LOOKING INWARD - LOOKING OUTWARD: THE ACADEMY AFTER 133 YEARS
A Speech by Bruce Alberts, President National Academy of Sciences Presented at the Academy’s 133rd Annual Meeting April 29, 1996
ood morning and welcome. In this, been predicted by our 48 original members. my third annual address to the Our institution has evolved through a long G members, I have decided to attempt process of trial a rather ambitious task. I will try to answer — and error. At both for myself and for you — two important each step along questions concerning our identity and our the way, wise future. decisions have been made that 1) What exactly is the National Academy have improved of Sciences? What does it stand for, and what the institution fundamental purpose does it serve? and its connec- tions to society. 2) What can we expect our organization to It is important be like 30 years from now? How can it play that this process an even larger, more central role in society of experimenta- than it does today? tion continue so that we, as I view these as much more than academic scientists, can questions. We cannot hope to harness our become increas- Bruce M. Alberts, president, resources effectively unless we are very clear ingly relevant to National Academy of Sciences in addressing the questions of who we are and the nation and where we want to go. the world.
When the Academy started in 1863, it was What has emerged from our long evolu- very much an experiment. We can now tionary process is an institution with four emphatically declare the experiment to have types of functions. These are: been a success. That this is so, is due to the accumulated wisdom of the members of the 1) validating scientific excellence, Academy and its past leadership. As for science 2) maintaining the vitality of the scien- itself, where we are today could never have tific enterprise, 3) applying the judgments of science to MAINTAINING THE SCIENTIFIC public policy, and ENTERPRISE 4) communicating the nature, values, and judgments of science to governments and Our second major role is in maintaining the to the public. vitality of the scientific enterprise. As you know, because of our history, the entire Let me briefly describe each of these func- Academy complex is formally overseen by the tions in turn. Council of the National Academy of Sciences. The 17 members of the Council are individu- VALIDATING SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE ally elected by a vote of the membership. There are 12 members who are not officers, I begin with our validation role. What is each serving for a non-renewable term of 3 excellence in science? Excellence is measured years. These members of the Council for in part by the prizes and awards that are given 1995-96, and their sections, are: to scientists. In particular, our 2,100 members are living examples of how we define excel- William F. Brinkman, AT&T Bell lence in science. Each of us serves as an im- Laboratories portant role model — both for younger Donald D. Brown, Carnegie Institution scientists and the public. For this reason, of Washington election to the Academy is a responsibility, Michael S. Brown, University of Texas, as well as an honor. Southwestern Medical Center Ellis B. Cowling, North Carolina State Very often, election to the Academy University provides a recognition that will thrust the Edward E. David Jr., Edward E. David Inc. selected scientist into a new leadership role. John E. Dowling, Harvard University This is particularly true for institutions that Gertrude B. Elion, Burrough Wellcome contain few Academy members, or in places Co. where the scientific base is relatively weak. Mary-Lou Pardue, Massachusetts Institute Like it or not, the election of the new mem- of Technology bers tomorrow will profoundly affect many I.M. Singer, Massachusetts Institute of future resource allocations for science across Technology the United States. In short, who is — and Robert M. Solow, Massachusetts Institute of who is not — a member of the National Technology Academy of Sciences is a matter of consider- Joan A. Steitz, Yale University School of able importance for the future of science in Medicine our nation. We can not dismiss this very Richard N. Zare, Stanford University important fact. It is therefore appropriate that we take our election process very seri- This is a wonderfully talented group, and I ously, and that we devote considerable time view the Council collectively as the leadership and energy to the annual election of new for science in the United States. In addition to members. meeting together six times a year, for a total of about nine days, we often work in smaller
