Rebuilding Iraqi science (The Scientist)

イラクの科学再興を助けるORHA所属・イラク教育科学省への諮問官へのインタビュー。

Q: What can individual foreign scientists do to help rebuild Iraqi science?

A: There's a lot the individual can do. The most important thing is to set up exchange programs. Reintegrate Iraqi scientists into the world. Invite them to meetings. Pay for their way to meetings. Offer to host them on sabbaticals. Offer to host Iraqi PhD students and postdocs. Be aggressive on scholarships and fellowships for Iraqis. Send any surplus lab or computer equipment. Professional associations can play an enormously important role also. They can organize large shipments of equipment. Palletize them and arrange for transportation through USAID. Eventually we'll need research funding, but that's farther down the road. Right now we're in an austere environment: no libraries, no journals, no equipment and sometimes no lighting.