2014年12月18日,国际顶级学术期刊 Nature 首次向全球正式发布《2014自然指数-中国》(Nature Index-China),依据全球最具权威的68种自然科学类学术期刊上2013年度发表的研究论文的统计数据,采用加权分数式计量方法,分析了整个中国地区主要科研机构和大学对全球科学发展的贡献、中国科研产出领先的十大城市,以及中国与其它国家的科研论文合作情况。同时,分别按照化学、物理学、生命科学、地球与环境科学4个大的学科领域对研究机构进行了排名。 数据显示,中国海洋大学在地球与环境科学学科的自然指数为9.35,位居中国研究机构第4位。进入该学科排名前十位的其他研究机构分别是:中国科学院(68.5),列第1位;中国地震局(9.5),列第2位;中国地质大学(含北京和武汉两校区,9.4),列第3位;南京大学(9.33),列第5位;中国气象局(6.52),列第6位;中国科技大学(6.52),列第7位;南京信息工程大学(6.30),列第8位;武汉大学(5.93),列第9位;北京师范大学(5.76),列第10位。第11至25位分别为北京大学、国家海洋局、兰州大学、香港科技大学、中国地质科学院、中国科学院大学、中国人民解放军理工大学、中国气象科学研究院、清华大学、中山大学、香港理工大学、浙江大学、厦门大学、河海大学、香港中文大学。 相关链接: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v516/n7531_supp/fig_tab/516S77a_T5.html 背景介绍: 自然指数(Nature Index,简称NI指数)Nature出版集团权威发布的统计数据库,追踪了约6万篇优质科研论文的作者单位信息,涵盖全球2万多家科研机构和高校。纳入自然指数的论文取自68种自然科学类期刊,都是被科研人员认定为最好科研成果的期刊。这些期刊由全球在职科学家所组成的两个独立评选小组选出,组长由伦敦大学学院John Morton教授和伦敦国王学院Yin-Biao Sun博士担任。这68种期刊约占自然科学类期刊总引用量的30%,自然指数正是基于各科研机构和高校在这68种期刊上的发文贡献情况做出的统计 。 Nature Index遴选的68种自然科学类国际权威学术期刊如下: Advanced Materials American Journal of Human Genetics Analytical Chemistry Angewandte Chemie International Edition Applied Physics Letters Astronomy Astrophysics Cancer Cell Cell Cell Host Microbe Cell Metabolism Cell Stem Cell Chemical Communications Chemical Science Current Biology Developmental Cell Earth and Planetary Science Letters Ecology Ecology Letters European Physical Journal C Genes Development Genome Research Geology Immunity Inorganic Chemistry Journal of Biological Chemistry Journal of Cell Biology Journal of Clinical Investigation Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth Journal of High Energy Physics Journal of Neuroscience Journal of the American Chemical Society Molecular Cell Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Nano Letters Nature Nature Biotechnology Nature Cell Biology Nature Chemical Biology Nature Chemistry Nature Communications Nature Genetics Nature Geoscience Nature Immunology Nature Materials Nature Medicine Nature Methods Nature Nanotechnology Nature Neuroscience Nature Photonics Nature Physics Nature Structural Molecular Biology Neuron Organic Letters PLOS Biology Physical Review A Physical Review B Physical Review D Physical Review Letters Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Proceedings of the Royal Society B Science The Astrophysical Journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters The Astrophysical Journal Supplement The EMBO Journal The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 来源:海大官网:http://xinwen.ouc.edu.cn/Article/Class3/xwlb/2014/12/26/71178.html
Scientific Development, Be bold in Innovations. Fora problem of unsolved,innovationi s first important. 数学年刊B辑 (Chinese Annals of Mathematics,Ser B ) 编辑部: 尊敬的数学年刊各位编委们好: November10 , 2012 近日 , 电视上经常出现八个字 : 科学发展 , 勇于创新 . 这是非常正确的 , 是人类社会发展 , 进步的客观规律 . 按规律办事 , 创新 , 社会才能进步 , 更好 , 更快的发展 . 没有创新 , 就没有发展 . 发展和创新是不可分的 . 故不自封 , 阻拦发展 , 封杀创新 , 社会如何进步 ? 所以 , 所以 , 阻拦 , 封杀是很错误的 . 在科学技术领域的每一个进步 , 也说明了此道理的正确性 . 对于一个没有解决的科学问题 , 更是只有勇于创新 , 问题才可能得到解决 . 对于每一个创新和正确的想法 , 都应该得到支持 . 不是吗 ? 我认为 , 贵刊 11 月 8 日 , 对我的稿件的回信欠妥 . 如果文章错误 , 就不能发表 , 如果文章正确 , 就应该发表 . 我推荐的审稿人是王元教授 , 也列出不少国际著名的华人数论学家 . 应该不会找不到审稿人的 . 国际数论学界都知道 , 王元是唯一一本书名为 ”Goldbach Conjecture” 英文专著的作者。所以国际数论学家都很尊重研究此猜想几十年的王元教授。 我早已把钱学森的晚年明言(见 Blog )告诉王元,不知贵刊的回信,是包括他的意思吗?他自己应该有一个明白的意思。我认为,阻拦科学发现是不对的,与电视上的“科学发展,勇于创新”是不符合的。。 祝各位编委们好。 中科院物理所 冯克安 下面是 11 月 8 日 的回信。 【 Message Title 】 : Your submission - reject B20120335 【 User name 】 : edcam@fudan.edu.cn 【 Date Time 】 : 2012/11/8 11:02:56 MS. Ref. No. B20120335 Title: Matrix Expression and Properties of non-prime odd number—Goldbach Conjecture is Right Dear Dr. Feng, Many thanks for your interest in our journal. I regret to inform you that the Editorial Board of CAM Ser B does not recommend publication of your manuscript. Thank you for submitting your manuscript to CAM Ser B. We are expecting your new contributions. Yours sincerely, The Editorial Office of Chinese Annals of Mathematics Tel. : 86-21-65642338 E-mail: edcam@fudan.edu.cn 220 Handan Road, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China November 08,2012 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attention: This email address is for the system use only. Please do not reply. 标题 ( * ) 内 容 ( * )
