176 SCIENTIST 



look outside for some big name. They did recently in 

 physics, and I have the impression that they are feeling their 

 oats and are anxious to put the University on the national 

 map, especially in science. It's beginning to dawn on some 

 of the businessmen that academic research helps business, 

 and they haven't overlooked the fact that a lot of defense 

 money is going to the Northeast and to southern California 

 because of MIT and Cal Tech. 



"If they don't go outside, you'd have a chance to be chief, 

 of course, but so would Al and Jerry and possibly even 

 Jack, who recently made quite a splash at the Atlantic City 

 meetings with his paper on hydrophobic bonding. I just 

 can't predict how this cat might jump." 



"Nice of you even to put me in that category. Bill. I know 

 I'm only marginal when it comes to a university chairman- 

 ship anywhere. Actually, when I see how much time you 

 have to spend going to committee meetings and suffering 

 fools as gladly as you can, I'm not sure I want to be a chair- 

 man anyway. It really is more a matter of when does a 

 research worker admit to himself that he isn't going to get 

 the Nobel Prize. I know it sounds silly put that way. I never 

 really have thought I had a chance for that specific recog- 

 nition but, symbolically, I mean that probably all scientists 

 pin their hopes for their self-justification on contributing 

 something really important in the way of scientific dis- 

 covery." 



"I know what you mean, Sam," replied Bill, and some- 

 how his voice sounded different from the way it had before. 

 "Deep down I suppose all of us want to be known as the 

 guy who thought up the modern equivalent of the ring 

 structure of benzene, or the phase rule, or at least did some- 

 thing unprecedented like synthesizing urea." 



"Yes, I guess most of us do," interrupted Sam, "but on 



