Publication Abstracts

McCann et al. 2022

McCann, M., P. Reed, E. Foufoula-Georgiou, A.M. Fridlind, M.N. Goosseff, M. Kleber, A. Rogers, T. Scheiebe, M.S. Torn, and S. Wullschleger, 2022: Chapter 8. Strategies for people, partnerships, and productivity. In U.S. Scientific Leadership: Addressing Energy, Ecosystems, Climate, and Sustainable Prosperity: Report from the BERAC Subcommittee on International Benchmarking, DOE/SC-0208. M. McCann and P. Reed, Eds., U.S. D.O.E., Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee, pp. 122-137, doi:10.2172/1895129.

BER funds academic scientists across the nation who contribute exceptional talent and new expertise to the program's mission.

The DOE national laboratory complex provides many positive career opportunities for BER-funded scientists.

Programs for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral students effectively recruit scientific talent for BER missions.

The lack of workforce diversity significantly limits BER's long-term leadership and the necessary growth of its scientific workforce.

BER frontier research successes and impacts lack visibility. BER funding for high-risk discovery science and paths to independent work are rare at the national laboratories, and increased funding flexibility is desired at all career levels.

Real and perceived volatility in funding levels and research topics hampers workforce recruitment and retention at all career stages and impedes long-term productivity.

Current funding models produce high levels of professional anxiety among national laboratory programmatic staff who feel pressure to continuously secure projects that support their own salaries.

At some user facilities, limited opportunities exist for support staff advancement, independent research, and future career choices, leading to overwork and professional burnout. These challenges vary significantly depending on the operational model of a given facility.

Over the last decade, BER has seen attrition of scientific workforce talent, particularly among academic Early Career Research Program awardees, half of whom are no longer funded in the BER mission space.

Some BER-supported Early Career awards are limiting workforce development due to their timing and topical volatility, providing only narrow windows of opportunity in a scientist's career pathway. This impact is more pronounced for the Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division than the Biological Systems Science Division and its more stable approach.

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BibTeX Citation

@inbook{mc08200c,
  author={McCann, M. and Reed, P. and Foufoula-Georgiou, E. and Fridlind, A. M. and Goosseff, M. N. and Kleber, M. and Rogers, A. and Scheiebe, T. and Torn, M. S. and Wullschleger, S.},
  editor={McCann, M. and Reed, P.},
  title={Chapter 8. Strategies for people, partnerships, and productivity},
  booktitle={U.S. Scientific Leadership: Addressing Energy, Ecosystems, Climate, and Sustainable Prosperity: Report from the BERAC Subcommittee on International Benchmarking},
  year={2022},
  pages={122--137},
  publisher={U.S. D.O.E., Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee},
  doi={10.2172/1895129},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - CHAP
ID  - mc08200c
AU  - McCann, M.
AU  - Reed, P.
AU  - Foufoula-Georgiou, E.
AU  - Fridlind, A. M.
AU  - Goosseff, M. N.
AU  - Kleber, M.
AU  - Rogers, A.
AU  - Scheiebe, T.
AU  - Torn, M. S.
AU  - Wullschleger, S.
ED  - McCann, M.
ED  - Reed, P.
PY  - 2022
TI  - Chapter 8. Strategies for people, partnerships, and productivity
BT  - U.S. Scientific Leadership: Addressing Energy, Ecosystems, Climate, and Sustainable Prosperity: Report from the BERAC Subcommittee on International Benchmarking
SP  - 122
EP  - 137
DO  - 10.2172/1895129
PB  - U.S. D.O.E., Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee
ER  -

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