New Leaders, Fellowships Kindle Science on the Mall

摘要

After 3 years in the doldrums, scientists say an environment that had turned chilly for basic research is beginning to warm up. Three years ago, life was pretty grim for scientists at the Smithsonian Institution, home to high-profile astrophysical, tropical, environmental, and systematics research and head office for 16 museums and a zoo. The federal budget was tight, and the new secretary, Lawrence Small, was most concerned with finding funds to complete an annex to the National Air and Space Museum, build the National Museum of the American Indian, and finish long-overdue renovations at an art museum. To help pay for them and refocus science efforts, Small called for the closure of a conservation center and a materials research lab. Scientists were demoralized (Science, 13 July 2001, p. 194).