patterso@portia.Stanford.EDU (Mark Patterson) (09/02/89)
CALLING ALL BRITISH SCIENTISTS WORKING OUTSIDE THE UK! We are a group of British scientists in California organising a petition to send to Mrs. Thatcher, regarding the state of British science. The text on the petition reads as follows: "Dear Mrs. Thatcher, As British scientists working abroad we are very concerned that British scientific research is being starved of necessary funding, with the consequent emigration of many scientists like ourselves. The dearth of funding for state-of-the-art equipment and supplies, coupled with the lack of jobs and career prospects for young academics, are major obstacles in our considering returning to the UK. We urge the Government to reform its science policy along the lines suggested by Save British Science, particularly as follows: (1) Government support for science, as a fraction of national wealth invested in civil research and development, should be increased to be in line with other major European nations. (2) Tax incentives for industrial support of fundamental research in institutions with open, academic type research and publication practices, should be improved. (3) The Government should recognise its responsibility to safeguard a broad academic base of independent scientific research on which future technological progress can be based." We've already collected about 200 signatures, mainly from life scientists, but we need lots more! If you'd like to sign the petition and help to distribute it further afield please mail me your address and I'll send you a copy asap. Thanks Mark Patterson