Postdoc Workshop Appendix 2: Agenda

Appendix 2: Workshop Agenda

Postdoctoral Appointments: Roles and Opportunities

An NSF Workshop

May 11-13, 2003

National Science Foundation

Arlington, Virginia

Organizers:

Robert L. Lichter, Merrimack Consultants, LLC
Willie Pearson, Jr., Georgia Institute of Technology
Geraldine L. Richmond, University of Oregon

Workshop Steering Committee

Sandra Greer, University of Maryland, College Park
Beverly Hartline, Argonne National Laboratory
James W. Mitchell, Bell Laboratories (ret.) and Howard University
Mark Ratner, Northwestern University
Albert Teich, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Nicholas Turro, Columbia University
Thomas Wenzel, Bates College

Workshop Writer: Steven Olsen
Evaluator: Cheryl B. Leggon

Supported by the Division of Chemistry and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities,
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, through NSF Grant CHE-0324824

NSF Workshop

Postdoctoral Appointments: Roles and Opportunities

Workshop Goals:

The goals of the workshop are twofold:

to illuminate the processes, characteristics and outcomes of the postdoctoral appointment;
to identify concepts, opportunities, and priorities for the National Science Foundation uniquely at the postdoctoral level to strengthen science, mathematics, and engineering in the United States and the human resources required to maintain leadership. Activities could include but not be limited to new programs or modifications of existing programs, and could elucidate additional research possibilities to extend and fill in gaps in the understanding of the postdoctorate.

To reach these goals, the workshop will explore how the postdoctoral period—the time immediately following receipt of the doctorate—can be used most effectively in the education and training of scientists. It will examine whether and how components of postdoctoral opportunities could be conceptually extended or modified without diminishing their roles as ways to enhance scientific and technical skills and knowledge. The postdoctorate commonly is the last step before a new scientist enters into an independent professional career. Reexamination and possible broadening of the types of postdoctoral experiences represent a particularly important and timely opportunity because of the need to strengthen and diversify the scientific and technical workforce and leadership in the United States.

AGENDA

Sunday, May 11, 2003 (at Hilton Arlington and Towers, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, VA)

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.	Meeting for breakout session leaders and rapporteurs with Steering Committee	Gallery II
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.	Registration and reception (cash bar)	Gallery II Foyer
7:00 - 7:15 p.m.	Welcome and workshop overview Willie Pearson, Jr. Robert L. Lichter	Gallery II
7:15 - 7:30 p.m.	Welcome and opening remarks Arthur B. Ellis, Director, Division of Chemistry, NSF
7:30 - 8:20 p.m.	Session 1 *The Role of the Postdoctorate in the Changing Landscape of Science* Moderator: Robert L. Lichter The nature, conduct, venue, and practitioners of science change over time, at a rate that unarguably has accelerated in recent years. What have been the key roles of the postdoctorate during that period? What practices are common to postdoctoral positions across institutional, laboratory and even disciplinary settings? What benefits and added value have historically emerged as a result of postdoctoral work, and for whom, particularly in NSF-funded programs? Do these benefits still apply? How does the postdoctorate relate to the availability, nature and expectations of full-time positions?
	Plenary Speaker: R. Stephen Berry, University of Chicago and the James Franck Institute "Postdoctorals: Why and How?" The postdoctoral associate role became an established niche in the educational pattern of scientists just at the beginning of the post-Sputnik boom in science. Newly available funds made it possible for young scientists to get broader and deeper experience than their doctoral studies allowed, to provide valuable new kinds of assistance to senior researchers, and to create a "holding pattern" for young scientists seeking positions, during a time when those positions were coming into existence. The postdoctoral period subsequently became almost mandatory for becoming an independent scientist. But the traditional academic world had no automatic pre-existing positions to fit postdoctoral scientists, so the experience adopted a variety of styles, and created problematic situations for some. This talk will give an overview of some of the problems and dilemmas, some associated with academic and governmental institutions trying to deal with a non-traditional "rank," some with problems of matching expectations of postdoctoral scientists and mentors, some simply with the heterogeneity of styles among the sciences. We may examine provocative ways we might use to deal with some of these problems.

