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Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Page 224
Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Page 225
Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Page 226
Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Page 227
Suggested Citation:"Where Life Scientists Work." National Research Council. 1970. The Life Sciences: Recent Progress and Application to Human Affairs The World of Biological Research Requirements for the Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9575.
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Page 228

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THE WORLD OF BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH graduate students and 4,695 postdoctoral fellows and were assisted by 24,481 technicians, secretaries, and other personnel. Of the 14,362 individuals who replied to the individual questionnaire, 3.4 percent were less than 30 years old and 6.3 percent were at least 60 years of age; 36.2 percent ranged from 30 to 39 years; 36.3 percent ranged from 40 to 49 years; and 17.8 percent were in the range 50 to 59 years. This distribution is fairly close to that of the scientific population at large. The average age of the group was 43.2 years, the median 41 to 42 years. Only 5.1 percent of the total population was female. Every state of the Union was represented in the reporting of birthplaces. New York was represented by the largest number of scientists (1,9891; Pennsylvania and Illinois followed with 880 and 855, respectively; and 631 were born in California; in all, 12,439 had been born in the United States, and 1,866 were foreign-born. All but 41 of the foreign-born regarded themselves as permanent residents of the United States at the time of the questionnaire. The foreign-born life scientists had come to our shores from 81 different nations. The major sources were Canada (292), Germany (236), England (162), Taiwan (142), India (97), Austria (89), Hungary ~ 68 ), Poland (55 ), and Japan (50 ~ . WHERE LIFE SCIENTISTS WORK Two thirds of the 12,383 investigators were employed by institutions of higher learning; as shown in Table 7, 14 percent were employed by the federal government, 10 percent by industry, and the remaining 10 percent by a variety of nonprofit organizations e.g., hospitals, clinics, museums, state and local governments and a few are self-employed. In a general way, this pattern is relatively independent of the field in which these life scientists were trained (Figure 331. With the exception of horticulturists, those trained in the agricultural sciences are more likely to work for the federal government than those trained in any other scientific area. Of the 68 percent who were trained in the basic biological sciences, biochemists are by far the largest single group, constituting 15 percent of the total population of this study, with microbiologists and physiologists 8 percent and 7 percent of the total, respectively. Although, because of their num- bers, these groups are predominant on the faculties of institutions of higher education, biochemists, microbiologists, and pharmacologists are also in great demand outside these institutions. Over 40 percent of those trained in these three disciplines operate in nonacademic environments, with all three unusually well represented in the laboratories of industry.

224 THE LIFE SCIENCES U. U) ._ - - · C) V' ._ o o - C~ ._ ._ _ C) o '> 'my O ·m PI Z m lo, ~ V'8O Ct Ct ~ ~ ~ C ~ C ~ _ He = 0 ° ;; CQ ~ -i ~ ~ 1 ~ C C ~ = 0 - e' - ~a C5 C C) C) :~ O CJ ._ _ C: ~ ~ Z ~ O Ct CQ ' ~ O .- U) o .= ~ Z 4- ~ ~. O ~ Z ~ _ C: _ ~ ,_l 0 - 0 ~ O LM ~ 1 ~1 1 ~1 1 1 -~- 1 1 ~ 1 1 1 IU) X ~ ~oo ~U] ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ oo ~ ~ X ~ t- oo ~_4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 =~= 1 1 1 1 11 1 - ~1 1 1 ~1 ~ 1 1 ~1 1 1 1 ~ 1 o 1 ~ ~ - - ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 ~ 1 I u ~ ~ ~ - 1 ~t 1 o ~ ~ o - o ~ ~ oo o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ =\ In _ ~ ~ o oo ~ ~ ~ ~ o U) _ ox Z ~ ~ o U) ~ ~ _ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ oo r~ O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~o ~ o o o ~ o~ o _ _4 o ~ ~ ~ ~ _ o~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ o o ~ ~ U) ~ o ~ ~ _ U) ~ ~ ~ ~ U) et _ U) ~ - ~ ~ o ~ oo ~ oo ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ ~0 ~=° `0 ~ ~ \0 0 0 ° ~° _ _ ~ ~ ~ _ ~ _ 0 r~ -.. V, CS 0 Z ~r E 5 ~ ~-o , ~ E E s o ~ D ~ E

THE WORLD OF BlOEOGICAL RESEARCH 225 oo ox oo 1 ~ o ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~1 ~ O to Can - ~ ~ ret 1 ~1 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~-~ ~ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ~-~ 1 1 1 1 1 == ! =~ 1 ~ -~ 1 1 -~' ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 1 ~ ~ ~ Io t_ ~ ~ - , Cal ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - so O ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 ~1 ~ ~ ~1 1 1 ~ ~1 U) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ on~ o o oo ~ no ~ ~ oo so oo ~ o ~ o ~ _ ~ - , Cr. ~ ~ ~ Can no 0 ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ ~ r~ oo ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ ~ ~ ~ oo ~ ~ o u) ~ u) ~ ~ ~ u) , oN o o ~ o ~ o u) ) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ oo ~ o ~ ~ c~ ~ oo ~ o ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - - u~ ~ u~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~n ~ ~ - ~ o ~ ~ ~ o u) - - u, . - o ~o o ~ ·- u, D ~O ° ~ ° ° 2 ° c a: E E O Z ~ C. c~. t~ E ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~ c ~ . . . o C) C~ C, ~ cL ~ t> , oo ~ S C) tG S G) C) _k ~ ~ ~C o~ C~ o0O ·> o ct~ ~ s o~ co u' ~ ~ ) , ~ ~o ° ~ £ ~ U, C) ) .O ~ "o ~C: V, C~ eQ U~ c: ~ ,_, ) Ct ~ U, ° >~ 5 ~ ~ ~ sc s U) ~C ~Ct °= 4.) .O £ ~s c~s tl" £ ~ ^ ,, ~ s O s O ~0 1= -~j £ c, c.= ~ ° <~ E o~ . ~ o.= U) ¢o ca ct s j 0 ~ ., 0 0 >~ ~ ~ s ~ £ £ ~ ~ ~ ':;' ~ c, ~= ~ 0 ~ et ~ ~ ~ _ Oo ~s O t ~ ~ ._ ~ oo CJ ~ ~ Cd c.,-. c,~S c~ ~z ~ ~ ~ s E c, c,,^ c, ~ 0 0 0 ~ _ ._ ~ c~ ·c) c~ . ~ ,- u~ c~ 2 ~o CC .~. ~ C', wu, =fi o~ o ~ S~ ' D S ~ s~ ~ ~ . v, . ~ ~ 0 0 3 4) '~' ^ £ s 00 ·.° c<' ~ ~ ~ ~ . . == ~ ~ ~ ~ ° °& t, c, ~ '3 _ ~ ~ o C ~ X.o ~ ~ C~

