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SCIENCE LEADERSHIP SHAKEUP Clinton uses address atAAAS to announce new science adviser, NSF head
P
resident Bill Clinton went to Phila Less of a surprise was Colwell, whom delphia to speak at the annual the Administration had recently planned meeting of the American Associa to nominate as deputy director of NSF tion for the Advancement of Science (C&EN, Jan. 12, page 23), with the idea (AAAS) on Feb. 13 and ended up surpris that she would eventually succeed Lane. ing the welcoming crowd by announc That timetable was speeded up because ing his plans for a new presidential sci of Gibbons' departure. ence adviser and a new director for the If her nomination, which has not yet National Science Foundation. been submitted, is approved by the Sen The musical chairs in the science estab ate, Colwell will become the first life sci lishment begins with the retirement of sci entist and the first woman to head NSF. ence adviser John H. Gibbons, 69, who Colwell told C&EN she is "thrilled" by the plans to leave his post by March 15. Clinton nomination. "It is especially exciting to be intends to nominate current NSF Director joining NSF at such a crucial time," she Neal F. Lane, 59, as science adviser, and Rita said. Clinton's recent call for a 10% increase R. Colwell, 63, president of the University of in NSF'sfiscal1999 budget would "enable Maryland Biotechnology Institute, to replace Lane. | Clinton praised Gib- « bons for "his ability to I build bipartisan coali- ^ tions on contentious is- ο sues from nuclear testing £ to cloning to climate change." Lane, Clinton said, "has placed NSF at the center of our sci ence and technology policy in many ways," and Colwell's nomination will help "maintain that ^ π β (teft) and Colwell named to science policy posts. momentum." Gibbons' departure had been expected NSF to maintain its tradition of excellence for more than a year, but the choice of and will help ensure continued U.S. lead Lane as science adviser came as a surprise ership in science and engineering." to many Washington observers, including Even with a flush budget, Colwell like the staff of the Office of Science & Tech ly will face some serious management is nology Policy, which Gibbons heads. In sues at NSF, including the Justice Depart hindsight, the nomination makes sense ment's investigation of NSF Education Di since the Administration was having diffi vision Director Luther S. Williams for cultyfindingsomeone to take the science alleged violations of conflict of interest adviser job. It had been widely expected laws (C&EN, Feb. 16, page 18). One im that Lane, who was provost and professor portant task will be to help select a depu of physics at Rice University before com ty director. Joseph Bordogna, who has ing to NSF in 1993, would step down from been acting deputy director since 1996, is NSF at the end of his six-year term in Octo a possible choice. ber 1999, so he was seen as a perfect fillColwell is "someone I deeply admire," in. Lane is a calming influence and known said Richard N. Zare, Stanford University commodity in the science policy arena, and chemistry professor and chairman of the his nomination—once it is submitted— National Science Board, NSF's policy-mak should easily win Senate confirmation. ing body. "She has achieved success and
m-:^ international recognition as a microbiolo gist, teacher, and manager. Most impres sive to me is the ease with which she takes complicated scientific phenomena and connects them to our everyday lives." Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Calif.), ranking minority member of the House Science Committee, concurred. Colwell has been active in a wide variety of sci ence policy boards and advisory commit tees and was president of AAAS in 1995 and 1996. "Rita Colwell has a terrific track record at AAAS," Brown said. "Her experi ences both in Washington and academia make her a great choice to head NSF." Colwell received a B.S. degree in bacte riology in 1956 and an M.S. degree in ge netics in 1958, both from Purdue Universi ty. She received a Ph.D. degree in 1961 in microbiology from the University of Wash ington, Seattle. After serving as an assistant research professor at the University of Washington from 1961 to 1964, she joined the faculty of Georgetown Universi ty. In 1972, she became a professor of mi crobiology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and has been affiliated with the university in some way ever since. The Biotechnology Institute, which Colwell heads, was formed in 1985 to con duct interdisciplinary research and educa tion in biotechnology, and to serve as a catalyst for economic development in Maryland. The institute has a staff of 427 and an annual budget of about $29 mil lion. NSF has 1,250 employees and a fiscal 1998 budget of $3.4 billion. Clinton's surprise announcements fol lowed a tumultuous standing ovation from a crowd of some 3,000 scientists, engineers, and educators attending his AAAS speech. He spent the bulk of his speech, which was interrupted by ap plause nearly two dozen times, touting his proposals for science and education in the 1999 budget. The full text of Clinton's speech can be found at www.whitehouse. gov/WH/New/html/19980213-26754. html. Madeleine Jacobs and Wil Lepkowski
No relief in sight for Texas rail shippers After months of delayed shipments, lost railcars, and reduced production, chemi cal shippers have one apparently simple request. "All I want is my service back," said Dow Chemical's transportation man ager Harry Ignatowski at a Feb. 13 meet ing in Houston on the continuing Gulf FEBRUARY 23, 1998 C&EN 15
