When the election is over, the new President will have a long to-do list. Among the many early decisions that will be ahead for the nation’s chief executive will be to fill kill science appointments. A new report sent to both major party presidential candidates from the independent, nonpartisan National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine stresses the importance of these appointments and seeks to offer Barack Obama and John McCain advice on how to ensure they make the best appointments. The report lists approximately 80 high-level science and technology appointees who will be crucial in advising the new president on issues that range from energy to health care to economic growth. It also urges members of the scientific community to serve in these positions, and suggests ways to make it more attractive for well-qualified people to do so. Among the recommendations in the report is that the next president should immediately after the election, select a confidential adviser on science and technology to help identify and recruit the best candidates for key appointments, participate in budget decisions for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, and provide guidance in the event of a crisis. The report recommends that this adviser be appointed the assistant to the president for science and technology promptly after the inauguration, and nominated as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The director should be included in cabinet discussions about the scientific and technological aspects of broader policy decisions. Below is a chart that shows how long it took various administrations to fill its top jobs.