|
THE |
Committee to Review the State of
Postdoctoral Experience in Scientists and Engineers
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy
Policy and Global Affairs
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES,
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING, AND
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported in part by Award Number 2012-10-22 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number 13: 978-0-309-31446-6
International Standard Book Number 10: 0-309-31446-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014957852
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Copyright 2014 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE STATE OF POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE IN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
GREGORY A. PETSKO (Chair), Arthur J. Mahon Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Cornell Medical College; Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry Emeritus, Brandeis University
SIBBY ANDERSON-THOMPKINS, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
H. RUSSELL BERNARD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Florida
CAROL GREIDER, Daniel Nathans Professor and Director, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
JAMES PLUMMER, Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering, and John M. Fluke Professor of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
E. ALBERT REECE, Vice President for Medical Affairs, Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore
NANCY SCHWARTZ, Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs, The University of Chicago
PAULA STEPHAN, Professor of Economics, Georgia State University
LORRAINE TRACEY, Medical Science Liaison, Teva Pharmaceuticals
MICHAEL TURNER, Rauner Distinguished Service Professor and Director, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago
ALLISON WOODALL, Deputy General Counsel, Labor, Employment and Benefits Group, University of California System
JOAN WOODARD, Retired Executive Vice President and Deputy Director, Sandia National Laboratories
Staff
KEVIN FINNERAN, Study Director
GURUPRASAD MADHAVAN, Senior Program Officer
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Associate Program Officer
JAMIE BIGLOW, Senior Program Assistant
MARION RAMSEY, Administrative Associate (until October 2013)
DAVID PROCTOR, Research Associate (until September 2012)
Consultant Writers
DAVID PROCTOR
JOHN CECCATTI
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND PUBLIC POLICY
RICHARD N. ZARE [NAS] (chair), Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor, Stanford University
LINDA M. ABRIOLA [NAE], Dean of Engineering, Tufts University
SUSAN ATHEY [NAS], Professor, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
MOSES H. W. CHAN [NAS], Evan Pugh Professor of Physics, Pennsylvania State University
RALPH J. CICERONE [NAS] (ex-officio), President, National Academy of Sciences
PAUL CITRON [NAE], Vice President (retired), Technology Policy and Academic Relations, Medtronic, Inc.
DAVID DANIEL [NAE], President, The University of Texas at Dallas
GORDON R. ENGLAND [NAE], President, E6 Partners LLC
VICTOR J. DZAU [IOM] (ex-officio), President, Institute of Medicine
DIANE E. GRIFFIN [NAS, IOM], Alfred and Jill Sommer Professor, Chair in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
JOHN G. HILDEBRAND [NAS], Regents Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona
DAVID KORN [IOM], Professor of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
C. D. MOTE, JR. [NAE] (ex-officio), President, National Academy of Engineering
PERCY A. PIERRE [NAE], Vice President and Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University
E. ALBERT REECE [IOM], Vice President for Medical Affairs, Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean, School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore
MICHAEL S. TURNER [NAS], Rauner Distinguished Service Professor, Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, The University of Chicago
NANCY S. WEXLER [IOM], Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology, Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University
PETER WOLYNES [NAS], D.R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Chemistry, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics-BCR, Rice University
Staff
KEVIN FINNERAN, Director
TOM ARRISON, Senior Program Officer
GURU MADHAVAN, Senior Program Officer
MARIA LUND DAHLBERG, Associate Program Officer
JAMIE BIGLOW, Senior Program Assistant
NEERAJ GORKHALY, Research Associate (until February 2014)
MARION RAMSEY, Administrative Associate (until October 2013)
DAVID PROCTOR, Research Associate (until September 2012)
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Preface
In 2000, the National Academies’ Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) released a report, Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers, that examined the experience of postdoctoral researchers in the United States. The report stressed that a rapid expansion of postdoctoral training during the previous decade had taken place without adequate oversight, resulting in fundamental changes in the nature of the experience for many postdoctoral researchers. It offered guidelines for improving the postdoctoral system, with specific directions for a range of stakeholders: federal agencies, universities, foundations, professional organizations, and postdoctoral researchers themselves. In the almost 15 years since the release of this report, the number of postdoctoral researchers in all research disciplines continued to grow sharply, whereas the number of independent and especially academic research positions into which they might transition did not. The National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Academy of Engineering felt that, in the light of these developments, another examination of the postdoctoral experience was necessary and timely. In particular, it seemed desirable to examine the available data on the number of postdoctoral researchers in various disciplines and types of institution, their national origins and means of support, their salaries, degree of satisfaction, and their career outcomes, and to determine the extent to which the recommendations of the 2000 COSEPUP report had been implemented and their effects on the overall experience.
The present report is an attempt at such an examination. It compiles and analyzes the best publicly available data and considers how the recommendations of the earlier report have affected the behavior of institutions and individual postdoctoral researchers. It uses these considerations to recommend further steps that all the participants in the research enterprise can take to improve the quality of postdoctoral experiences, and lays out a set of best practices toward achieving these recommendations. In formulating these guidelines, the present committee was guided by one general principle: that the postdoctoral period should be a defined period of advanced training and mentoring in research, and that it should also be, as the majority of the committee members remembered from their own experience, among the most enjoyable times of the postdoctoral researcher’s professional life.
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Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: David Allison, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Roger Cone, Vanderbilt University; Geoff Davis, Google, Inc.; John Dowling, Harvard University; Leroy Fletcher, Texas A&M University; Keith Micoli, New York University Langone Medical Center; Georgine Pion, Vanderbilt University; Samuel Preston, University of Pennsylvania; Mary Thomas, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Shirley Tilghman, Princeton University; Gerlind Wallon, European Molecular Biology Organization; and Ward Winer, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by George Langford, Syracuse University and Julia Philips, Sandia National Laboratories. Appointed by the National Academies, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Gregory A. Petsko
Chair
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Contents
2 THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE IDEAL AND REALITY
3 CHANGING ASPECTS OF THE POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE
Actions Inspired by the 2000 Postdoctoral Report
Institutional Changes in the Postdoctoral Enterprise
International Aspects of the Postdoctoral Experience
4 THE SHIFTING CAREER LANDSCAPE
Understanding the Career Development Options
Postdoctoral Researchers Supply and Use
Potential Implementation and Best Practices
Appendix A: Unique Challenges of International Postdoctoral Researchers in the United States
Appendix B: Determination of the Minimum Salary Figure
