USNC/IUGS Initiatives
Arab Science and Technology Foundation Initiative
Engaging Iraqi Scientists and Technical Experts
STEM-II Initiative of the U.S. Department of State
Higher Education in Iraq
Iraqi Participation in the IUGS
Media Sources on Iraqi Science

USNC/IUGS Initiatives

The USNC/IUGS is deeply concerned about its colleagues in Iraq and to that end have offered the U.S. State Department their assistance with building up geological science in Iraq and have been tracking the development of Iraqi science through the media.

The USNC/IUGS sent a letter to the State Department lobbying for increasing spending on science and higher education and offering the USNC’s assistance specifically for capacity-building in geology. The letter emphasizes the importance of the geological sciences when considering such issues as the continued production of petroleum, exploration for new resources, and mitigation of severe environmental problems. The committee laments the inactivity of seismological observatory stations, the Iraqi Geological Survey, and the Geological Society of Iraq and feels that the restoration of geologists and geophysicists in positions in research, production, exploration, or academia would facilitate the stabilization of Iraq. The committee is willing to serve as the link between the Department of State and the international geoscience community in support of the future of Iraq and the Iraqi geoscience community.

Arab Science and Technology Foundation

A representative of the USNC/IUGS attended a meeting held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace at which Dr. Abdalla Alnajjar, President of the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF), and Director of Research at Sharjah University in the United Arab Emirates, discussed results of ASTF's recent survey of the Iraqi S&T situation. He emphasized priorities for scientific and technical engagement identified during the survey process, and recommend next steps for the international scientific community. He was seeking opportunities for coordinating with other ongoing efforts.

The ASTF project has been funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Nonproliferation Policy, and has been developed in cooperation with the Cooperative Monitoring Center at Sandia National Laboratories. Arian Pregenzer and Adriane Littlefield, of Sandia, accompanied Dr. Alnajjar during the briefing.

Farouk El-Baz, USNC/IUGS member, is also a member of the ASTF Advisory Board.

Research grants are awarded by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation for high-level and promising scientific research projects to be carried out in the Arab countries by individual scientists. The purpose of these grants is to reinforce and promote scientific research in selected scientific fields in the Arab world, to strengthen the indigenous capacity in science, and to reduce the brain drain of scientific talents from the Arab region.

Engaging Iraqi Scientists and Technical Experts

A representative of the USNC/IUGS attended an informal meeting at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in November 2003 to discuss the prospects for engaging Iraqi scientists and technical experts.
Meeting Summary

STEM-II Initiative of the U.S. Department of State

The Science, Technology, and Engineering Mentorship Initiative for Iraq (STEM-II) is housed in the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Scientific and Technical Advisor. Its mission is to develop the scientific and technical capacity of Iraq through mentorships between Iraqi scientists and their U.S. academic counterparts by establishing long-term research relationships. The initiative plans to approach the Iraqi science community, link Iraqi scientists to U.S. mentors, and identify funding. One goal is to redirect WMD scientists into other kinds of scientific research, as explained in the USA Today article, “$16 Million Plan Keeps Iraqi Weapons Experts From Working Abroad.” Similar articles appeared in the Associated Press and The Washington Times websites.

Dr. George H. Atkinson, Professor of Chemistry and Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona and Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, gave a briefing on this program at the 2004 meeting of the Chairs of the U.S. national committees at which Grant Heiken, USNC/IUGS chair, was present.

Higher Education in Iraq

USNC/IUGS member Farouk El-Baz considers the role of education in the reform of the Arab world in “The winds of change must reach all levels of the Arab world,” an article published by The Daily Star on April 7, 2005, and in “Seek the Truth,” an article published in Al-Ahram Weekly issue number 710, September 30 to October 6, 2004.

In August 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority approached the Association of American Universities and other higher education groups to send a delegation of university presidents to Iraq to set priorities for rebuilding the university system. At that time, they identified the stranded Ph.D. students as a crisis. After the international donors’ conference last year, it was decided that the World Bank would manage the funds for the rebuilding of Iraq, however, funds have yet to be released because of poor security and other instabilities in the country. As a result, an international development grant was made possible by the Chronicle of Higher Education to finance cooperative partnerships between higher-education institutions in the United States and the Middle East. For more information, please contact the Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation in Development at alo@aascu.org.