8:20 - 9:30 p.m.		Breakout Session 1
	Group 1	Leader: Greer	Rapporteur: Smith	Gallery II
	Group 2	Leader: Mitchell	Rapporteur: Donovan Merkert	Picasso Suite
	Group 3	Leader: Wenzel	Rapporteur: Martinez	Renoir Suite
	Group 4	Leader: Hartline	Rapporteur: Sullivan	DaVinci Suite


	*Monday, May 12, 2003 (at NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd.)*

7:30 - 8:15 a.m.	Continental breakfast	Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
8:15 - 9.15 a.m.	Full group discussion (reports from previous breakout session groups)	Room 555 Stafford II
9:15 - 10:15 a.m.	Session 2 *The Traditional Postdoctorate: Building on Success* Moderator: Arti C. Patel, National Cancer Institute NSF currently supports ca. 5,500 postdoctoral researchers. Many more are supported by other sources, including other Federal agencies, industry, private foundations, and academic institutions. Funds for about 95 percent of the NSF-supported postdoctoral positions come from individual investigator grants, center grants, and facility grants. Thus, it is clear that strong interest in the traditional postdoctorate continues to exist. If so, what are its positive features, and for whom? What information is required to generate a better understanding of the role and impact of the postdoctorate?
	Plenary Speakers	Room 555 Stafford II
9:15 - 9:45 a.m.	Norma M. Allewell, University of Maryland, College Park "Student? Apprentice? Employee? Colleague? The Existential Angst of the Postdoctoral Experience" The past decade has been a period of revolutionary change in American science. Great discoveries have been made, new areas of inquiry have emerged, and major changes in the way research is conducted have occurred. One critical aspect of the scientific enterprise that has changed relatively little during this period is the nature of the postdoctoral experience, which many postdoctoral scientists experience as a time of extreme uncertainty and ambiguity. Although many aspire to become faculty members, both their role within the university and their relationship to their mentors are often very poorly defined. Are they students whose major goal should be to broaden and deepen their understanding of science? Apprentices mastering the skills needed to be admitted to the guild? Employees who will be held accountable for their productivity? Or colleagues working together to solve a common problem? They also face major uncertainties about the future. Will they succeed in landing one of those coveted assistant professorships? Should they be contemplating alternative careers, by choice or necessity? These issues have been the subjects of numerous thoughtful studies. However, implementing their recommendations requires the support of the federal agencies. The National Science Foundation has catalyzed many of the very positive changes that American science has undergone in the past decade. This workshop provides an opportunity to enlist the assistance of the National Science Foundation in promoting positive change in the goals, nature and outcomes of the postdoctoral experience.
9:45 - 10:15 a.m.	Jenny Zilaro, Sigma Xi "The Sigma Xi Postdoctoral Survey Project" The Sigma Xi Postdoctoral Survey Project seeks to improve the training and research experiences of postdoctoral researchers by providing a better understanding of the factors that contribute to productive and positive postdoctoral experiences and by enabling institutions to benchmark their postdoctoral policies and practices against those of their peer institutions. Survey questions will focus on postdoctoral scientists’ research activities, their career choices and goals, their compensation and benefits, their interactions with their PIs, and their perceptions of the policies and practices at their institutions. Sigma Xi will create and make available at no cost to participating institutions a set of resources designed to help postdoctoral offices and associations survey their postdoctoral scientists in an efficient and methodologically sound manner. The package will consist of a professionally worded and tested set of survey questions (that can be extended locally), software for conducting web surveys (hosted and administered by Sigma Xi), professionally designed methodological guidelines, a privacy policy and data protection guidelines that have been vetted by RTI International’s IRB, publicity and marketing materials for encouraging survey participation, modest financial resources for local survey expenses, professionally designed data analyses, administrative support, and a set of customized reports. Sigma Xi will help to coordinate a number of these local surveys during the 2003-2004 academic year. Local results will be made available to participating institutions, and the results will be pooled to obtain information about the national population of postdoctoral scientists.
10:15 - 10:30 a.m.	Break	Room 555 Foyer Stafford II

