Sciences division

The sciences division was the corps of officers and crewmen within Starfleet who specialized in both scientific and medical research and control functions on starbases, aboard starships, and at Starfleet Command. 
== Duties ==
Members of the sciences division specialized in sensors, research, theoretical and physical laboratory work, biological studies, and also worked as technicians, medics, and surgeons. Members of the sciences division belonged to such science departments as astrometrics, astrophysics, astrosciences, geophysics, hydroponics, medical, planetary geosciences, quantum mechanics, and stellar cartography.
Officers within this division were mostly limited to scientific or medical assignments such as doctors, nurses, and scientists working in a variety of disciplines. These officers served as department heads such as chief medical officers and head science officers. 
Opportunities for command assignments were somewhat limited for these officers due to their lack of overall command experience and training. However, officers who had taken and passed the Bridge Officer's Test could be promoted in rank to commander and were certified to take occasional command of a starship shift. In most instances, however, science division officers would only take command of a ship or starbase on a temporary basis and only in the absence of other senior officers due to circumstances such as an emergency, illness of a commanding officer, or staffing shortages as may have occurred in wartime, for example. (; )
== Uniforms ==
Beginning with the Earth Starfleet of the 2140s and 2150s, line officers and noncoms of science division wore blue-division stripes on their uniforms. This use of blue continued through several uniform styles until the 2260s. On starships, such as the , science-division crewmembers had a specialty insignia in their insignia patch, a circle with two longitudinal lines dividing it. Some who specialized in the medical field wore an insignia patch that depicted a red cross symbol.
In the latter half of the 2260s, officers assigned to the sciences division might sometimes wear the division color of a department other than that in which they specialized. () For example, if a science officer became a department head, they might have worn the colors of command division, or if they had a dual specialty in an operations division department, an alternate color might have been worn. ()
By the 2270s, Starfleet introduced new uniforms, with those in medical given their own distinct color. Uniforms were of various neutral colors chosen by crewmembers without regard to division, which was indicated only by a colored circle backing their Starfleet badge, as well as armbands. epaulets, and accessories on some uniforms. Science-research and technical staff wore a Starfleet patch with orange, while medical crew wore light green badge backings and accessories.
The colors were changed again with the 2280s uniforms, with green continuing to represent medical personnel, and science and technical staff wearing gray trim. Command personnel assigned to a sciences role had the option of adding a gray slash to the white trim on their uniform, and science division department heads had the option of wearing white trim with gray slashes or gray trim with white slashes.
On the uniforms used from 2350s onward, blue had again become the sciences division color, and medical had been re-absorbed into sciences. 
The second variant of the 2371 uniform, while still referred to as blue, was actually a shade of teal, a mix of blue and green. The color was later applied to the 2373 uniforms as well. 
The uniforms used during the 2380s and 2390s returned to a true blue for sciences division.
==Gallery==
File:Hoshi Sato, 2154.jpg|Hoshi Sato of in sciences blue, 2154
File:Spock, 2254.jpg|Lieutenant Spock in sciences blue, 2254
File:Spock (alternate reality).jpg|Commander of the alternate reality in sciences blue, 2263
File:Leonard McCoy, 2267.jpg|Leonard McCoy in sciences blue, 2267
File:Epsilon IX lieutenant.jpg|Sciences lieutenant on Epsilon IX station, early 2270s
File:Spock, 2270s.jpg|Spock with the orange sciences patch, 2270s
File:Tuvok, 2293.jpg|Tuvok wearing a gray collar, denoting a science officer in the 2290s
File:Beverly Crusher, 2364.jpg|Beverly Crusher wearing sciences blue, 2364
File:Picard, lieutenant junior grade.jpg|Lieutenant junior grade Jean-Luc Picard in an alternate timeline wearing sciences blue, 2369
File:The Doctor, 2371.jpg|The Doctor of the in sciences blue, 2371
File:Julian Bashir, 2375.jpg|Julian Bashir wearing sciences blue, 2375
File:D'Vana Tendi.png|D'Vana Tendi wearing sciences blue, 2380
File:Starfleet uniform 2380s sciences blue.jpg|Unnamed Starfleet officer wearing sciences blue, 2385
File:Jadzia Dax, 2422.jpg|In an alternate future, Jadzia Dax wears sciences blue
File:Rhomsew.jpg|Rhomsew in sciences blue, 2399
File:Decorated_Officer.jpg|Unnamed admiral in sciences blue maternity uniform, 2401
File:Beverly Crusher, 2402.png|Rear Admiral Beverly Crusher, Head of Starfleet Medical, in 2402
File:Ducane.jpg|Lieutenant Ducane of the timeship in sciences grey, 29th century
==Science division officers ==
== Appendices==
===See also===
*Starfleet Science
=== Background information ===
During , sciences blue first appeared in and was regularly worn by the science station officers, and medical personnel. Divisions were less clearly-defined early in production; some characters scientists (like astrobiologist Ann Mulhall and historian Marla McGivers) wore operations red, while officers appearing to be security personnel wore blue in both "The Cage" and . Science Officer Spock wore sciences blue except in the second pilot episode, when he wore command gold possibly for his dual position as executive officer. The work coveralls were muted variations in the pilots from the duty uniforms and were light blue in color. Later they matched the blue of the standard duty uniform.
In the movie era, costume designer Robert Fletcher added several different uniform colors, breaking the traditional three departments into six. featured Spock wearing orange trim denoting Science and McCoy wearing the bright green of Medical. When Fletcher redesigned the uniforms for , he continued to keep the two departments separate, with McCoy and other medical personnel in green and science officers now wearing grey.
At certain periods of time, roles such as Communications and Navigation have been shuffled between divisions. One notable example is Hoshi Sato who wore a blue uniform in her role of communications officer. From through , both Nyota Uhura and Pavel Chekov wore uniforms with science grey trim.
The decision to switch the meaning of the colors for command and ops divisions between The Original Series and uniform styles was made in pre-production of . However, blue was kept as the sciences division color.
Most often, in the Federation Starfleet, captains and admirals wore command division colors; however there were exceptions, which proves that this was not a requirement. In 2267, Captain Krasnovsky wore a science blue dress uniform, an unidentified admiral was pictured in a sciences uniform in 2401, and Admiral Beverly Crusher wore blue even after becoming Head of Starfleet Medical.
Category:Starfleet
Category:Science
Category:Groups