Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 1980's, Volume 2 Reports of the Panels (1983) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix 6.A
Appendix 6.A
Pages 414-438
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From page 414... ...
m e 64% response rate compares extremely favorably with the response rate in other surveys, especially in view of the complexity of the questionnaire. m e 1307 Ph.D.-level employees represent a somewhat smaller fraction of our estimated total labor force of 3000, probably because in some cases only certain departments within an institution responded to our questionnaire.
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From page 415... ...
. There is no appreciable difference in the response rate of various TABLE 6.A.1 Institution Rate of Response to Questionnaire by Type of Percentage of Number of Astronomers Institutional Employees in Represented Response Responding in Responding Subgroup Rate Institutions Institutions Government laboratories 67% (4/6)
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From page 416... ...
We did some limited pretests of this questionnaire on a small set of department chairpersons. Unfortunately, the design of the questionnaire form in Question 3 led to some potentially inconsistent results on the distribution of the Ph.D.
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From page 417... ...
(yes or no) Y 236 220 13 3 163 155 7 1 126 14 N 4 1 3 2 2 1 2 NA 4 1 3 1 Research orientation T 62 59 3 43 41 2 18 4 (T = basic theory; 0 = M 45 41 4 34 32 2 38 3 observer; M = modeler or O 139 127 10 2 95 92 3 75 12 data analyst; X = other)
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From page 418... ...
186 8 116 24 28 6 16 Postdocs 137 2 80 32 7 0 14 Research Associates 124 12 61 25 17 2 11 Visiting Scientists w ith permanent or potentially permanent pos i t ion e lsewhe r e 60 27 36 15 5 2 22 TOTAL 1165 + 142 = 1307 (4496 of Ph.D. Labor Force)
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From page 419... ...
.................... Do you specifically encourage astronomy graduate students to take courses outside of astronomy and physics?
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From page 420... ...
Yes - 19 No - 35 9. Some astronomers spend time in activities intended to bring astronomy to the general public (for example, giving public lectures, appearing on TV or radio shows, etc.)
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From page 421... ...
If you need more space, make photocopies of this page of the questionnaire. n The following information was provided as guidance: "Research Field codes: I = instruments and techniques; C - cosmology, extragalactic objects, quasistellar objects; G = Galactic structure, stellar motions; ISM = interstellar matter and gaseous nebulae; P = solar system, space astronomy of the solar system (planetary)
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From page 422... ...
Some additional statistical analyses based on the questionnaire appear in Table 6.A.3, which presents the distribution of four categories of nontenured astronomers by research field, and in Table 6.A.4, which presents the distribution of three categories of astronomers by research orientation and sex. A few individuals furnished multiple responses to the questions on research field, research orientation, present location, and present employment status.
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From page 423... ...
Stellar atmospheres and spectra, stellar evolution, solar and stellar inter iors 6 6.1 9.7 8.2 21 27.3 7 9.1 S.6 17.6 11.1 13 12.7 6.3 15.6 6 5.5 17.4 8.2 22 23.0 15.3 29.5 High energy (super novae; x, gaIrana, and cosmic rays; pulsars ) Solar 4 5 5 Other and no answer Ma 3.0 No.
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From page 424... ...
These classes were studied by using the membership directory of the AAS for the year 1978/1979 and the 1978/1979 Directory of Physics and Astronomy Staff Members compiled by AIP as primary sources. The job was simply one of locating each individual in one of these directories and determining where that individual was employed.
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From page 425... ...
. People working for oil companies, software engineering companies, or government agencies responsible for applied science research such as naval avionics or nuclear reactors were not counted as being n in astronomy." Thus, the definition of what constitutes being sin astronomy" was a consistent one and is probably, if anything, a little too broad.
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From page 426... ...
bIncludes Fermilab, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and NCAR.
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From page 427... ...
We made a crude estimate of this effect by examining a few U.S. academi departments, checking to see whether faculty listed as "astronomers" or "astrophysicists" in the AIP book Graduate Programs in Physics, Astronomy, and Related Fields, c
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From page 428... ...
gave a somewhat higher figure of 27% non-AAS members based on the AIP National Register in 1973. Since the Register included graduate students, this figure may be unrealistically high.
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From page 429... ...
AS a result, we checked a number of other sources. Examination of the publication American Doctoral Dissertations indicates that the HEW data for astronomy were reasonably complete for periods earlier than 1970.
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From page 430... ...
For 1976 we used the number from the Subcommittee on Manpower and Employment Report to the Astronomy Advisory Committee, National Science Foundation. For 1977 and following years we used numbers from the AIP, including both degrees from separate astronomy departments and degrees with astronomy theses granted by physics departments.
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From page 431... ...
Separate astronomy Combined Physics Department Type (OEP Panel Classification) Astronomy Physics 79 62 16 74 12 71 76 81 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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From page 432... ...
m e departments listed above are all physics departments, and their graduate students are excluded from the AIP astronomy totals. The third way of classifying departments is the way the OEP Panel did it: whether the astronomy department has a separate chairman as indicated in the AIP Directory of Graduate Programs.
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From page 433... ...
Most manpower studies stop at the postdoctoral stage. It was our perception that the chief manpower problem of the 1970's was not placing Ph.D.'s in postdoctoral positions but, rather, placing people in long-term, permanent jobs.
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From page 434... ...
m e AIP surveys indicate that half of new Ph.D.'s take postdoctoral positions; with 150 Ph.D. degrees awarded each year, this would provide 150 genuine postdoctoral recipients.
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From page 435... ...
Particularly noteworthy are the sets of reports developed by the AIP Manpower Statistics Division, a comprehensive report on the state of science in the universities by Smith and Karlesky (1977) , the various reports produced by the National Research Council's Commission on Human Resources, the projections of education statistics developed by the National Center for Education Statistics, and, of course, the seminal work of Cartter (1971, 1976)
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From page 436... ...
American Astronomical Society, Committee on Manpower and Employment, 1974. "Guidelines to Employment Opportunities in Astronomy," American Astronomical Society.
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From page 437... ...
AIP Manpower Statistics Division, Rep.
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From page 438... ...
F., 1974. "Potentials and Problems in Astronomy Employment." Report prepared for the Astronomy Manpower Committee, Committee on Science and Public Policy, National Academy of Sciences.
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