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FINAL SUMMARY REPORT OF THE AFOSR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAM, I96I-7O
Pages 1-33

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From page 1... ... I n I 9 6 1 , the i n i t i a l Board o f Selection remarked, "The members are i n d i v i d u a l l y and c o l l e c t i v e l y d e l i g h t e d t h a t these awards have been e s t a b l i s h e d t o r e i n s t a t e the s p i r i t and i n f l u e n c e o f the former N a t i o n a l Research Covincil Postdoctoral Fellowships which played such an important r o l e i n the development o f American science i n the p e r i o d beginning around 1 9 2 0 . " During the t e n years o f i t s existence, 1 9 6 1 - 7 0 , t h i s AFOSR program a t t r a c t ed a t o t a l o f 1 , 3 8 8 a p p l i c a n t s , o f whom 1I+6 ( 1 0 , 5 ^ ) Read the entire page →
From page 2... ... F i e l d s o f Postdoctoral Study and Pesearch Of the t o t a l ikS AFOSR Awardees, during t h e i r p o s t d o c t o r a l a c t i v i t i e s , 111 or 76'fo were i n the f i e l d s o f engineering, mathematics and the p h y s i c a l sciences, w h i l e 35 or 2k'fo were i n areas o f zhe b i o l o g i c a l , b e h a v i o r a l o r s o c i a l sciences. W i t h i n the EMP sciences, awards by f i e l d s were i n : engineering I 6 ( 1 1 ^ ) Read the entire page →
From page 3... ... An a d d i t i o n a l 7 {%) A^/ardees pursued p o s t d o c t o r a l a c t i v i t i e s i n the United States a t f i v e non-academic i n s t i t u t e s or centers: three a t the I n s t i t u t e f o r Advanced Study, Princeton, and one each a t Brookhaven, Oak: Ridge, NIH and the Salk I n s t i t u t e f o r B i o l o g i c a l Studies. Read the entire page →
From page 4... ... i n s t i t u t i o n s , w h i l e 2 (Ifo) , who had h e l d t h e i r AFOSR awards i n the United States, went bel a t e d l y abroad f o r a d d i t i o n a l p o s t d o c t o r a l research under other auspices. Read the entire page →
From page 5... ... who p r e s e n t l y h o l d appointments a t 58 academic i n s t i t u t i o n s i n the United States; second, the group o f 16 (11%) who are p r e s e n t l y appointed a t I 5 non-academic i n s t i t u t i o n s i n the United States; and t h i r d , the remaining 7 (5%) Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... Whether r e luctance l a y p r i n c i p a l l y w i t h the leading u n i v e r s i t i e s or w i t h t h e Awardees i s not, from a v a i l a b l e records, c l e a r . Chronology o f the Academic Employment o f AFOSR Awardees Although the ikS AFOSR Awardees have been discussed u n t i l now as though they comprised a c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y homogeneous group, w i t h respect t o t h e stage o f . Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... d s . I n the NRC survey o f Posbdoctoral Education i n the United States, i n 1967, about 20^ o f a l l postdoctorals irere m non-academic i n s t i t u t i o n s and t h e i r r e s ponses i n d i c a t e d t h a t 2% of those i n Federal i n s t a l l a t i o n s and 2,% o f those i n i n d u s t r i a l s e t t i n g s expected t o remain i n government o r i n d u s t r y . Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... I t i s o f I n t e r e s t now t o explore more f u l l y the program's demographic aspects, as i t s Awardees have been located i n and migrated between regions, states and i n s t i t u t i o n s m the United States, as w e l l as t o compare the f i n d i n g s w i t h those of p o s t d o c t o r a l f e l l o w s o f the N a t i o n a l Science Fotindation and the N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e s o f Health. Moreover, since p o s t d o c t o r a l study and research extend from a base of d o c t o r a l education, i t i s o f i n t e r e s t also t o examine the d o c t o r a l backgrounds of the AFOSR Av;ardees, as compared w i t h a l l doctorates. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... The s i t u a t i o n m the Midwest i s j u s t the opposite." I t i s interestin3 t h a t these d i s t i n c t i o n s became as c l e a r as they d i d i n the NRC 1967 survey, which included a v a r i e t y of categories o f postdoctorals: Fellows chosen i n n a t i o n a l competition by select panels; Trainees selected by f a c u l t y p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t r a j n i n g grant programs a t s i n g l e i n s t i t u t i o n s ; Research Associates selected by individua.l f a c u l t y vith research grants; and unspecified others. From departmental responses m the NRC I967 survey, of the k,^28 U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... p o s t d o c t o r a l s i n the NRC survey, 30fo o f a l l NIH Fellows and 38°^ each o f a l l NSF Fello-t/s and AFOSR A-vrardees. As f u r t h e r i n d i c a t i o n of the major degree to which the Northeast and the West have become l e a d i n g s e t t i n g s f o r p o s t d o c t o r a l study, they accoiinted together f o r 57'5b of a l l p o s t d o c t o r a l s i n the U.S. Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... i n i t i a l appointment and c u r r e n t l y i s again l l i . F i f t h and l a s t , a s f o r AFOSR Awardees o u t s i d e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , one obtained a f o r e i g n b a c c a l a u r e a t e i n Canada, the l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n o f of t h e t o t a l went abroad f o r t h e i r p o s t d o c t o r a l study, and 12^ were s t i l l abroad a t t h e stage o f i n i t i a l employment. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... t o t a l s : p o p u l a t i o n , p e r s o n a l income, expendit u r e s f o r h i g h e r education, t o t a l enrollment i n h i g h e r education, enrollment f o r masters and d o c t o r a l degrees, numbers of d o c t o r a t e s awarded i n s c i e n c e and eng i n e e r i n g , t o t a l F e d e r a l o b l i g a t i o n s to u n i v e r s i t i e s and c o l l e g e s , and F e d e r a l o b l i g a t i o n s f o r academic s c i e n c e . These l a t t e r 25 s t a t e s d i f f e r by only two from the 25 l e a d i n g i n p o s t d o c t o r a l s i n the 1967 NRC survey, by only t h r e e from the 25 l e a d i n g i n NSF and NIH P o s t d o c t o r a l F e l l o w s i n I 9 6 9 - 7 I , and by only s i x from the 25 l e a d i n g i n AFOSR Awardees diuring the f i v e stages of t h e i r c a r e e r s . Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... As shown i n more d e t a i l i n Figure 7, the percent d i s t r i b u t i o n o f avera^/js o f the AFOSR Awardees a t f i v e career stages a t l l 6 academic i n s t i t u t i o n f were: f i r s t 25 i n s t i t u t i o n s - 73^0, second 25 - ihi, t h i r d 25 - 6%, f o u r t h 2^ - ki, and remaining l6 - 3fo. As shown i n Figure 8, i n f i n e r g r a i n , the percent d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the 7S Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... P u b l i c a t i o n s and C i t a t i o n s o f AFOSR Awardees As a. concluding f e a t u r e o f t h i s Summary Report o f the AFOSR Postdoctoral Program, the research p r o d u c t i v i t y o f 102 Awardees w i t h tmique names (70^ o f the t o t a l li\|-6) Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... These d i s t i n c t i o n s h e l d as v e i l f o r c i t a t i o n s o f p u b l i c a t i o n s i n component f i e l d s v h i c h , i n decreasing order, vere: b i o l o g y - 1,372 c i t a t i o n s f o r 2k Avardees, or 57 per Avardee; physics - 1 , 1 6 3 f o r 26 Avardees, or ^5 per Avardee; chemistry - 1,026 f o r 23 Avardees, or ^5 per Avardee; mathematics - 23O f o r 13 Avardees, or I 8 per Avardee; and engineering - I 8 0 f o r 13 Avardees, or 6 per Avardee. Analogous, but much l e s s marked, d i s t i n c t i o n s may be noted also i n numbers o f p u b l i c a t i o n s by f i e l d s v h i c h , i n descending order, vere: chemistry - 262 by 23 Avardees, or an average o f 11 per Avardee; physics - 26O by 26 Avardees, or 10 per Amrdee; b i o l o g y - 200 by 2k Avardees, or 8 per Avardee; mathematics - 102 by I 3 Avardees, or 8 per Avardee; and engineering - 85 by 13 Avardees, or 6 per Avardee Such v a r i a t i o n s i n the average c i t a t i o n s o f r e l a t i v e l y s i m i l a r numbers o f p u b l i cations imply t h a t the c i t a t i o n s o f these Avardees vere not simply l i n e a r der i v a t i v e s o f t h e nmbers o f t h e i r p u b l i c a t i o n s . Read the entire page →
From page 16... ... These I 5 leading a p p l i c a n t s , who d i d not receive AFOSR Awards, accumulated an aggregate kyOk'i c i t a t i o n s o f 3^+^+ p u b l i c a t i o n s , o r s l i g h t l y more than the 1+,031 c i t a t i o n s o f 917 p u b l i c a t i o n s o f the 102 AFOSR Awardees combined. I t may be noted t h a t t e n o f these I 5 leadi n g a p p l i c a n t s , f o r whom i n f o r m a t i o n could be r e t r i e v e d , had gained p o s t d o c t o r a l experience, analogous t o t h a t o f AFOSR Awardees, under other auspices. Read the entire page →
