Reply To: NIMBY FUD

[asymmetric_implosion]

It makes me sad to see that international collaboration has to be between so called friendly nations. Expanding a network of scientists is almost always a good idea.

From a business side I would be worried about the feelings of investors and potential investors. I agree that the US attitude toward Iran is deplorable, but how do the folks with the cash feel? Can Q>1 put aside concerns about foreign collaborations? I don’t know the answer. I hope there are some open minded folks with big wallets.

My concern from a political side is not Dept of State or Treasury. Worry about DoD and DHS. If Q>1 happens, the technology will likely show up on a military restricted technology list. Once that happens all the publications will be clamped under International Trafficking of Arms Restrictions. If you run afoul of those, you end up in jail. Anyone who knows about plasma flow control has heard about J. Reece Roth formerly of U. of Tennessee. Instead of living out his golden years at home, he’s rotting in a jail for taking the wrong laptop to China. I hope it doesn’t come to an ITAR classification but if it does, publishing gets a lot harder. I’ve had to use very careful language to get my PF publications past ITAR reviewers. A collaboration is more than a strike against you with people like that. I was lucky to have folks that supported the work and wanted it published. God forbid you run across someone that knows nothing about the science and sees terrorists everywhere. If anyone is an APS member, check out the story in last month’s Physic’s Today about secrecy and the atom bomb for a flavor.

Best of luck navigating the choppy seas of science, business and politics.