226 THE LIFE SCIENCES Of the 17 percent of our population who were originally trained as physicians, one third also obtained Ph.D. degrees. Seventy percent of the M.D.'s are on the faculties of universities, including virtually all the M.D.- Ph.D.'s; rather few research-performing M.D.'s are in industry, but there is unusually high representation in nonprofit institutions, particularly inde- pendent hospitals and clinics and public-health organizations. Those trained as physicians constituted 44 percent of the 3,170 reporting members of faculties of medical schools (and these schools corresponded to 39 percent of the total academic population); these were 87 percent of all reporting physicians. The remainder of the medical faculty was drawn largely from among those originally trained in the basic medical sciences; biochemists predominated in this last group (15 percent of the gross total), with major representation also from physiology, microbiology, and pharmacology. Because of their relatively large total number, those trained in bio- chemistry are found throughout the system in substantial numbers. Of 1,834 trained biochemists reporting, 59 percent (1,069) were in institutions of higher reaming, including 491 in medical schools, 225 on arts and sciences faculties, 126 in agricultural schools, and 37 in liberal arts col- leges. Substantial numbers were also found elsewhere: 247 in the federal government, 275 in industry, and 231 in other nonacademic, nonprofit organizations. (The disciplinary designation, "biochemist," relates only to the field of original doctoral-level training, and not to the area of science in which the scientist is currently working.) Of the life scientists in our sample employed by institutions of higher learning, slightly less than 5 percent were at liberal arts colleges. Undoubt- edly, a much larger fraction of life scientists, particularly botanists and zoologists, are on the faculties of such institutions, but relatively few engage in research on a scale sufficient to have put them within the scope of this study. The questionnaire addressed to department chairmen yielded an aggre- gate faculty for all responding departments of 17,172, of whom 3,852 were on faculties of arts and sciences, 3,907 on the faculties of agricultural schools, and 8,915 on the faculties of medical schools. Although the general employment patterns in the two questionnaire files are similar, the dis- crepancies are of some interest. Whereas 39 percent of all individual respondents were on the faculties of medical schools, 52 percent of the total departmental faculties reported were so employed. To place this in perspective, it should be noted that, of the 1,256 departments represented in the study, 267 are in agricultural schools, 246 in faculties of arts and sciences, and 694 in medical schools. Of the medical departments, 361 were departments of the preclinical and 333 of the clinical segments of medical schools. Undoubtedly, the returns from the chairmen's question

THE WORLD OF BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 227 naire should be taken as a more valid description of the distribution of the faculties of life scientists than that provided by the individual returns. The 1,689 individual scientists who indicated that they are employed by the federal government appear to represent a large fraction of the senior life scientists in the federal establishment. The major employers of the 1,689 reporting life scientists within the federal establishment are the Departments of Agriculture (36 percent), Health, Education, and Well Or ~ fare (27 percent), Defense (15 percent), and the Veterans Administration (11 percent). The patterns of employment of scientists in the various biological disciplines resect the character of the agency missions rather closely. Thus, 84 percent of all those trained in agricultural sciences now in the federal establishment are employed by the Department of Agriculture; 53 percent of all federally employed M.D.'s actively engaged in research work for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; 29 percent of the M.D.'s work in the Veterans Administration; and 18 percent of the M.D.'s work in the Department of Defense. The disciplinary employment patterns in other areas are repeated in the federal establishment: 32 percent of all federal life scientists were trained in the basic medical sciences, varying from 12 percent in the Department of Agriculture to 55 percent in the Department of Defense. Except for the physicians employed by the Department of Health, Education, and Wel- fare and the Veterans Administration and the agronomists employed by the Department of Agriculture, biochemists again constitute the largest single group of scientists in all federal agencies, ranging from 7 percent in the Department of Agriculture to 16 percent in the Department of Defense, 21 percent in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and 26 percent in the Veterans Administration. An additional 135 scientists were employed in federal contract research centers, which are managed by educational or other nonprofit organizations. State governments employed 229 life scientists (1.8 percent of the grand total), largely in hospitals or state health departments and their labora- tories, and approximately half as many life scientists were found in munici- pally controlled institutions of the same character. A significant number, 462 scientists (3.7 percent of the total), were employed by nonprofit institutes, foundations, and privately controlled museums. There are no reliable indicators to determine whether the 1,155 indi- vidual respondents who indicated that they are employed in industry con- stitute either a large or a true sample of the total number of senior life scientists employed in that sector of the economy. Seventy-six percent were employed by manufacturing industries; two thirds of these were in the pharmaceutical industry. Again, those trained in the basic medical sciences predominate: 262 biochemists were the largest group, followed

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