The research that the committee published on the effects and care of concussions among N.F.L. players also was debated heavily because it often ran counter to the findings of scientists not affiliated with the league.
Nor are any scientists affiliated with the organization beyond the task of serving as judges for the essay contests.
Published last year by the American Chemical Society, it presents 12 scholarly but readable essays by scientists affiliated with universities or governmental agencies.
This spring, several students are working with scientists at the Argonne National Laboratory, affiliated with the Department of Energy.
The scientists, affiliated with the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, made the choice after a three-year study.
The coast also remains clear in the courts, although the question is still in play among some scientists not affiliated with the Army Corps.
Using a mechanical sandblaster in a laboratory setting, scientists affiliated with the Agricultural Research Service studied the effects of windblown sand abrasion on cotton seedlings.
Two political scientists affiliated with the Brookings Institution have proposed a radical plan that would deregulate and, in effect, make the public schools private.
Mr. Fontes and scientists affiliated with his group contend, however, that sand on the beaches remains contaminated and that offshore fishing continues to be affected.
A group of scientists affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science has been trying to sell the networks on a science drama.