Governments recruit US scientists for academic research

The science circulatory system that sends so many European researchers to the United States flows in two directions, as most European governments run programs to attract US researchers as well. As science has become truly international, and projects exceedingly expensive, cross-border flow of scientists has become vital to research progress. While European leaders of science are anxious to build one Europe by sponsoring partnerships with former Soviet Union satellites, they also encourage collaboration with the Americas and Asia. Some programs are administered by multinational institutions such as the European Commission and NATO, and individual states offer their own incentives to attract foreigners. "International exchange and circulation of brains is as essential to us as it is for a science superpower like the United States," says Flavia Schlegel of the Office of Science and Technology at the Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC. To keep those brains circulating, many European nations now employ science attachés at their Washington embassies or are opening independent US offices whose prime mission is the promotion of scientific exchange. DEUTSCHE IN DC The German Research Association (DFG), Germany's main funding organization for basic research, established a Washington, DC, branch last year. "Besides maintaining close connections to German DFG fellows working in the US, our goal is to help American scientists who consider going to Europe find positions and funding," explains Walther Klofat, who heads the office. The days when only Germans were eligible for coveted research positions in Germany are long gone, he maintains. Numbers published by the Max Planck Society support his point: In 2002, 1,160 of 3,272 PhD students at the institutes came from outside Germany, and only 540 of the 2,710 postdocs were German. To get a job at Max Planck, American researchers should directly contact an institute specializing in their fields, Klofat advises. Another agency worth checking out is the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a 150-year-old agency that promotes "interdisciplinary collaboration between top-flight researchers" of different countries. Its many programs include two-year postdoctoral fellowships for US scientists working in Germany. France is especially active in recruiting scientists from other countries, while at the same time sending many researchers abroad. The country has established a system of science and technology offices throughout the United States; it also holds US job fairs to lure French natives back home and entice Americans to work in France, says science attaché Laurent de Mercey. Major research institutions such as the CNRS (France's National Center of Scientific Research), comparable to the National Science Foundation, or INSERM (France's National Institute of Health and Medical Research), comparable to the National Institutes of Health, retain permanent representatives at the Washington embassy. Job fairs, held annually in Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, feature French companies and research institutes. The CNRS is presently recruiting 210 postdocs for one-year research programs, and nationals from any country can apply. In addition, 20 Chateaubriand Fellowships are available every year for American PhD students or postdocs doing research at French labs. The Pasteur Foundation offers US postdoctoral researchers an opportunity to work at any of the renowned Pasteur laboratories in Paris. The foundation woos candidates with the tantalizing promise of "an enriching experience not only scientifically, but also personally and culturally." Such energetic recruiting doesn't seem necessary for the United Kingdom. "Britain has a net brain gain," asserts a self-confident Chris Pook, science attaché at the British Embassy in Washington, "and the number of Americans coming to our shores increases every year." He says Britain's leading role in European science and a tradition of collaborations and joint Nobel Prizes make the country attractive for US researchers. In addition, university collaborations provide direct exchanges. Scientists largely make their own contacts and apply directly at institutes and universities, Pook says. Five-year academic visas are easy to come by. To help with funding, the Royal Society has recently started sponsoring postdoctoral fellowships for research in the United Kingdom. American scientists who want to go to Europe should be enterprising in their search for opportunities, say representatives from across the Atlantic. Smaller countries are often overlooked. Austria offers a Lise-Meitner stipend for female postdocs from abroad. Switzerland's Schlegel points to areas of biotech and nanotechnology that would make a research sojourn worthwhile. NATURALLY NATO Other programs to encourage cooperation and exchange in the sciences have been created by multinational organizations. An example is the NATO Science for Peace Programme that fosters connections between scientists of NATO and selected partner countries. The Delegation of the European Community in Washington has recently created yet another funding option, offering Marie Curie Fellowships to advanced researchers with at least four years' experience in their field and who want to join a research team in Europe. The closing date for proposals is February 12, 2004. A "little gem of a program," remarks the DFG's Klofat about the Human Frontier Science Program. It provides funding for teams of scientists from participating countries, including the United States, who wish to share their expertise to solve problems that cannot be answered by individual laboratories. Some American funding agencies also finance American researchers abroad: The old standbys are the Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowships and the Fogarty International Center of the NIH. Less well known is the Civilian Research and Development Foundation, set up by the US government in 1995 to promote scientific and technical collaboration with former Soviet countries. Possibilities to conduct research on the other side of the Atlantic are plentiful and funding usually can be found, say European advisors. They do admit, however, that xenophobia, though dwindling, may at times still present problems. "There is tough competition for good positions," explains Schlegel, "and the political powers of the day do influence how open we are to foreigners." Another drawback is simple economics, adds Klofat. "With a limited supply of jobs, it's harder for visiting scientists to find their niche," he says. Scientists do circulate back and forth across the Atlantic, though, for large-scale joint endeavors such as the Human Genome Project, the effort to unravel the genetics of Arabidopsis, or the Tree of Life Project, whose goal is to understand the evolutionary relationships between all species, extinct and living. The Internet and E-mail also make it easier "to skip the middle man," Klofat explains. He expects that trend to continue and envisions a time when jobs like his will mainly entail providing the legal framework for collaborations that are largely initiated by scientists themselves. Silvia Sanides (sanides@cs.com) is a freelance writer in Charlottesville, Va. function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[1].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[2].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[3].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[4].checked) result = true; if (!result) alert("Please select") return result; } .myradio{background-color : #94bee5} Please indicate on a 1 - 5 scale how strongly you would recommend this article to your colleagues? Not recommended 1 2 3 4 5 Highly recommended Please register your vote

Governments recruit US scientists for academic research

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