Issues

The rate of production of physics doctorates in the United States—stationary at 500 per year for almost a decade—is now rising with a rate of increase of approximately 7% per year. Lindsey R. Harmon, director of research of the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council, reports here on some of the geographic, educational, and sociological characteristics of the new PhD's in physics. The NAS‐NRC studies complement those of the US Office of Education and the American Institute of Physics in reporting the extent to which the nation is meeting the critical need for highly educated manpower in physics.