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Interviews United States presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore about science and technology policy. Disparity between the federal funding of medical research and biotechnology; Funding for basic and applied science at the Department of Defense; Endorsement of an effort to recruit and retain scientists of any race or origin at the weapons laboratories.

Reports on United States president Bill Clinton's proposed research and development budget for fiscal 2001. Increases in federal science and technology and university research funding; Outlays by agencies and by functions; National Science Foundation as centerpiece of the budget; Department of Energy; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Criticisms from Republican congressmen.

Discusses the budget appropriations approved by the United States (US) government for several agencies' physics-related research and development (R&D) programs for fiscal year 2000. Significance of investments in science and technology; Amount to be received by the US National Science Foundation; Appropriation of the US Department of Energy for R&D; Increase in the R&D funding for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Reports on the National Science Foundation's (NSF) selection of Florida State University (FSU) as the site of a new national lab for high-magnetic-field technology, which will be known as the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. NSF rejection of the proposal from MIT to upgrade its Bitter Lab where the fractional quantum Hall effect was discovered; Amount of the grant Florida State will receive; Design of the NSF contest under Erich Bloch, the agency's director; Seitz-Richardson report recommendations for MIT; FSU's commitment to magnet lab; Plans to stay in budget; Presentations to NSF; MIT reaction to the selection of FSU.

Interviews Erich Bloch, who is leaving as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) after six years. He discusses: The changes he has made at NSF, his greatest disappointment in his job, and accusations that he deliberately provoked physicists by proposing cutbacks for some physics research. Science and technology centers; Controversies over personnel decisions.

Interviews D. Allan Bromley, President Bush's science adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He discusses problems for `small' scientists, effects of federal budget cuts, money for grant applications, Congressional support for science megaprojects, commitments to current projects, and the Global Climate Change program.

Discusses in detail how the fiscal 1990 federal budget proposed by President Bush will affect various areas of scientific research and development, in both military and non-military areas. National Science Foundation (NSF) commitment; Budget priorities; Flexible freeze; Highlights by agencies.

This section presents an update on U.S. space programs as of December 1988. When the cheering stopped for the near-perfect four-day flight of the space shuttle Discovery in early October 1988, the science program of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was still sitting on the launch pad. The flight of the reusable Discovery revived the nation's dreams of heroic astronauts exploring the solar system, but it did not restore the hopes of scientists that their space experiments will soon be in space. Scientists, by contrast, consider themselves among the casualties of Challenger. Only in recent months did NASA give in to the arguments of scientists that alternatives to the shuttle need to be found for their experiments. The Cosmic Background Explorer, originally planned for the shuttle, and future planetary missions will be flown from Delta rockets. Since the Challenger debacle, public support for the nation's space program has been increasing. To the surprise of many within NASA, who had braced for cuts in the fiscal 1989 budget, Congress in August 1988 reduced some social and environmental programs to give $10.7 billion for the space program. The appropriation kept hope alive for space research. INSET: Missions on the NASA manifest..

Interviews Erich Bloch, who begins his fifth year as director of the National Science Foundation. Background on the NSF and previous directors; Bloch's professional career at IBM; His approach to solving problems; His appointment to the NSF; The mission and funding of NSF; The outlook for education funding in NSF; The role of the Science Board.

Reports on the controversy surrounding the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) in the U.S. Department of Energy's introduction of the idea of a competition among states to win the SSC; President Ronald Reagan's approval of the project; Holding hearings on the SSC.

Reports on the research and development budget in the U.S. for the fiscal year 1989. Insufficiency of the appropriations for ongoing and upcoming research projects by different agencies; Comparison of the budget requested and granted for the Department of Energy's physics-related research in 1988.

Reports on developments concerning compact x-ray litography machines and semiconductors in the U.S. Provisions of the omnibus appropriations bill; Developments at Japan's vertically integrated electronics conglomerates; Synchroton radiation facilities in the country.

Reports the achievement of the supercomputer centers of the National Science Foundation in the U.S. Contribution in the academic science and engineering; Advances of supercomputers; Importance of supercomputers in research activities. INSET: Cornell's supercomputer building at the brink.

Focuses on the Federal Conference on Commercial Application of Superconductivity in the U.S. Campaign of U.S. president Roland Reagan on the uses of superconductivity; Development of superconducting materials for commercial products; Challenges to the U.S. science and industry.

Reports the projection on the state of science policy with the enrichment of research and development programs by 1988 in the United States. Budget for the development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Collaboration between industries and universities; Financial request for physics-related research.

Discusses the effects that the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle is having on NASA's space exploration. Details of the Voyager 2 mission, as it recently passed Uranus; Endorsement by United States President Ronald Reagan to replace the shuttles with a new generation of spacecraft; Grounding of all other launch vehicles for the time being.

