IAS Distinguished Lecture Series: "American Science on the Decline?" by Prof. Yu Xie

It was our honor to have Professor Yu Xie given a public lecture on “American Science on the Decline?” in our fifth lecture of the IAS Distinguished Lecture Series on Inequality and Poverty held on 7 March 2011 at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Prof. Xie obtained his PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology in 1989. He has since then taught at the University of Michigan, where he is currently Otis Dudley Duncan Distinguished University Professor of Sociology and Statistics at the University of Michigan. He is also a Research Professor at the Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research and a Faculty Associate at the Center for Chinese Studies. His main areas of interest are social stratification, demography, statistical methods, Chinese studies, and sociology of science.

Prof Xie is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an academician of Academia Sinica.

Abstract:

In their forthcoming book “Is American Science on the Decline?” the speaker and his coauthor Killewald rigorously investigate claims and counter-claims concerning the current state of American science. Responding to ongoing policy debates about the health of American science, the authors provide compelling evidence for rejecting simplistic extremes. American science, they point out, may be robust by some indicators but face decline by others. After conducting in-depth analyses of eighteen large, nationally representative statistical datasets, the authors provide a nuanced, objective assessment of science in America that embraces the full complexity of their subject. In doing so, they demonstrate that American science is continuing to grow, to recruit youth, and to receive strong support from the public. At the same time, the authors also point out areas of concern, such as the stagnation of scientists’ earnings since the 1960s, increasingly intense international competition, and the formidable challenges to young scientists aspiring to academic careers.

我們很榮幸邀請到謝宇教授蒞臨香港科技大學為我們主講第五次不平等和貧窮系列的IAS傑出學人講座，講題為「美國科學的衰落﹖」。謝教授於1989年在威斯康星大學麥迪遜分校的社會科學系博士畢業，自此便開始於美國密歇根大學任教。謝教授現在為密歇根大學Otis Dudley Duncan社會及統計學傑出教授，同時為社會研究所調查研究中心和人口研究中心高級研究員，以及中國研究中心副研究員，其主要研究興趣為社會分層、人口學、統計方法研究、中國研究以及科學社會學。

謝教授是美國國家科學院會員、美國文理科學院及中央研究院的院士。

謝教授演講之內容摘要，請參閱上述所提供的英文版本。