2008年5月6日的科学时报有篇文章“施一公：我被信仰追问，回国为什么是最好选择”，透露“2008年2月，40岁的国际著名结构生物学家、美国普林斯顿大学终身讲席教授施一公，全职回到祖国，受聘为清华大学终身教授、并出任清华大学生命科学与医学研究院副院长”。一时学界好评如潮。

令人困惑的是，就在这篇文章见报的前一天，普林斯顿大学刚刚更新了介绍施一公的网页（见http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=234
），他仍是该校教授。时至今日，在普林斯顿大学网站首页查找，施的头衔仍是Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology。

前几天又传来好消息，施一公被遴选为HHMI investigator。这在生物医学研究领域是一份巨大的荣耀，也再一次证明施一公学术成就斐然。2008年度HHMI investigator的申请截止于去年6月，要求申请人来自近200所美国的研究机构（http://www.hhmi.org/research/competitions/investigator2008/institutions.html），这其中显然不包括清华。同时要求申请人成为独立faculty的时间不能早于1997年四月，大器早成的施一公可说是搭上了最后一班车。

如果说施一公2008年2月全职回国，在此之前就应该早有意向。HHMI在征集申请时特别强调了以下几点：

1. 聘任后将成为HHMI全职雇员，任期五年，可以续聘。全职联邦政府雇员不符合条件。

2. HHMI investigators必须有至少75%的时间精力用于研究项目。承担管理、教学、学术审评、学会活动等的申请人必须减少这些任务以满足HHMI的要求。

3. 候选人提出申请时和受聘时必须在同一机构有工作职位。在第一个五年任期不能转到其它机构工作。

在一个更详细的HHMI遴选问答的文件中（见http://www.hhmi.org/research/competitions/investigator2008/2008_investigator_qa.pdf），有以下两段：

A9. What is HHMI policy with regard to eligibility of faculty members with administrative responsibilities?

Duties at the time of appointment must be compatible with HHMI’s requirement that investigators devote at least 75% of their total professional effort to the direct conduct of research. HHMI has permitted some of its investigators to serve as department chair, director of a departmental division, head of a research center, head of a graduate program or the like, when it could be determined that those ditties would not, in fact, interfere with this requirement. The permitted 25% of non—research activity includes all administrative duties, teaching, committee service, grant and journal reviewing, participation in the activities of scholarly societies, and consulting (subject to HHMI’s rules on consulting).

HHMI investigators may not hold the positions of dean, provost, vice president, or president of an institution as we do not believe it is possible for individuals in these positions to meet the 75% requirement.

D6. I am considering moving to a new institution after January 2008. If selected by HHMI in this compelition, could I be appointed at the new institution?

No. The application must be xxxxted from the same institution that will be the site of your appointment. Also, an HHMI investigator who changes institutions prior to completion of his or her first five-year term of appointment must resign from HHMI. After successful scientific review, an investigator may transfer to another HHMI host institution as detailed in HHMI’s transfer policy. Only one transfer is permitted over the course of an HHMI investigatorship.

这样看来，施一公受聘HHMI investigator后，既不能全职转到清华工作，也不能担任象生命科学与医学研究院副院长这样的管理职位，否则只能辞去HHMI的聘任。施一公在坚守信仰和HHMI的诱人职位间如何取舍，让我们拭目以待。