2 groups on specific issues. A list of the present Since 1981 the Committee on Science, Council committees, and their chairs, follows. Engineering, and Public Policy — informally Each committee is chaired by an officer of the known as COSEPUP — has been a major NAS. voice for both science and engineering. Skill- fully chaired by Phil Griffiths, head of Executive Committee; Bruce Alberts, chair Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study, this Budget and Internal Affairs; Mildred S. group in l993 issued Science, Technology, and Dresselhaus, chair the Federal Government: National Goals for a International Affairs; F. Sherwood New Era. This report presents a powerful Rowland, chair rationale for the public support of science and Membership Affairs; Peter H. Raven, chair engineering research in the United States, and Scientific Programs; Jack Halpern, chair it attempts to answer a question that we are often asked by Congress: How much science Your Council increasingly has been taking is enough? COSEPUP published two reports leadership roles on issues of special importance in 1995 that emphasize our concern for the to the scientific enterprise. It was this group talented young people who represent the that initiated the important changes in our future of our enterprise: Reshaping the Graduate scientific journal — Proceedings of the National Education of Scientists and Engineers, and On Academy of Sciences — overseeing a review by Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Re- an expert outside consultant, separating the search. In 1996 these important documents business and editorial functions, and then were supplemented by Careers in Science and selecting Nicholas Cozzarelli from the Uni- Engineering: A Student Planning Guide to Grad versity of California at Berkeley as the new School and Beyond. Associated with this guide editor in chief. More recently, the Council is a newly developed electronic site on the has carefully analyzed a major report on the Web that offers online career advice and regulation of scientific conduct that was pre- mentoring to beginning scientists and pared for the Department of Health and Hu- engineers. man Services. We found this report to be deficient in several critical aspects, as explained One of the more rewarding prerogatives of in our letter to the department which was also the president of any organization today is mailed to each of you in March. And, in the having the final say with regard to the design next few months, the Council will be putting of the organization’s home page on the the finishing touches on a white paper on WorldWide Web. Our home page (accessible merit review. This paper presents a set of at
3 No discussion of our recent efforts to subject of science or art” without compensa- maintain the scientific enterprise could fail to tion for these services. This early “unfunded emphasize a major report from the Academies mandate” began a long and distinguished and the Institute of Medicine titled Allocating tradition of volunteer service to the nation. Federal Funds for Science and Technology, pub- Today, 6,000 volunteers are serving on some lished last November. This report was pro- 600 committees of the Academies and the duced in response to a request from the Senate National Research Council. To give you a Appropriations Committee to address “the quick snapshot of the type of advice that we criteria that should be used in judging the provide, a list of the major reports to be re- appropriate allocation of funds to research and leased between March and May of this year, is development activities, the appropriate balance appended. among different types of institutions that conduct such research, and the means of In advising our government in this way, assuring continued objectivity in the alloca- the Academy could have followed two differ- tion process.” A blue-ribbon committee that ent models. According to one model, panels was skillfully chaired by Frank Press produced composed entirely of Academy members a 40-page report with 13 recommendations, could have decided the matter, like the jus- which has become the centerpiece of a lively tices on the Supreme Court. But as things science policy debate in Washington. The turned out, our predecessors discovered a report is direct and honest: It pulls no better way. Our judgments are not formed by punches, which is why it is being taken so committees composed entirely of Academy seriously, and why it is hard to find anybody members. Instead, we mix scientists with who agrees with absolutely all of it. The engineers, lawyers, teachers, and service pro- important point to me is that most people in viders — according to the particular expertise Washington seem to agree with most of the required on each committee. recommendations, and they are willing to engage in a spirited debate about the recom- On average, only 17 percent of the mem- mendations that they disagree with. I predict bers of our committees are members of the that this report will have a major impact on NAS, NAE, or IOM. Academy control over the way that science funding decisions are the process is instead maintained by determin- made by our government within a few years. ing what projects are undertaken and who is appointed to committees, and by deciding APPLYING SCIENCE TO PUBLIC POLICY when the final report meets our standard of high quality. This last step is managed by a Our third major function is applying the Report Review Committee [RRC], com- judgments of science to public policy. posed entirely of members from the three organizations and led by the NAS Home As you all know, our original 1863 charter Secretary, Peter Raven, director of the Mis- called upon the Academy to “whenever called souri Botanical Garden. During 1995 the upon by any department of the government, RRC supervised the review process for 216 investigate, examine ... and report upon any reports and expanded its membership to 31 NAS/NAE/IOM members.
