be adapted to produce this new type of superconducting tape: "It's going to be an expensive tool-up—[one that] has to have a market to address to make it profitable." Unfortunately, there is no existing market for high-temperature superconductivity. Even so, he foresees a prototype machine in a year. And "that could happen faster if real, serious money were brought to bear," he says. All the excitement, Grant adds, is bringing back the "tingle" he and other scientists felt in 1987 when superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperatures became a reality. Ron Dagani
Dramatic changes urged in training of Ph.D.s Ph.D. programs should better prepare scientists and engineers for employment in fields other than academic research. This is the gist of "Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers," a study prepared by a 19-member panel for the National Research Council's Committee on Science, Engineering & Public Policy. The 200-page report calls for integrating nonacademic options into Ph.D. training. "All three primary areas of employment for Ph.D. scientists and engineers—universities, industry, and government—are simultaneously experiencing enormous changes," says panel chairman Phillip A. Griffiths, a mathematician and director of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. "New scientists and engineers must be prepared not only to be flexible in their work, but also to change positions and even careers more than any previous generation." More than half of new graduates with Ph.D. degrees work in nonacademic settings, and the fraction has been growing steadily. Between 1977 and 1991, the proportion of all scientists and engineers with U.S.-granted doctorates employed in colleges and universities in this country declined from 51% to 43%. During the same period, the proportion of chemistry Ph.D.s with academic jobs dropped from 32% to 21%. By 1991, U.S. industry employed 61% of chemistry Ph.D.s—up from 45% in 1977. This shift has been frustrating to many whose training prepared them for academic research careers, the report stresses. Industrial employers say
Ph.D.s are often "too specialized for the range of tasks that they will confront" and "have a difficult time in adapting to the demands of nonacademic work," the study notes. The panel recommends departmentlevel reforms so Ph.D. programs better serve all students—particularly the majority who will work in industry. Students should be discouraged from overspecialization and should be provided with opportunities to gain a variety of skills, including industrial internships, the study urges. Addressing a controversial area now under discussion in many disciplines, the panel "sees no basis" for capping the number of Ph.D.s. "Although many recent graduates are frustrated by their inability to find basic research positions," the report states, "it appears that the growth in nonresearch and applied R&D positions is large enough to absorb most graduates"—citing "available evidence on unemployment rates." The study points out the difficulties in forecasting accurate demand projections. "In the absence of reliable longrange models, we do not know whether a situation is temporary and self-correcting or whether stronger action is required," the report continues. "In other words, there is little basis for trying to control the production of science and engineering Ph.D.s by limiting enrollments nationally through some central control mechanism." The panel also "does not recommend limiting the number of foreign students" studying for Ph.D.s in the U.S. It cites
Rising share of science Ph.D.s work in industry Percent employed 60 Academia 40
Industry 20
0 1973 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 Note: Figures do not include about 20% of scientists and engineers with U.S. Ph.D.s employed by federal government and other employers. Source: National Science Foundation
contributions of foreign students to this nation and notes that many are finding attractive employment opportunities in their home countries. In addition, the panel says, the "sharp increase in the number of foreign-citizen graduate students seems to have been caused in part b y . . . political events that are unlikely to recur ... and changes in U.S. immigration laws." The report can be purchased from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418; phone (800) 624-6242. Linda Raber
More groups push for cuts in federal R&D Two more groups—the Heritage Foundation and Citizens Against Government Waste—have weighed in with plans to cut the federal government. The foundation, a conservative-oriented Washington, D.C, think tank, has issued a radical proposal calling for, among other things, cutting the number of Cabinet departments from 14 to five: Defense, Health & Human Services, Justice, Treasury, and State. Agriculture would be downgraded to independent agency status. So would Interior—which would join the Environmental Protection Agency in a new Bureau of Natural Resources. Under Heritage's plan, slimming the federal government means slimming federal research. For example, in the process of transforming USDA into a Bureau of Agriculture, overall funding for a merged Agricultural Research Service and a Cooperative State Research, Education & Extension Service would drop 50% to $800 million. Neither the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) nor the Technology Administration would survive elimination of the Commerce Department. And the Patent & Trademark Office would find a home in Treasury. All the Energy Department's energy supply R&D programs would be terminated, and the seven governmentowned labs engaged in such research would be privatized. Funding for highenergy science research would be phased out over three years, and responsibility for the national labs transferred to the universities that now run them. EPA's research programs also would be eliminated, and the National Institutes of APRIL 24,1995 C&EN
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NEWS OF THE
WEEK
