by Claude Gelès, Gilles Lindecker, Mel Month and Christian Roche, Wiley Series in Beam Physics and Accelerator Technology, ISBN 0471185086.
The book contains a didactic presentation and in-depth discussion of a complete set of management issues affecting big scientific laboratories, as well as analyses of their possible evolutions. Items including motivations for creating a laboratory, decision-making systems, organization and communication, policy implementation, project methodology, infrastructure, human resources management, financial management and logistics are treated with a direct and comprehensive style. The discussions on alternatives and their associated risks and opportunities are very educational.
Of particular interest is the second part of the book, entitled “The Human Drama”. The typical evolution of the life of a scientific laboratory is described in terms of three main stages – growth, steady state and decline, just as in individuals, according to age. The analysis presented on the way of revitalizing the laboratory, identifying what are only fluctuations which might give a wrong impression of revitalization, is very interesting and of particular importance for already old but successful scientific organizations. The experience of the authors, mainly from particle physics laboratories, and the fast-changing evolution of the organizational methods of this type of research make the analysis especially adequate for high-energy physics labs.
In summary, the book contains a complete and useful description of the management tools for major scientific organizations and can also be useful for consultation. The reference material is plentiful and well selected.
