BABCOCK@ANCHOR.RUTGERS.EDU (02/07/91)
At least somebody was listening, but the entire point is that we as a community must do something ourselves to help the community survive and grow. I will repeat the final paragraph of my previous message: We can't solve the funding problem. But we should be working to help the little guy as well as the big databases survive. How about a database or clearing house for people who know of or are seaking to form collaboratons for a particular project? How about a place to put research ideas that you may not have the time or expertise to do yourself but would like to see done? (This helps all the computer science students asking the number one question- "Do you know of a project in the biological field that I could work on and get a computer science degree?"). And last but not least, a job listing where those who know of a job, or are lookiong for a job can try and find the right environment to survive with there multi-disciplinary interests. Bio-matrix meetings will not be very interesting if there are few places and people working in the field because researchers have had to get 'practical' and stay within the confines of their own fields. How about trying to make the Bio-matrix something more than just a summer meeting? It's great that NIH/NLM are seriously addressing database finding. That doesn't help those looking for jobs, projects, collaborations NOW. Having done research in academia, a government laboratory and the 'dreaded' industry, I am fully aware that one can survive practically anything. (Though the industrial facility I worked for has recently gone under). Nor do I see that it is too many baby boomers who have created this problem. Yes, it is more acute now, but as the Science supplement pointed out, the U.S. is behind both Germany and Japan in non-defence R&D expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product. One major 'problem', though I would consider it an opportunity, are the large number of extremely qualified PhD. level scientist looking for a job who have a 'green card problem'. They are having an extremely difficult time getting a job that will help solve their problem. For them, industry is often the only choice for employment. But without researchers who are interested in both quality teaching and quality reseach entering academia, what will the quality of the industrial and government labs be without well trained PhDs to hire? That is why we need to band together and work on our own behave in order to survive. There should be a choice as to where one does research based on personel preference, my fear is that too many really good people are dropping out of science altogether. Furthermore, we might be a bunch of interdisciplinary (excuse the word) misfits, but we are reaching a critical mass which means that we no longer need to have a 'lack of identity' problem. Our interdisciplinary interests should be our strength!!! We should be able to network better than groups in only one discipline since we have contacts in so many different types of departments, industrial and government labs. Is there anyone out there who is stable enough to supply a place for the above suggested lists?