This project partially supports the work of a task force of the American Mathematical Society to study the current employment opportunities for new doctorates in the U.S. Long term demographic studies by the National Science Foundation indicate potential shortfalls by the end of this decade in our nation's science personnel base. One the other hand, in 1990 declines in the number of jobs available and increases in the number of applicants were noted in the mathematical sciences community. Follow-up surveys indicated disturbing signs pointing to a shortage of employment opportunities in the short term. This project supports a task force of the American Mathematical society to assess the current situation, make recommendations on ways to mitigate what may be a short-term supply and demand imbalance in the academic employment market, develop long-term strategies to reduce some of the current inefficiencies in the employment-seeking process, and report their finding to the mathematical sciences community. The project is timely and important for the vitality of the U.S. mathematical sciences personnel base. The results will be made available to the scientific community, the professional societies, and interested government agencies. In the latter case, the results may help in developing appropriate strategies for the support of postdoctoral researchers.