地震学家判刑6年,对未来科学发展不可低估! 意大利6位地震学家和一名政府官员被判刑6年,不是因为他们没能准确地预报地震,而是无中生有地预报“不地震”。受害者的家庭成员不是不知道在目前的科学技术条件下科学家还无法预报地震,而是认为,地震学家不能没有任何科学根据就向公众宣布“不地震”,因为这是违法科学伦理的。如果因为他们没能准确地预报了地震,被判刑,那是冤枉他们。毫无根据的预报“不地震”,被判刑,他们也算是罪有应得。 以此为案例,今后对一切类似的情况都可以进行法制处理,例如,科研中的弄虚作假、编造数据、实验结果、科学家忽悠公众的言论等等,例如,气候变化(过去气候变化研究中存在大量的弄虚作假)、药物的疗效、地质灾害的预测、科研成果的应用性, 会使得科学家面对公众的言论更加严谨。 Jail Italian scientists over L'Aquila and what's next? Suing Michael Fish? Michael Fish became infamous in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987 ; a few hours before the storm broke, on 15 October 1987, he said during a forecast: "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!". But Michael was wrong, that evening, the worst storm to hit South East England since 1703 caused record damage and killed 18 people. Sending scientists to prison for misstating earthquake risk is not a great way to encourage others to take responsibility in future Martin Robbins guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 October 2012 13.12 BST The accusation they make is not that experts failed to predict the L'Aquila earthquake, but that they failed to properly assess and communicate the risks.' Photograph: AP On 6 April 2009, an earthquake struck the Italian town of L'Aquila, a medieval settlement built on an ancient lake nestled in the Apennines. More than 300 people died, and 20,000 buildings were destroyed. This much is clear, but much of the rest of the story lies buried in an avalanche of distortion and misinformation. It began with Giampaolo Giuliani, a lab technician and would-be earthquake predictor. Tremors had been occurring in the region since January, but Giuliani used his own system – a discredited approach based on measuring radon gas released by stressed rock – to predict a major earthquake on 29 March. Groups toured the area with megaphones warning residents to leave their homes, causing considerable panic, but no quake materialised. Two days later, the major risks committee, an expert panel that advises local authorities on risks of natural disasters, met in L'Aquila at the request of the Civil Protection Agency to discuss whether a major earthquake was imminent. The meeting was unusually quick, and had apparently been convened in part to reassure the public in the wake of Guiliani's bogus claims. According to Nature, the minutes show that "at no point did any of the scientists say that there was 'no danger' of a big quake", and volcanologist Franco Barberi gave the following, accurate summary: "There is no reason to believe that a swarm of minor events is a sure predictor of a major shock." After the meeting, Bernardo De Bernardinis from the Civil Protection Agency walked out and addressed the press: "The scientific community tells me there is no danger because there is an ongoing discharge of energy," he told them. "The situation looks favourable." This was not accurate at all. It was 31 March 2009. Six days later, the earthquake struck. A year later, De Bernardinis and six scientists from the committee were indicted for manslaughter. The nature of these charges has been relentlessly misrepresented by the media, with Nature's superb reporting a notable exception. Fox News claimed: "Italian Seismologists Charged With Manslaughter for Not Predicting 2009 Quake" when the prosecution was announced, and the ABC's headline echoed that statement: "Scientists Convicted of Manslaughter for Failing to Predict Italian Quake". Those headlines – and far too many like them – are simply untrue. The prosecutors, and the devastated families they represent, are well aware that scientists cannot predict earthquakes. The accusation they make is not that experts failed to predict the earthquake, but that they failed to properly assess and communicate the risks, telling residents they were safe without any scientific