ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY EDITORIAL
July 1968, Vol. 40, No. 8 Editor: HERBERT A. LAITINEN EDITORIXL HEADQUARTERS Washington D C. 20036 1166 SixteeAth St N.W Phone: 202-737-$337T’eletype WA 23 Associate Editor:
John K. Crum
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R. H. Miiller
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Norman W. Favin, Herbert
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Assistant Editor:
Elizabeth R. Rufe
Adviso Board. C V Banks R. G. Bates W. Blaedel 5. ‘BruckeLtein, A. E: Cameron, L y m h Craig, Henry Freiser, Marcel Golay, Joseph Jordan, D. W. Margerum R. ,A. Oster oun R. L. Pecsok, C.’N. Reilley, D. Wf!h
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AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS Director of Publications, Richard L. Kenyon Director of Business Operations, Joseph H. Kuney Publication Manager, Journals, David E. GushExecutive Assistant to the Director of Publications, Rodney N. Hader Circulation Deuelopment Manager, Herbert C . Spencer Assistant to the Director of Publications, William Q. Hull REGIONAL EDITORIAL BUREAUS NEW YORK, N. Y. 10017 733 Third Ave. PHILADELPHIA Pa. 19107 Philadelphia National Bank Building Broad & Chestnut Streets PITTSBURGH Pa. 15219 530 William Pedn Place CHICAGO I11 60603 36 South Wabash Ave. CLEVELAND, Ohio 44114 1367 East Sixth St. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 94104 67 Post St. LOS ANGELES, Calif. 90005 422 South Western Ave. HOUSTON, Texas 77002 614 Main Bldg. 1212 Main St. FRANKFURT/MAIN, West Germany 32 Grosse Bockenheimerstrasse LONDON, W. C. 2, England 21 John Adam St. TOKYO Japan Iikura Ckntral Building, 4th Floor 12 Iikura Kata-machi, Azabu Minato-ku: Tokyo WASHINGTON, D. C. 20036 1155 Sixteenth St., N.W.
Federal Funding of University Research ALL PORTENTS indicating a severe retrenchment in federal funding of research in universities, it is important to give serious thought to the consequencesof such cutbacks, and to methods of ameliorating their effects. The most obvious direct consequence will be a decrease in research output and in education of scientists both a t the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels. This would be serious enough in itself, but the indirect consequences, being more subtle, are more difficult to pinpoint. Greater competition for research grants and the increased difficulty of financing major equipment will exert a negative influence on truly innovative projects. Loss of indirect cost funds will cause serious strains in internal budgets. Some facilities, such as computer centers, are closely coupled to past patterns of project support, but they have become woven into many areas of university activities, including teaching, and they lack a flexibility t o adjust readily to changing levels of outside support. Konscience areas, such as arts and humanities, which have derived benefits either directly or indirectly from support of science, will also feel the impact. How can these deleterious effects be minimized? First, careful thought should be given to priorities in facing cutbacks. The most vulnerable funding areas would appear to be departmental and institutional development grants that are geared t o an expanding, not receding support level. The highest priorities for available funds should be given to individual rcsearch grants. Within the grants, support for faculty salaries should be critically reviewed, and perhaps restricted t o support of summer salaries for younger scientists. Postdoctoral support, however desirable for upgrading of academic research, will have t o give precedence to graduate student support. Critical attention will need t o be given to avoid clustering of the limited funds in a small number of projects of excessive size, A second consideration is to maximize the support of basic science under mission-oriented projects. Undoubtedly, the thrust of federal support during the next few years will be toward goals clearly relevant t o the needs of society-health, environmental control, education, housing, food, transportation, etc. Cnless the “pure science” departments rise to this challenge, the inevitable consequence will be a relative withering of effort in basic science. Chemistry, for example, will be increasingly practiced in institutes established for society’s missions, rather than being centered largely in chemistry departments. Cooperative programs with joint appointments should work to the mutual benefit of basic science and the needs of society.
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For submission of manuscripts, see page 2 A . VOL. 40, NO. 8, JULY 1968
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