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7 Graduate Training in the Planetary Sciences INTRODUCTION Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century, planetary research was in the mainstream of astronomy and in many respects dominated it. In Todd's New Astronomy (1897), only the final (and sixteenth) chapter is concerned with objects outside the solar system; three of 20 chapters in Young's Manual of Astronomy (1902) discuss the sidereal universe. The effort expended in planetary, as opposed to sidereal, astronomy declined rapidly in the first 60 years of this century. This decline is related to the development of large telescopes with their ten- to twentyfold increase in light-gathering power and to the growth of astrophysics. There has been no corresponding increase in angular resolution, partly because of the severe limitations imposed by atmospheric turbulence. Such factors have turned the attention of astronomers to studies of the galaxy, interstellar matter, and the extragalactic universe. These studies have resulted in an evolutionary picture of the solar system prior to the formation of its solid components about 5 billion years ago. Today, the opportunity to explore components of the solar system directly, with space probes or with improved indirect methods, has again opened the field to new interest, causing scientists trained in other disciplines to turn their talents to planetary research. The increased efforts promise to lead to a far better understanding of the more recent history of the solar system. The question arises whether the total influx of new blood is adequate to support an imaginative space program. It is not possible at this time to provide 64
GRADUATE TRAINING IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCES 65 an authoritative answer. It is, however, worthwhile to present as complete a picture as possible of the present educational trend, despite the difficulties involved in obtaining such information. This educational trend has been studied. It has been done by examining the rate at which PhD's in planetary science are being produced in the United States and the growth of that rate. Further, it is of interest to learn something of the distribution by field of interest of the new PhD's and of the academic departments responsible for their education. SURVEY OF DOCTORAL AWARDS IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCES To carry out a meaningful survey it is first necessary to define a "planetary- science PhD." This was taken to be an individual whose PhD thesis clearly was concerned with the Moon, planets, comets, asteroids, or meteorites. Gen- erally, mention of one of these objects was required in the title or abstract. Some leniency was exercised for theses on theoretical atmospheres and in a few other cases. On the other hand, a number of peripheral fields were excluded in order not to obscure the truly planetary-oriented works. Spe- cifically excluded were: the low-density interplanetary medium, the field of "space physics," the Sun and its immediate environment, Earth-like models of planetary interiors, and dynamics of artificial Earth satellites. Since no complete listing could be found of titles and abstracts of all U.S. PhD theses, an indirect approach was necessary. First, a survey was made of all planetary-science papers published from July 1960 to June 1967 in three leading journals: The Astrophysical Journal, Journal of Geophysical Research, and Icarus (initiated in 1962), and the authors having university affiliations were listed. A total of 243 such papers were identified, with 256 authors from 53 different departments or other organizational subdivisions within 32 universities. A master list of departments and universities was thus obtained, and a search for specific PhD theses was begun. It was presumed that only under exceptional circumstances would a planetary-science thesis be prepared at a university at which there was no faculty publication in planetary science. Appropriate individuals at most of the institutions were interrogated and were asked to check with their own and other relevant departments and to send in the identified PhD theses' titles and abstracts for collation. As a result of this survey and a few other independent checks, a total of 80 planetary-science PhD theses were identified for the July 1960-June 1967 period. The yearly rate is shown in Figure 8. Although the survey obviously was not completeâa few omissions are already knownâit is considered un-
66 PLANETARY ASTRONOMY EC LU a. EC 10- O O tc 111 CD ALL PLANETARY SCIENCES â. (EXCLUSIVE OF SPACE PHYSICS) EXCLUSIVE OF METEORITES AND TEKTITES ! 5- 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 CALENDAR YEAR 1967 FIGURE 8 Number of PhD degrees granted in the United States in planetary science in recent years. The corresponding number of degrees in 1965 in physics, astronomy, and all earth sciences was about 1,000, 65, and 400, respectively. likely that the correct number exceeds 100. The distribution by field, depart- ment, and university is shown in Figure 9. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY FINDINGS The survey shows that the current rate at which planetary-science PhD degrees are awarded is about 15 per year. It is clear that an insignificant fraction of NASA traineeships was used to support planetary-science training. It is difficult to understand why the annual rate is so low when the support available (until recently) for graduate study and research in planetary science has been both ample and diversified, and a national program of lunar and planetary probes was in operation. It is also curious that not a single thesis was identified that could be classified as in exobiology; not one was recognized as being truly "space-related." Many factors undoubtedly are involved. However, a dominant reason for this may well be the fact that very few academic institutions have departments or other units committed to planetary science. Figure 9 shows that awards of PhD degrees in planetary science are not weighted heavily toward any single field, university, or department; and planetary science in three out of four cases
GRADUATE TRAINING IN THE PLANETARY SCIENCES 67 is carried on as a sideline in departments primarily concerned with the Earth, the cosmos, or applied physics or engineering. It is apparent that rapid development of new techniques has served to shift planetary research from the astronomy discipline to other departments. Radio and radar astronomy are often fostered in departments of electrical engineer- ing, the interpretation of lunar photographs in departments of geology. While such shifts have served to increase greatly the number of workers in planetary astronomy and the number of PhD degrees awarded for theses in that field, one may raise the question whether they have always provided the best training for planetary astronomy. A. DISTRIBUTION BY FIELD METEORITES AND TEKTITES PLANETARY OPTICAL AND INFRARED ASTRONOMY PLANETARY RADIO ASTRONOMY PLANETARY RADAR ASTRONOMY THEORETICAL STUDIES OF PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES DYNAMICS OTHER PLANETARY SCIENCE B. DISTRIBUTION BY UNIVERSITY CIT BERKELEY CHICAGO MIT HARVARD STANFORD ARKANSAS CORNELL ARIZONA UCLA ALL OTHERS (TWO PHD'S OR LESS) PLANETARY SCIENCES EXCLUSIVE OF METEORITES PLANETARY SCIENCES AND TEKTITES C. DISTRIBUTION BY DEPARTMENT PLANETARY AND/OR SPACE SCIENCES EAHTH SCIENCES ENGINEERING ASTRONOMY PHYSICS CHEMISTRY 10 20 30 40 10 20 30 40 FIGURE 9 Distribution of planetary-science PhD's, 1960-1967. (Planetary science does not include space physics in this breakdown.)
68 PLANETARY ASTRONOMY A second reason for the small annual number of PhD's in planetary science may be that a planetary astronomer should have knowledge in a large number of fields: astronomy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, instrument design, geol- ogy, meteorology, and, in some cases, biology. This suggests interdisciplinary graduate programs in planetary astronomy. It is not of great concern which department is responsible for granting the degree, but it is important that work in several departments be not only permitted but actively encouraged. This is borne out by the finding that six of the ten graduate schools most productive of planetary-science PhD awards have some form of interdiscipli- nary research, or an academic structure that has played a major role in provid- ing a "home" for such students. The absence of a greater number of active, specialized planetary-science departments may reflect some skepticism about the permanence of the space effort, as well as the traditional conservatism of universities. If the federal government, including the Congress, commits the nation to a long-term planetary-exploration program, the rate of PhD production in planetary science will probably increase as university confidence in the stability and continuity of the national program develops. Both an increase in national interest and interest at the university faculty level will probably have more impact on the number and quality of newly trained planetary scientists than will specific fellowship programs.
