by Serena E. Hinz, Caren A. Arbeit, and Michael Yamaner [1]

Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) were created to help meet the research and analytic needs of federal agencies. FFRDCs also employ postdoctoral researchers (postdocs), which helps to support the work of the FFRDCs and to train the country's next generation of scientists and engineers. In 2017, postdoctoral research programs existed at 23 of the 42 FFRDCs listed in the Master Government List of FFRDCs.[2] In total, these 23 FFRDCs employed 2,975 postdocs.

Although the number of postdocs working at FFRDCs declined earlier in the decade, it has recently increased, and the count of postdocs in 2017 is close to the 3,011 employed in 2010 (table 1). While the number of FFRDCs increased between 2010 and 2017 (from 38 to 42), the number of FFRDCs with postdoc programs fluctuated between 21 and 24 during that period.

TABLE 1. Postdoctorates at federally funded research and development centers: 2010–17
(Number and percent change)
FFRDCs 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017a Change
2010–17		 Change
2015–17b

na = not applicable.

FFRDC = federally funded research and development center.

a The NCSES Master Government List of FFRDCs contains 43 FFRDCs with the two locations of the National Security Engineering Center listed separately. In the Survey of Postdocs at FFRDCs, the two locations were surveyed together and did not report any postdocs.
b Although there was no change in the number of FFRDCs between the 2015 and 2017 survey, the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute was replaced by the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center—neither of which reported any postdocs.
c Prior to 2015, the National Solar Observatory was included as part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
d In 2012, the National Cancer Institute at Frederick changed its name to the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR); between the 2010 and 2012 surveys, FNLCR revised its definition of postdoc to include only FFRDC contract employees. Correspondingly, the total postdoc count for FNLCR dropped from 286 in 2010 to 25 in 2012.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Postdocs at Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

Table 1 Source Data: Excel file
Total FFRDCs 38 39 40 42 42 4 0
FFRDCs with a postdoc program 22 22 21 24 23 1 -1
All postdocs 3,011 2,793 2,613 2,696 2,975 -36 279
University-administered FFRDCs 1,234 1,248 1,204 1,227 1,296 62 69
Ames Laboratory 47 51 42 44 44 -3 0
Argonne National Laboratory 300 301 279 304 297 -3 -7
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory 61 54 55 79 97 36 18
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 107 115 159 165 188 81 23
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 519 516 475 449 438 -81 -11
Lincoln Laboratory 0 0 0 3 4 4 1
National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center 4 na na na na na na
National Center for Atmospheric Research 39 40 37 33 60 21 27
National Optical Astronomy Observatoryc 6 13 11 4 1 -5 -3
National Radio Astronomy Observatory 21 21 21 12 13 -8 1
National Solar Observatoryc na na na 1 2 na 1
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 17 18 15 17 22 5 5
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory 54 44 41 41 46 -8 5
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility 59 75 69 75 84 25 9
Nonprofit-administered FFRDCs 719 681 653 698 788 69 90
Brookhaven National Laboratory 153 181 151 133 116 -37 -17
National Renewable Energy Laboratory 107 70 71 92 102 -5 10
Oak Ridge National Laboratory 245 237 236 230 291 46 61
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 214 193 195 242 279 65 37
Project Air Force 0 0 0 1 0 0 -1
Industry-administered FFRDCs 1,058 864 756 771 891 -167 120
Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Researchd 286 25 18 14 22 -264 8
Idaho National Laboratory 15 10 8 32 34 19 2
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 148 191 152 182 228 80 46
Los Alamos National Laboratory 416 439 397 343 379 -37 36
Sandia National Laboratories 181 189 175 189 221 40 32
Savannah River National Laboratory 12 10 6 11 7 -5 -4

Demographic Characteristics of Postdocs at FFRDCs

A majority of the postdocs employed by FFRDCs between 2010 and 2017 were temporary visa holders (table 2). However, the share of postdocs on temporary visas decreased from 60% in 2010 to 55% in 2017.

