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NSF による現場視察
雅子さんはアメリカの科学研究を支える連邦機関から奨学金を受けて大学院に通っています。その機関の監督者は、年に一度、奨学金を受けている学生たちの研究状況を視察しに現場にやってきます。雅子さんも研究の成果を発表しました。
The NSF offers many different kinds of scholarships and grants. Some of the graduate student scholarships are oriented by research topic ― in my case, I'm required to study computer simulations of molecular dynamics ― and others require that the recipients concentrate on teaching. In addition, there are highly coveted fellowships that allow students to pursue any research topic at any school of their choosing, provided they are accepted by the school and can find an appropriate thesis advisor. Both schools and advisors like taking on students who have scholarships from outside sources ― it means that the school doesn't have to worry about supporting those students financially ― so getting a scholarship is not just a matter of financial convenience for students.
Of course, the NSF expects results from its investments but it doesn't interfere with how the money is actually used. It is understood that producing good work takes many years ― after all, Rome wasn't built in a day ― and for that reason, the organization isn't very strict about monitoring day-to-day research activity. Even if NSF scholarship students decide to leave the field before completing their doctorates, they are not punished. Attrition rates are quite high in graduate school, but money-granting organizations must risk losing some students; it's a part of the inevitable scheme of things.
For the most part, written progress reports are what keep the research groups in touch with the NSF administration. Whether or not a grant is renewed often depends on the skill of the person who writes the grant proposal. However, about once a year, a NSF overseer visits the sites that receive funding and reviews their performance in person. Because funding may be cut off from (seemingly) incompetent sites, students and researchers make an effort to be on their best behavior when the overseer comes.
The NSF overseer for my scholarship, Dr. Jennings, visited recently, and the five students who are under the molecular dynamics scholarship program organized a small program to show off our work to him. Dr. Jennings is not a practicing physicist, so the focus of our presentation was not centered on the details of our research. Instead, we tried to give a broad picture of how the scholarship is helping us become better scientists.
One of the perks of our being a part of this program is that we are exposed to a variety of different research approaches. Of the five scholarship recipients in my program, two are in the physics department, one is in chemistry and two are in engineering. Interdisciplinary research is a buzzword these days. This is because the lines between the various fields are getting more blurred, and it's becoming necessary to collaborate with researchers from other fields in order to learn techniques and gain insights that may help one's line of research. Even as students, we are being exposed to this kind of fluid thinking, which will surely help us later as professional researchers.
Our short presentations went very smoothly and we had a great general discussion on the trend toward interdisciplinary collaboration. After this formal meeting, we joined Dr. Jennings for lunch. Since there were over 10 people present at the lunch, I didn't get to speak to him at all. However, I did get to chat with the other people who are being funded by the program. We spoke of many things, including the next hot trends in physics. At first I thought the point of the lunch was lost because the group was too large, but then I realized that the individual members of the group were collaborating. We were fulfilling our duties even as we ate.
I'm currently studying and living on a scholarship that is granted by the National Science Foundation. The NSF is a government organization that funds graduate students and researchers in the sciences. The sciences are broadly defined, including soft sciences like economics and political science as well as hard sciences like physics and chemistry. The NSF pays BU my tuition and it also pays me a monthly stipend. That stipend is my primary source of income.
The NSF offers many different kinds of scholarships and grants. Some of the graduate student scholarships are oriented by research topic ― in my case, I'm required to study computer simulations of molecular dynamics ― and others require that the recipients concentrate on teaching. In addition, there are highly coveted fellowships that allow students to pursue any research topic at any school of their choosing, provided they are accepted by the school and can find an appropriate thesis advisor. Both schools and advisors like taking on students who have scholarships from outside sources ― it means that the school doesn't have to worry about supporting those students financially ― so getting a scholarship is not just a matter of financial convenience for students.
Of course, the NSF expects results from its investments but it doesn't interfere with how the money is actually used. It is understood that producing good work takes many years ― after all, Rome wasn't built in a day ― and for that reason, the organization isn't very strict about monitoring day-to-day research activity. Even if NSF scholarship students decide to leave the field before completing their doctorates, they are not punished. Attrition rates are quite high in graduate school, but money-granting organizations must risk losing some students; it's a part of the inevitable scheme of things.