Iraqi Participation in the IUGS

Iraq has traditionally been an active member of the IUGS. In fact, Iraqi geologist W. Al-Hashimi was elected Vice-President of the IUGS Executive Board at the 30^th International Geological Congress in 1996 in Beijing, China and reelected to the same position at the 31^st International Geological Congress in 2000 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had been Chief Geologist of the Ministry of Oil in Iraq since 1991 and Chief Geologist of the Iraqi Oil Exploration Co. since 1981. He is a sedimentologist and was educated in Baghdad and at the University of Newcastle Upon-Tyne, UK. His main research interests, before turning to petroleum related activities, were on carbonate rocks and dedolomitization processes as well as on the petrology and mineral deposits of the ophiolitic complexes of the Zagros mountains. He has been a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists (1975-90) and has been Secretary General of the Arab Geologists Association from 1992.

Dr. Al-Hashimi recently participated in the Mediterranean Consortium, an association of thirty-one Mediterranean and nearby countries that cooperated with Italy towards an efficient organization of the 32nd International Geological Congress (IGC). He attended as a representative of the Arab Geologist Association, which also sponsored the scientific program of the 32nd IGC.

Media Sources on Iraqi Science

Science-Iraq Review blog, dedicated to documenting opinions on the past, present, and future prospects of scientists, scientific research, and science in Iraq.

Related articles available on SciDev.net include: “Arab science needs more electronic databases” and “Islamic states form network of science academies” by David Dickson, 19 March 2004. SciDev.net’s Middle East Gateway features these and other articles on Iraqi science, as well as on other countries in the region.

“The Best University in Iraq. Imagine the Rest,” by Luke Harding and published in The Guardian reports on the poor state of Iraqi science in universities, noting that Baghdad University is appealing for donations of laboratory equipment.

In “Seek the Truth,” an article published in Al-Ahram Weekly issue number 710, September 30 to October 6, 2004, USNC/IUGS member Farouk El-Baz considers the role of education in the reform of the Arab world.

For more information on the development of science in higher education in Iraq, the USNC/IUGS refers to several articles published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, including “U.S. Planning to Reintegrate Iraqi Scientists Into Universities” and “’Very, Very Little’ Has Been Done to Rebuild Iraq’s Shattered Colleges, Top U.S. Official Says.” USNC/IUGS member Farouk El-Baz is interviewed in the article entitled “The Arab World’s Scientific Desert,” by Daniel del Castillo, also available on the Chronicle of Higher Education Web site. In addition, “Iraqi higher education in tatters, says report,” by Mike Shanahan and published on SciDev.net on May 31, 2005, details the status of institutions of higher education as well as the Iraqi Academy of Sciences.

“International Cooperation: Priorities for Rebuilding Civilian Iraqi Science,” by Richard Stone and published in Science, discusses ASTF’s initiative in Iraq.

A September 2005 article in Science entitled “After the war: Iraqi scientists fight to survive,” states, “Given a choice between safeguarding their families and patriotism, several…Iraqi scientists are opting for the former and contemplating leaving the country for good.”

The February 27, 2005 issue of Science has several articles about the marshlands of Iraq including “The Restoration Potential of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq” and “Reviving Iraq’s Wetlands.” The New York Times reports on the regrowth of some Iraqi marshlands in “For Iraq’s Great Marshes, a Hesitant Comeback,” published on March 8, 2005.

“Web Lifeline for Iraqi Academies,” 20 January 2004, BBC News. Iraqi scientist Abduljabbar al-Wahedi has set up a Web site where academics can connect with each other and with universities and students in Iraq. His group hopes to connect all of Iraq's universities by the end of the year.

“Iraqi killings prompt calls for US to evacuate weapons scientists” by Jim Giles is available in the Journal Nature 429, 115 (13 May 2004).