TABLE 2. Postdoctorates at federally funded research and development centers, by citizenship, ethnicity, and race: 2010–17
(Number and percent change)
Citizenship, race, and ethnicity 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 Change
2010–17		 Change
2015–17		 Percent
change
2010–17		 Percent
change
2015–17

a Race and ethnicity data are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Postdocs at Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

Table 2 Source Data: Excel file
All postdocs 3,011 2,793 2,613 2,696 2,975 -36 279 -1.2 10.3
U.S. citizens and permanent residentsa 1,191 1,156 1,150 1,246 1,341 150 95 12.6 7.6
Underrepresented minorities 71 75 71 79 98 27 19 38.0 24.1
Hispanic or Latino 48 54 52 55 67 19 12 39.6 21.8
Not Hispanic or Latino 1,005 1,045 1,065 1,140 1,217 212 77 21.1 6.8
American Indian or Alaska Native 4 4 3 5 4 0 -1 0.0 -20.0
Black or African American 16 14 14 19 27 11 8 68.8 42.1
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 3 3 2 0 0 -3 0 -100.0 0.0
White and Asian, not Hispanic or Latino 973 990 1,032 1,089 1,161 188 72 19.3 6.6
Asian 151 137 171 181 170 19 -11 12.6 -6.1
White 822 853 861 908 991 169 83 20.6 9.1
More than one race 9 34 14 27 25 16 -2 177.8 -7.4
Unknown ethnicity or race 138 57 33 51 57 -81 6 -58.7 11.8
Temporary visa holders 1,820 1,637 1,463 1,450 1,634 -186 184 -10.2 12.7

The number of U.S. citizen or resident postdocs increased by 13% between 2010 and 2017. A comparison in the number of postdocs by race and ethnicity indicates that, among U.S. citizens and permanent residents, postdocs employed at FFRDCs are gradually becoming more diverse. The number of postdocs who were underrepresented minorities was 38% higher in 2017 than in 2010, compared with a 13% increase among Asian postdocs and a 21% increase among white postdocs. Focusing on the more recent years, from 2015 to 2017, the number of underrepresented minority postdocs increased by 24%, compared to a 6% decrease in the number of Asian postdocs and a 9% increase in the number of white postdocs (figure 1).

FIGURE 1. Postdoctorates at federally funded research and development centers, by citizenship, ethnicity, and race: 2010–17
FIGURE 1. Postdoctorates at federally funded research and development centers, by citizenship, ethnicity, and race: 2010–17.

NOTE: Race and ethnicity data are available only for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

SOURCE: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, Survey of Postdocs at Federally Funded Research and Development Centers.

Figure 1 Source Data: Excel file

Although the population of postdocs who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, the number of postdocs who are underrepresented minorities remains considerably less than the number of white and Asian postdocs. In 2017, 7% of U.S. citizen and permanent resident postdocs were underrepresented minorities, up from 6% in 2010 (table 2).

Data Sources, Limitations, and Availability

The 2017 Survey of Postdocs at FFRDCs collected data from FFRDCs contained in the Master Government List of FFRDCs dated March 2017 that is maintained by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) within the National Science Foundation. The survey collects data on the number of postdocs employed by FFRDCs—categorized by citizenship, race, ethnicity, sex, and field of research—as of 1 October of the survey year. It is conducted as part of the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (GSS), which is sponsored by NCSES and by the National Institutes of Health.

A postdoc is defined by the GSS as an appointee who holds a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree; whose doctorate was awarded recently, generally within the past 5 years; whose appointment is for a limited term, generally no more than 5–7 years; who works under the supervision of a senior researcher; and whose appointment is primarily for the purpose of training in research or scholarship.

Use caution when using trend data because data comparability trends are affected by changes in how FFRDCs define their postdocs, maintain their administrative data, and report unknown responses. For example, after it was reorganized in 2011, the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) revised its postdoc reporting to include only FFRDC contract employees. Consequently, the total number of postdocs reported by FNLCR dropped significantly in 2012.

Detailed data from this survey are available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvyffrdcpd/. For more information on the Survey of Postdocs at FFRDCs, please contact NCSES author Michael Yamaner.

Notes

[1] Serena E. Hinz and Caren A. Arbeit, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC. Michael Yamaner, Human Resources Statistics Program, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite W14200, Alexandria, VA 22314 (myamaner@nsf.gov; 703-292-7815).

[2] The FFRDC Master Government List, maintained by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics within the National Science Foundation, is available at https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/ffrdclist/.