnership and joint ventures characterize their chemical and mechani for greater corporate involvement. The between government, academia, and pri cal properties. survey also showed that despite wide vate industry. Among the Roundtable's recent publi spread business support for industry NSF and NASA to Link university partnerships, more than half a cations are the following: sample of business leaders believes that Nurturing Science and Engineering Talent, Computer Networks such cooperative research would not have an up-to-date review of the science and The National Science Foundation (NSF) a critical impact on U.S. competitiveness. engineering talent pool. The report grew and the National Aeronautics and Space Only one quarter believe it would have a out of a 1986 GUIRR-sponsored sympo Administration (NASA) have signed an critical impact on the competitiveness of sium and addresses the factors that affect agreement to share high speed communi their firms. student decisions to pursue science and cations lines. The effort will link univer In connection with technology transfer, engineering careers. sity researchers now connected to NSF's respondents (business, university, and Multidisciplinary Research and Education national computer communications net state) believe that business' lack of long Programs in Universities: Making Them work to data bases and supercomputers at term goals and vision has hindered the Work, a discussion paper that analyzes NASA laboratories, saving hundreds of commercialization of U.S. technology. past multidisciplinary programs as an aid thousands of dollars that might otherwise The business community was faulted by to new program design. be wasted in duplicated efforts by the two its own representatives for lack of pa State Government Strategies for Self agencies. tience and for focusing on the next quar Assessment of Science and Technology Pro The agreement is in accord with a report ter's profits rather than the potential grams for Economic Development, a report just released by the White House Office of payoff from long-term investments in summarizing an April 1987 Roundtable Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). product development. workshop sponsored in conjunction with The report, A Research and Development Copies of The Role of Science and Technol the National Governors' Association and Strategy for High Performance Computing, ogy in Economic Competitiveness are availa the National Research Council. recommends improvements in network ble from: Forms and Publications Office, ing to enhance U.S. leadership in the field National Science Foundation, 1800 G and to provide the linkages needed for Street Nw, Room 232, Washington, DC collaborative research by scientists work 20550; telephone (202) 357-7861. ing at different institutions. Three NASA facilities will be linked to 6 MRS BULLETIN/MARCH 1988 RESEARCH/RESEARCHERS existing NSF regional networks, which in ing to constantly refocus a microscope Established by Annual Reviews Inc. and turn are connected through a national because the cells are floating in weight the Institute for Scientific Information in backbone network. The Goddard Space lessness, is to examine them while they Honor of J. Murray Luck-Eric R. Kandel, Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland will are held in an optical trap;' he continued. Columbia University College of Physi be linked to the Southeastern Universities 'Then, the weightlessness is not a factor cians and Surgeons and Howard Hughes Research Associates Net (SURANET). and the experiments can be performed in Medical Institute. The Ames Research Center in Mountain an enclosed chamber, which is important NAS Public Welfare Medal-John E. View, California will be linked to the Bay in space:' Sawyer, president emeritus, The Andrew Area Regional Research Net (BARRNET). Another advantage is the ability to W. Mellon Foundation. The Johnson Space Flight Center in Hous move one cell at a time.lt enables a scien Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal-Ruth ton will be linked to SESQUINET, a re tist to attach two specific cells together, Sager, Harvard Medical School, and gional network in Texas. which is valuable in cellular research such chief, division of cancer genetics, Dana Authorized scientists will be able to re as cancer and leukemia studies. Farber Cancer Institute. motely access and use NASA data in their Research plans are to automate the J. Lawrence Smith Medal-A.G.W. Ca research, and can apply for time on laser-beam cell manipulation, producing meron, Harvard University. NASA supercomputers. NASA-funded a computer-operated system which will Troland Research Award-Eric I. Knud scientists at universities served by NSF re automatically separate and position par sen, Stanford University School of Medi gional networks will be able to communi ticular cells identified by characteristics cine. cate and collaborate with their colleagues such as shape and size. USX Foundation Award in Molecular at the NASA centers. Biology-H. Robert Horvitz, Massachu NSF already shares networking facili NAS Honors 18 for Major setts Institute of Technology. ties with the Office of Naval Research and Contributions to Science James Craig Watson Medal-Robert B. the Defense Department's Defense Ad The National Academy of Sciences has Leighton, William L. Valentine Professor vanced Research Projects Agency. The selected 18 individuals to receive awards of Physics Emeritus, California Institute OSTP report calls for accelerated efforts

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