4 As I see it, there are two major advantages between scientists and others on the commit- in forming committees the way we do — tee gives rise to new types of alliances that composed of scientists mixed with people of persist long after the committee disbands. This other expertise. is certainly true for the National Science Educa- tion Standards, since the process of their devel- The most obvious of these advantages is opment caused many scientists to establish that it enables the Research Council to bring close links with both the science education the values and methods of the scientific com- and the teaching communities. A new respect munity to bear on the widest possible range of and mutual understanding was created be- societal issues. tween these otherwise isolated groups, which will allow us to work together closely to As an example, consider one of our real implement the Standards in the future. This triumphs of the past year, the publication of synergism must continue throughout the the final version of the National Science Educa- decade, if we are to use the Standards to tion Standards for grades kindergarten through revitalize our schools — and prepare our high school. This gigantic task involved more children and grandchildren for the 21st than 40 Academy members, and it was led by century. Rick Klausner, director of the National Can- cer Institute. But it also involved more than What happened during the development 100 others — including outstanding teachers, of the Science Standards is not unusual for science educators, and administrators. The Research Council committees. In the behav- result is a document that contains much more ioral sciences, for example, we pay special wisdom than could have been provided by attention to mixing academic researchers with any one group alone. For example, only the those on the front lines: police chiefs, social scientists could have distilled the core knowl- workers, state welfare officers, federal housing edge that should be learned by all students in officials, and big-city mayors. In this way, we the physical sciences, life sciences, and earth are helping to bring the rich intellectual re- and space sciences. sources of our universities to bear upon the central problems of society — probing to see But only those who work with children how far we can go in meeting the challenge and study their learning could have told us of Congressman George Brown of California, what type of understandings are possible for and others, to extend science to our major most students by the end of 4th grade or 8th societal needs. grade — or what a classroom should look and feel like in order to maximize student learn- Using the Research Council to create ing. Moreover, the participation of teachers as these new contacts is good for those on the equals in the development of the Standards has front lines, but it is also good for the intellec- created a sense of ownership that is essential tual life of our universities. Ernest Boyer, the for school systems to embrace them. late president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was an articu- The second advantage of our mixed com- late spokesman for the reinvigoration of our mittees is less obvious. Often the interaction
5 universities. He pointed out that, “America’s but many of our most important and success- colleges and universities are now suffering ful activities derive their uniqueness from a from a decline in public confidence and a synergistic combination of these two central nagging feeling that they are no longer at the disciplines. vital center of the nation’s work,” and he challenged these institutions to reaffirm their Consider, for example, our Water Science historic commitment to what he called the and Technology Board and our Computer “scholarship of engagement.” In an address to Science and Telecommunications Board. Each the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of these boards consists of an approximately two months before his death last December, equal number of scientists and engineers. Boyer said that “the scholarship of engage- ment means connecting the rich resources of Some recent reports from the Water Sci- the universities to our most pressing social, ence and Technology Board, and their date of civic, and ethical problems, to our children, to release, are: our schools, to our teachers, and to our cit- ies.... [T]he scholarship of engagement means ◆ Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995) creating a special climate in which the aca- ◆ Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup (1994) demic and civic cultures communicate more ◆ Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems: Science, continuously and more creatively with each Technology and Public Policy (1992) other, helping to enlarge .... the universe of ◆ Flood Risk Management and the American River human discourse and enriching the quality of Basin (1995) life for all of us.” ◆ Use of Reclaimed Water and Sludge in Food Crop Production (1996) The scholarship of the Research Council is ◆ A New Era for Irrigation (expected fall 1996) very much the scholarship of engagement, and ◆ Improving Service of Small Water Supply Sys- with each of our committees we are helping tems (expected winter 1996) academia to meet Boyer’s challenge to our universities. Two of the Board’s more highly visible reports — one characterizing wetlands and At this special moment in time with regard another exploring alternatives for ground to NAS-NAE relationships, it is important for water cleanup — have served as key refer- me to emphasize one intellectual alliance that ences in debates over important environmen- is absolutely crucial for the work of the Na- tal laws, such as Superfund and the Clean tional Research Council: that between scien- Water Act. When we take on difficult, con- tists and engineers. In 1973 the NAS and the troversial issues and produce conclusions and NAE joined together to oversee the National recommendations that then serve as the basis Research Council. The wisdom of the leaders for policy discussion and legislation, we are who made this happen has been abundantly indeed making our mark. In addition, as I proven by succeeding events. Not only do an emphasized last year, the impact of our work equally large number of NAS and NAE mem- goes far beyond our borders: Recall that the bers serve on Research Council committees, Water Board’s successful joint study with the Mexican Academies of Sciences and
6 Engineering on Mexico City’s water supply COMMUNICATING SCIENCE last year led the Mexican government to support the establishment of a Mexican Na- The fourth function of the Academy in my tional Research Council, much like our own. outline is the communication of science to government and the public. The reports from the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board have influ- The problem I would like to discuss is not enced public policy in a variety of domains. a new one. Shakespeare even wrote about this Recent reports include: issue in Henry V.