From page 17... ... Summation As t h i s r e p o r t has i n d i c a t e d , over the decade o f the s i x t i e s the A i r Force O f f i c e o f S c i e n t i f i c Research has made i t possible f o r 1I+6 outstanding young .^investigators t o pursue, a t leading research centers, advanced study and r e search i n areas o f the natviral and a p p l i e d sciences relevant t o the research mission o f the A i r Force. The high r e p u t a t i o n o f the program i s a t t e s t e d by the almost 1 , 4 0 0 * Read the entire page →
From page 18... ... Outside o f academia, groups o f former awardees are employed i n about equivalent numbers a t Federal or n o n - p r o f i t l a b o r a t o r i e s and i n the research programs o f major R & D industries. Patterns o f the c u r r e n t d i s t r i b u t i o n o f former AFOSR Awardees have i n t e r e s t i n g geographical as w e l l as i n s t i t u t i o n a l f e a t i i r e s . Read the entire page →
From page 19... ... P u b l i c a t i o n 1577} N a t i o n a l Academy o f Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1968. The I n v i s i b l e U n i v e r s i t y ; Postdoctoral Education i n t h e United States. Read the entire page →
From page 20... ... 6 , ll»6 J.00* EMP SCIENCES 113 77i in 108.5 ik Read the entire page →
From page 21... ... INSTITUTIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF lU6 AFOSR POSTDOCTORAL AWARDEES AT FIVE CAREER STAGES U.S. AND FOREIGN Baccalaureate Doctorate PostdoctoreJ. Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... Table 3 REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANNUAL U S DOCTORATES BETl^EEN 1935 AND 1972 L R Harmon Doctoral Cohorts Annual Doctorates U S Region 1935 & ho 19U5 & 50 1955 & 60 1967 1972 Number (100* Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... Table k PERCENTAGE OF 2,26l U S If^EDlfiTE POSTDOCTORALS AT STAGES OF BACCALAUREATE, D0CT0R.1TE AJID POSTDOCTORAL STUDY (NRC SURVEY, I967) Region Baccalaureate Doctorate Postdoctoral A l l Regions 2,261 (100* Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... Table 5. REGIOrAL DISTRIBUTION OF AFOSR AWARDEES AMD NSF AND NIH POSTDOCTORhL FELLOE'S -.T L S ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AFOSR NSF NIH Awardees Awardees Awardees 1961-70 1969-71 1970-71 TOTAL NUMBERS 8I 301 1,628 New England 2% 27i Mid-Atlantic Midwest % South West 1% 3C^ Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... Table 6 REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF AFOSR AWARDEES AT FIVE CAREER STAGES U S & Foreign Initial Current Regions Baccalaureate Doctorate Postdoctoral Appointment Appointment A l l Regions (lOOjS) Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... CitCC) U50 2,6U2 31 318 1,121 31 II+9 268 GRAND TOTAL 102 917 h,03^ ko k kl lilt k 23 57 5 15 9 ENGINEFRING 13 85 180 kQ 101 k 52 129 2 2 0 MATHEf^TICS 13 102 230 7 100 6U9 10 118 286 8 kk 91 CHEMISTRY 23 262 1,026 5 9I+6 5 6k 157 9 k3 60 PHYSICS 26 260 1,163 12 153 101 7 55 U72 6 kk 107 BIOLOGY 2k 200 1,372 11 793 1 1 6 20 1 1 1 OTHER 3* Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... 8 61 280 7.6 35.0 k.6 Foreign 1 11 67 11.0 67.0 6.1 NON-ACADEMIC INST. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... ' • INSTITUTIONS OF lU6 AFOSR POSTIXXJTORAL AWARDEES AT STAGES OF BACCALAUREATE, r-. -- -DOCWWAGE,- POSTDOCTORAL STUDY, INITIAL AND CURRENT APPOINOMENTS ' j ^ ^ "Unknovm '. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... H Haimon Midwest West 19k5 & 50 Mid-Atlantic Cohorts 2yi South 1^^ New England Earmon Midwest West 1955 & 60 39* Mid-Atlantic 1% Cohorts 20* Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... PERCENTAGE OF 2,26l U.S. IMMEDIATE POSTDOCTORALS AT STAGES OF New England and Midwest Mid-Atlantic Baccalaureate West 26^& kOi, South nii New England and Midwest Mid-Atlantic West Doctorate 27* Read the entire page →

From page 1...

... I n I 9 6 1 , the i n i t i a l Board o f Selection remarked, "The members are i n d i v i d u a l l y and c o l l e c t i v e l y d e l i g h t e d t h a t these awards have been e s t a b l i s h e d t o r e i n s t a t e the s p i r i t and i n f l u e n c e o f the former N a t i o n a l Research Covincil Postdoctoral Fellowships which played such an important r o l e i n the development o f American science i n the p e r i o d beginning around 1 9 2 0 . " During the t e n years o f i t s existence, 1 9 6 1 - 7 0 , t h i s AFOSR program a t t r a c t ed a t o t a l o f 1 , 3 8 8 a p p l i c a n t s , o f whom 1I+6 ( 1 0 , 5 ^ )

FINAL SUMMARY REPORT OF THE AFOSR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAM, I96I-7O Pages 1-33

FINAL SUMMARY REPORT OF THE AFOSR POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROGRAM, I96I-7O
Pages 1-33