Professors Deplore Supercollider's Cancellation

Harvard scientists said yesterday they are upset by Congress' decision Tuesday to kill the Texas Superconducting Supercollider project, calling the move a "blow to science."

The collider, which would have been the most advanced of its kind in the world at a cost of $11 billion, would have helped scientists resolve questions about the nature of matter, professors said.

"It's a disaster," said Sheldon L. Glashow, Higgins professor of physics and Nobel Physics Prize recipient. "It means that 50 years of triumphant research into the fundamental nature of matter in this country has ended."

The Senate rescued the program about three weeks ago, but the House vote makes another save unlikely, professors said. Two billion dollars had already gone into the project.

Many scientists said they were upset by the "anti-science attitude" that marked Congressional deliberations.

"The cancellation is symptomatic of the view that you can stop science funding and science will still go on," said Assistant Professor of Physics Eric D. Carlson. "We do need the funding in order to make worthwhile advancements."

Glashow described the collider's defeat as "a clear signal of the government's unwillingness to support curiosity-driven research."

Harvard Researchers Affected

Thousands of people who were directly involved in the construction of the SSC were given 90-day notices, while scientists and theorists must try to find other projects.

"I have to re-think my life," said Professor of Physics Melissa Franklin, who was collaborating with other scientists to design experiments for the collider.

Congressional opponents of the project cited cost in the decision to kill the Supercollider, but some said money was not the real issue.

Glashow said that more than $200 million per year must be spent phasing out the program because of outstanding contracts and unemployment.

"Money's not the issue, because Congress passed the space station when the collider is much more important scientifically," Franklin said.

"It is terrible to turn off...[the collider] once you start," Professor of Physics Costas D. Papaliolios said. "Not only will it cost more money, but in ten years, the essential teams of people will have moved onto other things."