NSF hosted the first CAREER Principal Investigator (PI) Workshop on January 10-12, 1999 in Washington, D.C. This meeting was attended by approximately 370 CAREER Award recipients who received their awards in FY95-FY97, and about 60 senior faculty such as chairmen and deans. The purposes of the meeting were to assess the impact of the program on junior faculty and their institutions, to identify accomplishments and potential problems with the program, and to give recipients a chance to meet their peers and exchange ideas concerning the integration of research and education. This meeting resulted from an ongoing, broadly based survey of the impact of the CAREER program within the NSF.

Twenty-seven CAREER PIs who have received funding from the Divisions of Ocean Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Atmospheric Sciences attended the meeting, as did four senior faculty members and about 15 program officers from the Divisions. There were extensive discussions of the program, it's past accomplishments and limitations, the highly variable support for the program at different institutions, the intrinsic difficulties in integrating research and education, and potential changes that might be warranted for the future. It was widely considered a successful and enjoyable meeting from which most participants felt that they gained a useful perspective on CAREER and the integration of research and education. The NSF staff is currently assessing the various comments. Please feel free to contact Don Elthon (delthon@nsf.gov) if you would like further information or have comments on the CAREER program.