CRDF Global is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes safety, security, and sustainability through science and innovation. CRDF Global was authorized by the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
in 1992 under the
FREEDOM Support Act
The FREEDOM Support Act of 1992 (Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act, FSA, HR 282) is an act passed by the United States Congress. It is not to be confused with the Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2005 ...
and established in 1995 by the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
. This unique
public-private partnership promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, and training.
CRDF Global was originally named the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation for the
Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (CRDF).
Mission
* Provide cooperative research and development opportunities that enable scientists and engineers to address critical security, economic, education and other societal needs.
* Advance peace and prosperity by funding civilian research and development projects that contribute to global nonproliferation objectives.
* Promote the application of science and technology to economic growth through international partnerships and training that foster invention, innovation, entrepreneurship and the commercialization of technology.
* Strengthen university research and education in science and engineering.
[
CRDF Global is based in ]Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, and has offices in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
; Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
; and Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
, Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
.
Between 1995 - 2010, CRDF Global awarded nearly 3,000 grants to more than 13,000 scientists—including 2,500 former weapons researchers—and has committed more than $105 million in total support. In addition to its own funds, CRDF Global has been able to leverage more than $42 million in additional support from foreign governments; as well as cash and in-kind contributions from participating American businesses. In addition to its grantmaking, CRDF Global has a very popular service it provides to organizations seeking to conduct research collaborations abroad, called CRDF Solutions (formerly GAP.) Through this service, CRDF Global has facilitated more than 1,100 individual projects, valued at over $195 million, on behalf of more than 180 business and industry, education and government clients.
History
The Soviet Union employed an estimated 50,000-60,000 nuclear experts, 65,000 bioweapons experts, and 6,000 chemical weapons experts. When the Soviet Union collapsed, many of these once-privileged scientists, engineers, and technicians became unemployed, underemployed, or unpaid. To prevent weapons experts from selling their knowledge to unfriendly states, the US government established or co-established several programs and organizations to provide scientists with civilian employment in their home countries. These "scientist redirection" and "scientist engagement" initiatives include the International Science and Technology Center
The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) is an intergovernmental nonproliferation organization connecting scientists with their peers and research organizations in other countries. The ISTC Headquarters is currently in Nur Sultan, Kaz ...
, the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine, the State Department's Global Threat Reduction programs (formerly Nonproliferation of WMD Expertise), the Department of Energy's Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention and now-defunct Nuclear Cities Initiative
The Nuclear Cities Initiative is an initiative which purports to support the now struggling community and structures of post-USSR nuclear research, aimed at preventing nuclear proliferation.US Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
and a matching donation from philanthropist George Soros
George Soros ( name written in eastern order), (born György Schwartz, August 12, 1930) is a Hungarian-American businessman and philanthropist. , he had a net worth of US$8.6 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated mo ...
. The National Science Foundation provided $300,000 for start-up activities.
CRDF Global has supported nonproliferation programs in the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy. These programs have frequently chosen to implement projects through CRDF because the foundation has some tax-free privileges, implementing agreements with foreign governments, and less bureaucracy. Typically, CRDF makes payments, imports equipment, and provides project oversight in exchange for a percentage fee.
Beginning in 2003, CRDF Global expanded its activities beyond the former Soviet Union and amended its original purpose to its current mission statement. The organization now works in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the FSU. Since its establishment, CRDF has received funding from many US government agencies, along with foreign governments and organizations, and private US organizations such as the Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
.
Leadership
Board of Directors
CRDF Global's Board of Directors is co-chaired by Dr. William Wulf
William Allan Wulf (born December 8, 1939) is a computer scientist notable for his work in programming languages and compilers. Until June 2012, he was a university professor and the AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences in the Depart ...
, president emeritus of the National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
, and Ms. Dona L. Crawford, associate director of computation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
. The other members of the Board of Directors are: Dr. Jaleh Daie, managing partner of Aurora Equity; Dr. Farouk El-Baz
Farouk El-Baz ( arz, فاروق الباز, ''Pronunciation'': ) (born January 2, 1938) is an Egyptian American space scientist and geologist, who worked with NASA in the scientific exploration of the Moon and the planning of the Apollo program. ...
, Research Professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
; Dr. Howard Frank, professor of management science, University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business; Mr. Paul Longsworth, vice president of new ventures, Fluor Corporation
Fluor Corporation is an American multinational engineering and construction firm headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a holding company that provides services through its subsidiaries in the following areas: oil and gas, industrial and infrastru ...
; Dr. Rodney Nichols, president emeritus of the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wit ...
