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APPENDIX B 51 Appendix B International Multipurpose Nongovernmental Engineering and Science Organizations The contributions of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) to planning and coordinating basic research programs, such as the 1957/58 International Geophysical Year and the Global Atmospheric Research Program (1967-1980), have established its unique capability for conducting multifaceted scientific programs of global dimensions. Founded in 1931 as a transformation of the International Research Council, which had been established just after World War I, ICSU's purpose is to coordinate international efforts in different branches of science and to provide an organization within which autonomous nongovernmental international scientific associations or unions can be federated. The dual structure of ICSU includes both disciplinary unions (Table B-1) and more than 70 national institutions. This arrangement combines scientific and national interests, provides access to scientific expertise primarily through the unions, and draws political, financial, and scientific support from participating national bodies. For the United States, the national adhering organization to ICSU, and to the majority of international scientific organizations, is the National Academy of Sciences, with financial support provided by the National Science Foundation. UNESCO has also directly provided a significant portion of the ICSU budget for several decades. There are several ICSU unions with close ties to the technology community, for example, the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the International Union of Radio Science. In 1968, ICSU established a Scientific Associate membership category to permit affiliation by groups interested in collaboration with ICSU. Among the engineering-related groups currently in this category are the International Federation for Automatic Control, the International Statistical Institute, the International Radiation Protection Association, and the International Union of Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine. However, on balance it may be said that ICSU's greatest strengths are in assembling and linking experts in natural sciences, usually academically based. Important fields of engineering and technology research and practice are not significantly represented in the current ICSU structure.
APPENDIX B 52 TABLE B-1 Member Organizations in the International Council of Scientific Unions Scientific Unions IAU (Astronomy) IUB (Biochemistry) IUBS (Biological Sciences) IUPAB [Biophysics (Pure and Applied)] IUPAC [Chemistry (Pure and Applied)] IUCr (Crystallography) IUGG (Geodesy and Geophysics) IGU (Geography) IUGS (Geological Sciences) IUHPS (History and Philosophy of Science) IUIS (Immunological Societies) IMU (Mathematics) IUTAM [Mechanics (Theoretical and Applied)] IUMS (Microbiological Societies) IUNS (Nutritional Sciences) IUPHAR (Pharmacology) IUPsyS (Psychological Sciences) IUPS (Physiological Sciences) IUPAP [Physics (Pure and Applied)] URSI (Radio Sciences) Scientific and Special Committees and Panels SCAR (Antarctic Research) COBIOTECH (Biotechnology) SCGB (Geosphere-Biosphere Program) CODATA (Data for Science and Technology) COGENE (Genetic Experimentation) SCOR (Oceanic Research) SCOPE (Problems of the Environment) COSTED (Science and Technology in Developing Countries) SCOSTEP (Solar and Terrestrial Physics) COSPAR (Space Research) CTS (Teaching of Science) COWAR [Water Research (jointly with UATI)] IBN [Biosciences Network (jointly with UNESCO)] WDC [World Data Centres (Geophysical and Solar)] FAGS (Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Services) Inter-Union Commissions IUCAF (Frequency Allocations for Radio Astronomy and Space Science) ICL (Lithosphere) CASAFA (Application of Science to Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture)
APPENDIX B 53 In engineering, there are two principal multilateral organizations with interests across the range of engineering concernsâthe World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), formed in 1968, and the Union of International Technical Associations (UITA), formed in 1951. Both have headquarters in Paris, were founded with the encouragement of UNESCO, and hold consultative status with UNESCO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), and other groups. Their objectives are also parallel. WFEO includes among its aims the development of the scientific and technical professions in the interest of the world community through fostering cooperation between national member organizations and with other international structures. A major objective of UITA is promotion of coordinated activities among member associations and facilitation of interactions between members and intergovernmental organizations of the UN, as well as other international bodies. The two organizations differ in membership structure and adhering groups. WFEO (Table B-2) comprises some 85 national members, each representing major professional engineering societies in their countries; the U.S. engineering community is represented by the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES). In addition to its national membership, WFEO has admitted several âinternational members,â which are regional associations of engineering societies. UITA, on the other hand, is a federation of about 30 nongovernmental international technical organizations (Table B-3). In addition, UITA cosponsors with ICSU a Committee on Water Research. U.S. representation to UITA is not as a national member, as it is for WFEO, but through the member associations, many of which have U.S. engineers in official capacities. The UITA executive board consists of representatives of each member association and meets once a year. At present, a vice-president who represents the International Federation of Automatic Control on the UITA board is an American. WFEO is currently considering the admission of international engineering organizations to its membership. Thus, WFEO appears to be considering, if not yet actively moving toward, a dual structure like that of ICSUâ professional societies represented by national members and independent international engineering unions and federations. It has been suggested that possible recruits would include federations of the type now included in UITA. UITA has appointed new leadership during the past two years and has developed plans for expansion of membership and programs. Plans have been made to convene the first UITA international congress in Paris in 1989.