Focuses on the effectivity of Gramm-Rudman-Hollings law on the budget-cutting imperatives by the Congressional Budget Office and White House Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. Management of the national deficits; Reduce of the education allowances; Participation of women on the science and engineering.

Focuses on the developments in the field of physics in the United States. Importance of physics to society; Enthusiasm of scientists on physics; Relevance of large research facilities.

Focuses on the conceptual design of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) in Virginia. Competition conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy on accelerator design; Allocation of funds to improve existing machine; Cost effectiveness of CEBAF.

Focuses on the priorities of the National Research Council's Committee on Solar and Space Physics for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the U.S. Initiation of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics mission; Launching of the Solar Optical Telescope; Aspects of solar-system space physics.

Reports the peace treaty in the form of National Security Decision Directive 189 signed by President Reagan in the United States. Reaffirmation of guidelines for scientific communications proposed by the Department of Defense; Key laws involved in the directive; Features of President Carter's Executive Order 12065 of June 28, 1978. INSETS: Soviet 'hit list' of leading US defense firms;Soviet 'spy' scientists on US campuses.

Provides information on the proposed fiscal plan of President Bill Clinton for 1999 in the United States (US). Reactions of politicians regarding the budget plans of Clinton; Listing of government funding for physics-related programs and projects; Figures on the government funding allocated for research and development program of Clinton; Allocated funding for other science-related activities of the US government.

Reports the environmental problems caused by the Brookhaven laboratory. Reviews of the Department of Environment (DOE) on the said laboratory; Leak from the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR); Environmental activist protest. INSET: Tritium leak delays neutron..., by Barbara Gross Levi..

Reports on the increase of 1998 budget for scientific research and development in the United States. Reservations of some Congressional leaders; Targeted programs for new or increased funding of the Clinton Administration; List of research foundations favored by the Clinton Administration's 1998 budget.

Reports on uncertainty for the future of nuclear weapons laboratories in the United States following an announcement by United States President Bill Clinton that the country will end nuclear weapons tests. Exploration of future uses for the labora tories; Laboratories affected by the announcement; Comments from legislators.

Reports on the federal budget for research and development for fiscal 1995. Cuts on long-term research; Distinction between basic research and technology development; Appropriations for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Defense.

Features an interview with Office of Science and Technology Policy director Jack Gibbons regarding the federal government's science and technology policy. Gibbons' appointment as President Bill Clinton's science adviser; Creation of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC); Establishment of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST). INSET: Clinton and his new science council, by IG..

Highlights President Bill Clinton's budget for science and technology. Abandonment of the emergency stimulus package; Research and development agenda; Budget for the physics-related programs of the Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Defense; Perception by Congress as a problem in funding.

Examines President Bill Clinton's proposed budgetary allocation for science, technology and education. Budget increase for national computer and communications programs, advanced materials and manufacturing processes; Shift from military to civilian spending; Cuts for the Superconducting Super Collider and the space station; Fears for basic research; `Highlights of `A Vision of Change for America' budget plan.

Reports on the decisions by Congress in funding various scientific programs in the final hours of the 102nd Congress. Criticism by Senator Bob Dole; Need to redirect more of the country's defense operations to civilian goals; Cuts in programs that support `small science'; Generosity for megaprojects, like the Space Station Freedom and the Superconducting Super Collider, that will be built by major U.S. corporations; More. INSET: Special commission on the future of the NSF..

Examines the issues of science and technology facing President-elect Bill Clinton. Pledges by Clinton to shift funds from defense R&D to civilian R&D; Changes in working relationships between academic and industrial research enterprises; Economic realities and scientific spending; Vice President-elect Al Gore as point man for coordinating science and technology policies; More. INSET: Some key jobs in science and technology policy..

Reports that William Happer, since becoming director of the United States Department of Energy's Office of Energy Research, has received fierce criticism from many who had considered themselves his colleagues and champions. Cutbacks in funding for various areas of physics; Regulation of the nuclear weapons production complex; Discussion of the recommendations for proceeding in the areas of high-energy physics, nuclear physics, fusion energy, and materials science; Problems with Happer's 10 percent solution for budget woes; Reaction of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. INSET: After Townes, physicists voice an appeal to reason..

Reports on the dispute between the United States (U.S.) and Russia over the plan of the U.S. for a missile defense system. Significance of disarmament treaties to nuclear peace; Number of U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons; Several countries with nuclear capabilities; Information on the missile defense system of the U.S.

Focuses on a speech delivered by United States (US) President Bill Clinton on science and technology development in the US. Budget allocated by the government for research and development; Issues concerning scientists; Reactions to the president's speech.