10:30 - 11:45 a.m.		Breakout Session 2
	Group 1	Leader: Teich	Rapporteur: Shultz	Room 555 Stafford II
	Group 2	Leader: McBay	Rapporteur: Raber	Room 1005 Stafford I
	Group 3	Leader: Ratner	Rapporteur: Walter	Room 1020 Stafford I
	Group 4	Leader: Knobler	Rapporteur: Neal	Room 1060 Stafford I

11:45- 12:45 p.m.	Full group discussion (reports from previous breakout session groups)	Room 555 Stafford II
12:45-1:45 p.m.	Lunch	Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
1:45 - 2:45 p.m.	Session 3	Room 555 Stafford II
	*Examples from the Community: A Panel Discussion* Moderator: Joseph A. Gardella, Jr., University at Buffalo, SUNY Panelists: Sibrina Collins, Claflin University Tracy Morkin, Columbia University James Vyvyan, Western Washington University Catherine Woytowicz, Department of State Not all postdoctoral positions follow the academic-setting research-only model. Some exist in industry or government labs, some incorporate other activities such as teaching, development of curricula, engagement in policy, or strengthening of communication skills. Panel members will describe their postdoctoral experiences and how they contributed to their professional development.

2:45 - 4:00 p.m.		Breakout Session 3
	Group 1	Leader: Estler	Rapporteur: De La Garza	Room 555 Stafford II
	Group 2	Leader: Parker	Rapporteur: Seymore	Room 1005 Stafford II
	Group 3	Leader: Coppola	Rapporteur: Robinson	Room 1020 Stafford II
	Group 4	Leader: Engstrom	Rapporteur: Lisy	Room 1060 Stafford II
4:00 - 4:15 p.m.		Break		Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
4:15 - 5:15 p.m.		Full group discussion (reports from previous breakout session groups)		Room 555 Stafford II
Evening		Dinner on your own


	*Tuesday, May 13, 2003 (at NSF, 4201 Wilson Blvd.)*

7:30 - 8:15 a.m.	Continental breakfast	Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
8:15 - 9:15 a.m.	Lunch	Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
1:45 - 2:45 p.m.	Session 4	Room 555 Stafford II
	*New Opportunities, Models and Missions: A Panel Discussion* Moderator: John H. Hall, Morehouse College Panelists: Julio DePaula, Haverford College Morton Hoffman, Boston University Carter Kimsey, National Science Foundation Joel Shulman, Procter & Gamble and University of Cincinnati Panelists will describe existing or potential alternative possibilities for strengthening professional capabilities at the postdoctoral level. Incentives and motivations for establishing these alternatives will be described. Existing or projected impacts will be discussed.

9:15 - 10:30 a.m.		Breakout Session 4
	Group 1	Leader: Crim	Rapporteur: Nieter Burgmayer	Room 555 Stafford II
	Group 2	Leader: Roberts	Rapporteur: Watkins	Room 1005 Stafford I
	Group 3	Leader: Baker	Rapporteur: Fackler	Room 1020 Stafford I
	Group 4	Leader: Fourkas	Rapporteur: Haak	Room 1060 Stafford I
10:30 - 10:45 a.m.		Break		Room 555 Foyer Stafford II
10:45 - 11:45 a.m.		Full group discussion (reports from previous breakout session groups)		Room 555 Stafford II
11:45 - 12:30 p.m.		Full group development of consensus recommendations		Room 555 Stafford II
12:30 - 12:45 p.m.		Final announcements and adjournment		Room 555 Stafford II