APPENDIX B 54 WFEO holds its General Assembly every two years, the most recent in May 1987, in Vancouver, Canada. TABLE B-2 World Federation of Engineering Organizations Countries with national, regional, or affiliated members (Jan. 1984) Algeria Ghana Palestine Argentine Greece Panama Australia Hungary Peru Austria India Poland Bahrain Indonesia Portugal Bangladesh Iraq Puerto Rico Belgium Ireland Rumania Bolivia Israel Salvador Brazil Italy Senegal Bulgaria Ivory Coast South Africa Canada Japan Spain Caribbean Isl. (Reg.) Jordan Sri Lanka Chile Kenya Sudan China Korea (South) Sweden Colombia Kuwait Switzerland Cyprus Lebanon Syria Czechoslovakia Libya Taiwan (China) (Affil.) Denmark Malaysia Tunisia Dominican (Rep.) Mauritius Uganda Ecuador Mexico United Kingdom Egypt Morocco United States Emirates (Un. Arab.) Netherlands Uruguay Ethiopia New Zealand U.S.S.R. Finland Nigeria Venezuela France Norway Yemen (South) Germany (D.R.) Pakistan Yugoslavia Germany (F.R.) Zimbabwe International Members (Jan. 1984) CEC Commonwealth Engineer's Council; FEANI Federation Europeenne des Associations Nationales d'Ingenieurs; UPADI Union Panamericana de Asociaciones de Ingenieros; FAE Federation of Arab Engineers; FENTO Federation des Organisations Scientifiques et Techniques des Pays Socialistes; FEISEAP Federation of Engineering Institutions of South East Asia and the Pacific. Neither WFEO nor UITA is as well known, strong, or effective on behalf of the international engineering community as ICSU is on behalf of the science community. Until recently, U.S. representation in WFEO and UITA, including dues, has been an expense borne directly by the U.S. adhering members; in 1986 and 1987 NSF has provided some support to the American Association of Engineering Societies for U.S. participation
APPENDIX B 55 in WFEO. This year some modest level of direct funding has also become available from the Department of State (subsequent to the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO) for project support under U.S. leadership in international engineering organizations. TABLE B-3 Union of International Technical Associations Member Associations (May 1986) CIATF International Committee of Foundry Technical Associations CIGR International Commission of Agricultural Engineering CIRP International Institution for Production Engineering Research IAHR International Association for Hydraulic Research IALA International Association of Lighthouse Authorities BTTA International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association CAA International Civil Airports Association ICF International Congress on Fracture ICG International Commission on Glass ICID International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage ICOLD International Commission on Large Dams IDF International Dairy Federation IFA International Fertilizer Industry Association IFAC International Federation of Automatic Control IFIEC International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers IFToMM International Federation for the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms IGU International Gas Union IIW International Institute of Welding IMEKO International Measurement Confederation ISSMFE International Society for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering ISWA International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association IUAPPA International Union of Air Pollution Prevention Associations PIANC Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses PIARC Permanent International Association of Road Congresses RILEM International Union of Testing and Research Laboratories for Materials and Structures UIE International Union for Electroheat UIC International Union of Railways UITP International Union of Public Transports UNIPEDE International Union of Producers and Distributors of Electrical Energy WEC World Energy Conference Sporadic efforts have been made over the years to bring about a merger of WFEO and UITA. At UNESCO urging, a joint committee was recently established to strengthen cooperation between the two groups, but results so far are not significant. It is uncertain whether a future merger of WFEO and UITA would bring about a cohesive and effective international engineering force for either information exchange or cooperation in research and education benefiting U.S. engineers. Formed in 1978 in recognition of the fact that advances in technology increased the interdependence of national economies, the Council of
APPENDIX B 56 Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences aims to open non-governmental lines of communication among technological leaders for the promotion of international understanding and cooperation in engineering and technology. The Council is a potentially significant organization for sustaining the interests of senior technological leadership in both industry and academia in international issues where technology interacts with trade and economics, environment, security, and other concerns. The major activity of the Council has been a periodic Convocation where technological leaders from various nations assemble as individuals to discuss major issues of engineering and technology. Convocation agendas have included topics of broad international concern such as management of technological change, coupling between technology and the global economy, and engineering education, as well as examination of specific technologies such as materials and automated production. Although formal membership in the Council currently includes only the engineering academies of Australia, Denmark, Mexico, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the Convocations have attracted attention and participation from more than 20 nations. As the Council matures and grows, so too should its role as a major nongovernmental stimulus to more widespread understanding of issues in international exchange and cooperation in engineering. The success of the Council, like that of the other international organizations discussed here, will depend in large part on the emergence of strong national member organizations. Should academies of engineering and technological sciences (or like organizations) continue to be established and flourish, the Council could become an institution that would provide the National Science Foundation and other U.S. organizations with an international capability and focus not otherwise available. It should be noted, however, that similar initiatives for an international organization of academies of sciences have run into difficulties because of lack of parallelism in the national bodies.
