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.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of 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. Bruce Alberts 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. Robert M. White 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. Kenneth I. Shine 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. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ATM 9316824.
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Copyright © 1994 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Cover art reproduced from a batik card titled Changes by Susan Wexler Schneider, a nationally recognized batik artist who has been working in this medium for 20 years. Now a Seattle, Washington, resident, Ms. Schneider learned the craft of batik in a southern Ontario town and has had many one-person and group shows. Susan considers batik a “truly magical medium.” It is singularly appropriate to have Susan’s art represented on the cover of this report since she is the daughter of the late Harry Wexler, whose contributions to atmospheric science and to our understanding of solar influences on the atmosphere are well known. Dr. Wexler was instrumental in establishing the geophysical observatory at Mauna Loa and in attracting scientists to study solar radiation and the atmosphere.
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COMMITTEE ON SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL RESEARCH
Current Members
MARVIN A. GELLER,
State University of New York, Stony Brook,
Chair
CYNTHIA A. CATTELL,
University of California, Berkeley
JOHN V. EVANS,
COMSAT Laboratories, Clarksburg, Maryland
PAUL A. EVENSON,
University of Delaware, Newark
JOSEPH F. FENNELL,
Aerospace Corporation, Los Angeles, California
SHADIA R. HABBAL,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts
DAVID J. McCOMAS,
Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
JAMES F. VICKREY,
SRI International, Menlo Park, California
Past Members Who Contributed to This Report
DONALD J. WILLIAMS,
Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland,
Chair
ALAN C. CUMMINGS,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
GORDON EMSLIE,
University of Alabama, Huntsville
DAVID C. FRITTS,
University of Colorado, Boulder
ROLANDO R. GARCIA,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
MARGARET G. KIVELSON,
University of California, Los Angeles
MARCOS MACHADO,
University of Alabama, Huntsville
EUGENE N. PARKER,
University of Chicago, Illinois
Liaison Representative
JOE H. ALLEN,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Staff
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Director
DAVID H. SLADE, Senior Program Officer
DORIS BOUADJEMI, Administrative Assistant
COMMITTEE ON SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS
Current Members
MARCIA NEUGEBAUER,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California,
Chair
JANET U. KOZYRA,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
DONALD G. MITCHELL,
Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland
JONATHAN F. ORMES,
Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Greenbelt, Maryland
GEORGE K. PARKS,
University of Washington, Seattle
DOUGLAS M. RABIN,
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Tucson, Arizona
ART RICHMOND,
High-Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
ROGER K. ULRICH,
University of California, Los Angeles
RONALD D. ZWICKL,
Environmental Research Laboratories, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado
Past Members Who Contributed to This Report
THOMAS E. CRAVENS,
University of Kansas, Lawrence
DAVID M. RUST,
The Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland
RAYMOND J. WALKER,
University of California, Los Angeles, California
YUK L. YUNG,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
Staff
RICHARD C. HART, Senior Program Officer
BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE
JOHN A. DUTTON,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
Chair
E. ANN BERMAN,
International Technology Corporation, Edison, New Jersey
CRAIG E. DORMAN, Consultant,
Arlington, Virginia
MICHAEL FOX-RABINOVITZ,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey
ISAAC M. HELD,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey
WITOLD F. KRAJEWSKI,
University of Iowa, Iowa City
MARGARET A. LeMONE,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
DOUGLAS K. LILLY,
University of Oklahoma, Norman
RICHARD S. LINDZEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
GERALD R. NORTH,
Texas A&M University, College Station
EUGENE M. RASMUSSON,
University of Maryland, College Park
JOANNE SIMPSON,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
GRAEME L. STEPHENS,
Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Ex Officio Members
ERIC J. BARRON,
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
WILLIAM L. CHAMEIDES,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
MARVIN A. GELLER,
State University of New York, Stony Brook
PETER V. HOBBS,
University of Washington, Seattle
Staff
WILLIAM A. SPRIGG, Director
MARK HANDEL, Senior Program Officer
DAVID H. SLADE, Senior Program Officer
DORIS BOUADJEMI, Administrative Assistant
THERESA M. FISHER, Administrative Assistant
ELLEN F. RICE, Editor
SPACE STUDIES BOARD
LOUIS J. LANZEROTTI,
AT&T Bell Laboratories,
Chair
JOSEPH A. BURNS,
Cornell University
JOHN A. DUTTON,
Pennsylvania State University
ANTHONY W. ENGLAND,
University of Michigan
JAMES P. FERRIS,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
HERBERT FRIEDMAN,
Naval Research Laboratory (retired)
HAROLD J. GUY,
University of California, San Diego
NOEL W. HINNERS,
