Immigrants' children ace sciences

[RedEarth]

Enrico Fermi, Albert Einstein, John von Neumann, Niels Bohr: The legacy of foreign-born scientists and mathematicians in America is well known.

They helped create the computer and the atom bomb, and have contributed a good portion of America's Nobel Prizes. Today, more than half of all engineers with PhDs working here were born abroad, as were 45 percent of computer scientists and physicists with doctorates.

But according to a recent study, there's another, less documented benefit that many immigrants bring to math and science in this country: their children. While doing some research on the Intel Science Talent Search (the "Junior Nobel Prize"), Stuart Anderson noticed a high number of finalists who seemed to have recent immigrant roots.

When the director of the National Foundation for American Policy delved deeper, the results were even more striking. Seven of the Top 10 award winners in this year's contest were immigrants or their children. Of the top 40 finalists, 60 percent were the children of immigrants. And a striking number had parents who had arrived on skilled employment, or H-1B, visas.

"The study indicates there are significant gains to immigration that haven't really been realized," says Mr. Anderson.


http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0831/p12s01-legn.htm

[JitterbugPerfume]

1. this is very interesting

perhaps "someone" should pay attention

[bpilgrim]

2. and they're smart TERRORIST to boot! - RED*ALERT

:hi: JitterbugPerfume

peace

[DBoon]

6. Many of the scientists named were seriously scrutinized by the FBI

For their alleged "communist" sympathies.

More recently, most of them were slandered via decrypted Soviet messages of that time ("Venona Project") supposedly showing they were soviet agents.

Fat chance in hell any of these individuals would be welcome in the USA today.

We'd prefer stupid loyal American natives over brilliant foreigners with leftish politics.

[gratuitous]

3. Probably because they come from countries

Where the "science" curriculum isn't hog-tied by know-nothings who think the Earth is 6,000 years old.

[shanti]

4. simple explanation

math is universal. if one didn't know english and wanted to study in the u.s., it would make lots of sense to major in math or science.

[Burma Jones]

5. The Immigrants aren't poisoned by American Fundamentalism

I think, however, if we have to endure more Republican Rule, the United States will look less and less appealing to the world's brainpower. I can see India keeping many more of their very talented engineers than they have in the past. US Corporations taking so much business overseas will also reduce this source of American scientific achievement.

If religion is deemed more important than science, we will soon slide well behind the EU in science, and thus lose our attractiveness to the world's brains.

In fact, Europe and/or Canada is starting to look real good to this freshly minted PhD in Computer Science.....and my family has been here since the 1600's.

[BiggJawn]

7. Uh, because their kids were taught REAL Science?

Not that "Intelligent Design" bullshit the Dominionists make our school systems teach, now that they have gotten on the School Boards of this nation?

Read Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World". Make your kids read it, too.