Recent Developments in the Sciences here in the U.S. Impacting International Study, Research and Collaboration

On May 11th, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the expansion to the list of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) designated degree programs for eligible international students for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension.  NAFSA: Association of International Educators has long advocated for this and released a press statement yesterday welcoming this new DHS action.  NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Marlene Johnson currently serves on the Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC).

Today, leaders from the inaugural Global Summit on Merit Review that was hosted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) released a set of merit review principles and established a Global Research Council.  According to the NSF press release on the Global Summit on Merit Review, "Heads of research councils from about 50 countries participated in the summit and joined the Global Research Council.  The merit review principles crafted by the summit leaders include expert assessment, transparency, impartiality, appropriateness, confidentiality, and integrity and ethical consideration.  NSF hosted members from G20/OECD (Organization for Equal Cooperation and Development) countries, which are typically most research intensive, and countries with emerging scientific enterprises, including those involved with the State Department Science Envoys program. The merit review process, as practiced by NSF and other leading funding agencies, is recognized as an essential tool for evaluating scientific research.  In releasing a set of common principles, the Summit participants identified best practices and standards that will cultivate multinational research cooperation among countries and across continents.

Photo credit:  Horia Varlan

President Obama Calls for Doubling Student Exchange Programs with Indonesia

The following video snippet is of President Obama speaking at the University of Indonesia on November 9, 2010 calling for more collaboration between U.S. and Indonesian scientists as well as doubling student exchange programs with Indonesia [discussion on this issue begins at the 3:40 minute mark].





You can also read the text of a joint press conference between U.S. President Obama and Indonesian President Yudhoyono in Jakarta on November 9, 2010 via this White House press briefing.

U.S.-DPRK Science Engagement Consortium

Last week I posted to Twitter (RT of @PublicDiplomacy) and listed on IHEC Blog’s “Links of Interest” post on Friday the following article “U.S. Scientists Due in Pyongyang for Talks on Academic Cooperation” from Brunei fm World. In my busy I life last week I didn’t stop to think about the significance of these talks but over the weekend I thought much more about this and wondered why I only picked this up via @PublicDiplomacy's Twitter post and didn't read it in any U.S. media outlets.

I then investigated further and went to the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) & the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CDRF) websites to see what they were saying about this historic visit by U.S. scientists to North Korea. You can read the joint AAAS/CDRF news release here.

I have copied and pasted a snippet of the news release below that further describes the U.S.-DPRK Science Engagement Consortuim visit:

“The six-person delegation of the U.S.-DPRK Science Engagement Consortium aims to discuss and identify future opportunities for collaborative research activities with the DPRK in fields of mutual interest.

The consortium is composed of four organizations: CRDF, a nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration; AAAS, the world's largest general science society; Syracuse University, which has been engaged with Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang in the only sustained U.S.- North Korea academic science collaboration to date; and The Korea Society, a nonprofit group that promotes greater awareness, understanding and cooperation between the people of the United States and Korea.”

You can read more information about the history of the U.S.-DPRK Science Engagement Consortium here.

The scientific community here in the United States has been quite active in conducting Science Diplomacy with so many countries across the globe. Nearly a year ago (December 18, 2008) I posted to IHEC Blog about an interesting development in U.S.-Iranian scientific collaboration and you can access that post entitled“Science as a Gateway to Understanding: International Workshop Proceedings, Tehran, Iran (2008)” here.

More on what I discovered on the American Association for Advancement of Science and the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation websites later on IHEC Blog’s Facebook page.

My question is this...with all of the international scientific collaboration happening across the globe why do we make it so difficult for students in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) to study, research or intern abroad? To me, an international academic experience should be a required part of any STEM field program of study.

Synbiosafe Interviews International Experts on Synthetic Biology

Synbiosafe, an EU-funded NGO, interviewed a group of international experts on synthetic biology and have posted short video clips (10 minutes or so) of these interviews. Two things about these interviews are of particular interest to me.

First, my brother-in-law Luis Campos who is an Assistant Professor at Drew University was interviewed last spring in Vienna and is featured expert in this series. Luis talks about the “prehistory” of synthetic biology, the history of “genetic engineering” and on creating life in the test tube over the course of the twentieth century.

Second, when you look at all of the experts and their affiliations you’ll see that they not only represent a variety of academic disciplines and professions but they also represent multiple countries. It is this international aspect of the group of experts that is quite appealing to me and why I’m posting to IHEC Blog.

