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The Online Newsletter of the
Board on International Scientific Organizations

Issue #13, Spring 2005

Dear Readers:

Readers of BISO News are aware that the board examines opportunities for and barriers against international collaboration in scientific research. We have been especially busy the past few months monitoring and participating in a range of activities that shine a light on some of these barriers. Of course, we continue to keep a careful watch on the visa situation, especially as it relates to visiting students, scholars, and scientists. Although the government agencies involved have made considerable progress, a few problems remain, as described in a new community statement endorsed by the National Academies. The statement, released on 18 May 2005, can be found at http://www.aau.edu/homeland/05VisaStatement.pdf. There are several other items about recent changes in visa policy in this newsletter.

BISO staff also participated in an activity called “Deemed Export Policy: A Workshop on the Inspector General’s Report to the Department of Commerce”. The National Academies convened this workshop in order to discuss a report from the Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General. This report, which includes recommendations that would affect existing requirements and policies for deemed export licenses, has been the cause of considerable concern on the part of the scientific and education community. Commerce has requested formal comments on the proposed changes and the purpose of the workshop was to help all communities gain a better understanding of the changes and their potential impact. More information about the workshop, including audio files and transcripts of the speakers’ remarks, is at http://www7.nationalacademies.org/rscans/. We will cover the outcome of the workshop and the Academies’ response to Commerce in the next issue of BISO News or on BISO’s homepage.

Finally, I want to alert readers to an NAS council statement that reiterates its opposition to academic boycotts. This statement is in response to calls from a group of British professors to ban interactions with two Israeli universities. Please see http://www.nationalacademies.org/morenews/ for the text of the statement.

We look forward to a busy summer – ours is filled with general assemblies and congresses in China, India, South Africa, Italy, and France. Please enjoy reading about our other various activities described in this issue and, as always, let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.

Wendy D. White
Director, BISO

BISO Briefs

Capacity Building

IIASA Reception at the Austrian Embassy 
An elegant reception was hosted in honor of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) by the U.S. Committee for IIASA and the Austrian Embassy’s Office of Science and Technology. The reception took place during the February AAAS meeting in Washington, DC and was co-sponsored by the AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy in an effort to increase knowledge and understanding of IIASA in the U.S. science and policy communities. The reception had over 150 people in attendance; guests included diplomats and top scientists representing various countries, Young Summer Scientists Program alumni, and staff from the National Academies, U.S. Department of State, and National Institutes of Health.  Located just outside Vienna, IIASA engages in scientific research aimed at providing policy insight on issues of regional and global importance. 

Applying Education Research of Guy Brousseau
A session honoring the works and contributions of Guy Brousseau (University of Bordeaux, France) took place at the April National Council for Teacher of Mathematics' Annual Meeting. The national committee for mathematics organized the session, which outlined applications of Brousseau's work and influence on mathematics education. Dr. Brousseau, a recipient of the first Felix Klein Medal Award of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction was present at the session.

Scientific Data and Information: An ICSU Priority Area Assessment
The International Council of Science (ICSU) published a strategic assessment of current and future issues in scientific data and information in December 2004. This report was prepared by an independent panel of experts from multiple regions and fields of science appointed by ICSU’s Committee on Scientific Planning and Review. Chaired by Roberta Balstad, currently also chair of the national committee for CODATA, the ICSU panel argued that the use of scientific data and information in research was fundamentally changing due to a number of factors. These include advances in information technology and digital networks, and improvements in data collection, database management, and data dissemination. In view of these changes, the panel recommends that ICSU and its members (working with the international scientific community, national governments, and agencies that provide financial or institutional support for research) develop a new framework for the production, management, and dissemination of scientific data and information. It also recommends that policies and planning for scientific data and information should deal both with the immediate problems posed by the changing role of scientific data and information and with long-term issues of data preservation and comparability, arguing that future scientific research will be dependent on the availability, security, and integrity of data maintained over long time periods. The report is available online. (PDF format).

Scientific and Technological Issues

Frontiers in Soil Science Research Steering Committee
A new committee has been appointed to organize a workshop of experts in soil science and associated disciplines to address the emerging research opportunities. In identifying participants for the workshop, the committee will pay particular attention to scientists who recognize the importance of integrating the biological, geological, chemical, and information technology sciences within soil science. The committee, chaired by national committee for Soil Science member Charles Rice of Kansas State University, will plan the workshop to be held in fall 2005 and will produce a workshop summary report. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, and the Soil Science Society of America. The committee roster and additional project information is available on the National Academies Current Projects System site.