◆ Evolving the High Performance Computing and “Our houses, and ourselves, and children Communications Initiative to Support the Nation’s Have lost, or do not learn for want of time, Information Infrastructure (1995) The sciences that should become our ◆ Continued Review of the Tax Systems Modern- country.” ization of the International Revenue Service (1995) In the 400 years since Shakespeare, the ◆ Information Technology for Manufacturing world has been utterly transformed by science (1995) and technology. It is staggering to recall the ◆ National Cryptography Policy (expected May myriad of inventions that have eradicated 1996) diseases, eliminated the heavy reliance of ◆ Evolution of Untethered Communications (ex- the world of work on manual labor, and pected 1997) provided means of communication and trans- ◆ Innovations in Computing and Communications: portation that Shakespeare could not even Lessons from History (expected 1997) have imagined.
The report Evolving the High Performance But there is more. Science and its values Computing and Communications Initiative re- have also transformed our attitudes about the cently moved congressional debate away from world and our political systems. To quote dissolving the federal high-performance com- from Jacob Bronowski’s Science and Human puting program to a discussion instead over Values, published in 1956: “The society of the need to extend its funding. Very soon we scientists is simple because it has a directing will be releasing the board’s major report on purpose: to explore the truth. Nevertheless, national cryptography policy that both the it has to solve the problem of every society, reviewers and I consider to be enormously which is to find a compromise between man important. and men. It must encourage the single scien- tist to be independent, and the body of scien- In summary, our nation benefits greatly tists to be tolerant. From these basic condi- from the innumerable productive collabora- tions, which form the prime values, there tions between engineers and scientists that are follows step by step a range of values: dissent, made possible by the National Research freedom of thought and speech, justice, Council. honor, human dignity and self respect....
