Geoff;

I, too, have experience these feelings. I spent a lot of my time around 
college reps trying to get my students to come to their schools. My son 
set me straight. Don't be too hard on the academia world. It isn't all 
that simple.
> It seems to me that USGS is primarily interested
> in damaging quakes. So if the quake caused
> little or no damage it will not be analyzed so
> quickly.
The money for the seismic apparatus in this country came out of a need 
(or out of a financial justification) to monitor for atomic bomb 
blasts...and this has proved its worth.
> But the Government does nor need
> Professors to do its work.
> To me, a Professor is a Phd in the
> Academic World and not the Physical Work World.
I don't know about ASU but generally there are two forms of colleges; 
the practical and the theoritical/technical. Here Purdue is the 
practical and IU is the theoritical/technical. Purdue is agriculture and 
engineering etc while IU is the medical, chemistry, law direction. 
Smaller schools specialize (teaching or chemistry or business etc).
> Academic meaning the teaching of people.
> I know that the government will hire dedicated Scientist
> who pay no attention to teaching anyone
Here is the big rub most people don't know about. The major 
colleges/universities require their "big" professors to do and are hired 
to do research. It used to be called "publish or parish". Their jobs 
depend on the quantity of their research which in most cases is way 
above the technological understanding of the layman. This research takes 
a lot of their time and it is time depended too. They protect it from 
others that might pirate it. They are given assistants to teach the 
undergrads and do a professor's "bidding" .... like monitoring 
equipment.  Many times our questions seem so elementary that they are 
too simple or the answers are deeply seated in physics which is a weak 
area in most educational circles--and individual expertize. Possibly, 
the questions are things that could be gotten by just reading science 
literature on the subject area -- or taking basic classes. At other 
times, the professor might be about to publish something in that vary area.

There is only one area where amateur science has kept up with academia. 
It is in astronomy where the time needed for observation exceeds the 
time that can be spent and the cheaper quality equipment has made the 
amateur a respectable contributor.

  Don't get bent out of shape!

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