AIBS News November 2003

From the pages of BioScience magazine, the online version of our current events column, with discussions of the latest happenings at AIBS in support of our mission.

  • Announcing the BioScience Bulk-Purchase Program for AIBS Member Societies and Organizations

    AIBS member societies and organizations looking to provide their own individual members with additional, low-cost benefits are invited to participate in the new BioScience bulk-purchase program.

    Details. AIBS will provide a 12-month print and online subscription—12 issues of BioScience?for $12 per person per year (shipping is extra) on bulk-purchases of 500 or more subscriptions—that is, $1 per issue per person. This pricing is based on AIBS's production costs (printing, binding, labor, and materials) for copies of BioScience produced after the regular monthly print run has been completed.

    Eligibility. This offer can be extended to new subscribers only, going back one year in the AIBS records. Shipping of printed copies. Each month, AIBS will notify its printer to ship the copies of BioScience to a distribution center specified by the participating member society or organization, whereupon the latter can distribute the individual copies to the society members (i.e., AIBS does not handle the society's membership list, and the society is responsible for the individual postage costs). Three-day shipping costs for 1000 copies to a distribution center within the continental United States are estimated at $0.25 per copy.

    Online access. AIBS will provide BioScience online access codes to the participating member society or organization for its members.
    Billing. AIBS will bill participating member societies and organizations for the copies and shipping costs at the beginning of each 12-month period. For example, a society or organization providing 1000 of its individual members with a personal 12-month print and online subscription to BioScience would be billed $15,000: (1,000 x $12) + (1,000 x $0.25 x 12).

    For additional information about participating in the BioScience bulk-purchase program for AIBS member societies and organizations, please contact Richard T. O'Grady (e-mail: rogr...@aibs.org), Executive Director, American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1444 I Street NW, Suite 200,Washington, DC 20005; telephone: 202/628- 1500, ext. 258, or fax: 202/628-1509.

  • 2003 AIBS Salary Survey Results

    E-mail invitations to participate in the survey were sent during the summer of 2003 to (a) AIBS members, (b) subscribers to The Scientist magazine, and (c) members of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Usable responses were received from more than 12,600 individuals. Results were compiled and published by Abbott, Langer and Associates, Inc.

    The median annual income reported was $65,000. The composite highest-income practitioner in this field (salary plus cash compensation, such as bonus, profit sharing, or both), taking into account the size of the organization, is the position of president, with a median income of $120,000. At the other end of the income spectrum, laboratory assistants have a median annual income of $23,600.

    Median total cash compensation of some of the jobs surveyed in the report.

    • Research vice presidents/directors: $142,000
    • Research managers: $139,000
    • Chief operating officers: $129,000
    • College/university department heads: $129,000
    • "Distinguished" researchers: $126,000
    • Professors (12-month appointment): $118,000
    • Research section heads: $108,387
    • Government section heads: $98,000
    • Laboratory directors: $90,000
    • Research unit supervisors: $85,000
    • Professors (9- to 10-month appointment): $85,000
    • Laboratory managers: $53,000
    • Intermediate researchers: $50,250
    • Assistant professors (9- to 10-month appointment): $49,713
    • Secondary school teachers: $44,200
    • Postdoctoral researchers (12-month appointment): $36,366
    • Laboratory technicians: $35,000
    • Intermediate research technicians: $33,000

    Income data are reported by region, state, and metropolitan area; type of employer; size of organization; level of education; amount of experience; primary area of specialization; primary job activity; level of professional responsibility; industry or service of employer; gender; age; years since highest degree; level of supervisory or managerial responsibility; and numerous cross-tabulations of the variables.

    The highest median incomes are found in the Kalamazoo (Michigan), Ventura County (California), San Jose (California), and Toledo (Ohio) metropolitan areas ($88,500 to $98,600). The lowest are found in the Spokane (Washington), South Bend (Indiana), Cedar Rapids—Waterloo (Iowa), and Charlottesville (Virginia) areas ($37,060 to $47,500).

    Compensation varies considerably from one type of employer to another. Median incomes are highest in pharmaceutical ($89,500), consulting ($87,000), and manufacturing firms ($82,500) and are lowest in primary schools ($34,970), secondary schools ($45,775), and colleges and universities granting only 2- and 3-year degrees ($50,006).

    Life scientists with less than one year of experience have a median income of $33,000; the median income for those who have more than 30 years of experience is $108,300.

    By primary area of specialization, the highest median incomes are found in radiation; drug discovery, development, and delivery; veterinary science; and pharmacology ($87,500 to $108,750). The lowest are found in general biology, molecular biology, aquatic sciences, cancer, and wildlife biology ($50,000 to $53,800).

