Friday, 18 October 1991 Washington, DC
1. IT SEEMS THAT THE JAPANESE HAVE NO YEN FOR THE
SUPERCOLLIDER!
The Bush Administration is using a full
court press to persuade Japan to buy a one billion dollar "equity
position" in the SSC: the Happer team (WN 4 Oct 91), which
included two Nobel prize-winners, had barely gotten back from
Japan when the Bromley team went over to keep the pressure on;
later this month, the Watkins team will go on the offensive; and
in November, President Bush himself will raise the issue during
his visit. But so far, the Japanese seem more concerned with
strengthening their university research facilities. Besides,
they protest, why did the US wait until the site had been
selected, the design had been chosen and the management positions
had been filled, to begin wooing them? Rival suitor, Carlo
Rubbia, is reportedly urging Japan to reject the US and join in
the Large Hadron Collider at CERN instead.
2. THE CASE OF THE MISSING INFLATION INCREASE IN THE DOE
BUDGET.
Although public comment on the report of the Townes
task force (WN 27 Sep 91) has been
solicited through 31 Oct 91, DOE's budget request has already
been forwarded to OMB. In setting priorities, the Townes panel
was told to assume a flat budget in current-year dollars through
FY 96, but the Budget Enforcement Act allows for inflationary
increases; so where are the extra funds going? It is widely
believed that all increases are targeted for the SSC, but Happer
says its going to clean up weapons facilities. Mean-while, the
BEA seems likely to be renegotiated this year; the Democrats want
to shift defense savings to domestic programs, and OMB director
Darman might trade for a cut in capital gains taxes.
3. "ZERO SUM GAME" HITS PRESIDENTIAL YOUNG INVESTIGATORS
PROGRAM.
It sounded great when President Bush, in a Rose Garden ceremony,
announced creation of a new Presidential Faculty Fellows program
at NSF that would provide up to $100,000 per year to support 30
young faculty. But Rep. Howard Wolpe (D-MI), chair of the House
Science Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee complained that
Bush failed to mention that the money will come from eliminating
50 Presidential Young Investigator awards. In a harsh letter to
Allan Bromley refering to the affair as a "shell game" Wolpe
requested that OSTP issue a public statement detailing the origen
of the funds. Bromley refered Wolpe's letter to Walter Massey at
NSF, who is preparing a response. Political shenanigans aside,
the "new" Presidential Faculty Fellows program is a sensible move
to elevate the status of the PYI awards by raising the level of
support and eliminating the requirement for matching funds.
4. THE 1991 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS HAS BEEN AWARDED TO DE
GENNES.
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes of the College de France
extended phase transition theory to ordering in liquid crystals
and polymers. Ironically, with both Fermilab and NASA claiming
credit for MRI, the Nobel Prize in chemistry went to Richard
Ernst at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich for his
contributions to MRI.
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