Hayabusa Rider
Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Dana Rohrabacher is a Congressman from CA who was interviewed on the BBC world service the other day. The premise of the segment was about foreign students participating in graduate science programs. There was the Congressman and a professor who's name I did not catch (I came in late in the interview). The issue was national security, and how student visa applications were being slowed down to the point where research was being threatened. The prof said he understood the need for security, but worried that irreparable harm to our country's research may happen if things were pursued to severely. So far so good.
Now for the good stuff.
Rohrbacher said something quite like "With all due respect to the Professor, he is an academic. He thinks graduate students bring something to research, where in reality we offer them something. We should not be educating Chinese students how to build nuclear weapons."
He has a proposal where for the government will pick up the cost of education for American students and permanent residents in exchange for service to a gov. agency. One year of support for 2 years to be precise.
So what's my beef? Ignorant politicians once again trying to screw up education and research.
First, grad students DO bring much to a program. Hell, 90% of research in university settings is done by them. They are the pack animals of research.
Second, science grad students get paid. Not a whopping sum, but enough to get by. To suggest that Americans are not going to grad school because they cannot afford tuition is ridiculous. There is no tuition in most programs, or if there was, it was picked up by the college or university.
Third, this man clearly has no understanding as to how science or science education at the graduate level works, yet he is attempting to shape it.
Fourth, the notion that the Chinese (or anyone else) are sending people here to learn to make nuclear weapons is utter stupidity. Anyone here who is in a graduate level physics program knows there is no "A-Bombs for Dummies" grad course.
Research in the US is in terrible trouble over the next dozen or so years. It is hard work with long hours, and not many can do it. The few who can should not be chased away because of fear tactics of Luddites, regardless of nationality.
Now for the good stuff.
Rohrbacher said something quite like "With all due respect to the Professor, he is an academic. He thinks graduate students bring something to research, where in reality we offer them something. We should not be educating Chinese students how to build nuclear weapons."
He has a proposal where for the government will pick up the cost of education for American students and permanent residents in exchange for service to a gov. agency. One year of support for 2 years to be precise.
So what's my beef? Ignorant politicians once again trying to screw up education and research.
First, grad students DO bring much to a program. Hell, 90% of research in university settings is done by them. They are the pack animals of research.
Second, science grad students get paid. Not a whopping sum, but enough to get by. To suggest that Americans are not going to grad school because they cannot afford tuition is ridiculous. There is no tuition in most programs, or if there was, it was picked up by the college or university.
Third, this man clearly has no understanding as to how science or science education at the graduate level works, yet he is attempting to shape it.
Fourth, the notion that the Chinese (or anyone else) are sending people here to learn to make nuclear weapons is utter stupidity. Anyone here who is in a graduate level physics program knows there is no "A-Bombs for Dummies" grad course.
Research in the US is in terrible trouble over the next dozen or so years. It is hard work with long hours, and not many can do it. The few who can should not be chased away because of fear tactics of Luddites, regardless of nationality.
