Science Talent Search in Iowa

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is emphasizing the recruiting and training of young people who are likely to contribute to the development of science in the future. The Iowa Academy of Science has been asked to cooperate in this activity. The enterprise is not a new one. The ablest of the youth have been sought and trained for the important work of their day, longer than history has recorded the doings of the human race. This present emphasis on the finding of those with a talent for science is the recognition of a real need for scientists in every field from the most theoretical and speculative to the most immediately useful and practical. This need exists for two reasons: First, there is a great and increasing appreciation for the contributions which science, applied by scientists, can make to life and to industry; and second the failure of those who dominated our selective service during the war to provide for the education of scientists. Dr. Vannevar Bush estimates that 150,000 scientific and technical students who would have earned college degrees since 1940 have been unable to do so. Dr. W. H. Trytten estimates that the deficit in Ph.D.\u27s in science will reach 13,000 by 1950