Foundation Considers Options

Victor Rabinowilch, vice-president for programs at the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation says: "What we are concerned about is that practically a whole generation of scholars and creative individuals who have all of a sudden been given the opportunity to think and write as hey wish, may be lost."

Mr. Rabinowilch was in Russia last week to lay the groundwork for a number of assistance programs that his foundation was considering.

He could not be more specific about the proposals, except to say the foundation was concerned about the plight of younger Russian scholars, nuclear-weapons con­version, and the maintenance of unique resources in their country—such as archives and botanical collections— that are now threatened by cuts in government support.

At the American Association for the Ad­vancement of Science Sandra Burns, associate director of international programs, says her office is conducting a survey of members who are actively collaborating with Russia’s scientists to determine how the association could best use its resources to help before it makes any specific pro­posals.

The American Physical Society is exam­ining such possibilities as paying for foreign journal subscriptions that are being canceled in Russia because of the lack of funds, developing a program in which U. S. institutions can donate equipment to Russian laboratories, and bringing together Russian and American research institutes to work on common problems.

“0ne of the things we're working on is to promote the concept in which universities or national laboratories are paired with well-known facilities in the Soviet Union," explains Irving A. Lerch. a professor of medical physics at New York University and director of international scientific affairs for the physical society. Such a rela­tionship could lead not only to cooperative research. but to long-term exchanges of faculty members and graduate students”jjjjjhhhhhhhhhhhhnjjjjjjmnmnnmm,’;lop, he says.

At the Federation of American Scientists, officials are working on a plan that would bring the directors of dozens of Rus­sian institutes to the Untied Stales to solic­it subcontracts for specific types of re­search.

Jeremy J. Stone, president of the federation, says he is hopeful the plan can pro­mote long-term relationships between the two sides that would provide important ad­ditional resources to some Russian research teams by diverting relatively small amount of money from U.S. science projects.

"Very little money would be required." he says. adding that his plan would not divert support from U.S. projects and may allow American researchers to do more with limited funds. "If they didn'1 hire a research intern, it would free up $15.000. That could fund a whole Russian project."