Three decades of decadence
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n January 1987, page 88 of MRS Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue No. 1, hosted the first appearance of the now “venerable yet decadent” Posterminaries column. That is how this column was described by Dr. I.M. Science Sage, 1 a similarly venerable yet decadent personage, whom we interviewed for this anniversary issue, and whom we had interviewed on several previous occasions.2‒7 MRS Bulletin. It has been nearly 20 years since we last spoke, if you don’t count the time we met after the revival from your 18-millennium sojourn in deep cryostorage.6 It appears you are doing quite well. The science policy advice business must still be going strong. Dr. I.M. Science Sage. Why do you seem so surprised? The never-ending need for my kind of service is axiomatic. As long as the inner workings of science and technology policy in the capitals of the world remain nebulous and the consequent uncertainty of research funding can be relied upon, my business will boom. But your own endeavors are clearly flourishing as well. For the Bulletin’s caboose to be at the threshold of its fourth decade in print is quite an accomplishment. For such decadence to have survived embedded within such a wholly venerable publication is an extraordinary feat. I would say that this afterthought of a department has become venerable in its own right. MRS B. We’d like to move on to some more substantive matters about which we are sure you’ll offer many valuable opinions. But we can’t resist first seeking clarification of your “venerable and decadent” compliment, or was it an accusation? Are not those two qualities mutually exclusive, even oxymoronic? Dr. S. S. The Bulletin, and therefore, if only through osmosis, Posterminaries, is accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, and character. That’s a dictionary definition of venerable. Really! You can look it up. And decadence being the luxurious self-indulgence in pleasurable pursuits (you can look that one up as well) clearly nails down precisely what
© 2016 Vince Dorse
your editors and your authors must be doing when diving into a Posterminaries after a long slog through the serious stuff preceding it. MRS B. Thank you for such a lucid explanation and for the tribute. We’ll be sure to repeat it when we introduce this interview in print. Now we’d like to tell our readers what you believe are the most pressing issues of the day that affect our field. The last time we sought such advice from you was quite long ago—things must have evolved quite a bit since then. Dr. S. S. Indeed they have, in some ways. But in others, they are much the same. What has not changed is the flow of terribly bright scientists, especially materials researchers, from the universities of the world and their enthusiasm for discovering new science and new technologies, even when support for research is uncertain and career trajectories take unexpected turns. Of course, many of these rising stars and their institutions have benefited mightily from my sound advice, if I say so myself. And I do. MRS B. What then ha
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