Support for Younger Researchers and High-Risk Research Is Critical, Says Blue-Ribbon Panel

BELLINGHAM, WA, Jun 06 (MARKET WIRE) --
Programs and policies that support early-career investigators and high-risk,
high-reward research are needed in order to preserve U.S. leadership in science
and technology, contends a report released yesterday by the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The report, "ARISE: Advancing Research In Science and Engineering,"
documents a lack of
financial support for potentially transformative science and technology
research, and
risk-averse thinking and policies that stifle important new research
directions. The blue-ribbon committee that produced the report was chaired by
Thomas Cech, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and winner of the
1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry.

"The ARISE report highlights a very key issue regarding fostering new
research," said SPIE President Kevin Harding. "As Thomas Cech himself has
pointed out, he received his Nobel Prize for work he did in his early 30s.
Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity when he was just
26 years old. It is the new ideas, now concepts that have led to the
revolutionary advances in science, often done by people in the early years of
their careers.

"SPIE is trying to do its part for early career professionals through our
grant programs, special conference activities for early career professionals,
and a new award in the area. But there needs to be much more done by both
industry and government to grow new research. As the report points out, we may
need to rethink how research monies are allocated to be sure we are not
overlooking those new ideas essential to a healthy and competitive technology
base by only funding the low risk efforts that provide the useful, but
incremental, near term advances."

As an example, the report notes that the average age for first-time
recipients of
primary research grants from the National Institutes of Health is 42.4 and
rising, and that the success rate for first-time grant applicants has declined
from 86 percent in 1980 to 28 percent in 2007.

Cech drew a direct connection between federal research funding reductions
and the
rising age of grant recipients. Younger scientists starting their own
laboratories are competing for research money with more senior scientists with
established labs and a history of productivity. The younger researchers are
relegated to spending time seeking grants rather than participating in what
could be a very creative career phase, Cech said in an interview with the
Financial Times.

While current funding is a result of existing administration policies,
"there is
totally inadequate attention being paid to the problem in the current
presidential election cycle," said Eugene Arthurs, CEO of SPIE. "It's just like
Nero fiddling while Rome burns."

Read more about the report at http://www.amacad.org/news/newArise.aspx.

About SPIE

SPIE is an international optics and photonics society founded in 1955
advancing light-based technologies. Serving the interests of its more than
188,000 active constituents representing 138 different countries, SPIE
actsas a catalyst for collaboration among technical disciplines for
informationexchange, continuing education, publishing opportunities, patent
precedent,and career and professional growth. As the organizer and sponsor of
approximately 25 major conferences and education programs annually in
NorthAmerica, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific, SPIE provides publishing,
speaking, and
learning opportunities on emerging technologies. For more information, visit
http://SPIE.org.

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