    Those life scientists with no supervisory responsibility have a median income of $48,000. For those supervising 10 or more professional and subprofessional employees, the median income is $126,500.

    The full results of the 2003 salary survey are contained in the in-depth, 785-page, bound report, Compensation of Life Scientists in the United States of America—2003, available for $375.00 (plus shipping and handling costs) from Abbott, Langer & Associates, Inc., Dept. NET, 548 First Street, Crete, IL 60417 (708/672-4200; www.abbott-langer.com). Individuals who completed the survey may purchase the report for 60% off the above list price. Similar editions are available for Canada and the United Kingdom.

  • Plan to Participate: 2004 Congressional Visits Day

    The Science, Engineering, and Technology Working Group, a cross-disciplinary coalition of professional societies and organizations (including AIBS), has announced that its annually sponsored Congressional Visits Day (CVD) will be held 3—4 March 2004 in Washington, DC. During CVD, scientists and engineers meet with their members of Congress and key staffers and educate them about the vital importance of federal support for scientific research and development.

    CVD has grown over the years and is increasingly recognized as a significant event by members of Congress. Given the growing number of competing budget priorities, record-breaking budget deficits, and the 2004 elections, March 2004 will be a particularly important time for a large number of biologists and biology educators to make their presence known in Washington, DC. If you would like additional information about participating in CVD 2004, please contact Robert Gropp in the AIBS Public Policy Office at rgr...@aibs.org or 202/628-1500 ext. 250.

  • Register Now for the 2004 AIBS Annual Meeting on Invasive Species

    Registration for the 2004 AIBS Annual Meeting is now live online at www.aibs. org/annual-meeting/. The meeting is being held 16—18 March 2004 at the Westin Grand Hotel, 2350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. Seating is limited; don't delay in registering for this exciting program on the theme of "Invasive Species: The Search for Solutions."

    Join Ann Bartuska (The Nature Conservancy), Richard Mack (Washington State University), Andrew Dobson (Princeton University), David Lodge (University of Notre Dame), Daniel Simberloff (University of Tennessee), Stephen Morse (Columbia University), and other distinguished speakers at the AIBS meeting's unique blend of plenary lectures, panel sessions, and informal discussion groups. The meeting will examine the science of invasion biology pertaining to all major taxonomic groups from varying perspectives such as economics, public policy, education, public health, prevention and remediation, international issues, and local initiatives.

    Bonus sessions include (a) the use of natural history collections in invasion biology and (b) invasive species and NEON: The National Ecological Observatory Network.

  • Draft Report from IBRCS NEON Coordination and Implementation Conference Now Open for Public Comment

    AIBS seeks comments from the biological community on the draft IBRCS (Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales) report on the coordination and implementation of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The report is the product of an IBRCS conference held at the National Museum of Natural History in September 2003 and describes both an organizational framework and a process for implementation. The final report will be issued in November 2003 as the second white paper on NEON from the AIBS IBRCS project (http://ibrcs.aibs. org), which seeks to foster community development of the next-generation biological research infrastructure. Further information about the conference and the draft report is available at http://ibrcs. aibs.org/NEONCoord Conf/.

    You may comment on the draft report in one or more of the following ways:

    • Submit written comments using the online form at http://ibrcs. aibs.org/NEONCoordConf/report-feedback.asp.
    • Attend the open session of the follow-up IBRCS conference that will be held on 10 November 2003, 1:00—4:00 p.m., in the East Room of the American Society of Association Executives Building, 1575 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20005.
    • Participate in the open session of the follow-up conference via teleconference (toll free).

    The final version of the report will be issued soon after 10 November.

  • Recent Public Policy Reports Online at www.aibs.org

    Public Policy Report for 14 October 2003

    • White House Office of Science and Technology Policy seeking input from research community on research business models; fall workshops announced

    • ACTION ALERT: Help sustain funding for the USGS

    • Update: NRC still seeking comments on updated version of the taxonomy of the life sciences

    • New in BioScience, USGS: Science Serving Society Public Policy Report for 29 September 2003

    • New NAS report calls NEON critical to advancement of environmental biology

    • Federal budget update: Congress passes legislation to fund government through the end of October

    • Scientists brief Capitol Hill on preparing for the next human? wildlife disease

    • British Biological Sciences Research Council holding free media training workshop for BBSRC-supported researchers

    • State evolution item: Creationism infiltrates Wyoming schools

    • State evolution item: Minnesota science standards update

    • ACTION ALERT: Your support could mean an additional $37 million (250 grants and two NEON prototypes) for the biological sciences!

    • Plan to participate: 2004 Congressional Visits Day

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