What America's Science Community is Reading Today
Space Science: A Space Race to the Bottom Line, Science (subscription)
“… last week, two dozen senior researchers met in a windowless Washington, D.C., conference room to try to avert what some fear could turn into a civil war among earth and space science disciplines scrambling for science’s decreasing share of the space agency’s budget.”
Space Science: Bumpy Ride for Data-Driven NASA Chief, Science (subscription)
“Under fire, Griffin’s refreshing forthrightness can come across as political insensitivity. He dismisses the community’s outcry as “a hysterical reaction, a reaction out of all proportion to the damage being done.” But those words are likely to antagonize rather than assuage science advocates. Griffin is famous for responding rapidly to e-mails; he carries his Blackberry everywhere. Yet he’s uncomfortable with the face-to-face socializing and back scratching that his predecessors practiced so adroitly. “You have to form relationships, not just send an e-mail,” says one who has worked closely with him. Although Griffin responds rapidly, adds another, “his impatience often shows.”