7 Science has humanized our values. Men [and 30 percent in the budgets for research and women] have asked for freedom, justice and development by the year 2002. Many of the respect precisely as the scientific spirit has other nations with which we compete seemed spread among them.” to have a much clearer vision of the impor- tance of science and technology for their There is every reason to expect the pace of future than we do. For example, a recent science and technology to accelerate in future paper by the Council of Economic Advisors years. The dramatic increase in our under- estimates that Japan’s total federal investment standing of nature in the 20th century has in science and technology research may ex- produced a foundation for discoveries in ceed that of the U.S. government in absolute science and technology in the next century dollar terms within two years. As Neal Lane, that we cannot even begin to imagine. We the director of the National Science Founda- need only look at the unpredictable way in tion, pointed out in his stirring address to the which the communications and computer American Association for the Advancement revolution has impressed us all in the past 20 of Science last February, “This nation is years to be utterly humbled about our ability getting ready to run an experiment it has to forecast the future. For this reason, the never done before — to see if we can reduce distinguished committee of our Computer the federal investment in non-defense R&D Science and Telecommunications Board that by one-third and still be a world leader in the was asked by Vice President Gore to forecast 21st century.” the next five years for the National Informa- tion Infrastructure entitled their recent report, To most of us this seems like a very risky “The Unpredictable Certainty.” experiment. One of the absolutely crucial things that we may lose in this experiment is Our country now faces an incredible the desire of our most talented young people dilemma. Those who understand science and to enter science and technology fields. Already technology recognize that the current world there is a fear in our community that the leadership position of the United States in present emphasis on “alternative careers” for these areas has been the source of the vitality young scientists may severely deplete our of this nation. How else does one explain how future research talent pool. As we all know, a nation of 260 million people can retain such the entire future of science depends on the a strong leadership position in a world with a continual influx of these energetic and ambi- population of 5.6 billion? tious young people into all parts of the R&D enterprise. It is clear that we cannot hope to maintain this position of strength in the world through As those of you who attended the congres- the next century, unless we retain our current sional briefing on Saturday recognize, the world leadership in the science and technol- future decisions about science funding in this ogy enterprise. Yet, as we speak, the federal country will be made by a Congress whose budgets proposed by both the Democrats and members are inexperienced, and for whom the Republicans portend cuts of 25 percent to the workings of science and the scientific enterprise remain shrouded in mystery.
8 There’s even a story going around Washing- for both journalists and scientists to follow. ton about a congressman who suggested that We need to take the time to explain the the federal government should stop supporting excitement and the purpose of what we do. scientific research, inasmuch as all of the As Mr. Sullivan said, “The discovery that universities were doing it anyway! there is order and logic in the seeming ran- domness of nature can be a quasi-religious There is an urgent need for each of us to experience. There is great beauty to be found take on the responsibility of educating both there, and the successful teachers and writers Congress and the American people about are those who, having glimpsed it, are driven science and the research that we all do. This to share it with others.” needs to be done locally, in each congres- sional district. We must invite members of In the last few years, the National Re- Congress and their staff to visit the places search Council and the Academy have been where scientists and engineers work and offer placing an increased emphasis on communi- our assistance in helping them to deal with the cating the nature, values, and judgments of many scientific and technical issues that they science to both the public and the federal face as legislators. We should not, and we government. We have increased the resources must not, vie for their attention only when devoted to our Office of News and Public scientific budgets are being threatened. One Information, energetically strengthening our of our goals should be to have our local con- interactions with the press. But too often we gressperson and staff know us by sight — not have succeeded in getting tremendous atten- only our names, but enough of our back- tion from both the press and from Congress at ground to know how we might be useful to the time a new report is released, only to have them when they have specific needs. this information sink into oblivion several years later when the relevant policy decisions As [National Science Foundation Director] are finally being made. For this reason, both Neal Lane emphasized, this new image of a our news office and our Office of Congres- “civic scientist” will also require that we sional and Governmental Affairs have been become much more public in communicating working to develop better mechanisms for what we do. In the past, the scientific com- using the wealth of information from the munity, including this Academy, has on thousands of reports that were previously occasion tended to disparage those of our published by this institution. Our goal is to colleagues who spend much of their time in be able to recall this information rapidly, as communicating science to the public. We needed, and use it to inform both press and can, however, remember with pride our policy-makers whenever an issue suddenly award of our Public Welfare Medal, this bubbles to the surface so as to make our previ- Academy’s highest honor, to Walter Sullivan. ous advice relevant.
