1135 



GRADUATE STUDENT/ POSTDOCTORAL INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE 207 



postdoctoral fellows, which is about the same order as the number 

 of U.S. postdoctoral scientists going abroad under support from vari- 

 ous NSF programs during "on-off" periods of activity. 



The beneficial cost-benefit ratio to U.S. science of this NATO pro- 

 gram is highlighted by the continuing flow of well over 50 percent of 

 the fellows from other NATO nations to advanced studies in the 

 United States, with support by NATO and their own countries. They 

 contribute to the advancement of knowledge in U.S. institutions, as 

 well as furthering long-lasting cooperative relations between their 

 U.S. colleagues and their home institutions throughout the Alliance. 

 The distribution and exchange of NATO Science Fellows over the past 

 20 years is given in Table 5. An overview of transatlantic and inter- 

 European exchanges supported under the NATO Fellowship Program 

 is given in Table 6. 



SHORT-TERM TRAINING INSTITUTES 



Next to doctoral fellowship experiences, participation in short-term 

 international advanced-training projects has proven to be of greatest 

 value to young scientists. An example is the NATO Advanced Study 

 Institutes (ASI) Program, which has provided such opportunities over 

 the past 25 years. 



The ASI Program focuses directly on the dissemination of knowl- 

 edge at the frontiers of science and the formation of lasting contacts 

 among participating scientists from different countries. An ASI is pri- 

 marily a high-level teaching activity at which a carefully defined sub- 

 ject is presented in a coherently structured program by members of the 

 cognizant research community. Since its inception in 1959, the ASI 

 Program has supported over 1,200 institutes in which some 100,000 

 scientists have participated. The proceedings of most ASls have been 

 published as advanced texts by world-recognized publishing firms. 



Each ASI has a relatively small number of participants (70-100 per- 

 sons), facilitating informal discussion of presentations directed largely 

 toward a postdoctoral audience. But the participants range from grad- 

 uate students to highly qualified senior scientists with achievements in 

 the area of the ASI or related fields. A lecturer-to-student ratio of 

 around 1:5 is usual. Furthermore, it is evident that only if the meeting 

 is of sufficient length can an adequate program be presented— experi- 

 ence has shown that a duration of about 2 weeks is preferable, with a 

 minimum of 10 working days. Finally, an ASI is frequently structured 

 as an interdisciplinary meeting, with specialists in one field teaching 

 scientists highly qualified in a different area. The roles of lecturer and 



