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fifty。 An African…American woman； Jackson was born in Washington； D。C。； in 1946。 She
started kindergarten in a segregated public school but was one of the first public
school students to benefit from desegregation； as a result of the Supreme Court ruling
in Brown v。 Board of Education。 Just when she was getting a chance to go to a better
school； theRussians launched Sputnik in1957； and theU。S。 government became obsessed
with educating young people to become scientists and engineers； a trend that was
intensified by John F。 Kennedy's commitment to a manned space program。 When Kennedy
spoke about putting a man on the moon； Shirley Ann Jackson was one of the millions
of American young people who were listening。 His words； she recalled； 〃inspired；
assisted； and launched many of my generation into science； engineering and
mathematics；〃 and the breakthroughs and inventions they spawned went well beyond the
space program。 〃The space race was really a science race；〃 she said。
Thanks in part to desegregation； both Jackson's inspiration and intellect were
recognized early； and she ultimately became the first African…American woman to earn
a Ph。D。 in physics from MIT （her degree was in theoretical elementary particle
physics）。 From there； she spent many years working for AT&T Bell Laboratories； and
in 1995 was appointed by President Clinton to chair the U。S。 Nuclear Regulatory
Commission。
As the years went by； though； Jackson began to notice that fewer and fewer young
Americans were captivated by national challenges like the race to the moon； or felt
the allure of math； science； and engineering。 In universities； she noted； graduate
enrollment in science and engineering programs； having grown for decades； peaked in
1993； and despite some recent progress； it remains today below the level of a decade
ago。 So the science and engineering generations that followed Jackson's got smaller
and smaller relative to our needs。 By the time Jackson took the job as Rensselaer
Polytechnic's president to put her heart and soul into reinvig…orating American
science and engineering； she realized； she said； that a 〃perfect storm〃 was
brewing…one that posed a real long…term danger to America's economic health…and she
started speaking out about it whenever she could。
255
〃The phrase 'the perfect storm' is associated with meteorological events in October
1991；〃 said Jackson in a speech in May 2004； when 〃a powerful weather system gathered
force； ravaging the Atlantic Ocean over the course of several days； ＇and＇ caused the
deaths of several Massachusetts…based fishermen and billions of dollars of damage。
The event became a book； and； later； a movie。 Meteorologists observing the event
emphasized 。 。 。 the unlikely confluence of conditions。。。 in which multiple factors
converged to bring about an event of devastating magnitude。 ＇A＇ similar worst…case
scenario could arrest the progress of our national scientific and technological
capacity。 The forces at work are multiple and complex。 They are demographic； political；
economic； cultural； even social。〃 Individually； each of these forces would be
problematic； added Jackson。 In combination； they could be devastating。 〃For the first
time in more than a century； the United States could well find itself falling behind
other countries in the capacity for scientific discovery； innovation and economic
development。〃
The way to avoid being caught in such a storm is to identify the confluence of factors
and to change course…even though right now the sky is blue； the winds are gentle；
and the water seems calm。 But that is not what has been going on in America in recent
years。 We are blithely sailing along； heading straight for the storm； with both
politicians and parents insisting that no dramatic changes or sacrifices are required
now。 After all； look how calm and sunny it is outside； they tell us。 In the fiscal
year 2005 budget passed by the Republican…led Congress in November 2004； the budget
for the National Science Foundation； which is the federal body most responsible for
promoting research and funding more and better science education； was actually cut
by 1。9 percent； or 105 million。 History will show that when America should have been
doubling the NSF funding； its Congress passed a pork…laden budget that actually cut
assistance for science and engineering。
Don't be fooled by the calm。 That's always the time to change course…not when you're
just about to get hit by the typhoon。 We don't have any time to waste in addressing
the 〃dirty little secrets〃 of our education system。
256
Dirty Little Secret #1： The Numbers Gap
In the Cold War； one of the deepest causes of American worries was the so…called
missile gap between us and the Soviet Union。 The perfect storm Shirley Ann Jackson
is warning about could best be described as the confluence of three new gaps that
have been slowly emerging to sap America's prowess in science； math； and engineering。
They are the numbers gap； the ambition gap； and the education gap。 Inthe Age of Flatism；
these gaps are what most threaten our standard of living。
Dirty little secret number one is that the generation of scientists and engineers
who were motivated to go into science by the threat of Sputnik in 1957 and the
inspiration of JFK are reaching their retirement years and are not being replaced
in the numbers that they must be if an advanced economy like that of the United States
is to remain at the head of the pack。 According to the National Science Foundation；
half of America's scientists and engineers are forty years or older； and the average
age is steadily rising。
Just take one example…NASA。 An analysis of NASA records conducted by the newspaper
Florida Today （March 7； 2004）； which covers the Kennedy Space Center； showed the
following： Nearly 40 percent of the 18；146 people at NASA are age fifty or older。
Those with twenty years of government service are eligible for early retirement。
Twenty…two percent of NASA workers are fifty…five or older。 NASA employees over sixty
outnumber those under thirty by a ratio of about three to one。 Only 4 percent of NASA
workers are under thirty。 A 2003 Government Accounting Office study concluded that
NASA was having difficulty hiring people with the sufficient science； engineering；
and information…technology skills that are critical to its operations。 Many of these
jobs are reserved for American citizens； because of national security concerns。
Then…NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe testified before Congress in 2002： 〃Our mission
of understanding and protecting our home planet and exploring the universe and
searching for life will not be carried out if we don't have the people to do it。〃
The National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the Twenty…first
Century； chaired by the former astronaut and senator John Glenn； found that two…
thirds of the nation's mathematics and science teaching force will retire by 2010。
Traditionally we made up for any shortages of engineers and science faculty by
educating more at home and importing more from abroad。 But both of those remedies
have been stalled of late。
Every two years the National Science Board supervises the collection of a very broad
set of data trends in science and technology in the United States； which it publishes
as Science and Engineering Indicators。 In preparing Indicators 2004； the NSB said；
〃We have observed a troubling decline in the number of U。S。 citizens who are training
to become scientists and engineers； whereas the number of jobs requiring science and
engineering （S&E） training continues to grow。〃 These trends threaten the economic
welfare and security of our country； it said； adding that if the trends identified
in Indicators 2004 continue undeterred； three things will happen： 〃The number of jobs
in the U。S。 economy that require science and engineering training will grow； the
number of U。S。 citizens prepared for those jobs will； at best； be level； and the
availability of people from other countries who have science and engineering training
will decline； either because of limits to entry imposed by U。S。 national security
restrictions or because of intense global competition for people with these skills。〃
The NSB report found that the number of American eighteen…to…twenty…four…year…olds
who receive science degrees has fallen to seventeenth in the world； whereas we ranked
third three decades ago。 It said that of the 2。8 million first university degrees
（what we call bachelor's degrees） in science and engineering granted worldwide in
2003； 1。2 million were earned by Asian students in Asian universities； 830；000 were
granted in Europe； and 400；000 in the United States。 In engineering specifically；
universities in Asian countries now produce eight times as many bachelor's degrees
as the United States。
Moreover； 〃the proportional emphasis on science and engineering is greater in other
nations；〃 noted Shirley Ann Jackson。 Science and engineering degrees now represent
60 percent of all bachelor's degrees earned in