basis for doing so. The scientists involved say that the responsibility for this lies with De Bernardinis, who made the now infamous "no danger" statement. De Bernardinis claims that he made his statement in good faith, based on the advice he received. The prosecutor argues that regardless of who made the statement, the scientists on the committee are responsible for failing to come out and correct it. The seven were found guilty and sentenced to an incredible six years in prison, more than even the prosecutor had requested. Under Italian law the judge's reasoning may not be made public for up to three months, but the impact on the scientific and risk assessment communities is likely to be more immediate. Few scientists will want to take responsibility for similar statements in the future, and those who do are likely to be biased toward crying wolf rather than facing the threat of possible prosecution if their assessments are in error. The story is a familiar one – politicians, experts and the media coming together in an unholy mixture of miscommunication and misinformation – but the consequences are highly unusual. The scientists involved screwed up, but to prosecute people who communicate risk wrongly while acting in good faith seems excessive, and raises another question: if scientists, why not others? Why not prosecute Giuliani for his false predictions? Can we sue Michael Fish over the hurricane? Can we sue the Daily Mail for misleading the public over climate change? The Italian prosecution is ludicrous, but no more so than the suing of people like Dr Peter Wilmshurst under Britain's libel laws. In both cases, the same principle needs to be protected: good science is built on open debate, and if seismologists can't express their opinions for fear of ending up in a court room, then many more lives could be put at risk in the future. • This article was amended on 23 October at 14:03. It originally referred to Dr Peter Wilmshurst being prosecuted, rather than sued. This has now been corrected
评牛登科:Nature上讨论孔子和庄子思想对现代科学发展的阻碍,值得关注讨论 http://blog.sciencenet.cn/home.php?mod=spaceuid=61772do=blogid=531723 (1)作者考证 : 宫鹏 http://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/publish/cess/5344/2010/20101217133321429245376/20101217133321429245376_.html Nature文的作者Peng Gong, is in the Center for Earth System Science at Tsinghua University, China, and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA. (2)论点不错:显而易见,此人乃理科背景,个人主页http://nature.berkeley.edu/~gong/,南京大学毕业的海外华人。他对文科的研究应当说不太深,但是他的基本论点应是无误的。 孔子和庄子的思想对自然科学研究确实无益。 从内容上看,孔子关注的是社会伦理问题,庄子关注的是思想的自由,就算把老子拉上吧,老子是古代的辩证法。虽则有自由,但是政治自由,而非指向自然。 从认识论上看,庄子也许好些,比较主观,但他们对自然科学也是无益的。 (3)什么思想对科技有利:从中国历史上看,自然科学比较有用的哲学观是墨子的。从西方历史上看,对自然科学有利的是古希腊传统。 很多牛文的评论都指向了“希伯来传统(圣经)”,这显然是常识错误。 欧洲长达1000年的黑暗时代,就是靠着 古希腊思想 指引下的文艺复兴运动。 中国古代有技术而无科学的命题已经被谈论很久了,所谓“李约瑟迷题”。 (4)中国在转型期怎么办?科技与经济强国是根本么? 科技和经济的根本是“人”,为人服务才是根本。人权、民权,人民富裕则国强。当然到了一定阶段,国家这个东西也是可以用更松散而有效的体制来消解的。中国要强大,为的是国民幸福。国民生活的当然要科技和经济来保证。科技和经济不是一个人的问题,它需要体制作为土壤,需要新思维作为导引。 论证有风险,还是直接抛砖,中国需要古希腊精神,特别是从苏格拉底、柏拉图到亚里士多德这根主线的精神来改良中国精神。 附相关的一篇 关于李约瑟迷题的老文,《在科学、诗性与政治之间——屈原从天问到自沉》
The Development of Science Challenges Human’s Research Capacity Wang Yuanfeng Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, P.R. China The scientific knowledge has been increasing unprecedentedly during the past century, especially after the Second World War, due to the drive of following three elements: the interdisciplinary study, the advance of research methods and tools as well as the intertwining of science and technology (1). However, the rapid increase of scientific knowledge does not make scientific problems decrease accordingly, on the contrary, the issues presenting to human being are augmenting. From the point of view of the epistemology, human beings’ abilities of finding out and identifying problems are improved with knowledge growth. In addition, modern science is no longer to be the traditional natural science, although the questions, such as “What is the universe made of” and “What is the biological basis of consciousness” etc.