Collaborative: Return migration of academic scientists and engineers from the United States to India

前言在美国出生的外国科学家和工程师的回流移民率正在上升，这一趋势通常被称为人才反向流失。这一定性的国际合作项目通过确定关键的经济、政治、社会和文化因素，重点研究印度理工科教师回归移民的决策过程。这项研究的重点是印度教师，因为他们在美国的科学和工程劳动力以及对经济增长的贡献越来越大。这项比较研究的主要数据是通过对12个印度和美国的学术和研究机构的留任和归国教师以及每个地点的系主任进行的150多次深入采访收集的原始数据。智力价值该项目的意义在于它发展了对空间和地点的概念如何随着跨国移民而变化的理论理解，以及民族的社会结构如何跨越国界的转变。这些发现可能会为关于人力资本、科学和技术发展、跨国移民以及移民模式和政策的研究提供信息。鉴于外国出生的学者对这个国家的科学创新做出的贡献，这项研究加深了美国和印度之间的联系，因为两国正在利用各自的国家资源和专业知识来促进联合研究。潜在的更广泛的影响这项研究的结果将被整合到关于人力资源管理、劳动力多样性和科学政策的研究生和本科生课程的课堂和学习经验中。调查结果还将通过期刊、出版物和会议报告进行传播。该项目有可能扩大，纳入更多来自中国、韩国和越南的教职员工样本，这些国家是美国科学事业的主要人才输出国。

IntroductionReturn migration rates among foreign-born scientists and engineers in the United States are rising, a trend which is commonly referred to as Reverse Brain Drain. This qualitative international collaborative project focuses on the decision process underlying return migration of Indian faculty in science and engineering by pinpointing key economic, political, social and cultural factors. The research focuses on Indian faculty because of their increasing presence and contribution to the science and engineering workforce in the United States and to economic growth. The comparative study features primary data collected through more than 150 in-depth interviews with both stayed and returned faculty in 12 Indian and academic and research institutions in the United States, as well as department heads at each of the locations.Intellectual MeritThe significance of the project lies in its development of theoretical understanding of how the notion of space and place is changing with transnational migration, and how the social construction of nationality is being transformed across borders. The findings will potentially inform research on human capital, science and technology development, transnational migration, and immigration patterns and policies. Given the contributions of foreign-born academics to the scientific innovation of this country, this research deepens the bonds between the United States and India as they build upon their national resources and expertise toward furthering joint research.Potential Broader ImpactsThe results of this research will be integrated into the classroom and the learning experiences of graduate and undergraduate courses on human resource management, workforce diversity and science policy. The findings will also be disseminated through journals publication and conference presentations. The project has potential to be expanded to include larger samples of faculty members from China, South Korea and Vietnam, which are the leading exporters of talent to the American scientific enterprise.