Jeffrey Mervis
The U.S. government spends more than a billion dollars a year on a variety of programs to support graduate students in science and engineering. But there is scant information on which mechanisms--individual fellowships, institutional traineeships, or grant-funded research assistantships--work best in getting young scientists launched on a successful career. Now the country's two leading research agencies--the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health--are hoping to come up with some answers.