Coming Up Short The pulses established hy a number of different Federal initiatives of the 1950's and 1960's are rapidly decavine away, and the result is an unsettled, indeed a potentkl; dangerous, situation in science and technolow in this country.The fundamental problem stems from-the fact that material things degrade as they age and the exasperating propensity of many people to ignore the implications of this reality. Just as the Federal system af highways initiatqd during the Eisenhower administration has deteriorated to the point where state governors are becoming increasingly concerned, and iust as the Federallv initiated social Drograms of the 1966's are beginning to erode to the point wiere the cities' mayors are insisting on some form of relief, the Federally supported pulse into the research establishment initiated in the postsputnik era is also comine . - UP. short of currently perceived needs. Since sputnik, the message that this country's research enterprise is critically important to our national well-heing has been generally accepted by industrial and political leaders as well as hv much of the eeneral Dublic. However. iust as roads, hridges;and railroad Erossin& deteriorate, so'bo the buildings and e a u i ~ m e nthat t com~riseour research facili~ new-personnel need t l h e trained to meet socities. J U as ety's changing social needs, new scientifically capable personnel need to he trained in the use and application of modem instrumentation necessary to attack im~ortant prohlems in emerging areas of science and technology such as materials science and biotechnolopy. Unfortunately, at this moment science-oriented problemyare in direct competition for priority status with an unusually large number of other critical national ~rohlems.The financial svstem has been shaken by the "s&L" failures. There is the drug crisis, the deterioratine hiehwav svstem. the increased demand for social services, t&e&cline in our educational system. In each case. the solutions involve new monies. since World War 11, academic research lahoratories have been considered important to the research enter~riseof this country. Such facilities, from this point of view,can be considered as a national resource because most of our fundamental scientific and engineering research as well as the training of future scientists and engineers occurs here. If, as current wisdom holds, high quality research and research training are essential to this nation's well-heing, productivity, and general economic competitiveness, then a sufficient number of adequate facilities must he available for these basic research and training efforts. The Academic Research Facilities Moderernization Act of 1988, signed into law October 1988, directed the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish such a program. Funding of the program was to await the formulation of a comprehensive plan by NSF. That report was submitted to Congress in August 1989. The report holds no hig surprises. The results of a series of
studies, surveys, and assessments indicate that the academic research facilities in this countrv have.,indeed. deteriomted. ~~, -----These facilities need to he repaired and rejuvenated. There is also a need for additional facilities because of the e x ~ a n d ed base of national interest in research. Thus, funds are needed not only to modernize facilities, hut also to huild new ones or expand existing ones. A number of factors have contrihuted to the facilities problem. Science and research strategies have undergone rapid changes and advancement. The need for advanced instrumentation has increased, leading to higher costs for specialized research facilities and SUPPOI? space. The effects of new regulations and requirementson h&lding standards have significantly increased the cost of huilding new facilities and upgrading older buildings. Many existing facilities are structurally inflexible, obsolete, and do not meet current health and safety standards. Finally, many of the current prohlems related to research facilities can he traced to chronic underfundine. As a result of an apparent impasse, the NSF plan calls for a more broadly based spectrum of support. The authors of the plan point out that academic institutions, state and local governments, private industry, foundations, and individuals as wellas the Federal government havea stake insupporting and investing in academic research facilities. While thene observations are undoubtedly correct in some absolute sense, the water has been tested in several instances, and the results are not particularly encouraging. Hy its very nature, industry requires an immediate return on its investment. Indeed, this is probably the major reason that industry has all but quit conducting basic research in its own lahoratories. If industry could be induced to support the renewal of arademic facilities, would the price be too high? For example, might such industrial support involve exclusive rights to the results obtained therein or, perhaps, even the right todictate the nature of the research to he conducted? State and local governments, on the other hand, could provide for facilities renewal only through taxes, a route which for many governmental units seems to he approaching saturation. In the climate presently extant in this country, support from the public sector seems to require an ohvioui, short-term return. In a time of tight budgets, everybody seems to insist on an explicitly stated return for support. The prohlems associated with revitalizing the nation's research environment are com~lexand far-reachine. and they cannot he viewed in isolation. If progress is to hemade, the Federal government will have to take a more active leadership role in considering and developing policies and strategies designed to provide a balanced and systematic approach to facilities renewal. Somehow all concerned will have to be convinced to look toward the greater good that transcends immediate specific interests. JJL ~~~
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Volume 66 Number 11 November 1989
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