Lordy. Scientists aren't "nominated" by anyone. They *earn* their status through a process of education and research that lasts a lifetime, but begins with a doctorate earned in a university. It's an extremely competitive process. Only a fraction of the people who begin finish, and an even smaller percentage actually obtain employment. -------------------------- Someone in government selects the people wo get the government grant money. If you want to play word games, Wirt, and say that is not being 'nominated' I hope you are having fun. -------------------------- Although a few scientists do work for corporations and government labs, the overwhelming majority of them exist within the university system, and they're the driving force behind the research conducted here in the United States and in the remainder of the developed world. -------------------------- They work in universities, on projects funded by government money. They are free to work on unfunded projects, but without the money, not much will get done, unless it is a cheap project. -------------------------- No one checks anyone with regards to their political stripes; indeed that's the essence of academic freedom. You're free to work on whatever you deem is important and say whatever you believe to be true. But you are constantly judged by your peers on the accuracy of your findings and the logic of your conclusions. Your promotion, tenure and respect rest wholly on those two qualities, not who you vote for. ------------------------- You are sure no one looks at their political stripes before awarding the money? How do you know? Since the money is awarded by a political entity, I don't see how it could be avoided. Respect by the scientific community certianly rests a lot on how plausible the results are, but tenure and promotion has more to do with the ability to get grant money. For you to try to say it rests 'wholely' on anything else is absurd. ------------------------- Nonetheless, these people as a group are trained to sniff out charlatans and misrepresentors, and you wil find very few who would vote for the current administration for anything. Wirt Atmar ------------------------- They are trained to complete with each other for grant money, and sniff out any way to get ahead of anyone else to get it. Certianly per review is a factor in this, but if your position is that scientists are above political pressure, you have a lot to learn. ------------------------- * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, * * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *