<p>Very good feature on the CBS Sunday Morning program today about a reported "reverse brain drain" wherein young, highly skilled scientists and technicians from abroad whom have an American university education are increasingly returning to their home nations for opportunity, especially India and China. The news report indicated that this is a significant reversal of a longstanding trend, whereas heretofore the large majority of international students at American universities remained in the U.S. for their careers.</p>
<p>What was very encouraging was the part of the report regarding UC San Francisco, which has a substantial program to recruit American "diamonds in the rough," kids who have been overlooked or whom heretofore were not stellar acamedicians, but turns these nevertheless bright individuals into very promising graduate and Ph.D. students in the sciences. UCSF professor Bayless, whom recently received an award from President Obama, stated what our political and educational leaders need to hear: that increasingly the U.S. will lose its advantage when many international young researchers and scientists will be attracted elsewhere. China recruits Chinese nationals at top U.S. universities with a presentation about a state-of-the-art science park that's under construction in Bejing.</p>
<p>The next Smith Glaxo Klines, Pfizers, Googles and Oracles may be started overseas. Dangling U.S. visas to lure elite foreign nationals may no longer be effective. Therefore we've got to replace that talent and expertise [a large share of U.S. S&T doctorates are granted to foreign nationals these days] with somebody willing and the potential candidates are our own kids. Programs like the one at UCSF are the ones that deserve federal $upport.</p>