Martin Marietta Civil Space and Communications Company
ROBERT A. LAUDISE,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
RICHARD S. LINDZEN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN H. McELROY,
University of Texas at Arlington
WILLIAM J. MERRELL, JR.,
Texas A&M University
NORMAN F. NESS,
University of Delaware
MARCIA NEUGEBAUER,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
SIMON OSTRACH,
Case Western Reserve University
JEREMIAH P. OSTRIKER,
Princeton University Observatory
CARLE M. PIETERS,
Brown University
JUDITH PIPHER,
University of Rochester
WILLIAM A. SIRIGNANO,
University of California, Irvine
JOHN W. TOWNSEND,
Goddard Space Flight Center (retired)
FRED TUREK,
Northwestern University
ARTHUR B. C. WALKER,
Stanford University
Staff
MARC S. ALLEN, Director
RICHARD C. HART, Deputy Director
JOYCE M. PURCELL, Senior Program Officer
DAVID H. SMITH, Senior Program Officer
BETTY C. GUYOT, Administrative Officer
ANNE SIMMONS, Administrative Assistant
VICTORIA FRIEDENSEN, Administrative Assistant
ALTORIA BELL, Administrative Assistant
CARMELA J. CHAMBERLAIN, Administrative Assistant
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland,
Chair
PATRICK R. ATKINS,
Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EDITH BROWN WEISS,
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
EDWARD A. FRIEMAN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
W. BARCLAY KAMB,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt/Clemson University, Nashville, Tennessee
RAYMOND A. PRICE,
Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
THOMAS A. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
WARREN WASHINGTON,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
MORGAN GOPNIK, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
ROBIN ALLEN, Senior Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
RICHARD N. ZARE,
Stanford University,
Chair
RICHARD S. NICHOLSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Vice Chair
STEPHEN L. ADLER,
Institute for Advanced Study
JOHN A. ARMSTRONG,
IBM Corporation (retired)
SYLVIA T. CEYER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
AVNER FRIEDMAN,
University of Minnesota
SUSAN L. GRAHAM,
University of California, Berkeley
ROBERT J. HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation
HANS MARK,
University of Texas, Austin
CLAIRE E. MAX,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
CHRISTOPHER F. McKEE,
University of California at Berkeley
JAMES W. MITCHELL,
AT&T Bell Laboratories
JEROME SACKS,
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
A. RICHARD SEEBASS III,
University of Colorado
CHARLES P. SLICHTER,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
ALVIN W. TRIVELPIECE,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Staff
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
Preface
Traditionally, the National Research Council's Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) and Space Studies Board (SSB) examine research strategies within their areas of science. In that respect this report is unusual. It looks, instead, at the health of a scientific discipline as it is affected by administrative, managerial, and funding decisions. The study originated from a perception shared by many space scientists that, although overall funding was greater than in previous years, individual researchers seemed to be having greater difficulty in obtaining support for their work. This report is the result of an investigation into that perception and the program structures within which much of U.S. space physics research is conducted.
The authors of this report are listed in the preceding committee membership rosters. Their aspirations were to help federal science managers, and those within their own ranks who help make and implement science policy, by analyzing governmental support of space physics research. The conclusions and recommendations from this study are guideposts for identifying and solving significant problems that thwart cost efficiency in the management of one corner of science. However, as the committee members soon discovered, the subject and results of this study apply to many other areas of science as well. This report should be of interest to everyone engaged in research or in the funding and organizing of research.
The two authoring committees, the BASC Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR) and the SSB Committee on Solar and Space Physics, meet jointly as a federated committee representing the subdisciplines of solar physics, heliospheric physics, cosmic rays, magnetospheric physics, ionospheric physics,
upper-atmospheric physics, aeronomy, and solar-terrestrial physics to provide advice to government agencies. They are concerned with the experimental (both ground-and space-based), theoretical, and data analysis aspects of all these subdisciplines.
Development of research and policy guidance is undertaken with one committee taking a lead role, as appropriate. While the CSTR filled the lead role for this report, the results stem from a sustained effort by the entire federated committee.
A particular note of appreciation is extended to two people who helped bring this study to its most fruitful conclusion: Morgan Gopnik, who skillfully edited the report and made key recommendations in response to reviewer comments, and Ronald C. Wimberley of North Carolina State University, who contributed insightful suggestions for improving the manuscript. The committees also wish to thank Doris Bouadjemi for her able preparation of the many iterations of the manuscript.
John A. Dutton, Chairman
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate