Science and Engineering Workforce Reports

Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty (prepublication: June 2009) presents new and surprising findings about career differences between female and male full-time, tenure-track, and tenured faculty in science, engineering, and mathematics at the nation's top research universities. Much of this congressionally mandated book is based on two unique surveys of faculty and departments at major U.S. research universities in six fields: biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mathematics, and physics. A departmental survey collected information on departmental policies, recent tenure and promotion cases, and recent hires in almost 500 departments. A faculty survey gathered information from a stratified, random sample of about 1,800 faculty on demographic characteristics, employment experiences, the allocation of institutional resources such as laboratory space, professional activities, and scholarly productivity. This book paints a timely picture of the status of female faculty at top universities, clarifies whether male and female faculty have similar opportunities to advance and succeed in academia, challenges some commonly held views, and poses several questions still in need of answers. This book will be of special interest to university administrators and faculty, graduate students, policy makers, professional and academic societies, federal funding agencies, and others concerned with the vitality of the U.S. research base and economy.

Partnerships for Emerging Research Institutions: Report of a Workshop (2009)
Constituting one-third of all U.S. institutions of higher education, emerging research institutions (ERIs) are crucial to sustaining the nation's technological competitiveness through innovation and workforce development. Many, however, are not fully engaged in sustained sponsored research. This book summarizes the discussions at a workshop that examined the barriers ERIs face in building more robust research enterprises and approaches for overcoming those barriers. The book includes a description of federal programs that focus on capacity building and institutional collaborations.Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable

Approaches for Evaluating the NRC Resident Research Associateship Program at NIST (2007)
The NRC Resident Research Associateship Program at NIST provides two-year temporary appointments for outstanding scientists and engineers. This report describes program applicants and awardees and offers suggestions for an in-depth assessment of career outcomes. Preliminary investigation indicates that outreach efforts produce more qualified applicants than NIST has slots to fill, the pool of applicants is increasingly diverse, and many Research Associates go on to permanent positions at NIST. The agency should conduct a more thorough evaluation of the program, including an assessment of outreach to potential applicants, individuals who decline an award, the program’s impact on the careers of awardees, and the benefits of the program to NIST and the broader scientific and engineering community. Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering (2007)
Women scientists and engineers face barriers to success in every field of science and engineering, a record that deprives the country of an important source of talent. Without a transformation of academic institutions to tackle such barriers, the future vitality of the U.S. research base and economy is in jeopardy. Eliminating gender bias in academia requires overarching reform now, including decisive action by university administrators, professional societies, federal funding agencies and foundations, government agencies, and Congress. If implemented and coordinated across public, private, and government sectors, the recommended actions will help to improve workplace environments for all employees while strengthening the foundations of America's competitiveness. Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP)

Enhancing Philanthropy's Support of Biomedical Scientists: Proceedings of a Workshop on Evaluation (2006)
During an interval of 15 years, the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust spent over $500 million on four programs in the basic biomedical sciences that support the education and research of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and senior researchers. The Markey Trust asked the NRC to evaluate these programs with two questions in mind: “Were these funds well spent?” and “What can others in the biomedical and philanthropic communities learn from the programs of the Markey Trust, both as an approach to funding biomedical research and as a model of philanthropy?” One of five resulting reports, this volume contains the proceedings of a workshop held in June 2005 to investigate methods used to evaluate funding of the biomedical scientists by philanthropic and public funders. In addition to the Markey Trust, representatives from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the American Heart Association, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and six other funders of biomedical scientists presented information on evaluation methodologies and outcomes.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Evaluation of the Markey Scholars Program (2006)
Beginning in 1983, the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust spent more than $500 million over 15 years in support of students and researchers in the biomedical sciences through several programs. The Trust's Scholar Awards in Biomedical Science focused specifically on providing innovative funding and support to young biomedical researchers spanning the critical transition from postdoctoral training to the first years of a faculty appointment. The Evaluation of the Markey Scholars Program examines the research and career outcomes of the individuals funded as Markey Scholars by comparing indicators of achievement for the Scholars with those for individuals who were unsuccessful applicants for the Scholars award. The study found that the Scholars had a higher level of citations per individual and article, received more R01 grants, achieved higher rank, had a shorter time to tenure, and were located in higher ranked institutions than the biomedical scientists in the comparison groups. The report provides a series of recommendations for structuring future programs that support biomedical scientists who are navigating this critical career transition point.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Opportunities to Address Clinical Research Workforce Diversity Needs for 2010 (2006)
Based on a 2003 workshop, this study describes current public and private programs and recommends ways to recruit and retain more women and underrepresented minorities into clinical research, especially physician-scientists and nurses. Federal sponsors should improve data collection, evaluate existing training programs, and increase the diversity of study section review panels. Public and private sponsors should create funding mechanisms with flexible career paths, and universities and professional societies should both play enhanced roles in fostering diversity. A significant push is needed to recruit minorities into nursing and provide more clinical research training for nurse-scientists, nursing students, and nursing faculty.
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)

To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in U.S. Science and Engineering (2006)
Although more women than men participate in higher education in the U.S., the same is not true when it comes to pursuing careers in science and engineering. This guide describes actions actually taken by universities to improve the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women scientists and engineers in academia at all levels, from undergraduate students to senior faculty and administrators. Suggested strategies for improvement are provided separately for faculty, department chairs, deans, and provosts and presidents.
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)

Advancing the Nation's Health Needs: NIH Research Training Programs (2005)
This report is the twelfth assessment of the National Institutes of Health National Research Service Awards program. The research training needs of the country in basic biomedical, clinical, and behavioral and social sciences are considered. Also included are the training needs of oral health, nursing, and health services research. The report has been broadly constructed to take into account the rapidly evolving national and international health care needs. The past and present are analyzed, and predictions with regard to future needs are presented.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Assessment of NIH Minority Research and Training Programs: Phase 3 (2005)
This report provides an assessment of NIH’s programs for increasing the participation in biomedical science of individuals from underrepresented minority groups. The report examines, using available data and the results of a survey of NIH trainees, the characteristics and outcomes of programs at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and junior faculty levels. The report provides recommendations for improving these programs and their administration. It also recommends how NIH can improve the data it collects on trainees in all NIH research training programs so as to enhance training program evaluation.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States (2005)
Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States explores the role and impact of students and scholars on US educational institutions and the US economy. The nation has drawn increasingly on human resources abroad for its science and engineering workforce. However, competition for talent has grown as other countries have expanded their research infrastructure and created more opportunities for international students. The report discusses trends in international student enrollments, stay rates, and examines the impact of visa policies on international mobility of the highly skilled.
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP)

Achieving XXcellence in Science: Role of Professional Societies in Advancing Women in Science: Proceedings of a Workshop, AXXS 2002 (2004)
This report is the proceedings of a July 2002 workshop of the Committee on AXXS 2002: A Workshop for Clinical Societies to Enhance Women's Contributions to Science and their Profession. The workshop gathered representatives of clinical societies and identified ways to enhance the participation of women scientists in the clinical research workforce. This workshop was a follow-up to the AXXS 1999 conference sponsored by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which focused on how scientific societies could contribute to the enhancement of women's careers in science.
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)

Bridging the Bed-Bench Gap: Contributions of the Markey Trust (2004)
Since the 1970s there has been a serious gap between fundamental biological research and its clinical application. In response to this gap the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust instituted the General Organizational Grants program, which funded two types of awards to provide training that would bridge the bed-bench gap. These training awards fell into two categories: (1) those that provided significant opportunities for M.D.s to engage in basic research during and immediately following medical school and residency, and (2) those that provided significant clinical exposure for Ph.D.s while they were predoctoral or postdoctoral students. These grants were intended to close the widening gap between rapid advances in our understanding of the biological process and the translation of that knowledge into techniques for preventing diseases. This report examines the General Organizational Grant programs, identifies best practices, and provides observations for future philanthropic funders.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

The Markey Scholars Conference: Proceedings (2004)
This is the second of five reports to emerge from the evaluation of the Markey Trust. As part of this assessment, the NRC hosted a scientific conference for Markey Scholars and Visiting Fellows in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico on June 28-30, 2002. The purpose of the conference was to enable the Scholars and Fellows to share their research experiences, just as they did at the annual Scholars Conferences previously conducted by the Markey Trust. All of the attending Scholars and Fellows submitted abstracts of their poster sessions. Six scholars, along with other experts in the biomedical sciences, made formal presentations. These proceedings consist of shortened versions of the individual presentations and the poster session abstracts.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Envisioning A 21st Century Science and Engineering Workforce for the United States: Tasks for University, Industry, and Government (2003)
At the request of the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR), Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, presents in this brief paper her views of the challenges of the 21st century for the science and engineering workforce. Dr. Jackson identifies factors that she believes are contributing to a declining science and engineering workforce, describes the risks and consequences of this decline, and proposes specific, short-term tasks for universities, industry, and the federal government to strengthen and revitalize the workforce.
Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable (GUIRR)

Attracting PhDs to K-12 Education: A Demonstration Program for Science, Mathematics, and Technology (2002)
The National Research Council (NRC) has undertaken a three-phase project to explore the possibility of a program to attract science, mathematics and engineering PhDs to careers in K-12 education. The first phase of the project surveyed the interests of recent PhDs in science and mathematics in pursuing careers in secondary education. Analysis of the Phase I data suggests that a significant percentage of PhDs might be interested in pursuing careers in secondary education under some circumstances. This report from the second phase of the project presents a proposal for a national demonstration program to determine how one might prepare PhDs to be productive members of the K-12 education community. The proposed program is designed to help meet the needs of the nation's schools, while providing further career opportunities for recent PhDs in science, mathematics and engineering.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Building a Workforce for the Information Age offers an in-depth look at information technology workers, where they work and what they do, illuminating key areas that have been raised in political debates: Where do people in IT jobs come from? What kind of education and training matter most for them? Does the labor market—and the experiences of employers and workers—differ in various parts of the country? How do citizens of other countries factor into the U.S. IT workforce? What do we know about IT career paths, and what does that imply for IT workers as they age? And can we measure what matters? The study identifies characteristics that differentiate IT work from other categories of high-tech work and also looks at the capacity of the U.S. educational system and of employer training programs to produce qualified workers.
Board on Higher Education and Workforce (BHEW)

Female Engineering Faculty at U.S. Institutions: A Data Profile (2001)
Several federal agencies asked the National Research Council to document the participation of women engineers in academic institutions within the United States by creating a directory that can be used to announce programs and other formal communications. In response, the NRC compiled a list of approximately 1,300 women faculty in engineering departments in the United States and conducted a survey to gather additional information about their status and careers. This resulting data profile provides information on the race/ethnicity, degrees held, employment history, primary work activities, and tenure status of the nearly 800 women faculty members who completed the survey. In addition, it summarizes their responses to questions about experiences with mentoring, factors contributing to career decisions, and satisfaction with current employment.
Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)

From Scarcity to Visibility: Gender Differences in the Careers of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers (2001)
Although women have made important inroads in science and engineering since the early 1970s, their progress in these fields has stalled over the past several years. This study looks at women in science and engineering careers in the 1970s and 1980s, documenting differences in career outcomes between men and women and between women of different races and ethnic backgrounds. The panel presents what is known about the following questions and explores their policy implications: In what sectors are female Ph.D.s employed? What salary disparities exist between men and women in these fields? How is marital status associated with career attainment? Does it help a career to have a postdoctoral appointment? How well are female scientists and engineers represented in management?

Within the broader context of education and the labor market, the book provides detailed comparisons between men and women Ph.D.s in a number of measures: financial support for education, academic rank achieved, salary, and others. The study covers engineering; the mathematical, physical, life, and social and behavioral sciences; medical school faculty; and recipients of National Institutes of Health grants. Findings and recommendations in this volume will be of interest to practitioners, faculty, and students in science and engineering as well as education administrators, employers, and researchers in these fields. Committee on Women in Science and Engineering (CWSE)