Communications - May 2008

News Track

JOBS TO THE RESCUE

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest projections of jobs that will experience strong growth and be in great demand through 2016 ( www.bls.gov/). The top

five jobs in the IT field are:

Network systems and data communications analysts

Growth by 2016: 53% Median Annual Salary: $64,600 Computer applications software engineers Growth by 2016: 45% Median Annual Salary: $79,780

Database administrators Growth by 2016: 29% Median Annual Salary: $64,670 Computer systems software engineers Growth by 2016: 28% Median Annual Salary: $85,370 Network and computer systems administrators Growth by 2016: 27%

Median Annual Salary: $62,130

drawing electrically conductive paths on special material. The lines were as thin as three nanometers, making them considerably narrower than the lines drawn using electron-beam lithography—one of the most precise techniques for etching devices out of silicon. The study, recently published in Nature Materials, found that the wires and dots stayed in their state for at least 24 hours. The research team believes the etchings will last much longer and is currently testing this theory.

DOCTOR VERBOTEN

Amy Marash

At least seven U.S. researchers working in Germany have faced criminal probes this year for using the title “Dr.” on their business cards, Web sites, and résumés, the Washington Post reports. While all hold doctoral degrees from elite U.S. universities, under a little-known Nazi-era law only people who earn Ph.D.s or medical degrees in Germany are allowed to use “Dr.” as a courtesy title. The law was modified in 2001 to extend the privilege to

degree-holders from any country in the European Union, but Ph.D.s from the U.S. or elsewhere outside of E.U. are still forbidden to use it. Violators can face a year behind bars. While the German doctor rule has been in effect since the 1930s, it has been only sporadically enforced over the decades. What sparked a tipster to file a complaint with German prosecutors against seven U.S. researchers working at the Max Planck Society, which operates 80 scientific research institutes across Germany, is unknown. The criminal investigations have alarmed higher-education officials in Germany, where U.S. researchers are in demand. “This is a completely overdone, mad, and an absolutely ridiculous situation,” declared the head of Germany’s central office for foreign education. At last report, prosecutors were recommending that charges be dropped and civil fines be imposed.

CLARKE’S THREE LAWS

• When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.