Symposium: The Earth Sciences and National Security
National committee for the geological sciences member, Patrick Leahy and program officer, Elaine Lawson co-moderated a session on "Earth Sciences and National Security" during the February AAAS annual meeting in Washington, DC. This successful session (standing room only) featured talks on international water conflicts, geomorphic factors in the Mesopotamian Plain, and terrain analysis.  The provocative discussions following the talks examined the role geology and geophysics can play in national defense and intelligence. Featured speakers included Uri Shamir of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Kenneth Wohletz of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jerry Sweeney of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Peter Guth of the U.S. Naval Academy, and Peter Chirico of the U.S. Geological Survey

Opportunities for U.S. Scientific Community at UNESCO
At the February meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), BISO staff participated in a symposium on the U.S. re-entry into UNESCO and the opportunities available to the U.S. scientific community to participate in and contribute to UNESCO’s work. The U.S. Permanent Representative to UNESCO, Ambassador Louise Oliver, opened the session by noting the key areas in which UNESCO and U.S. interests overlap – in particular, literacy, potable water, basic science and engineering, and the preservation of cultural artifacts. UNESCO’s Assistant Director General for Natural Sciences, Walter Erdelen, spoke specifically about his division’s emphasis on interdisciplinary activities, such as bioethics and the use of information and communication technologies to advance scientific knowledge around the world. The third speaker, Dr. Shirley Malcom, emphasized UNESCO’s long-term efforts in universal education, especially in sciences and mathematics. Dr. Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Sciences challenged the scientific community to “make a science out of sustainable development by encouraging objective, comparative studies of ongoing projects.” He encouraged scientists to work together to make scientific knowledge a public good and to help build the capacity of all countries to form merit-based institutions able to offer independent and high-level scientific advice to their governments. The final speaker, Terry Garcia, of the National Geographic Society, focused his remarks on the critical role culture plays in defining and understanding human history.

U.S. Commission to UNESCO
In other UNESCO-related news, readers should note that the U.S. Commission to UNESCO is now up and running, functioning as a Federal Advisory Committee that provides expert advice to the U.S. Government on matters relating to UNESCO. It also serves as a liaison office with organizations, institutions, and individuals in the United States interested in the work of UNESCO.

Members of the National Commission are comprised of representatives from various non-governmental organizations interested in matters of education, science, culture, and communications. The Commission also includes at-large individuals and state, local, and federal government representatives. Both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering have seats on the Commission. BISO Director, Wendy White will represent the NAS at the Commission’s first meeting, which will take place on 6-7 June, at Georgetown University.

Visa Policy News

For the past few years, the scientific community has been greatly concerned with the new challenges that foreign scientists and scholars face when applying for visas to visit, study, or participate in meetings and research collaborations in the United States. Some recent reforms, however, have helped to improve the overall situation, and the Department of State now reports that it has reduced the processing time for security clearances (Visas Mantis) to an average of 14 days. There is also news about the extension of the validity of these clearances, as reported in more detail in the article below. Duration of Visa Mantis Clearances Extended. In order to recognize the progress made and to detail the need for further progress, the educational and research communities came together once again to issue a joint statement. Leading Academic, Science Groups Propose Visa Reforms. In related news, readers should be aware of new report from the National Academies that addresses many policy issues related to foreign students in the United States. The study, Policy Implications: International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States, contains important statistical analyses and provides detailed recommendations. New Academy Report Addresses International Scientists and U.S. Competitiveness.

Duration of Visa Mantis Clearances Extended
On February 11, the U.S. Department of State announced an extension of the Visas Mantis Security clearances for foreign students and scholars. Visa Mantis is one of several U.S. screening systems primarily affecting individual students and scholars who have applied for non-immigrant visas to study or work in scientific areas in the United States. This change in policy was one of six major recommendations made by the higher education and scientific communities in May 2004. For foreign students (F visa holders), the Visas Mantis clearance will be valid for four years, and for scholars and scientists (J visa holders), the clearance will be valid for a maximum of two years. The clearance becomes invalid if a student changes academic programs or if a scholar or scientist changes activities.

Further information about the Visas Mantis revision is available on the Department of State Web site.

