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Government Restrictions Threaten Research, Group Says
By Gwendolyn Bradley
Security measures imposed by the government since September 11, 2001, have restricted the flow of information upon which research depends and should be loosened rather than further tightened, said an October report issued by a group that advises the federal government on scientificm matters. The report, Science and Security in a Post-9/11 World, was authored by a committee of the National Research Council, part of the National Academies. The committee, composed of senior officials with experience in both government and academia, determined that limitations imposed on university researchers in the name of national security are probably doing more harm than good, since scientific and technological advances made in the United States “often rely on knowledge created outside our borders” and “unnecessarily closing ourselves off from the world in a futile effort to protect ourselves will only isolate us from an increasingly integrated and competitive global community.”
The committee, which heard testimony from government officials at three meetings held during 2006, said that government concerns about research fall into three main categories: that terrorists could enter the country and attack from within, that terrorists or unfriendly governments might use against us advanced technologies developed in the United States, and that foreigners could take advantage of scientific and technological advances to “supplant U.S. capabilities and reap the economic gains for themselves.” While these concerns are not without basis, the report said, a more imminent and equally serious threat, both economic and military, is that the country will lose its leadership in science and technology as a result of conditions increasingly placed on some government-funded research, such as conditions forbidding foreign nationals from participating in research projects or allowing government agencies to stop the publication of university research results. Basic research should continue to be exempt from such conditions, the panel said—as it was for many years.
The report also asks the Departments of Commerce and State to carefully consider their “export controls” rules, which restrict the kinds of technology and information that can be sent to foreign scholars overseas or accessed by those working in this country. Currently, the report said, outdated lists maintained by those departments mean that many technologies widely available in other countries are still on the forbidden lists. In addition, scientists were concerned by proposed rules on “deemed exports,” issued in 2004 by the Commerce Department. As written, the rules would have restricted the access of foreign students working in U.S. laboratories to common tools such as centrifuges, furnaces, electric generators, and gas-leak detectors. The department seemed to back away from the proposals but has still not officially rejected them.
The report also urged the State Department to continue its efforts to improve the visa process for foreign students and scholars. Given the well documented lack of American students entering science fields, the report said, continued success of U.S. science and technology programs is dependent on attracting foreigners.
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