Washington — Some universities are coming to recognize possible downsides to the promised surge in federal research money. Rules designed by Congress to ensure that the economic-stimulus money creates jobs may mean bureaucratic complications for researchers. And the temporary nature of the spending may leave universities in a longer-term staffing bind.

President Obama’s science adviser, John P. Holdren, may not have any immediate solutions to those problems. But he says he’s aware of them and is seeking answers.

Mr. Holdren, in an interview with Science magazine, said the administration will try to minimize the reporting requirements on researchers. And in an interview with Nature magazine, Mr. Holdren, a physicist who directed a science-policy program at Harvard University, said he hoped to minimize the expected declines in the federal research budget subsequent to this year’s stimulus measure.

Congress approved $21.5-billion in research-and-development spending as part of the $787-billion economic-stimulus package signed into law by the president in February.

Asked by Nature how those handling grant money can manage a one-time spike in federal money, Mr. Holdren said, “This is a really tough one, and I wouldn’t pretend to have complete answers.” He said he hoped to maintain higher spending levels for several years, but added, “That’s going to be very hard in the current economic climate.”

And asked by Science whether scientists might be hamstrung by the need to report on the job-producing aspects of their research, he said, “There’s clearly a tension there.” The government needs a balance between unimpeded science and an obligation to create jobs at a time of economic need, Mr. Holdren said, “and I’m not sure that we’ve got it exactly right.” —Paul Basken