You can access all of the expert interviews here. You’ll have to scroll through all of the experts to watch Luis as he is the last video interview. His talk is very informative so please check it out!

In a previous IHEC Blog post entitled “Cultural Exchange and Understanding as a Result of Some Russian Bells” I also highlighted some of the fine work that Luis is doing. You can check out that blog post here.

Coalition of 30 Scientific, Academic and Engineering Groups Urge Obama Administration to take Further Steps on Visa Efforts

A joint statement by 30 scientific, academic and engineering groups praises the federal government on several past actions it has taken to address visa concerns held in both the academic and scientific communities but it also calls for the creation of a high-level interagency panel to review all post-September 11th visa policies.

Additionally, the organizations said that the federal government should build on these positive actions by taking a number of steps to improve the visa process further:

- Convene a high-level interagency panel to review the full range of visa-related policies and procedures imposed after 9/11, evaluate their cost-effectiveness, and consider revising or eliminating ineffective and unnecessary procedures.

- Provide additional resources to agencies involved in the visa process to allow timely processing of visa applications.

- Streamline the non-immigrant visa process to 30 days for legitimate graduate students, researchers, or professionals in science and technology whose applications are supported by a qualified university, scientific body, or company.

- Reduce repetitive processing of visa applications for well-known researchers and scholars who regularly visit the United States to attend academic conferences and conduct research.

- Increase training of consular staff to make treatment of applicants more consistent and enhance security.

- Provide more information to applicants who experience delays in the application process and establish a review process for applications that take more than 30 days to process.

- Review and streamline the Technology Alert List, which identifies sensitive areas of science and technology for possible export controls, to include only subject areas that have explicit implications for national security.

- Expand ongoing efforts to renegotiate visa reciprocity agreements between the United States and key sending countries, such as China, to extend the duration of visas each country grants students and scholars of the other and to permit multiple entries on a single visa.

The statements above were summarized and copied in part from the joint press release in the NAFSA: Association of International Educators Press Room which you can access here. You may also want to comment on this on the NAFSA Blog here.

Chemistry as a Second Language: Chemical Education in a Globalized Society

In my day job I work as the Senior Adviser for International Initiatives in The College at The University of Chicago. One of my responsibilities is to serve as the liaison between the Dean of Students Office and the undergraduate program chair of the Chemistry and Biological Chemistry majors so I thought I’d post the call for papers for the 2009 autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society scheduled in Washington, DC on August 16-20, 2009. As this upcoming ACS autumn meeting will focus in part on international and cross-cultural issues faced in the field of Chemistry I thought this was a perfect blend of my international education and Chemistry/Biological Chemistry liaison responsibilities.

The following description of the meeting is taken from IIE.Interactive: February 23-27, 2009:

“Collaborations between scientists often transcend borders and cultural differences. The fundamental nature of science allows scientists to communicate using their knowledge of their field but the institutions that support them are often hindered by financial and cultural barriers. As a result, US students are often unaware of opportunities for chemistry study in countries other than the United States.

This symposium will discuss ways in which barriers to cross-cultural scientific exchange can be lowered. Papers on international exchange programs, classroom methods, and international experiences are invited. In particular, authors from organizations with a vested interest in chemists with a global perspective are encouraged to present.”

For more information visit www.acs.org. Paper submissions can be done here.

Science as a Gateway to Understanding: International Workshop Proceedings, Tehran, Iran (2008)

A new book entitled Science as a Gateway to Understanding: International Workshop Proceedings, Tehran, Iran (2008) has just been published by the National Academies Press. Here is a link to this publication on the National Academies Press website (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12539) where you can download in PDF format if you complete a free and brief registration. Following is a description of this international workshop that I copied and pasted form the National Academies Press website:

“In October 2007, the U.S. National Academies and the Iranian Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Science organized the first of a series of planned U.S.-Iranian workshops on the topic "Science as a Gateway to Understanding." This new workshop series is a component of the broader effort of the National Academies to support bilateral workshops and exchange visits in a variety of fields with a number of Iranian institutions that began in 2000.

This book includes papers that were presented at the workshop and summaries of the discussions that followed some of the presentations. At the conclusion of the workshop there was general agreement that the presentations on many aspects of science and scientific cooperation that have a bearing on mutual understanding were an important first step. Several participants underscored that the next workshop should emphasize how scientific cooperation can lead in concrete terms to improved understanding among both academic and political leaders from the two countries.”