地质学基础研究队伍现状——根据国家自然科学基金申请格局的分析

Current Workforce Pattern of the Geological Basic Research in China——Based on the Statistics of the Proposals for the National Natural Science Foundation of China

国家自然科学基金申请项目数量可以较为可靠地反映基础研究队伍情况。2001—2011年地质学科基金申请数量不断增加,显示基础研究队伍得到新生力量的补充,从事地质学基础研究的单位也在不断增加。进一步分析揭示,目前地质学基础研究队伍结构存在如下主要问题:①地质学科基础研究队伍青年人才比例相对偏低,青年人才的补充滞后;②地质学人才队伍年龄结构连续性差,具有明显分段特征,可能会导致在某个时期科研资源和岗位竞争加剧,或是缺少特定层次的人才,引发科研工作的"瓶颈效应";③地质学申请项目增长在专业上不均衡,反映目前地质学科研队伍向侧重于地质资源和地质环境方面转移的趋势,长远发展不利于基础科学的源头创新和知识积累。分析了上状现象的原因,并初步提出一些改善建议。

Workforce pattern can be well revealed from the proposals for the National Natural Science Founda- tion of China. The increasing amount of proposals for geological science during 2001-2011 reflects the rapid recrui- ting of new researchers as well as the establishment of new institutions related to geological research. However, de- tailed analysis of the statistic data show that certain defects exist in the workforce pattern： ①The proportion of young researchers is lower than that in other fields; ②The age pattern of researchers shows ＂peak＂ and ＂valley＂ characters ; ③The increase of the workforce is mainly in the field of geological resource and environment research, rather than the grass root disciplines with higher impact for the progress of the basic geological research. The rea- sons for these characteristics are speculated and hence some relevant suggestions are proposed.