The scientists of today: revisiting Leonardo in a global environment

TY - JOUR

T1 - The scientists of today

T2 - revisiting Leonardo in a global environment

AU - Daunert, Sylvia

N1 - Funding Information: Nowadays, we are finally understanding that we are living in a diverse and global society, a fact that is ever true in science. Boundaries do not exist as they did five decades ago, and scientists rooted in a discipline are eager to learn from their colleagues trained in disciplines other than theirs, and to apply the gained knowledge to problems that otherwise could not be solved successfully. Moreover, a welcome trend in scientific education is to ensure that students at the undergraduate and graduate level get a “taste” of scientific diversity by exposing them through courses, seminars, workshops, and research to disciplines beyond their chosen field of study. The National Science Foundation of the United States (NSF) recognized the importance of multidisciplinary education, and to address the issue in 1997 created The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program to meet the challenges of educating US PhD scientists, engineers, in interdisciplinary fields, capable of working effectively in a diverse, globally engaged science and engineering workforce (http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/igert/ intro.jsp). Currently there are 125 IGERT programs in such varied topics as stem cells, biological device interfaces, nano/micro-technology and life sciences, environmental ecology, etc. Moreover, similar programs are also in place in Europe. European counterparts to the NSF have similar programs in EU countries, e.g., the Graduiertenkollegs of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (http://www.dfg.de/ en/research_funding/coordinated_programmes/research_ training_groups/index.html). The result is the creation of a first wave of a new breed of scientists who are capable of thinking in many dimensions and outside the canons of “traditional” disciplines. The pay-off is still to be realized but, in my opinion, will be bountiful. Funding Information: Hand-in-hand with regard to importance, diversity in science shares the spotlight with globalization and the impact of science on society. Globalization of economic and social issues in some parts of the world is rapidly becoming a reality. The foremost example is the European Union with its common currency and laws. Undoubtedly a success, following in its steps, Argentina and Brazil just announced the future implementation of common currency for both countries with the aim of expanding it to the rest of the South American nations. It is the first step toward the creation of a real global socio-economic union in South America. The scientists of today and of tomorrow need to be able to function in such a global environment, and for that we need to prepare them adequately. Programs of mobility within the European Union for students at the graduate and postgraduate levels (e.g., the current Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programs) have been very successful and are rapidly accomplishing their goal of training scientists who can work and collaborate in an efficient manner within the EU country boundaries. No doubt that the “free movement” of scientists across borders has contributed to the creation of new programs, and has impacted research and discovery in the EU in an astoundingly positive manner. Collaborations among Universities, research institutions, and even industry that twenty years ago seemed unlikely, nowadays are commonplace within the EU under the auspices of such programs as EUREKA, COST, etc. There is no question that scientists of the EU have set an example on how to be global and how to contribute to the advancement of science by working in a symbiotic manner. The NSF also has a series of international programs in place that foster collaboration between researchers in the USA and abroad. More notably, newer initiatives focusing on globalization have aimed at providing international educational/research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students (e.g., the Developing Global Scientists and Engineers program, International Research Experiences for Students or IRES, and the Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Projects or DDEP). In my opinion, the EU and NSF programs are models that should be followed. A recent example of international cooperation is the creation of the particle accelerator at The European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, where an estimated 10,000 people from 60 countries were involved in designing and building the accelerator and particle detectors. Along with scientists from the 20 European members of the CERN, scientists, engineers, students, and technicians from 94 US universities and laboratories supported by the EU, US Department of Energy Office of Science, and the National Science Foundation are part of this project.

PY - 2009/1

Y1 - 2009/1

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=57849145565&partnerID=8YFLogxK

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U2 - 10.1007/s00216-008-2462-5

DO - 10.1007/s00216-008-2462-5

M3 - Editorial

C2 - 19023568

AN - SCOPUS:57849145565

VL - 393

SP - 1

EP - 3

JO - Fresenius Zeitschrift fur Analytische Chemie

JF - Fresenius Zeitschrift fur Analytische Chemie

SN - 0016-1152

IS - 1

ER -