Memo from To:
JOSHUA LEDERBERG

Phil Handler

NOV 17 1977.

How scientists can learn about policy

The industrial input mentioned here certainly
has merit.

I wonder, though, if there is enough visibi-
lity and structure to a mechanism for 'policy-
research-leaves'for junior faculty at the NAS.
You might have to seek acquiescence to some more
flexibility in tenure~eligibility arrangements
for such people. Were you to get a few leading
institutions to go along, in acknowledging the
value and importance of a tour like this, it
might get the ball rolling.
Guggenheim Foundation be perfectly happy to ;
sponsor followships (at par with other objectives)
to this end. . oo

These points are, I suspect, all granted and
obvious: but they could well be brought out
more explicitly. I should think the Academy has
more than enough prestige to make it go.

Sincerely,

 

PROFESSOR JOSIIUA LEDERBERG
Department of Genetics
School of Medicine

Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305

 

 

 

And wouldn't,say,the.

 

etter to Membe

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

 

VOLUME8 * NUMBER 1 OCTOBER 1977

Of General
Academy Interest

Councils of NAS and NAE in Joint Session

On August 8 the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences and of the National
Academy of Engineering convened in joint meeting at Woods Hole. This was the second
such meeting, the last being in 1973. Philip Handler commented on the nature of the
NAS charter and its meaning. Particular attention was given to the fact that the
Academy is reimbursed for its expenses, but does not compensate for their services

the talented people conducting the studies, a practice that begins to present difficulties
in the present era of complex studies that demand increasing amounts of time from

the participants. Courtland Perkins compared the election procedures of the two
Academies, and discussed the eventual size of both, and their overlapping memberships.
At the moment, NAE, with 764 members, expects to increase to 1,000. Perkins also
emphasized the desire of the NAE to increase its public visibility, accomplishment of
which will depend considerably upon the availability of independent resources. He
reported that the NAE is actively seeking funds to create an endowment that would
enable NAE to initiate studies appropriate to NAE interests and which might later be
pursued through the NRC.’

Given the complexity and variety of the studies conducted by the NRC in the
present era, there is a need fora more rapidly responsive system to identify and attract
competent program staff. Handler noted that about two-thirds of the program staff is
hired solely for the duration of a specific study, usually about two years.

It was suggested that a network of industrial contacts might be organized to partici-
pate in a program whereby qualified individuals employed in industry would be invited
to spend one or two years at the Academy, on léave fronrtheir industrial positions,
thereby presumably benefiting the individual, his company, and the NRC. The two

_Councils agreed to make a small study of the feasibility of establishing such a system.