by Alexander Unkart

The fact that biotechnology is a contentious issue in Austria hardly makes the country and its people unique. So it should come as no surprise that Austria followed the path of other countries by establishing a federal advisory panel on biotechnology that will celebrate its fourth birthday this June.

by Ilona Aberl

The International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) was recently honored at the Embassy of Austria in Washington, D.C. during a reception meant to highlight its success in bringing together scientific talent from around the world to conduct studies intended to benefit the global community. The evening was a success due to the vested interest of guests representing organizations such as the U.S. Department of State, National Institutes of Health, various embassies and the American Association for the Advancement of Science to name a few.

by Ilona Aberl

Although busy with the day-to-day business of participating in a second EU Presidency, Mr. Roger Kleinenberg, Attaché for Science and Technology at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., took some time out to meet with bridges. Mr. Kleinenberg discussed the recently concluded Netherlands EU Presidency (July 1 – December 31, 2004) and commented on the current Luxembourg EU Presidency (January 1 – June 30, 2005) in which the Dutch are now marginally participating. It is the first time that a government has had the opportunity to be involved in two EU Presidencies, and consecutively at that. In addition, the Dutch EU Presidency was the first that included all 25 full-fledged Member States.

by Alexander Unkart

Each year, thousands of international science students and scholars apply for visas to enter the United States to participate in education and exchange programs. These foreign science students and scholars are an important economic resource for U.S. universities, colleges, and also research centers.
At the same time, the U.S. has important national security reasons for carefully screening science students and scholars who apply for visas. Since 1998 the U.S. government uses the Visas Mantis program, a security review procedure involving multiple U.S. government agencies as the primary tool to conduct this screening.