A NA LVTI CA L EDITORIAL
January 1973,Vol. 45, No. 1 Editor: HERBERT A. LAITINEN
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INSTRUMENTATION ADVISORY PANEL: Jonathan W Amy Richard A Durst G Phillip Hicks, Don’ald R. Johnson, C h h e s E. Klopfenstein, Marvin Margoshes, Harry L. Pardue, Howard J. Sloane, Ralph E. Thiers
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A Question of Priorities IT IS INTERESTISG to compare the approach t’alien by chemists and physicists in evaluating their professions in terms of the supply of research funding in relation to the demand for funds. Several years ago, a report entitled “Chemistry: Opportunities and Seeds,” which came to be knon-n as the Westheimer report, was issued under the sponsorship of the KAS-XRC. I n this report, chemistry n-as subdivided into functional groupings such as synthesis, structure, physical properties and characterization, chemical dynamics, etc., rather than the classical branches of chemistry. Areas of research deemed t o be cspecially ripe for expansion n-ere identified, but no attempt n-as made to set up a system of priorities. Rather, it was maintained that chemistry ns a nhole could be classified as “little science” in contrast to areas such as radioastronomy or high energy physics which inherently require large installations, and that both the manpon-er and technical nccds to justify substantial expansion of pure research in chemistry were available. Recently, a report entitled “Physics in Perspective” was prepared by a committee of the Sational Academy of Sciences, under Professor D. -4lan Bromley of Yale University. The field of physics IUS divided into 69 different specialties, of which 15 \\-ere chosen as priority :m:as for research during the next 5 ycars. Criteria both internal to the field of physics and external to science were used in selecting the priority order. Both “big science” and “little science” appear on the high priority list. Another type of priority is involved in the committee recommendation that scarce regources should be concent,ratcd on supporting research in the best universities and a t major facilities. Whether this approach, clearly setting forth priorities, n-ill prove to be more influential than the broad-based appeal of the chemists remains to be seen, but it’ can be safely predicted that it will cause dissent among those not in the chosen elite areas or institutions. What has this t o do n-ith analytical chemistry? I t is significant that our field is so broad, in fact in some respects broader than chemistry as a whole, that it is relatively immune to Phifts of emphasis from one area to another. Of courso the analytical field 3 s a whole prospc’rs or suffers with the totality of support for science, and specialties within the field shift with changing emphasis, but the broad base of analyticnl char:tctterization gives it an exceptional stability.
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For submission of manuscripts, see page 4 A . ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 45, NO. 1, JANUARY 1973
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