(2), are still the essential problems of scientific research, but subjects of scientific research are mostly created by human being themselves. The human being’s ability to create problems is far stronger than that of solving problems. This prominent unsymmetry with science’s “endless frontier”(3) results in that it is not capable for human being to solve all the scientific problems. However, although scientists on the globe does not expect to carry out the impossible mission, the growth of the scientific knowledge presents a great challenge to scientific research because human’s research capacity does not keep pace with the development of science. The factors influencing capacities of scientific research are capital invested in scientific studies, which is generally denoted by RD investment, the quantity and quality of the scientific researchers, and scientific research infrastructure. Among the three factors, the first is most essential, it influences not only scientific research directly but also the quantity of scientific researchers as well as the scientific research infrastructure. At present, the global RD investment is of about $ 100 billion, accounting for about 2 % of world GDP (4,5,6). In the RD investment, only about one sixth was spent on basic research in developed countries such as the United States and some European countries, and developing countries’ corresponding expenditures were much less. The investment devoted into scientific research was too little as compared with the world expenditures on weapons and narcotics. Moreover, global investments in RD grew at a rate of less than 1% between 2001 and 2002, compared to 4.6% annually between 1994 and 2001(4). Government RD funds have been especially important to the academic sector, which is the source of much of the basic research, but as warned by President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) of the United States in the year of 2002: RD investment from the federal government has fallen to its lowest point as a percentage of the GDP in over 25 years(7,8). PCAST also worried about strong support of RD by private sector, which accounted for around 64 percent of U.S. RD investment(4), “this source of funding cycles with business patterns and focuses on short term results emphasizing development of existing technology rather than establishing new frontiers”(7). Most essentially, western countries, which occupy most proportion of global RD investment, have lost the will to fund basic science research (9), large number of scientific research proposals can not obtain support. In 2004, National Science Foundation (NSF) of the Unite States funded only 23.6 percent of proposals that has decreased to the lowest point in the past 10 years(10). Scientists in all over the world are not satisfied with the insufficient funds, especially those who are engaged in basic research. Even French scientists took to the streets to protest their government’s policies of the basic research investment (9). The work of scientists especially those in the field of basic research, is quite demanding, but in the society of market economy, scientists’ incomes just match that of the middle class. As a result, their career becomes less attractive, main developed countries are facing the declining interest in scientific jobs among their young people (5). A dditionally, with the restricting of scientific research investment, it will be difficult to supply sufficient researchers for scientific investigation, and the shortage of the researchers in some disciplines gets more serious. Whether the quantity of science and technical staff is enough is still under discussion, but main developed countries are all challenged by a period of growing retirements among their researchers(5). The case is notable in the Unite States: more than 30 percent of its university faculty are 55 years of age or older, and the total of individuals below age 45 has fallen to 36 percent(5). Meanwhile, modern