Arden Bement is acting director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), thanks to a $75 wager with his foreman at a Colorado molybdenum mill more than a half-century ago. Well, maybe it's a little more complicated than that. But if Bement hadn't accepted that bet―from a supervisor who offered to pay his first semester's tuition to get him off the midnight shift on the mill floor―he might never have gone to college. "I could keep the money if I finished the semester, and I could pay him out of my wages if I dropped out and came back to work," Bement recalls. "I had never thought about college, but I couldn't refuse the challenge." A distinguished, 50-year career as a materials engineering researcher and science administrator in academia, government, and private industry followed. And in February, when Rita Colwell gave the White House just 10 days' notice that she would be stepping down as director of NSF (Science, 20 February, p. 1116), President George W. Bush asked Bement to take the, reins until a new director is appointed.
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机译：Arden Bement是美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的代理理事，这要感谢半个多世纪前他的工头在科罗拉多州一家钼厂的赌注为75美元。好吧，也许比这复杂一些。但是，如果Bement不接受该赌注-一位主管提出要支付他的第一学期的学费，以免他离开工厂车间的午夜班-他可能永远不会上大学。 Bement回忆说：“如果我完成了这个学期，我可以保留这笔钱，如果我退学并重新上班，我可以用工资支付他。” “我从没想过大学，但是我不能拒绝挑战。”随后，他在学术界，政府和私营行业担任材料工程研究员和科学行政官，并拥有50年的杰出职业生涯。 2月，当丽塔·科尔威尔（Rita Colwell）仅10天通知白宫，她将卸任国家科学基金会主任（科学，2月20日，第1116页）时，乔治·W·布什（George W. Bush）总统要求比蒙（Bement）接任，直到任命了新董事。
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