Focuses on the nominations made by United States President Bill Clinton for various positions in the government. Nomination of Richard A. Meserve as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Nomination of Avis Thayer Bohlen as assistant secretary of the Bureau of Arms Control at the Department of State; Appointment of Margaret Leinen as head of the National Science Foundation's geosciences directorate.

Pays tribute to physicist and politician George E. Brown Jr., a member of the United States (US) Congress for 36 years, who died on July 15, 1999. Educational and professional background; Service in the US Army in World War II; His efforts to restructure the US National Science Foundation in the 1970s and 1980s; Career in politics.

Focuses on a report about the China's spying in the United States (US) nuclear weapon laboratories, prepared by a special bipartisan House committee, chaired by Christopher Cox. Most unsettling finding in the report; Allegation of the report against China; Caution made by some of the advisers of US President Bill Clinton when the committee submitted its report to the White House.

Presents news on the academy election and appointments in organizations and government agencies in the United States (US). Reelection of Bruce Alberts to a second term as president at the National Academy of Sciences; Chief scientist named at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Confirmation made by the US Congress to John D. Holum as under secretary for arms control and international security at the US Department of State.

Announces the appointment of some executives in science institutions and government agencies in the United States. Selection of Shirley Ann Jackson as president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Role of Riccardo Giacconi as president of Associated Universities Inc.; Naming of Edward J. Weiler as administrator of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

This article reports on the announcement made by U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy representative David L. Huber at the American Physical Society's meeting in March 1990 regarding the proposed initiative for advanced materials research. To many in Huber's audience, the initiative is an idea whose time is long overdue. Although the number of researchers in condensed matter and materials science has doubled, funding for those in universities, in national laboratories and even in industry has remained flat. Academic scientists have been forced to turn to their own departments for support of new instruments and young physicists actually seem to have a better chance of winning a Sloan Fellowship or a Presidential Young Investigator award than of obtaining a regular grant from the National Science Foundation. Of all the branches of physics, condensed matter research has had the greatest impact on technological developments and commercial products. Materials research has brought about fiberoptics for telecommunications, composites for a wide range of products, from aircraft engines to tennis rackets, and artificial biomolecular materials that organize themselves to resemble membranes and cells in living organisms.

Reports on a discussion of funding problems for science in the US, held at the National Academy of Sciences and led by Nobel Prize Winner Leon Lederman, president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Poll on funding crisis; Apprehensive academic research community; Purpose of survey; Reasons for funding crisis; Possible actions; Comments from Frank Press, president of the National Academy of Sciences.

Reports on the three-day Soviet-American summit conference, which included scientific studies, held at Camp David and in Washington in June. Collaborative studies agreements; Gorbachev's interest in science; Gorbachev's comments in San Francisco on science and United States-Soviet scientific collaboration.

Reports on the ouster of Bassam Z. Shakhashiri as the National Science Foundation (NSF) science education head, by department NSF head Erich Bloch. Proponent of science education; Problems between Bloch and Shakhashiri; Reorganization of science education; Reactions to ouster.

Describes a plan unveiled by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) director D. Allan Bromley that calls for a coordinated effort, involving geophysicists, earth scientists, atmospheric modelers and other specialists, to examine the likelihood of global warming and ozone depletion. Study priorities; Pending legislation.

Discusses an amendment approved by the US Senate in July which will extend all Chinese students' J-1 visas until June 5, 1990 which will affect about 80 percent of all Chinese students in the US. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering financial assistance to students; Impact on U.S business. INSET: What Chinese students want to know about visas..

The article discusses the effects of the recent Chinese government repression on U.S.-Chinese scientific and educational exchange programs and on Chinese science students studying both in China and in the US. One of the first repercussions of the brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square of the Chinese nation's capital and in several other large cities was the suspension of the two U.S.-China exchange programs run by the National Academy of Sciences. The international community of physicists was anxious about the future of science and scientists in China.

Report on President George Bush's nomination of D. Allan Bromley of Yale as his science adviser and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Selection process; Bromley's qualifications; Bush's science and technology agenda; Bromley's access to Bush.

Reports on the scientific advice President George Bush has received since his election, and before. Despite this, for various reasons, a science adviser has not yet been named by Bush. `White Papers' on science and technology advice, space programs, global environment and AIDS policy; Space program recommendations; Superconductivity consortiums.

Discusses appropriations from Congress to universities for academic buildings and research projects, called `academic pork.' A claim that earmarking funds for science and technology helps spread the money around is now being disputed by a study; Distribution of funds for research and development projects. INSET: Pork high on the 1989 funding menu..

Reports on the U.S. Natioanl Aeronautics and Space Administration's postponement of the launch of the Discovery space shuttle. Troubles with Discovery's redesigned booster rocket; Virtual disintegration of the outer boot ring of the nozzle that steers the booster rocket; Disappointment of legislators, scientists and the public.