scientific research has challenged the quality of scientific researchers. Mostly, modern scientific problems have the characters of complexity, non-linearity, interdisciplinarity, it highlights the requirement to scientists. Scientists should be qualified with various knowledge accumulation, abundant working experience, spirit of team work and skillful utilization of advanced research methods and facilities to do cutting-edge research. Whether the whole groups of scientific researchers can adapt to science development or not has not been reported, the claims of the development of science to scientists’ qualities should be studied. Advanced and effective research infrastructure is critical to the development of science. Modern infrastructure make researchers more productive and be able to do more complex and different tasks than they could in the past. The Unite States possesses the most advanced research conditions, but during the past decade, according to the diverse studies and reports(11) of NSF, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), National Institute of Health (NIH), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), there is a growing gap between the academic research infrastructure that is needed and the infrastructure provided. Scientific research infrastructure in the Unite States can not satisfy the requirement of science development. Nowadays, constructing and maintaining infrastructure of scientific research is very costly, however, NSTC reported that over the last ten years, the funding for academic research infrastructure has not caught up with rapidly changing technology, expanding research opportunities, and increasing numbers of users(11,12). The current 22 percent of the budget of NSF used in research infrastructures is too low(11). Many large research infrastructure can not be accomplished by one country because of their complexity and requirements in investment, technology and human resources. At present, a number of large research infrastructure has been constructed through international collaborations and partnerships (11). However, in the view of the scientific problems that human being has to face jointly, the work just starts. Besides those mentioned above, institutions, cultures, people’s education and interests on science are other factors affecting human's research capacity. Except the development of science raises new requests for human’s research capacity, human being must upgrade their scientific research capacity to meet the demand of the survival and development of human's society. References 1. Nelson R, National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993 2. 125 Questions, what don’t we know, Science, Vol. 309, July 2005 http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/125th/ 3. Bush V., Science—The Endless Frontier, A Report to the President on a Program for Postwar Scientific Research, July 1945 4. OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2004 (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,2004) http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/0/60/33998255.pdf 5.Science Engineering Indicators – 2010(The National Science Board, 2010) http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/ 6.Human Development Report 2010 (United Nations Development , 2010) http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2010/ 7.Assessing the U.S. RD Investment (President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, October 16, 2002 ) http://www.ostp.gov/PCAST/pcast2002rpt.html 8.Elisa Eiseman, Kei Koizumi and Donna Fossum, Federal Investment in RD, (RAND, September 2002) http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1639.0/MR1639.0.pdf 9.William Brody , The west has lost the will to fund basic research , (The Financial Times , August 18, 2005) 10.National Science Foundation, Introduction and NSF Overview, Regional Grants Conference, (April 4-5, 2005) http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/docs/introoakland.pdf 11. Science and Engineering Infrastructure for the 21st Century , (The National Science Board, 2003) http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2002/nsb02190/nsb02190.pdf 12. A Review of Reports on Selected Large Federal Science Facilities (Rand, 2003) http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1728/MR1728.ch1.pdf