Mr. Sullivan, the science editor of the New These efforts will benefit greatly from a York Times until his official retirement in powerful new tool: electronic publishing. 1987, died last month. His prolific explana- Although we developed a strong presence on tions of science to the public set an example
9 the WorldWide Web only six months ago, of connecting the scientific community to the our Web site already has 45 full-length reports rest of society. available online. By this July, our goal is to have a thousand such reports available free to What are some of our recent experiments? anyone with Internet access. We presently are We recently have launched a new program for working out ways of indexing and searching it the Public Understanding of Science, an effort that will make our Web site a convenient and that is chaired by Dudley Herschbach, a useful tool for anyone seeking information Nobel laureate chemist from Harvard. We about science and technology. have founded a new Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education I am convinced that the WorldWide Web chaired by Donald Kennedy, the former provides a revolutionary way of disseminating president of Stanford University. And we have information to the public that will only in- a vigorously expanding, new Board on Chil- crease in value as technology advances. This dren, Youth, and Families — a joint project tool is especially valuable in an organization of our Commission on Behavioral and Social like ours, whose aim is to spread scientific Sciences and Education with the Institute of information and advice with no need to Medicine — where we are energetically charge for these services. I urge all members attempting to forge new types of links be- to spend time at our site and to give us the tween academic scientists and those on the benefit of your ideas for making it more frontlines in our troubled communities. useful. By so doing, you will each play a part in helping us to better disseminate science and I know from a few of the letters that I policy advice to our nation and the world. receive from Members that change is not always appreciated. But I urge you to remem- Having outlined our four central functions, ber that we are an institution of scientists. As I would now like to speculate for a few min- for science, our institution can only prosper if utes about the future. I am intrigued by the we are willing to take risks. In order for there title of the report The Unpredictable Certainty. to be successful experiments that break new It represents not only the exciting future for ground, there must also be experiments that the electronic communications dealt with in fail. As scientists, I hope that you will con- that report, but also a bright future for the tinue to support my vision of the National Academy itself. As science and technology Academy of Sciences as a dynamic, changing become increasingly dominant as a source of institution — one that is eager to try new power and the driver of change in the world, ways of making science a more effective the National Academy of Sciences can and instrument for guiding our rapidly changing must assume a larger role in our society. To society. make this possible will require courage — the courage to experiment, as our predecessors Thank you. have done, with new programs and new ways — Bruce Alberts
10 RECENTLY COMPLETED NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL AND INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE PROJECTS (WITH 1996 RELEASE DATES)
March 1 An Evaluation of the Electro- March 21 Research Opportunities and Priorities metallurgical Approach for Treatment for EPA of Excess Weapons Plutonium March 21 The Preparation of Teachers of March 4 Mathematics, Physics, and Emerging Mathematics Biomedical Imaging March 28 Improving the Performance of March 4 Lost Crops of Africa: Grains America’s Schools March 6 Archiving Microgravity Flight Data March 29 Report of the Roundtable on the Role and Samples of Academic Health Centers in Clini- March 6 Shipbuilding Technology and cal Research and Training Education April 2 Environmental Management Technol- March 7 Health Systems in an Era of Global- ogy-Development Program at the ization Department of Energy: 1995 Review March 8 Food Chemicals Codex, 4th Edition April 3 Engineering Within Ecological March 8 Simulated Voyages: Using Simulation Constraints Technology to Train and License April 3 Toxicity of Alternatives to Chlorofluo- Mariners rocarbons: HFC-134a and HCFC- March 8 An Assessment of Techniques for 123 Removing Offshore Structures April 11 20/20 Vision: Health in the 21st March 11 The Unpredictable Certainty: Infor- Century mation Infrastructure Through 2000 April 15 Beyond the Blueprint: Directions for March 12 Primary Care: America’s Health in a Research on Head Start’s Families New Era April 23 Maintaining Oil Production from March 12 Nutritional Needs in Cold and High- Marginal Fields: A Review of the Altitude Environments Department of Energy’s Reservoir March 13 Review of the Research Program of the Class Program Partnership for a New Generation of April 24 A Plan for a Research Program on Vehicles Aerosol Radiative Forcing and Cli- March 14 Veterans and Agent Orange: mate Change Update 1996 April 26 Effects of Double-Hull Requirements March 15 In Her Lifetime: Female Morbidity on Oil Spill Prevention: Interim and Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa Report March 15 Carcinogens and Anti-Carcinogens in May 1 Understanding Violence Against the Human Diet: A Comparison of Women Naturally Occurring and Synthetic May 2 The Evaluation of Forensic DNA Substances Evidence March 21 The Navy and Marine Corps in May 7 Lead in the Americas: Public Health Regional Conflict in the 21st Century Issues
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