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GRADUATE STUDENT/ POSTDOCTORAL INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE 209 



naire completed by ASI participants noted that "the most beneficial 

 and outstanding value of the Institutes was in the new ideas for re- 

 search they generated and the new professional associations they 

 made possible." This review concluded by noting, "If the ASIs can be 

 assumed to be unique, then their uniqueness derives from their ability 

 to lessen the gaps between scientists that could exist because of their 

 status, physical location, and other deterrents to the activity of sci- 

 ence. The suggestion is certainly clear in this assessment that the ASIs 

 are indeed unique— through their format of encouraging extending 

 scientific associations that endure long after the termination of the In- 

 stitutes." This international collaboration within tutorial schemes at 

 the frontiers of research is of fundamental importance to young Amer- 

 ican researchers. 



INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN RESEARCH 



Another mechanism for promoting international exchanges of 

 young scientists is through collaborative research projects. Although 

 the major interactions within such projects are probably between 

 principal investigators, normally senior scientists, these projects pro- 

 vide invaluable opportunities for postdoctoral scientists to engage in 

 and experience important developments abroad. As major examples, 

 the NATO Collaborative Research Grants Program and certain as- 

 pects of NSF Research Grants and Travel Grants Programs are briefly 

 discussed below. 



NATO Collaborative Research Grants Program 



NATO grants specifically assist projects in which the basic costs are 

 met mainly by country funding, but where the international collabo- 

 ration entails costs that are not met by other sources. Supported proj- 

 ects are carried out as a joint effort of teams in university, govern- 

 ment, and other research institutions in at least two member 

 countries, with exchanges of personnel through short visits. NATO 

 support mainly covers travel and living expenses of the investigators 

 while working abroad in each other's institutions. Since its inception 

 in 1960, this NATO program has supported about 2,000 projects 

 (awards were made in 1982 for 270 new grants). American scientists 

 are by far the most active participants in this program with some 65 

 percent of collaborative-research projects involving exchanges be- 

 tween U.S. research labs and their counterparts in other Alliance na- 

 tions. It is interesting to note that when Canadian participation is 