科学发展挑战人类的科研能力 王元丰 北京交通大学教授 20 世纪以来,特别是二战以后, 科学知识以前所未有的速度增长。科学知识迅猛增长主要由于下面三个方面因素的推动: 1 、学科交叉融合。 跨学科研究、学科交叉研究不断地开拓出新的研究领域 ,促使新兴学科不断涌现。此外,传统学科 不断地分化出新的分支,孕育出许多新学科生长点。 2 、研究方法与手段的进步。先进现代实验与计算方法、技术和手段的运用,使科学研究能力大大增强,并且还原论与整体论相结合,微观研究与宏观研究方法相结合,不断创新科学研究的方法论,使人类不断突破传统研究的极限。 3 、科学和技术的融合( 1 )。科学与技术之间的相互融合、相互作用和相互转化,逐步形成一体的科学技术体系,极大地拓展了科学的研究范畴,促进了科学知识的增长。 但是,科学知识的快速增长没有使需要研究的问题减少,相反,摆在人类面前的问题也同样是急剧增长。从认识论讲,人类认识和发现问题的能力是随着其拥有知识的增加而增长的。另一方面,现代科学已不再是传统意义上的自然科学,尽管像组成物质的基本粒子、宇宙与生命的起源等问题仍是科学研究的根本问题,但是科学现在研究对象绝大部分是人类所创造出来的问题。 人类创造问题的能力远大于其解决问题的能力,人类没有能力解决所有的科学问题,科学研究的疆域是没有边界的 ( 2 ) 。但是,因为人类的科学研究能力不足,难以跟上科学发展的要求,科学问题的增长给科学研究带来很大的挑战。这一问题需要引起深思,由此衍生的问题值得深入研究。 影响科学研究能力的因素主要是科研资金投入量,科研人员的数量与素质以及科研基础设施状况。在这其中科研资金的投入量是最至关重要的,它不但决定科学研究地开展程度,而且决定科研人员数量,决定着科研基础设施的先进程度。 当前 ,全世界 RD 的投入在10 000 亿美元左右,占当年全世界 GDP 的 2% 左右( 3,4,5 )。在 RD 的投入中,像美国及欧洲发达国家也仅有六分之一左右用在基础研究上,发展中国家则更低,全世界在科学研究上的投入远低于花在武器或毒品上的费用。而且,值得关注的是,在 RD 的投入中商业机构的投入已占有主导地位,而商业机构的投入主要目的并不是基础科学研究( 6,7 );更值得关注的是占科研投入绝大比例的西方国家正失去资助基础研究的兴趣( 8 )。大量的科研项目申请得不到资助, 2004 年美国国家自然基金委员会项目申请的资助率仅为 23.6% ,降到十年来的最低点( 9 )。全世界的科学家都感到科学研究的经费不足,尤其是从事基础研究的科学家。法国科学家甚至为此走上街头,抗议政府基础研究经费的投入政策( 10 )。 在市场经济社会,科学家尤其是从事基础研究的科学家,工作要求高、经济收入水平仅在中产阶级行列,其职业并不特别具有吸引力,世界主要发达国家都面临着青年人对科技工作兴趣下降的问题( 4 )。另外,加之科研经费投入有限的限制,科研人员的数量不可能十分充足,在一些学科上,科研人员的数量不足的问题更加突出。虽然是否存在科技人员短缺问题还有不同的意见,但主要发达国家都面临着一段时间内科技人员退休高峰的挑战,美国这方面的问题更加显著: 30% 的大学教师年龄超过 55 岁, 45 岁以下的教师仅占 36% ( 4 )。与此同时,现代科学研究对科研人员素质也提出了挑战。很多现代科学问题具有复杂性、非线性、多学科交叉性、技术依赖性等特点,对科学家及科学家团队提出很高的要求。科学家及科学家团队要具有多方面的知识积累,要掌握先进的研究手段,要有丰富的工作经验,要能够协同工作等等,才具备从事科学研究工作的能力。科研工作者在整体上能否适应科学发展的要求,这方面尚未见到专门的研究。而作者认为科学发展对科研工作者素质的挑战比数量的挑战更大。 随着科学的发展,对科研基础设施不断提出更高的要求。美国拥有世界上最先进的科研条件,但在过去十年,美国自然科学基金委员会 (NSF) 、国家科技委员会( NSTC )、国家健康研究院 (NIH) ,国家航空航天局 (NASA) 的调查研究显示:科研基础设施的需求与供给之间的差距持续扩大( 11 ),美国的科研基础设施未能满足科研发展的需要。在当代,建造和维护科学研究基础设施需要投入当量的资金。美国国家科学委员会( NSTC )报告认为:在过去 10 年内,美国对学术研究基础设施的投资没有跟上飞速改变的技术、飞速增加的研究机会以及飞速增长的用户数。国家科学基金用于基础设施的预算太少,仅占 22% ( 11,12 )。很多大型科研基础设施由于其本身的复杂性以及资金投入、技术、人员、管理等方面的要求,远非一个国家所能完成,目前一些大型科研基础设施通过国际合作进行建设( 11 )。然而,从人类共同面对重大科学问题的角度,这方面的工作仅仅是刚刚开始。 影响人类的科研能力还有制度、文化等方面的因素。另外,科学技术的教育,大众的科学爱好等,也对人类的科研能力有影响。对这些本文不做讨论。 除了科学发展对人类的科研能力提出新的要求,人类社会生存、发展,还有很多重大科学问题,如灾害、疾病、环境污染、资源紧张等等问题( 13 ),迫切需要人类提高科学研究能力,予以解决。 参考文献 1. R Nelson, National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis , New York: Oxford University Press, 1993 2. Vannevar Bush, Science—The Endless Frontier, A Report to the President on a Program for Postwar Scientific Research, July 1945 3. Science and Technology Statistical Compendium 2004 ( Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,2004 ) 4. Science Engineering Indicators – 2010( The National Science Board, 2010) 5. Human Development Report 2010 (United Nations Development , 2010) 6. Assessing the U.S. RD Investment ( President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, October 16, 2002 ) 7. Elisa Eiseman, Kei Koizumi and Donna Fossum, Federal Investment in RD (RAND, September 2002) 8. William Brody , The west has lost the will to fund basic research , (The Financial Times , August 18 2005) 9. National Science Foundation, Introduction and NSF Overview, Regional Grants Conference, (April 4-5 2005) 10. “ French scientists fear for basic resea rch, despite government assurances ”, http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWSACTION=DSESSION=RCN=EN_RCN_ID:24203 11. Science and Engineering Infrastructure for the 21 st Century ( The National Science Board, 2003) http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/documents/2002/nsb02190/nsb02190.pdf 12 . A Review of Reports on Selected Large Federal Science Facilities (Rand, 2003) http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1728/MR1728.ch1.pdf 13 . 125 Questions, what don’t we know, Science, Vol 3091,July 2005 Editor-in-Chief D. Kennedy and News Editor Colin. Norman
