Science Classes Are "An Opportunity for Seduction," AAAS Forum Hears

Norine Noonan, the dean of the school of science and mathematics at the College of Charleston, tells the story of a physicist at the University of Alabama who once bragged that he had given an F in a physics course to a student who eventually was to become governor of the state.

For Noonan, a AAAS board member, and for others who see the need to nurture a new generation of scientists and engineers in the United States, such anecdotes give little cause for laughter. The challenge of reaching those who turn away from science early, even though they may excel in other fields, is long-standing and promises to grow even more acute, according to Noonan and others who spoke on the science and technology workforce at a 21 April session of the 30th annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy in Washington, D.C.

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