Leading Academic, Science Groups Propose Visa Reforms
Building on a statement issued a year ago, 40 leading scientific societies and higher education associations released a new statement earlier this month highlighting the importance of international students and scholars to the United States and making specific recommendations in the area of U.S. visa policy. The statement, Recommendations for Enhancing the U.S. Visa System to Advance America’s Scientific and Economic Competitiveness and National Security Interests, was signed by all three presidents of the National Academies. The statement acknowledges steps taken by the Departments of State and Homeland Security in the last year and recommends that:

• Visas Mantis security clearances for international scholars and scientists should be extended from the current two-year limit to the duration of their academic appointment.
• International students, scholars, scientists, and engineers should be allowed to renew their visas in the United States.
• Visa reciprocity agreements should be negotiated between the United States and key sending countries, such as China, to extend the duration of visas each country grants citizens of the other and to permit multiple entries on a single visa.
• The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 should be amended to place greater emphasis on student visa applicants’ academic intent and financial means to complete a course of study in the United States, rather than their ability to demonstrate evidence of a residence and employment in their home country and their intent to return home.
• A national strategy should be developed to promote academic and scientific exchange and to encourage international students, scholars, scientists, and engineers to pursue higher education and research opportunities in the United States.

• The federal government should not require that export licenses be obtained for international scientists and engineers to use equipment required to conduct unclassified, fundamental research in the United States.

Chaired by Phillip Griffiths, IMU Secretary and Professor of Mathematics at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, the Committee on Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States made several recommendations including:

Recommendation 1-1: The United States should make every effort to encourage domestic-student interest in S&E programs and careers. A study should be undertaken to examine the best policies and programs to achieve that purpose.

Recommendation 2-1: Universities should continue to encourage the enrollment of international students by offering fellowships and assistantships. Universities that have large international student and scholar populations should conduct surveys to evaluate existing services provided by the institutions. Universities that do not already do so should offer orientation days for international students, train teaching assistants, update Web services, and provide professional development training for administrators staffing international student and scholar offices.

Recommendation 2-2: International postdoctoral scholars make up a large and growing proportion of the US S&E workforce, but there are no systematic data on this population. A high priority should be placed on collecting and disseminating data on the demographics, working conditions, and career outcomes of scholars who earned their doctoral degrees outside the United States.

Recommendation 4-1: The United States needs a new system of data collection to track student and postdoctoral flows so that it can understand the dynamics and effects of shifting sources of talent. Funds should be provided to the NSF or other institutions to collaborate internationally to create a data system similar to a balance-of-trade account to track degree production, student and postdoctoral movement between countries, push-pull factors affecting student choice at all degree levels, and employment outcomes.

Recommendation 4-2: If the United States is to maintain overall leadership in S&E, visa and immigration policies should provide clear procedures that do not unnecessarily hinder the flow of international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. New regulations should be carefully considered in light of national-security considerations and potential unintended consequences. Research institutions and the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) should continue their discussion on these matters.

a. Visa Duration: Recent policies to extend the duration of Visas Mantis clearances for some students and scholars is a positive step. We strongly encourage DOS and DHS to continue working toward applying those provisions to students and scholars from all countries.

b. Travel for Scientific Meetings: Means should be found to allow international graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who are attending or appointed at US institutions to attend scientific meetings that are outside the United States without being seriously delayed in re-entering the United States to complete their studies and training.

c. Technology Alert List: This list, which is used to manage the Visas Mantis program, should be reviewed regularly by scientists and engineers outside government. Scientifically trained personnel should be involved in the security-review process.

d. Visa Categories: New nonimmigrant-visa categories should be created for doctoral level graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, whether they are coming to the United States for formal educational or training programs or for short-term research collaborations or scientific meetings. The categories should be exempted from the 214b provision whereby applicants must show that they have a residence in a foreign country that they have no intention of abandoning. In addition to providing a better mechanism for embassy and consular officials to track student and scholar visa applicants, the categories would provide a means for collecting clear data on numbers and trends of graduate-student and postdoctoral-scholar visa applications.

e. Reciprocity Agreements: Multiple-entry and multiple-year student visas should have high priority in reciprocity negotiations.

f. Change of Status: If the United States wants to retain the best students, procedures for change of status should be clarified and streamlined.

The study was sponsored by the National Academies, National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Copies of Policy Implications: International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States are available from the National Academies Press.

For more information regarding Visa News and Policy Updates please refer to BISO’s International Visitor’s Office Web site.

Membership News

We would like to welcome the following members to the national committee network:

Farouk El-Baz, Boston University, BISO Board
Susan W. Kieffer, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USNC/IUGS
John R. Rumble, Jr., Information International Associates, Inc., BISO Board
William W. Shilts, Illinois State Geological Survey, USNC/IUGS

We would also like to thank those members who have recently completed their service:

James Hamrick, The University of Georgia, USNC/IUBS