Howard Adams has been hired to be a one-man visiting scientist program. The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) hopes he will revive a long-running federally funded program that sends faculty members from big-time research universities to undergraduate schools with large numbers of minority faculty members and students. But with interest in participation waning--last year only two scientists made visits, down from 70 a year in the 1980s--the society has tapped Adams to help nurture the next generation of life scientists.
Sidney Golub, FASEB's executive director, says that the Internet has made it easier for faculty members at minority institutions to keep up with their field but that students have a growing hunger for career-related guidance.
"I'm filling a need in a way that goes beyond a scientist who presents a seminar on his research, dines with colleagues, and then leaves the next morning," says Adams, who once ran the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science Inc. and is now a consultant in Marietta, Georgia. "I see students who don't have a good sense of their career options, and they're not getting much help from the school."
Adams plans to offer host institutions a varied menu that includes all-purpose career planning as well as tips on choosing a mentor and finding the best undergraduate research opportunities. But he can't do it alone, says Golub, who is still interested in hearing from individuals who want to supplement Adams's efforts by becoming visiting scientists. "The biggest obstacle is finding people at the host institution who are willing to plan the day," he says. But "once schools use one of our programs, they tend to come back for another."
Mobile mentor Adams.
CREDIT: COURTESY H. G. ADAMS
