The US is experiencing a growing shortage of trained scientists and people with science-related technical skills. It would be expedient to draw on the large reservoir of scientific expertise among the thousands of retired scientists from academic, industrial, and government institutions. Many of these scientists retain their peak competence and would welcome the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge on a part-time or temporary basis. To provide the general public with continued access to the wealth of information held by retired and retiring scientists, the Retired Scientists Cooperative was formed in 2002.
One consideration that influenced the formation of the RSC is the fact that men and women at 65 years of age are still vital, strong, capable people. Bradley Hyman of Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a study of a group of 60- to 90-year-olds; his results indicated that aging in healthy people is not associated with mental decline. Responses may slow down, but the power to think does not change with age. Some people even show an increase in mental abilities in later years. John Morris, director and principal investigator for the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, came to essentially the same conclusion.
The RSC currently has some 200 scientists listed, in fields including chemistry, biochemistry, life sciences, physics, engineering, environmental science, astrophysics, geology, oceanography, mathematical physics, and theoretical chemistry. Following are some examples of activities that could be undertaken by members of the cooperative.
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▸ Academic teach-in. A university in Massachusetts wants to instruct its physics students in astrophysics but lacks the funding to retain a full-time professor. An RSC astrophysicist could conduct several lectures, or even a full-semester course.
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▸ Scientific verification. A research scientist at a university in New York wants to use electrophysiological measurements to verify his radioactive chloride flux measurements across membranes but does not have the expertise. An RSC scientist would either train the scientist in the technique or perform the needed measurements.
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▸ Industrial teach-in. A plastics company in New Jersey wants to explore the commercial aspects of an experimental synthetic resin in the formulation of flexible plastics. An RSC scientist would study the problem and give a presentation on the findings.
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▸ Community teach-in. A community on Long Island in New York wants to learn about the effects a proposed wastewater treatment plant will have on the ecology of local beaches and waterways. Or perhaps a community in Vermont is plagued with high cancer rates. Appropriate RSC scientists would study the problems and present their findings.
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▸ Scientific editing. An RSC scientist could edit scientific papers or technical manuals for individuals and organizations that lack such publication experience. This service would be extremely useful for scientific authors who are not native speakers of English.
Retired scientists who are citizens or permanent residents of the US are eligible for membership in the RSC. For more information about the cooperative and its membership application process, see our website, http://www.retiredscientists.org.