For the most part, written progress reports are what keep the research groups in touch with the NSF administration. Whether or not a grant is renewed often depends on the skill of the person who writes the grant proposal. However, about once a year, a NSF overseer visits the sites that receive funding and reviews their performance in person. Because funding may be cut off from (seemingly) incompetent sites, students and researchers make an effort to be on their best behavior when the overseer comes.
The NSF overseer for my scholarship, Dr. Jennings, visited recently, and the five students who are under the molecular dynamics scholarship program organized a small program to show off our work to him. Dr. Jennings is not a practicing physicist, so the focus of our presentation was not centered on the details of our research. Instead, we tried to give a broad picture of how the scholarship is helping us become better scientists.
One of the perks of our being a part of this program is that we are exposed to a variety of different research approaches. Of the five scholarship recipients in my program, two are in the physics department, one is in chemistry and two are in engineering. Interdisciplinary research is a buzzword these days. This is because the lines between the various fields are getting more blurred, and it's becoming necessary to collaborate with researchers from other fields in order to learn techniques and gain insights that may help one's line of research. Even as students, we are being exposed to this kind of fluid thinking, which will surely help us later as professional researchers.
Our short presentations went very smoothly and we had a great general discussion on the trend toward interdisciplinary collaboration. After this formal meeting, we joined Dr. Jennings for lunch. Since there were over 10 people present at the lunch, I didn't get to speak to him at all. However, I did get to chat with the other people who are being funded by the program. We spoke of many things, including the next hot trends in physics. At first I thought the point of the lunch was lost because the group was too large, but then I realized that the individual members of the group were collaborating. We were fulfilling our duties even as we ate.
Shukan ST: Aug. 15, 1997
(C) All rights reserved
- scholarship
- 奨学金
- is granted by 〜
- 〜 から与えられる
- funds 〜
- 〜 に資金を提供する
- graduate students
- 大学院生
- researchers
- 研究者
- are broadly defined
- 範囲が広い
- soft sciences
- 人間の行動、社会など、厳密に測定しにくい対象を科学的に研究する学問
- economics
- 経済学
- political science
- 政治学
- hard sciences
- 自然科学
- physics
- 物理学
- chemistry
- 化学
- BU = Boston University
-
- tuition
- 学費
- stipend
- 給付金
- primary source of income
- 主な収入源
- grants
- 助成金
- are oriented by 〜
- 〜 に向けられている
- simulations
- シミュレーション
- molecular dynamics
- 分子力学
- recipients
- 奨学生
- coveted
- 価値があって人気のある
- fellowships
- 奨学金
- pursue 〜
- 〜 を研究する
- provided 〜
- もし 〜 ならば
- are accepted by 〜
- 〜 に入部を許される
- appropriate
- 適切な
- thesis advisor
- 論文の指導教授
- outside sorces
- 大学以外の財源
- financially
- 財政的に
- investments
- 投資
- interfere with 〜
- 〜 に干渉する
- Rome wasn't built in a day
- ローマは一日にして成らず
- monitoring
- 監視する
- completing their doctorates
- 博士号を取る
- are not punished
- 罰せられない
- Attrition rates
- 離脱者の率
- part of the inevitable scheme of things
- こういう場合に避けられない一面だ
- keep 〜 in touch with 〜
- 〜 が 〜 と連絡を取り合う
- administration
- 管理部
- is renewed
- 更新される
- proposal
- 申し込み
- overseer
- 監督者
- reviews
- 調査する
- in person
- 直接
- be cut off from 〜
- 〜 から打ち切られる
- incompetent
- 能力に欠けた
- practicing
- 現役で研究を続けている
- picture
- 状況説明
- perks
- 特権
- are exposed to 〜
- 〜 に触れている
- department
- 学部
- Interdisciplinary
- 2つ以上の学問分野にまたがる
- buzzword
- (専門的な)流行語
- are getting more blurred
- よりあいまいになりつつある
- collaborate with 〜
- 〜 と共同研究する
- insights
- 知恵
- fluid thinking
- 流動的な考え方
- trend toward 〜
- 〜 の傾向
- chat with 〜
- 〜 とおしゃべりする
- point of the lunch was lost
- 一緒に昼食をする意味がない
- were fulfilling 〜
- 〜 を果たしていた
- duties
- 義務