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Foreign-born chemists ponder career prospects Be smart, adapt, and be committed. That was the major message emerging from a symposium on the professional development of foreign-born chemical scientists at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco. The well-attended, all-day gathering was cosponsored by the Division of Professional Relations and the Chinese American Chemical Society.
The presentations also brought out some of the hard statistics on the importance of the foreign-born scientist to U.S. science today. For instance, 39% of all Ph.D.s in physical science granted in the U.S. in 1990 went to noncitizens. This included 51% of the Ph.D.s in mathematics and 29% of the chemistry doctorates.
The strongest message for the foreign-born scientists from symposium speakers was that they can develop rewarding careers in science in this country. But they should expect to work at least twice as hard as their native-born colleagues to do so.
Most of the statistics came from Corinne A. Marasco, who works for ACS's office of professional services. Quoting from National Research Council data, she pointed out that the number of physical science doctorates awarded to foreigners rose from 962 in 1980, 23% of the total number of physical science doctorates, to 2315 in 1990, 39% of the total. The bulk of the increase came from temporary visa holders, as opposed to those with permanent resident status.
Marasco also pointed out that tempo
rary visa holders are not eligible to accept jobs in the U.S. But 53% of 1990 physical science doctorates, including 77% of 1990 chemistry doctorates, planned to stay in the U.S. for further study.
Addressing the more personal side of the foreign-born experience in U.S. science, two members of the ACS Board of Directors recalled their experiences after leaving their native lands as young men. Ernest L. Eliel left Germany just before World War II and Attila Ε. Pavlath left Hungary during the 1956 uprising.
Eliel explained that, partly because of U.S. immigration policies then, he spent time in Scotland, Canada, and Cuba before entering the U.S. in 1946. He pointed to the generally informal, friendly, and generous approach of Americans and how this helps immigrants.
In Eliel· s opinion, the foreign-born can succeed in science in the U.S. if they work hard and are flexible and enterprising. He has two specific pieces of advice: Don't worry about having an accent, and be careful with the sarcastic humor, which Europeans seem to like but which can readily be misunderstood in the U.S.
After leaving Hungary, Pavlath spent time in refugee camps in both Austria and Canada, where he says he was very well treated, before moving to California. He stated that he has experienced no prejudice in California, where he still lives and works. At the symposium he stressed that anything is possible in the
Support groups aim to help the foreign-born chemist The Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) and the Iranian American Chemists Association are two examples of efforts by foreign-born chemists to develop support mechanisms.
Both organizations are designed to help immigrants and naturalized citizens with career counseling, to provide a forum for the exchange of career experiences, to promote fellowship, and to maintain a basis for networking. An additional task of the Iranian group is to try to help dispel the anti-Iranian attitude prevalent in the U.S. in recent years.
Neither group is formally associated with the American Chemical Society,
but both hold their meetings and social events during ACS national meetings. CACS has cooperated with ACS on a number of projects. In addition to cosponsoring the symposium, Professional Development of Foreign-Born Chemical Scientists, at the recent ACS national meeting in San Francisco, it has assisted ACS in designing a national survey of Asian chemists and is now helping to develop a guide to employment for foreign-born students.
CACS was founded in 1981 and now has about 400 members. The Iranian group, now about 250 strong, was founded during the ACS national meeting in Boston in April 1990.
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U.S., "if you set your mind to it." His other major admonition was, "Don't worry that the other guy got it easier."
The consensus among the speakers seemed to be that although foreign-born chemists face many challenges in developing careers in science and technology in this country, there is no widespread, overt discrimination against them.
According to Ν. Υ. Chen of Mobil R&D in Princeton, N.J., the U.S. is still the most open country in the world. And entry into an R&D career is based on talent, ability, and personality.
This contention was supported by data presented by Darrell T. Liu of the Food & Drug Administration on the career paths of Asian Americans working for the Public Health Service. By statute, PHS can employ only U.S. citizens. But those of Asian ancestry employed in scientific and other professional jobs apparently progress, on average, at the same rate as non-Asians.
However, the foreign-born can face problems. M. Ali NabiRahni of Pace University, New York City, pointed out that press hysteria over Iran in recent years has had a negative impact on the Iranian-born community in this country.
There was also consensus on the need for the foreign-born to adjust to the ethical values of U.S. society, but to do so without giving up the values of their own cultures or using them as an excuse for lack of success. As one speaker put it, the U.S. is now more of a salad bowl than a melting pot. Another constant theme was the need for the foreign-born to master the English language and to work especially hard on their communication skills.
Irene Yeh, manager of human resources at Stanford University, contrasted the ethnic Chinese virtues of patience, obedience, reticence, and respect for the collective over the individual with U.S. values of openness, directness, flexibility, and the dominance of the individual.
Her basic advice to the foreign-born was to modify their usually conservative, careful approach and to not be afraid of making mistakes, to take risks, and to offer solutions. As she put it, "Don't be a squeaky wheel, be a problem solver."
Several speakers pointed out that scientific expertise alone is not enough. Success in science also depends on ability to think creatively, to generate ideas, and to communicate those ideas.
Michael Heylin
38 JUNE 1,1992 C&EN
The American Chemical Society Course
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