Dear President Trump.
I congratulate you on your impressive win and my hopes and prayers go with you and I hope will in some way, buoy you up during the new administration. We are great supporters of you and your agendas. My son prays daily at the supper table for you and your family, their safety and success. You are inspirational to us and are again proud to be Americans in large part because of you. God bless you and your family.
I used to work for a university in Washington DC, and I wish to outline some issues that I learned over the years.
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NSF funds only researchers who are somehow connected to someone at NSF. This sounds like nepotism, but in reality it isn’t. It is a matter of ego. An NSF administrator is far more likely to fund universities and research groups “friendly” to his overall belief system, and point of view. Other researchers with credible ideas are passed over for funding, because they don’t have the correct “research grandfather”.
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The large group of foreign nationals that are doing research at OUR universities can be both a boon, but also a challenge. There are many talented researches over the whole world that can bolster our research in the USA, but at the same time, how much of their research is shared with foreign entities with whom they are acquainted? I’m not just speaking about classified info. There are billions of dollars of “ideas” being shared to Chinese interests and others through the academic grapevine. These in turn, end up as low cost products competing with our own products here in the USA, (ie. batteries, solar panels, simple fiber optics connectors, etc.).
I find it interesting that the Rosenberg’s were sharing classified info to Soviet programs and were hanged for their efforts. However, there were many scientists sharing ideas with their colleagues in the USSR, just for the purpose of exchange of ideas. They were NOT hanged.
Recently, I had a friend who was a professor who was bragging about a student who finished their PhD in 2 years. He told me her name (Chinese), and I knew immediately that there were probably 10 people at the other end of a long data line, feeding her with research and papers. I don’t have any corroboration of this, but it’s super impossible to finish your PhD in 2 years. This goes to security issues. Unfortunately, academics are mostly concerned with their research and solving physical issues. I believe the higher education institutions are a soft spot in security, unless it is for the purpose of counterintelligence.
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There are projects being studied that are redundant over many government institutions. For instance, NRL, and NIST may have 3-5 different groups each working independently on the same problem from different angles. Whereas, I see the importance of redundancy and checking results of others, it appears to me to be rather wasteful. Can’t there be more inter-agency collaboration?
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Whole labs are reduced, and millions of dollars of equipment are mothballed when a space is required for another project. The mothballed equipment is unusable by other institutions (via Fed laws) or even to be purchased by entrepreneurs for promoting business Also, it would be advantageous to spread out the research and equipment over the whole country, not just in DC, Maryland, or Virginia. It would be quite an advantage to have satellite labs in every state. This would bolster its availability of research and facilities in each state. Also, it would be advantageous for Universities to be able to obtain equipment that has been mothballed for research and teaching purposes.
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There needs to be an increase in teaching of laboratory practices. Lab classes are seen as a necessary evil, and students aren’t even given sufficient lab instruction or time in the lab. In the university I have known many young PhD’s that are deficient in very simple exercises like changing out gas cylinders, soldering wires, simples circuits, safe gas practices. The days of the polymath need to be returned to, and the method to accomplish this is to increase hands on measurement and lab experience, and cross training in other fields. The increased cost of University and the number of credit hours needed to graduate are a difficult problem to overcome, however the need for hands on experience before entering the workforce is critical. Perhaps, we can do as many other countries do, by having a 5th year of high school being the first year of college (basic credits), and having an extra year of college for added lab classes?
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As a Laboratory manager at the university, I oversaw over 25 labs in 5 departments. I was able to interface with professors of many disciplines and research goals and attend conferences to bolster those goals. I spent many years upgrading equipment to modern capability. I also had the ability to foster interdepartmental use of equipment, which increased funding from multiple sources rather than just one department, should the equipment fail. In many universities there is usually only one person per lab or two labs. The lab manager of only one lab has less ability to foster and unify research and equipment needs.
The last thing I would like to say, is that once students leave the university (in a scientific field) they are still required to spend $$$ and time to gain certifications from privately funded watch-dog groups. Why cant a BS in a scientific field waive need for external certifications? Most companies have internal training and qualifications. All it does is give too much power to these political and privately funded watch dog groups like AMRL, AASHTO, CCRL, and many more. I understand the need for lab certification, but if you have a BS, internal certs should be sufficient. External certs can be available for those without a BS. Its just another way for a qualified person to be underpaid.
In any case, I hope these comments are helpful.