For postdoctoral researchers -- scientists who work in the "nomad's land" between the long grind of graduate school and long-term employment -- Cornell University has been ranked by The Scientist magazine as one of the best places to hang one's hat in 2006.

Cornell ranked 16th, and the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) for Plant Research on the Cornell campus came in 12th for North America, according to the magazine's survey. Last year, Cornell ranked 73rd.

The top three places for postdocs were the J. David Gladstone Institutes at the University of California-San Francisco, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and the U.S. Environmental Research Center in Triangle Park, N.C.

The meteoric rise in Cornell's rank could relate to the Office of Postdoctoral Studies that opened in May 2005. While the quality of postdoctoral researchers' lives may have always been good at Cornell, said Christine Holmes, associate director of the new office, Cornell may be better represented in The Scientist's rankings this year due to efforts in her office to get postdocs to fill out the magazine's survey.

"We are delighted by the favorable recognition," said Robert Richardson, Cornell's vice provost for research. "We will strive to be ranked higher. Much of the credit for the higher ranking of Cornell as a place for postdocs goes to Christine Holmes, who joined us last year to coordinate programs for postdocs."

According to the survey, the most important factors for postdoctoral researchers when choosing a place to work include how training and experience impact future careers; access to relevant books, journals, equipment and supplies; and affordable, comprehensive medical insurance. The survey found Cornell's strengths included benefits and communication within the labs where postdocs work.

"We have excellent benefits; our postdocs get full health benefits, and they even get retirement accounts," said Holmes.

The average annual salary for a Cornell postdoc is $36,972 and at BTI $31,700, which are low compared with, for example, the salary range of $54,000 to $65,000 for postdocs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service.

"We are trying to improve our starting salaries," added Holmes.

While life scientists spend on average only three years of their careers in postdoc positions, almost one-fifth (18.6 percent) spend five years or more working as postdocs, the survey found.

The Scientist received close to 3,000 usable responses out of more than 40,000 sent to scientists in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. The survey covered 46 criteria in 11 different areas.