For new readers and those who request to be “ 好友 good friends” please read my 公告 栏 first. On Science Adminsitration and Development From the spring issue of the Newsletter of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University http://www.seas.harvard.edu/newsandevents/pdf/NewsletterSpr09.pdf . This farewell letter from the interim dean has many wise advices for science administration and development. I reproduce it here for Science Net readers. There’s a saying in scientific circles,“the light bulb was not invented by a crash program on candles.” (note 1) Now seems like a good time to pause and consider what that saying means, given the media buzz about the stimulus money for research (“shovel-ready science”) and even calls for another “moon shot.” First, progress in science and engineering rarely follows a linear path. If it did, I suspect our graduate students would complete their theses twice as fast! Even with substantial, immediate funding, researchers won’t be able simply to conjure up significant results on cue. Second—and related to the previous point—luck is rarely “dumb.” Serendipitous breakthroughs grow out of years of sustained effort, without which they would not have happened—or been recognized as important. In this issue of the newsletter you can read about how Federico Capasso (note 2) used the elusive Casimir-Lifshitz force (once dismissed as a curiosity) to levitate a small object (pp. 4–5). Discovering the force itself wasn’t the end of the story. It took the subsequent development to provide the context for “seeing” the potential of this force anew. Put another way, to get results from shovel-ready science involves more than funding the shovel. You need rich soil in which to dig. Third, world-class scientific research requires a complex and dynamic infrastructure. The stimulus will help science, of course, but the package aims at specific and very practical ends: creating jobs and injecting money into the economy for the near term. For continued success, we have to consider the entire infrastructure of science. Today’s big discoveries are collaborative undertakings and require sustaining a societal framework for inquiry and innovation. That’s why a one-shot investment won’t make much difference. Rather, we need to enhance education, encourage and reward industrial innovation, and recognize the social consequences and political implications of science and engineering. With respect to the last of these points, we are fortunate that Venky Narayanamurti has been appointed director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the Belfer Center (p. 11). In his new role, he’ll be focusing precisely on this vital political-scientific nexus. Fourth, “top-down” direction rarely works well in science. During these difficult economic times, some have proposed another “moon shot” to rally the country and open new avenues for economic revitalization. “ If we can put a man on the moon, surely we can _____!” is a popular sentiment. The grand challenges being nominated for such an approach include solving the energy problem, fixing the environmental crisis, and improving global health. But the trip to the moon was a tightly focused undertaking—you really could “engineer” your way up there. Current global problems are quite another matter. In the case of energy—as materials scientist Mike Aziz discovered when he created his new course, “Survey of Energy Technology” (pp. 14–15 of this newsletter)—there isn’t any single solution we can all throw our weight behind to get the job done. So—if not to the moon—where do we go from here? My advice for those who lead research institutions and labs would be to build and nurture environments that encourage discovery. In particular, promote conditions in which ideas can most effectively take shape. Then, as much as possible, get out of the way! In so doing, you’re far more likely to catch a glimpse of the exciting