Science Group Will Study Policy

Provost Jerry R. Green will chair a University-wide committee examining science policy at Harvard this fall, the provost said in an interview yesterday.

The committee will deal primarily with science at Harvard as it relates to the outside world, according to Green.

"Science policy means our position vis-a-vis the funding agencies in Washington, our position vis-a-vis corporate sponsors of research, our technology transfer efforts--taking existing technology that Harvard owns, because we have a patent on it, and trying to make that available to the public but also get some financial returns on that," he said. "Those are the three main areas, and that's going to be a significant focus of my attention."

The committee will study issues such as Harvard scientists working in corporate laboratories, and it will ask how to direct students to scientifically rewarding research projects rather than financially rewarding ones.

"We are going to work all during the fall, and my goal is to present a [report] to the Corporation in Jan- uary," Green said.

The last time such an analysis was done was in 1980, said Green. He said he had spoken to the Corporation about the issue in meeting this year.

He said he was not pushed to form the committee by any possible conflicts of interest on Harvard's part. "Harvard does a very good job at that right now. We're doing just right, and so whatever changes we make, I don't think we want to disturb that relationship--we're quite good with merits of science," Green said.

But he said that the issue of research conducted for foreign companies, while not pressing at Harvard, has become more involved nation-wide, especially with recent Congressional hearings concerning the propriety of research ties between the Scripps Institute in California and a foreign pharmecuitcal firm.

Though Harvard's research ties with foreign corporation are very few, it does receive significant amounts of federal funding. The U.S. government, Green said, feels that its money should not be used to develop products for foreign use, while others argue that foreign companies better qualified to license certain products should be able to do so.

"Universities need to be proactive in monitoring that kind of relationship, to prove that we can do it well and gain the trust of Congress," he said.

While the committee will include several faculty members, it will not focus on teaching of the sciences at Harvard, Green said. "I don't think it will bear on the teaching science, say, of an elementary science course in the Core or something like that," he said. "I'm really talking about the University as a producer of research and as a consumer of other peoples' research effort."

Green would not say what faculty members had been asked to be on the committee. But he said that about 10 faculty members in the sciences had been asked to be committee members, and that two had agreed.

He said that Vice President of Finance Robert H. Scott and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall will be on the committee.

Marshall said yesterday that one of the priorities of the committee will be to examine policies currently in place to make sure that they cover all possible issues that could arise.

"There will be a wide variety of issues that deal with science and technology and the University making [them] available to the public--such as inventions, some leading to patents," she said. "The University will take a look at its policies and see what needs to be looked at [more closely].

The last time such an analysis was done was in 1980, said Green. He said he had spoken to the Corporation about the issue in meeting this year.

He said he was not pushed to form the committee by any possible conflicts of interest on Harvard's part. "Harvard does a very good job at that right now. We're doing just right, and so whatever changes we make, I don't think we want to disturb that relationship--we're quite good with merits of science," Green said.

But he said that the issue of research conducted for foreign companies, while not pressing at Harvard, has become more involved nation-wide, especially with recent Congressional hearings concerning the propriety of research ties between the Scripps Institute in California and a foreign pharmecuitcal firm.

Though Harvard's research ties with foreign corporation are very few, it does receive significant amounts of federal funding. The U.S. government, Green said, feels that its money should not be used to develop products for foreign use, while others argue that foreign companies better qualified to license certain products should be able to do so.

"Universities need to be proactive in monitoring that kind of relationship, to prove that we can do it well and gain the trust of Congress," he said.

While the committee will include several faculty members, it will not focus on teaching of the sciences at Harvard, Green said. "I don't think it will bear on the teaching science, say, of an elementary science course in the Core or something like that," he said. "I'm really talking about the University as a producer of research and as a consumer of other peoples' research effort."

Green would not say what faculty members had been asked to be on the committee. But he said that about 10 faculty members in the sciences had been asked to be committee members, and that two had agreed.

He said that Vice President of Finance Robert H. Scott and General Counsel Margaret H. Marshall will be on the committee.

Marshall said yesterday that one of the priorities of the committee will be to examine policies currently in place to make sure that they cover all possible issues that could arise.

"There will be a wide variety of issues that deal with science and technology and the University making [them] available to the public--such as inventions, some leading to patents," she said. "The University will take a look at its policies and see what needs to be looked at [more closely].