Christine M. Matthews, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (97-746), Updated January 12, 2007.
From the Summary:
The increased presence of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs and in the scientific workforce has been and continues to be of concern to some in the scientific community. Enrollment of U.S. citizens in graduate science and engineering programs has not kept pace with that of foreign students in those programs. In addition to the number of foreign students in graduate science and engineering programs, a significant number of university faculty in the scientific disciplines are foreign, and foreign doctorates are employed in large numbers by industry.Comment: I should disclose that I am basically retired, and not in the science and engineering workforce any longer. But in this case, I think the U.S. born scientists and engineers may be protecting themselves rather than this country. In terms of our foreign policy and international development policy, there are few things we can do as positive as offering graduate training to scientists and engineers. The graduates who return will often be intellectual and business leaders in their countries; they will tend to be pro-American and to open markets for U.S. products. Those who stay here will often be educators and innovators in our economy. Certainly a drop in the number of U.S. citizens seeking doctoral degrees in science and engineering should be of concern here, but not an increase in the number or percentage of foreign students in doctoral programs. However, professional associations are probably seeking to assure that there is not too much competition with U.S. scientists and engineers that would affect their remuneration. I suggest it is better to keep the U.S. economy strong through innovation and export of high tech products, than to protect the salaries of our scientists and engineers at the expense of the rest of the workforce. JAD
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