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For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer at the end of each item at (703) 292-8070. Contents of this News Tip:
Archeologists Find Prehistoric Alaskan Burials At Coastal VillageNational Science Foundation-supported archeologists excavating a large prehistoric whaling village at Point Franklin on Alaska's Arctic coast recently discovered two prehistoric burials, according to Noel Broadbent, program director for Arctic Social Sciences at NSF. The research team leaders, archeologists Glenn Sheehan and Anne Jensen of Bryn Mawr College, immediately informed the local community about the burials, which were discovered at the tunnel entrance to a prehistoric house. (The sod houses had their only entryway from below ground, to prevent cold air from entering the warm interior.) Local leaders asked the archeologists to recover and study the burials, to inform the community first about the results, and to rebury the skeletons in a nearby area safe from erosion. During reburial on August 10, a local native minister said, "We are now forgetting some things these old people knew, and we want to thank these archeologists for helping us to find and remember some of these things." The prehistoric houses may range in age from 300-1100 years old; written history in north Alaska only began in 1826. (Study of the frozen prehistoric girl found near Barrow last year helped forge a partnership between the researchers and the native community.) [Lynn Simarski] Workshop To Assess Global Change Research In The Western HemisphereAssessing the state of science and funding in global climate change research in the Western Hemisphere might sound like a large task, but that's exactly what more than 200 scientists will be doing from August 28-30, 1995, at a workshop held in Belem, Brazil. The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is sponsoring the workshop, which will include leading researchers in global climate change fields, including human dimensions and health impacts; deans and directors of major research institutions; directors of international research programs, like the World Climate Research Program; directors of international organizations with related projects, such as the World Meteorological Organization; directors and administrators of funding agencies; and representatives of various nations' science and technology ministries. According to Robert Corell, NSF assistant director for geosciences, the workshop is intended to allow participants to compare research priorities and agendas, identify common ground, identify funding gaps and opportunities, and optimize and coordinate global change research in the Western Hemisphere. [Cheryl Dybas] Slight Increase In Immigrant S&E Reported In 1993; Women Account For Large PercentageDespite an overall decline in immigration to the U.S. in 1993, the admission of scientists and engineers (S&Es;) continued to rise, with women representing 21.3 percent of the total admitted with permanent resident status. According to data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), 23,534 S&Es; were admitted to the U.S. on permanent visas in 1993, 3.1 percent more than in 1992. Of that total, 5,020 were women. S&Es; made up 2.6 percent of the total U.S. immigration in 1993 of about 904,292. The slight 1993 increase in S&Es; follows a large jump in 1992 of 62 percent over the previous year. A total of 22,870 S&Es; immigrated to the U.S. in 1992, compared to 14,100 in 1991. Nearly two-thirds (61.6 percent) of S&E; immigrants in 1993 were working engineers. Scientists made up 38.6 percent, with mathematicians and computer specialists accounting for nearly half of scientists admitted. Immigrants from the Far East accounted for nearly 58 percent of all S&Es; admitted, while women accounted for more than 21 percent. Both the number and proportion of women S&Es; immigrating to the U.S. have increased consistently from 1989 to 1993. The data are included in data brief Vol. 1995 No. 11, published by the Science Resources Studies Division. [Mary Hanson] For an electronic copy of the data brief, send an email to databrief@nsf.gov or write to: Division of Science Resources Studies, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Suite 965, Arlington VA 22230 (703-306-1773). Program Officer: Joanne Streeter, SRS, (703) 306-1776
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