Training The Next Generation Of Scientists

This book is the standard reference based on roughly 20 years of research on atmospheric rivers, emphasizing progress made on key research and applications questions and remaining knowledge gaps. The book presents the history of atmospheric-rivers research, the current state of scientific knowledge, tools, and policy-relevant (science-informed) problems that lend themselves to real-world application of the research—and how the topic fits into larger national and global contexts. This book is written by a global team of authors who have conducted and published the majority of critical research on atmospheric rivers over the past years. The book is intended to benefit practitioners in the fields of meteorology, hydrology and related disciplines, including students as well as senior researchers.

The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take-up and achievement in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science. However, there has been less success in increasing the number of science teachers, improving take-up of A-Level physics and raising the standards of school science facilities. There is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. While starting from a low base, pupil take-up of the three individual sciences has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last five years. However, by June 2009, almost half of secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science. Take-up of chemistry and maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014 set by the Department, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased only slightly since 2005-06. Achievement increased across all science subjects and maths at A-Level between 2002-03 and 2009-10. Until recently, the Department had a target to ensure that all school laboratories were up to a good or excellent standard by 2010. However, it did not collect routine data to measure progress against this target, and the most recent research available found that science facilities were inadequate in around a quarter of secondary schools. Although recruitment of science graduates to train as specialist teachers has increased, the Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous Government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.

Young scientists are a powerful resource for change and sustainable development, as they drive innovation and knowledge creation. However, comparable findings on young scientists in various countries, especially in Africa and developing regions, are generally sparse. Therefore, empirical knowledge on the state of early-career scientists is critical in order to address current challenges faced by those scientists in Africa. This book reports on the main findings of a three-and-a-half-year international project in order to assist its readers in better understanding the African research system in general, and more specifically its young scientists. The first part of the book provides background on the state of science in Africa, and bibliometric findings concerning Africas scientific production and networks, for the period 2005 to 2015. The second part of the book combines the findings of a large-scale, quantitative survey and more than 200 qualitative interviews to provide a detailed profile of young scientists and the barriers they face in terms of five aspects of their careers: research output; funding; mobility; collaboration; and mentoring. In each case, field and gender differences are also taken into account. The last part of the book comprises conclusions and recommendations to relevant policy- and decision-makers on desirable changes to current research systems in Africa.

In Who Will Do Science? scholars and policy analysts from a variety of disciplines describe the present demographic situation, analyze the effectiveness of current programs for recruitment and retention, and examine policies that will improve the education of tomorrow's scientists and engineers.

An upper-level degree is a prized asset in the eyes of many employers, and nonfaculty careers once considered Plan B are now preferred by the majority of science degree holders. Melanie Sinche profiles science PhDs across a wide range of disciplines who share proven strategies for landing a rewarding occupation inside or outside the university.

Since the end of the Second World War, the United States has developed the world's preeminent system for biomedical research, one that has given rise to revolutionary medical advances as well as a dynamic and innovative business sector generating high-quality jobs and powering economic output and exports for the U.S. economy. However, there is a growing concern that the biomedical research enterprise is beset by several core challenges that undercut its vitality, promise, and productivity and that could diminish its critical role in the nation's health and innovation in the biomedical industry. Among the most salient of these challenges is the gulf between the burgeoning number of scientists qualified to participate in this system as academic researchers and the elusive opportunities to establish long-term research careers in academia. The patchwork of measures to address the challenges facing young scientists that has emerged over the years has allowed the U.S. biomedical enterprise to continue to make significant scientific and medical advances. These measures, however, have not resolved the structural vulnerabilities in the system, and in some cases come at a great opportunity cost for young scientists. These unresolved issues could diminish the nation's ability to recruit the best minds from all sectors of the U.S. population to careers in biomedical research and raise concerns about a system that may favor increasingly conservative research proposals over high-risk, innovative ideas. The Next Generation of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences Researchers: Breaking Through evaluates the factors that influence transitions into independent research careers in the biomedical and behavioral sciences and offers recommendations to improve those transitions. These recommendations chart a path to a biomedical research enterprise that is competitive, rigorous, fair, dynamic, and can attract the best minds from across the country.