Highs and lows?

Abstract

Sue Bowler, Editor Tough financial times worldwide mean tough times for science funding, too. There are going to be difficult decisions for governments and science administrators over the next few years, as national debt bites. Yet governments also continue to acknowledge that science and technology have a pivotal role to play in national prosperity and international prestige. And this role is not limited to those science and technical careers that will boom in the future – many elements of scientific training are transferable skills, especially if early-career training fosters the sort of skills that help people move their careers into new areas. But sciences such as astronomy also play a valuable role in attracting people to science in the first place – a fact recognized in the activities worldwide for International Year of Astronomy 2009. Fascination with the stars, wondering how sunlight makes its way to Earth, and why planets have magnetic fields are all the sorts of questions that draw young people into science, and keep them there through rigorous examinations. They also form the sorts of minds that can tackle new areas of research such as geoengineering, or apply their skills to burgeoning fields such as genetic research. And we know that people follow interesting careers that do not necessarily stay within the disciplines that they started out in – but we don’t always shout loudly enough about this. Some dedicated – you might say narrow-minded – researchers see those who choose careers out of the subject as objects of pity, and forget about them. But we should be celebrating this great success, that we can send trained, capable, enthusiastic people into a whole wide range of new fields. We are producing the analysts, the communicators, the collaborators, that everyone tells us the country needs, and we should be very proud of ourselves as a group. Editorial NEws