What Future Will We Choose for Physics?

DEC 01, 1995

US physics faculties are aging rapidly and responding far too slowly to new opportunities across the sciences. We must reverse the trends if we are to preserve the historic vitality of the profession.

DOI: 10.1063/1.881477

Sol M. Gruner

James S. Langer

Phil Nelson

Viola Vogel

Science in the United States is in a time of pain and uncertainty. The pain is felt most acutely by young scientists, who are having great difficulty establishing their careers. The uncertainty about the duration and outcome of the current situation stems from its roots in ponderous events of recent history—the end of the cold war, industrial downsizing, government deficits and demographic trends. Although budget difficulties and lack of jobs plague most of the sciences, the atmosphere of uncertainty about the future is palpably different from one profession to the next. Our concern here is with the profession of physics.

References

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2. M. D. Fiske, executive summary in L. Grodzins, The Transition in Physics Doctoral Employment, 1960–1990, American Physical Society, New York (1979).
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8. National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy, Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers, National Academy Press Washington, DC (1995).
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More about the Authors

Sol M. Gruner. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.

James S. Langer. University of California, Santa Barbara.

Phil Nelson. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Viola Vogel. University of Washington, Seattle.