Scientists Interviewed

American Scientist Interview (p. 25) Volume 86, January-February 1998... 

Majors [13] has compiled the results of his perspectives survey of 14 leading separation scientists with an interest in CEC. As expected, there is a wide divergence in the opinions of these leaders with regard to current issues and future prospects for CEC. However, few underestimated the current technological difficulties of column manufacture, reproducibility of chromatographic and electro-osmotic properties of the packed capillary, and the short-term problems of competing with HPLC or CE, but the majority of scientists interviewed believe that like any new technique, these problems will be overcome and that CEC will become a routine method of analysis in time. 

Anon., American Scientist interviews Wade Davis, Am. Sci., 75, All-All (1987). 

In reviewing Herman Mark s early years and rise to prominence as a physical scientist the author wishes to make special note of the use of an earlier profile of Prof. Mark by Morton M. Hunt (18), a special issue of Chemie Kunststoffe Aktuell (19), and two taped interview sessions with Prof. Mark (20, 21, 22). A special thanks is given to Ms. Jeanne Strauss, Phillips Petroleum Co., for her patience in clarifying a great deal of German for the author. 

Information and interview with Stephanie Kwolek, the inventor of Kevlar, as well as other scientists, http //web.mit.edu/invent/www/ima/kwolek video.html... 

Although his race made Percy Julian an anomaly in the chemical industry in 1936 (see Bechtel, 1989), his decision to leave academe for industry was not unusual for white chemists of his time. As has been shown, the chemical industry was in the midst of a great expansion. In a 1967 interview in the New York Times, Julian was candid about being black and a scientist in the U.S. He is quoted as having said We were taught a pretty little lie - excel and the whole world lies open before you. I obeyed the injunction and found it to be wishful thinking (Borman, 1993,... 

Dr. Pearson has written a compelling volume on the careers of African American doctorate holders in chemistry. He provides documentation that makes possible a critical assessment of the circumstances that governed the experiences of those African Americans who obtained the Ph.D. in chemistry since the beginning of the twentieth century. The information he gathered goes beyond simply statistics to indepth interviews that yield information not previously available in demographic studies of Black scientists. From such data. Dr. Pearson is able to provide new insight on factors that influenced the choice of chemistry as a career. He includes discussion of the variability of these factors as they impacted the lives of the individuals interviewed for this volume. 

Prominent scientists of the pharma industry, such as Malcolm McCoss, Merck John Lamattina, Pfizer Robert Ruffolo, Wyeth Steven Paul, and Lilly Research Labs who were interviewed by Chemical Engineering News [1], did not provide a clear answer to the key question, which stakeholders, shareholders, and patients alike, are most worried about Will the new tools of pharma R D allow the industry to also collect the high-hanging fruit, namely, new therapeutic categories like Alzheimer s disease, different forms of cancer, metabolic syndromes, and multiple sclerosis, which develop over... 

Besides biasing the results, companies have also suppressed unfavorable research. GlaxoSmithKline did not publish results that showed that paroxetine (Paxil ) was ineffective for the treatment of depression in children and adolescents because, according to an internal company memo, "It would be commercially unacceptable to include a statement that efficacy had not been demonstrated, as this would undermine the profile of paroxetine" (Kondro and Sibbald 2004 783). The Wall Street foumal claims that "internal Merck e-mails and marketing materials as well as interviews with outside scientists show that the company fought forcefully for years to keep safety concerns from destroying the drug s [Vioxx s] commercial prospects" (Mathews and Martinez 2004 Al). 

Like so many of the scientists Saver interviewed, the Swiss biochemist Albert Hofmann (figure 13.1) was a believer in God. But in his case, we could alter the epigram as follows ... 

Kochetkov s duties included the administration and scientific supervision of the Institute. In line with the Academy of Sciences practice for directors, he chaired the IOKh s Scientific Council. In one of his last interviews, Nikolay said he thought it would be tragedy for a scientist to become just the manager of an enterprise, and he was able to avoid that. He remained a devoted scientist, while becoming an excellent manager and administrator. He maintained traditions that had developed since the Institute was founded in 1934. 

Not himself a scientist, Garfinkel based his conclusion about molecular nanotechnology on interviews with a number of professionals in chemistry, primarily from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). One criticism he heard came from Robert J. Silby, professor of chemistry at MIT, who pointed out that "molecules are not rigid, they vibrate, they have bending motions. This could lead one to conclude that physical devices like assemblers and replicators are not technically feasible. 

A tentative data base has been established based upon surveys and interviews with criminalists, educators, scientists and manufacturers. Existing forensic material collections and data files have been located and evaluated. New proposed forensic material collection specifications have been developed including recommendations relating to size, scope and costs of development. The report, although not yet published,... 

Videos Documentary movies about the topics, showing interviews with the scientists and footage from their laboratories... 

These conflicts reverberate into the present. In 1990 Scientific American asked a science writer named Forrest Mims to write several columns for the Amateur Scientist feature of their magazine. Amateur Scientist treats topics such as measuring the length of lightning bolts, building portable solar observatories, and making a home seismometer to record earth movements—fun projects for those whose hobby is science. The understanding was that if the editors and readers liked the columns, Mims would be hired as a permanent writer. The trial columns all went very well, but when Mims came to New York for a final interview he was asked if he believed in evolution. Mims replied, well, no, he believed in the biblical account of creation. 

Data for this project derive from various sources. I have consulted numerous published documents, including scientific journal articles, editorials, insider histories, newsletters, conference proceedings, government reports, transcripts from congressional hearings, trade magazines, newspapers, and scientific information databases. Documents from archive collections, administrative records, departmental or program files, and scientists personal files have also been indispensable sources of primary data. In-depth interviews with the scientists themselves provide the other main source of information for this study. 

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