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Public Support of Science: Searching for Harmony

JAN 01, 1994
Since the cold war ended, scientists and politicians seem increasingly at odds. Scientists need to address social concerns more squarely in their work.
Roland W. Schmitt

My subject is the rationale for public support of science in the post cold‐war era. The first question is, Whose rationale? Congressman George Brown’s or Senator Barbara Mikulski’s or President Bill Clinton’s or Phil Anderson’s or Leon Lederman’s? Everyone seems to be singing different tunes, and it is hard to hear any harmony in their voices. And yet with the profound changes in the forces that have driven our Federal science and technology policies, it is now more important than ever to find that harmony.

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References

  1. 1. G. Wise, Osiris 1, 229 (1985).

  2. 2. Congressman Boehlert, a leader in the opposition to the SSC, is a good personal friend, and I’m sure he won’t mind the literary license I’ve taken in this context.

More about the Authors

Roland W. Schmitt. American Institute of Physics.

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This Content Appeared In
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Volume 47, Number 1

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