Bill Wallace suggests an approach to assist in the rebirth of interest in and support for the enabling sciences.

I've recently retired. Originally an academic physicist, I've spent the last 32 years in the computer industry. So what do I do now; and what happens to my accumulated knowledge and expertise? Isn't it possible I could still be a valuable resource to our society? Surely other retired scientists and engineers (RSEs) have asked themselves similar questions.

There is grave concern for the future of the enabling sciences (maths, chemistry and physics) in Australia -- of course the funding and training aspects -- but also the public's perception of the roles of scientists and engineers in our communities. The 19-point strategy proposed on September 20th by the leading Australian science and engineering associations Rebuilding the Enabling Sciences sets out clearly what has to be done.

Is there a role for grey power?

Assist in the science training of secondary school pupils at local high schools -- as a volunteer science/maths teacher's assistant. While there seems to be no acknowledgement of this sort of role by Departments of Education, individual schools and individual principals may be amenable to this approach, and this could be combined with the student mentoring programmes many regional schools have with their local communities.

Assist in University Science and Engineering Research Projects. Supplementing research staff with experienced volunteer graduate retirees would seem very attractive and make use of valuable human resources. Similar practices, but with much less emphasis on professional qualifications, are already in place with volunteer fossil hunters assisting university and museum professionals; volunteer divers on marine research projects; and volunteer botanical assistants at government botanical gardens.

Involvement in Community Affairs: local networks of RSE's. Public awareness and appreciation of the role of science and engineering would be greatly enhanced with the organised presence of a network of RSE's and their involvement in local community issues. Such a network could work in with or even become part of established organisations such as Rotary. an RSE network could address many community concerns requiring scientific/engineering expertise and evaluation: water quality, geological stability of urban areas, placement of power lines and TV/radio transmitters, hospital, transport and housing development issues, weed infestations, excessive exploitation of natural resources, pet/feral animal control, gambling and probability theory, personal monitoring of potentially polluting agencies such as sewerage plants, power stations - in fact anything which would benefit from applying the scientific method.

Admittedly most of the above are not directly concerned with the decay of the enabling sciences but their understanding requires the knowledge derived from basic science and making the public aware of that is vital.

Such a network could also serve as a useful channel of communications between individuals and local government and newspapers on science/engineering issues.

Not the least important aspect of this type of retiree collective action, especially in regional Australia, would be the stimulation of the social and intellectual challenge to the RSEs themselves; their getting together to discuss and contribute to community issues.

All this would require the usual organisational structures, for example creating and maintaining a register of RSE's and liaising with educational authorities. How best to achieve this? Perhaps the umbrella organisation the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies would be a good starting point.

I'm about to embark on a pilot project based on the above suggestions in my own neck of the woods - the N.S.W. Central Coast.