places that creative inquiry can take us. My advice for our government leaders would be to see the stimulus as a first step towards a broader effort to advance the enterprise of science and technology. While I applaud the desire to “restore science to its rightful place,” it now permeates all aspects of life and society. To my research colleagues—and those considering scientific careers—I recommend holding on to the inspiration of the grand challenges while not getting lost in the grandeur. If we end up just constructing moon shots we may miss far brighter stars along the way. I want to end this note with thanks to everyone for making my year as Interim dean a good and very interesting one, especially given the challenging financial circumstances. It was an opportunity to see aspects of the School and the University that otherwise I’d never have known. I was fortunate to finish the year with our Visiting Committee’s review. It offered an occasion for some concerted reflection on where SEAS has been and where it’s going. And I am pleased at the record of progress that we have achieved thus far. While I’m eager to take what I have learned back to my post at the Rowland Institute, I will miss the daily personal interactions with students, faculty, and staff. And I’m sure that our new dean, Cherry A. Murray, will soon share my sense of gratitude and excitement at being part of the wonderful community that we have here at SEAS. (note 3) Frans A. Spaepen Interim Dean; John C. and Helen F. Franklin Professor of Applied Physics (Note 1: my definition of a “crash program” – have nine women simultaneously pregnant for one month each in order to produce a baby. Note 2. Names mentioned in this article are various faculty member of the school Note 3. There are many other interesting and worthwhile opinions and tidbits about science and technology worth browsing in this newsletter at the above mentioned URL.) 中文译文: 这篇文章来自于哈佛大学工程与应用科学学院简报,网址为 http://www.seas.harvard.edu/newsandevents/pdf/NewsletterSpr09.pdf 。该院临时院长在这封告别信中有一些关于科学管理和科学发展的建议,很不错,我在此把它推荐给科学网的读者。 在科学界有一句格言,“灯泡的诞生并非来自取代蜡烛的紧急研究计划。”(注1 )最近刚刚颁布的刺激科学研究的经费计划(也就是所谓的“金铲子计划”)在媒体上激起了热烈的讨论,有人甚至还呼吁再次出台“登月计划”。所以现在是我们停下脚步仔细想想这句格言的时候了。 “第一,科技和工程很少走一条线性的发展道路。如果是那样的话,我想研究生们完成毕业论文的速度要快一倍!即使有大量资金能够立即到位,研究人员也不可能就立马变出重大的研究成果。” 第二,和上一点相关的是—— 好运很少是“偶然”的。偶然发现的重要突破都是源自于多年来持续的努力,如果没有这些努力的话,这些突破不会发生——也不会被认定是重要的。在这期简报中,你能够读到Federico Capasso(注2)是如何使用令人费解的卡西米尔力(这种力以前被当成是一种奇闻异事而不被重视)让一个小物件悬浮起来的(第4-5段)。但是,发现这种力本身并不是故事的结尾,只有经过后续的大量研究人们才搞清楚在什么情况下可以利用这种力。换句话说,要想从现成的的科学研究结果中获得收益,光打造一把金铲子是不够的,还需要有可供挖掘的肥沃土壤。 第三,世界级的科学研究需要高度复杂且充满活力的基础设施来支撑。当然,各种刺激手段也会对科学有所帮助。但是该一揽子资助计划的目标却非常明确,非常实际:创造工作机会,在近期为经济注入资金。为了持续的成功,我们需要考虑科学整体的基础设施。今天,重大的发现都是合作的成果,所以必须长期维持一个鼓励探索创新的的社会体制。这就是为什么一次性的投资常常不会产生明显的效果的原因。相反,我们需要促进教育,鼓励并奖励产业革新,并且承认科学与技术研究的社会影响以及政治意义。 关于以上几点中的最后一点,我们很幸运,Venky Narayanamurti已被任命为Belfer中心科学、技术、和公共政策项目的主任(第11页)。在这个新岗位上,他明确地将重点放在至关重要的政治科学关系上。 第四,在科学研究中,“自上而下”的方向很少行之有效。在经济困难时期,有些人再次提出“登月计划”是为了团结全国人民,并为经济振兴开辟新的途径。“我们能把人类送上月球,我们当然可以_____!很多人都是这样想的。 这项工作的巨大挑战包括,解决能源问题,应对环境危机,并且改善全球卫生保健。 但是,登月计划其实是一个高度集中的项目——你真的可以仅靠工程研究的力量登上月球。而目前全球面临的各种问题完全是另一回事。就能源问题而言,正如材料学家Mike Aziz在开设新课程“能源科技调查”所发现的(见14-15页)—— 没有任何一种单一的办法能够解决全球能源危机。因此,如果没有登月计划,我们今后将何去何从呢?我的建议是那些研究机构和实验室的领导者应该建立和培养鼓励探索的环境。特别是要努力创造孕育思想创新的环境。然后就尽可能走远点,别碍事!只有这样,才更有机会一瞥创造性的探索能将我们带到何等神奇的天地。 我给政府领导人的建议则是,把此次这些刺激手段作为促进科学与技术事业的万里长征的第一步,后面要做的事情还多得很。尽管我也赞成“应该恢复科学的应有地位”,但是要知道,科学研究其实现在已经渗透到了生活和社会的各个方面。 对我研究所的同事,包括那些正准备从事科学研究事业的人,我建议他们在人类面临的巨大挑战前保持研究热忱,而不要被伴随其中的宏大主题所迷惑。如果我们最后只忙于登月计划,,那么我们很可能会错过明亮得多的遥远群星。最后,感谢在我担任临时院长这一年中给我帮助的每个人,因为你们,这一年变得非常有趣,非常有意义,特别是这一年我们的财政面临种种严峻挑战。对我而言,担任院长是一个可以全面了解本学院和大学的绝好机会,否则很多事情我永远都无法知晓。我很幸运以访问委员会的考察报告结束了我的任期。本次考察报告提供了一个机会让我们共同反思哈佛大学工程与应用科学学院过去所经历的一切,以及它即将迈向何方。同时,我也为迄今为止我们已经取得的进步感到高兴。虽然我很急切的想要带着所学回到Rowland研究所,但我会想念与我朝夕相处的那些学生、教授和其他工作人员。我确信我们的新任院长Cherry A. Murray将会很快分享到作为工程与应用科学学院这个无与伦比的团体的一份子的那份感激和激动之情。 Frans A. Spaepen (代理院长,John C. and Helen F. Franklin 应用物理教授) (注一:我对“紧急研究计划”的定义:为了生一个小宝宝,让九个女人同时怀孕一个月。 注二:本文中提到的诸多名字都是本学院的老师们。 注三:通过上文提到的链接可以找到这份简报,上面有很多其他关于科学技术的意见和掌故非常有趣,很值得一读。) (科学网 陈丹译 何姣校)