SMALL PHOTO BY JEFF TINSLEY

Small offered few additional details about the reorganization. He did say that commission members will be "powerfully credible" scientists from inside and outside the Smithsonian, and that he hopes to name panel members by the end of June.

Small's announcement followed weeks of criticism touched off by his decision to cut two Smithsonian research centers (C&EN, April 23, page 46). In fact, Small withdrew from consideration by the regents a plan to close the Smithsonian Conservation & Research Center in Front Royal, Va., which conducts research on endangered species. Small said, however, that the regents approved his plan to close the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research & Education (SCMRE), which carries out research on conserving and preserving museum artifacts.

Asked at the press conference if he or the regents had considered how the SCMRE closing will affect the Smithsonian's responsibility to care for the National Collections, Small said, "We see an ongoing need for excellence in materials conservation," explaining that the Smithsonian's individual museums have their own conservation programs that will help them care for the collections.

Critics, including many Smithsonian scientists, have charged that the planned cuts--which are contained in the Smithsonian's fiscal 2002 budget request to Congress--might be a prelude to still more cutbacks. They say that the secretiveness of Small's reorganization effort has fueled fears that he intends to sacrifice science in order to fund building improvements and public programs

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