A list of specific campus projects that Congress has directed federal agencies to support this year includes controversial projects (so-called pork barrel projects) for which the agencies did not request funding or sponsor competitions. (MSE)

A National Science Foundation project will develop the technology for exchange of scientific documents containing text, images, drawings, charts, graphs, animation, and even voice among dissimilar computers, altering the nature of research collaboration. (MSE)

A patent awarded to Harvard University for the genetic alteration of mice in cancer research is the first ever issued on an animal, at the same time that legislation putting a moratorium on animal patents is pending in Congress. (MSE)

A new Carnegie Foundation report recommends expanding the concept of faculty scholarship to recognize and reward teaching, service, textbook writing, and other faculty activities. Campuses can accommodate faculty's shifting interests by encouraging movement from one activity to another, possibly with short-term contracts spelling out scholarly…

While some universities have had success establishing venture funds to market research with commercial potential, Cornell University has formed an alumni panel to evaluate new university technologies for those with promise for new products, spin-off companies, and profits. Members with connections in venture capital will arrange financing and…

Research and other projects for which Congress has directed federal agencies to provide support in fiscal 1992 are listed for over 200 colleges and universities. In each case, the agencies did not request money for the projects and did not sponsor merit-based competitions to determine which institutions should get the awards. (MSE)

Stanford University (California) and the United States Navy have settled a dispute over 12 years of charges for research overhead, and the Navy has issued a rule requiring universities to negotiate multiyear overhead rates when appropriate data are available. Stanford agreed to pay back a total of $3.4-million. (MSE)

The Lakota ethnoastronomy project researches Sioux astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythology, religion, and view of the universe and traces them through the nation's history, and has resulted in both an improved understanding of Sioux tradition and legislation to return federally held land to the tribe. (MSE)

A New York University "magnet" program supported by the Ford Foundation provides opportunities for 11 member institutions' faculty members to pursue research, curricular, and professional projects. (MSE)

Congress has quietly approved millions of dollars for campus research projects not subjected to traditional merit reviews. The wisdom of allowing legislators to direct federal money to specific campuses is questioned less and less, and the practice is more prevalent than ever. (MSE)

With many intelligence documents open to scholars and interest in the role of intelligence agencies in national affairs increasing, many institutions are analyzing and teaching about intelligence as a tool of foreign policy and national security. (MSE)

Federal appropriations for fiscal 1991 for projects involving specific colleges and universities has set an all-time record for such spending. Actual totals are probably even higher. Spending is for research facilities and varied projects. The increases may reflect lawmakers' impatience for an administration policy on promoting technology. (MSE)

Increasingly, institutions are seeking money directly from Congress for new research facilities and other science projects, stirring criticism of "pork-barrel science" and special advantages given to land-grant colleges. (MSE)

Despite key changes in the federal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) research program, activists and some scientists are frustrated that not enough has been done and the actions taken have not had sufficient impact on the problem. Controversy over basic vs. clinical-trial research persists. (MSE)

As a result of investigations into overhead charges at Stanford University (California), lawmakers and federal agency officials are seeking ways to prevent universities from overcharging the government for indirect costs and ways to improve federal oversight of government payments. (DB)