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Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 1979. Brazil Chemistry Program: An International Experiment in Science Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19886.
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Page 1
Suggested Citation:"Introduction." National Research Council. 1979. Brazil Chemistry Program: An International Experiment in Science Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/19886.
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Page 2

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

INTRODUCTION In the late l960s, the National Research Council of Brazil (CNPq) and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), began a dialogue on the possible contribution of science and technology to the economic and social de- velopment of Brazil. At a l968 joint workshop on this topic, it was established that the chemical-based in- dustries were of high priority in Brazilian industrial development plans. Research and training capability in these fields needed to be greatly strengthened, however. These conclusions led to the formation of a study group of Brazilian and U.S. scientists to explore the feasibility of specific programs to help fill certain specific needs in chemistry in Brazil. The study group decided that a research and training program involving both U.S. and Brazilian scientists would be the best approach. A collaborative approach was chosen for several reasons. First, for certain fields of chemistry, Brazil simply lacked trained personnel altogether, or had too few to begin effective training programs for Brazilian students. Second, experience has been disappointing in a number of developing countries with extensive programs for over- seas graduate training of scientists. Often, students are unable to find a satisfactory research atmosphere and working environment in their home country and simply remain abroad. Among those who do return, many find con- ditions at home inadequate for a significant use of their advanced training and feel powerless to change the situa- tion by themselves. Third, some developing countries have attempted to implant new programs and skills by inviting visiting

- 2 - foreign scientists to work in their universities and re- search institutions. Most active scientists, however, find it difficult and undesirable to be away from their own country and professional activities for extended lengths of time; consequently, this approach tends to eliminate participation by the most qualified persons. The Brazil-U.S. collaborative approach, originally proposed by American chemist Carl Djerassi, was designed to overcome the kinds of difficulties just described. It was built on the basic premise that a successful pro- gram must aim at the implantation of areas of chemical graduate education and research at sufficiently high levels to produce scientists whose professional quali- fications could match those in advanced countries. The major program objectives outlined by the joint study group were: (a) the development of a Brazilian research capability in certain key fields of chemistry; and (b) the stimulation of long-term cooperative re- search collaboration in chemistry between Brazilian and American scientists. A mechanism to achieve these ob- jectives would be to encourage young U.S. scientists to become involved in scientific work in Brazil, and to receive adequate academic recognition in the United States for such involvement.

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