<p>The chancellor of the City University of New York floated a unique approach this week to dealing with the long lamented problem of low enrollments in the sciences: Offer promising students conditional acceptances to top Ph.D. programs in science, technology, engineering and math (the so-called STEM fields) as they start college. Whole article at
<a href="http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/22/phd%5B/url%5D">http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/06/22/phd</a></p>
<p>What about the idea of supply and demand? If salaries, benefits, work conditions and career options are attractive, then students will go into the sciences. If the rewards are not there, why try to steer students into specific fields?</p>
<p>I think the government needs to pump more money into research or less and less students will be going for their PhDs. In the time I have spent in the lab, I have heard so many people warning me about all the troubles they have to endure because lack of grant money, salary, etc. I feel like there are a lot of potential students who are interested in research but are scared away by the current lifestyle of researchers. As a future researcher, this really bums me out and I hope the government can divert some money away from Iraq and give it research.</p>
<p>Your wish is too late. We will be paying for Iraq and Afganistan for many decades.</p>