Arizona enacts state law defying CFC ban Calling the scientific evidence linking chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to ozone depletion "hokey," Arizona Gov. Fife Symington has signed a bill passed by the state legislature that permits manufacture and use of CFCs in the state. The law defies the international treaty and federal law banning production after Dec. 31 of the ozonedepleting compounds. But the new law—which Symington labels "symbolic"—will have no practical effect. Federal law supersedes state statutes, note Environmental Protection Agency officials. And no CFC manufacturing plants are located in Arizona, anyhow. Moreover, sale and use of stockpiled and recycled CFCs will still be legal after Jan. 1 in the U.S. The Arizona action highlights
Health's budget would be frozen at current levels for at least five years. The foundation also calls for an end to "corporate welfare" programs. This means terminating the export credit guarantee program, all export subsidy programs, and DOE conservation and efficiency research. It means closing down the Small Business Administration, the Bureau of Export Administration, the International Trade Administration, and the Interstate Commerce Commission. If fully implemented, Heritage says, the plan would balance the federal budget by 2000, while providing $152 billion in tax relief to families with children, businesses, and the elderly. Another group, Citizens Against Government Waste, is pushing its own proposal. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group says its "Prime Cuts Catalog" is certain to be considered in upcoming congressional budget battles. Its plan isn't as radical as Heritage's, but targets many of the same programs. It would eliminate NIST's Advanced Technology Program, cut back funding for the Export Administration, and reduce NIH funding. The two plans closely resemble a package of "illustrative Republican spending cuts" circulated by House Budget Committee Chairman John R. Kasich (R-Ohio) to show how Congress could both cut taxes and reduce the deficit. His committee will present concrete budget-cutting proposals in early May. Janice Long 8
APRIL 24, 1995 C&EN
growing resistance to CFC phaseout. "It's becoming an economic issue," says Catherine Andriadis, a spokeswoman for DuPont, which is continuing to shut down and convert its CFC plants. "This is where the rubber meets the road. People are realizing it hits them in their pocketbooks." State representative Robert N. Blendu, a bill cosponsor, says he and his fellow legislators are not convinced CFCs are hurting the ozone layer. "Before we ask people to spend millions and millions of dollars in Arizona to replace the Freon in their equipment, we need proof [CFCs] are harmful," he tells C&EN. "We heard testimony on both sides of the issue, and it's only a matter of opinion CFCs are bad." Pamela Zurer
EPA told not to ban Ethyl's fuel additive A federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot ban use of a controversial octane-enhancing fuel additive made by Ethyl Corp. because of health concerns about manganese emissions. But that does not mean the additive will be on the market anytime soon. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia says EPA "violated" a section of the Clean Air Act that only gives the agency the authority to consider the emission effects of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) and not its public health effects. Despite automakers' assertions that MMT use harms automotive catalytic converters and sensor systems, EPA documents show MMT causes "no statistically significant increase in emissions" such as nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, the court finds. It therefore orders EPA to grant Ethyl the waiver the firm has sought for 17 years for MMT use in fuel. Bruce C. Gottwald, chairman and chief executive officer of the Richmond, Va.-based firm, hails the decision as a "vindication of our long-held position that MMT does not harm automobile emission control systems." Industry observers set the potential U.S. MMT market at $80 million a year.
EPA is "disappointed" but does not say whether it will appeal the decision. However, it plans to use another legal path to keep the manganese-based additive off the market. The agency says MMT "must be tested and its health effects studied before it can be registered for use" under a section of the Clean Air Act that licenses additives for use in a particular type of fuel. Indeed, Ethyl and EPA are locked in a battle—also in the D.C. Court of Appeals—to determine if MMT should receive such registration for use in unleaded gasoline without first going through new human health effects testing. Ironically, just as Ethyl moves a step closer to marketing MMT in the U.S., the Canadian government is moving to ban it after 18 years of use (C&EN, April 10, page 13). A spokesman for Environment Canada, the government's environmental watchdog, notes that Canada's experience as a living laboratory for MMT use in fuel shows "no risk to health from current use." But the Canadian government is concerned with automakers' contention that MMT reduces the effectiveness of the latest automotive emission control systems. In seeking the ban, it hopes to ensure not only fuel supply uniformity with the lower-48 U.S. states, but also the same benefits in reliable emission reductions from the most advanced emission control systems on cars, says the spokesman. Marc Reisch
Jacobs to succeed Heylin as C&EN editor Madeleine Jacobs has been appointed editor of Chemical & Engineering News, effective July 1. She will replace Michael Heylin, who steps down June 30 after more than 32 years at C&EN, 18 of them as editor. Jacobs, 48, has been managing editor since August 1993. Succeeding Jacobs as managing editor is Rudy M. Baum, currently assistant managing editor for the science/ technology/education department. Senior editor Pamela S. Zurer replaces Baum as assistant managing editor. Robert H. Marks, director of ACS's Publications Division, says Jacobs was the unanimous choice of a search committee appointed by Executive Director
