NEWS OF THE WEEK SCIENCE
POLICY
MIXED MESSAGES ON SCIENTIFIC OPENNESS Administration split on dealing with science at a time of increased threat
M
IXED MESSAGES ABOUT THE
willingness of the federal government to interfere with open publication of scientific research are being put forth by advisers to President George W. Bush. The messages were delivered on Jan. 9 by Administration officials who spoke at a National Academies (NAS) workshop titled "Scientific Openness and National Security." The NAS workshop was convened to promote dialogue between national security officials from a variety of government agencies and scientists and scientific publishers. They were to consider a gray area for scientific
Marburger
H O M E L A N D
information often referred to as "sensitive but unclassified." Many science publishers and the NAS presidents themselves reject the idea for such a category of scientific information. They say it is too vague, that government already has the ability to classify federally funded research if it is determined to be necessary, and that anything less than openness impedes the progress of science. At the workshop, W h i t e House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) Director John H. Marburger III quoted as official policy a Reagan Administration directive that states: "It is
SECURITY
Ex-Executive Poised To Become New Department's Science Czar
P
resident George W. Bush has named Charles E. McQueary to be undersecretary for science and technology in the Department of Homeland Security. McQueary retired as president of General Dynamics Advanced Technology Systems (ATS) in 2002. ATS—originally part of Lucent Technologies but purchased by General Dynamics in 1997—specializes in electro-optic undersea systems, networking and decision support systems, and signal processing and software solutions. When Lucent was part of AT&T's Bell Labs, McQueary was vice president of AT&T's Federal Systems Advanced Technology Division from 1987 to 1993. He became president of Lucent's ATS in 1994. He joined the Bell Labs technical staff in 1966 after earning a Ph.D. in engineering mechanics from the University of Texas, Austin. In 1971, he became head of the labs' missile
8
C& EN / J A N U A R Y
20,
2003
operations department, managing the Pentagon's Safeguard antiballistic missile test program, and two years later was selected to direct the labs' field operations department, which supported a Navy océanographie research station. From 1983 to 1987, he was director of the labs' undersea systems development lab. McQueary was a member of the board of directors for the National Defense Industrial Association. He is actively involved in community service in Greensboro, N.C., where he resides. Rep. Sherwood L Boehlert (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House Science Committee, says McQueary "is exactly the kind of individual we hoped would fill this critical position." Bush also named Michael D. Brown to be undersecretary of emergency preparedness and response in the new department. Brown is currently deputy director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. —LOIS EMBER
the policy of this Administration that, to the maximum extent possible, the products of fundamental research remain unrestricted. No restrictions maybe placed upon the conduct or reporting of federally funded fundamental research that has not received national security classification, except as provided in applicable U.S. statutes." But later, at the same workshop, Penrose C. (Parney) Albright, an OSTP staffer who is also a staff member of the White House Office of Homeland Security, made the following statement: "The scientific community needs to develop and vet criteria for what is 'good' research and what is 'bad' research. We need processes for assessing bad cases and unexpected research results. This issue will not go away Action is needed quickly. The scientific community has to get its act together. If it doesn't, someone will do it for them." Research in the life sciences that could be put to use by terrorists has been government security experts' greatest concern. Many at the workshop said they would prefer a situation in which scientific publishers themselves identify specific papers or research areas that might be of use to terrorists and then devise methods to keep that information out of public circulation. By the end of the day, however, scientists had not defined for the government any areas of science that might be of concern or made other concessions to national security concerns. But they seemed ready to heed a clear warning about the need for dialogue with staff from national security agencies, delivered byjohn J. Hamre, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Strategic & International Studies. "If you don't start with constructive dialogue with each other, it will be a disaster," Hamre said. "The political climate is leaning toward imposing security on the sciences."-WILLIAM SCHULZ HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
