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U.S. Urged To Expand Global Science Reach
WILLIAM SCHULZ
The U.S. government needs to "move expeditiously to ensure the development of a more effective, coordinated framework for its international [science and engineering] research and education activities." This is the key recommendation of the National Science Board (NSB) Task Force on International Issues in Science & Engineering. NSB, the governing board for NSF, began studying the issue in 1999.
What's more, the NSB task force says, "development of an effective framework for science and engineering in the international area is a critical priority for assuring U.S. global leadership in the decades ahead." That framework, it concludes, "must be based on clear policy objectives and effective institutional arrangements."
NSB planned to issue the report earlier this fall, but one task force member, Pamela Ferguson, a professor of mathematics at Grinnell College, in Iowa, says the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 added "a sense of urgency" to the report, which the task force wanted to acknowledge.
Several themes about international cooperation in science and engineering emerged from the task force during its review: a need for more effective coordination of international science and engineering activities by the federal government, the importance of increased international cooperation in fundamental research and education, and a need to improve the use of science and engineering information in foreign policy decisions.
An executive summary of the report, "Toward a More Effective NSF Role in International Science and Engineering," is available at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/start.htm.
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