Rena F. Subotnik received her B.A. (1969) in Social Science from the City University of New York, her M.A. (1974) in Special Education/Gifted from Columbia University, and her Ph.D (1984) in Education/Gifted from the University of Washington. She has been employed as an Elementary/Secondary Gifted Specialist by the Seattle Public Schools (1977-1981); a Teaching Assistant in the Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Washington (1981-1984); an Assistant Professor of Gifted Education at West Virginia University (1984-1986); and as Associate Professor in Gifted Education at Hunter College (1986-).

Dr. Subotnik has published numerous articles on gifted students and has specifically focused on the Westinghouse Science Award winners, tracing their backgrounds and careers. Some of her article titles include, "Passing through the gates: Career establishment of talented women scientists (1995); "Adult manifestations of adolescent talent in science... (1994);" and other articles.

This collection contains eight publications, focusing on Subotnik's longitudinal research on 1983 winners of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search and her tracing and data on their career paths. The publications include findings on their behavior, motivation, attraction to science, their tendency to remain in science, and the ability to identify problems in academic research.

The titles include, "The Motivation to Experiment: A Study of Gifted Adolescents' Attitudes toward Scientific Research" (1988); Retention and attrition of science talent: a longitudinal study of Westinghouse Science Talent Search winners" (1993); and "Passing through the Gates: Career Establishment of Talented Women Scientists" (1995).