; Dr. Gilbert S Omenn, professor of internal medicine, human genetics and public health and director of the Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
; Ms. Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, dean of the McGeorge School of Law
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law is a private, American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school in the Oak Park neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the University of the Pacific and is located on t ...
at the University of the Pacific; Dr. Anne C. Petersen, a research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
; Dr. Susan Raymond, Executive Vice President for Research, Evaluation and Strategic Planning, Changing Our World; Caroline S. Wagner, John Glenn College of Public Affairs, The Ohio State University, and Dr. Hassan Virji, Executive Director, Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training.
Advisory Council
CRDF Global's Advisory Council is chaired by Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering (born November 5, 1931) is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.
Early life and education
Born in Orange, ...
, senior vice president of international relations (retired), The Boeing Company
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
and vice chairman of Hills & Co. Other Advisory Council members are: Mr. Nils Bruzelius, Executive Editor and Vice-President for Publications, Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability. EWG is a nonprofit ...
; Dr. Gail H. Cassell, Vice President of scientific affairs and distinguished research scholar for infectious diseases, Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel ...
; Mr. Vinton G. Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist, Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
; Ambassador James Franklin Collins
James Franklin Collins (born June 4, 1939)archived version is a former United States Ambassador to Russia. A career Foreign Service Officer in the State Department, he is a Russian specialist.
Biography
Collins graduated from Harvard College ' ...
, director and senior associate and diplomat in residence, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...
; Dr. Rita Colwell
Rita Rossi Colwell (born November 23, 1934) is an American environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases. Colwell is the founder and C ...
, Chairman and President of CosmosID; Dr. Loren R. Graham
Loren R. Graham (born June 29, 1933, in Hymera, Indiana) is an American historian of science, particularly science in Russia.
Career
He has taught and published at Indiana University, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Techn ...
, professor of history and science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
; Dr. William V. Harris, president and CEO of the Science Foundation Arizona; Dr. Siegfried S. Hecker, senior fellow and former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...
; Dr. Najmedin Meshkati, Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering and Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
; Dr. Richard A. Murphy, former president and CEO of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, U.S. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vacci ...
; and Dr. Peter H. Raven
Peter Hamilton Raven (born June 13, 1936) is an American botanist and environmentalist, notable as the longtime director, now President Emeritus, of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Early life
On June 13, 1936, Raven was born in Shanghai, Chi ...
, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located at 4344 Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder and philanthropist Henry Shaw. Its herbarium, with more than 6.6 million spe ...
.
President & Chief Executive Officer
CRDF Global's current leader is Michael A. Dignam. From 2011-2014, Mr. Dignam served as President and CEO of PAE, an Arlington, VA-based services and logistics company.
Previous President & CEO was Cathleen Campbell, who held that post 2006-2016. Prior to the CEO position, Ms. Campbell served as VP of Programs and then Senior VP at CRDF Global. Prior to joining CRDF Global, Ms. Campbell served from 1998 to 2002 as director of the Office of International Policy and Programs in the Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...
, as well as executive director of the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Commission. From 1995 to 1997, she was a senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
(OSTP). Campbell was the U.S. State Department's program officer for Soviet/Russia science and technology affairs from 1989 to 1994.
Initiatives
George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation
Each year, CRDF Global presents the George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation to recognize the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr.'s vision for international research cooperation, and his important role in the efforts leading to CRDF Global's creation. The award is presented to an individual for his or her critical work in advancing international cooperation in science and technology. The award was first presented in 2005 to mark CRDF Global's tenth anniversary.
The George Brown Award is open to any individual in the policy, business, science, research, or technology community who has contributed substantially to advancing international science and technology cooperation. In 2012, CRDF Global recognized three individuals for their scientific and humanitarian achievements: Mr. William Draper, III, General Partner of Draper Richards L.P and Co-Chairman of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation; Dr. David A. Hamburg
David Allen Hamburg (October 1, 1925 – April 21, 2019) was an American psychiatrist. He served as president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1982 to 1997. He also served as the President of the Institute of Medicine, National Academ ...
, President Emeritus at Carnegie Corporation of New York
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
, former president of AAAS and the Institute of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...
; and Dr. Charles M. Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Past winners include Dr. Bruce Alberts
Bruce Michael Alberts (born April 14, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American biochemist and the Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education, Emeritus at the University of California, San Francis ...
; Dr. Craig Barrett; the late Dr. Norman Borlaug
Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...
; Dr. Rita R. Colwell; U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN); Dr. Yuri Osipyan Yuri Andreevich Osipyan (russian: Юрий Андреевич Осипьян; February 15, 1931 – September 10, 2008) was a Soviet, Russian-Armenian physicist who worked in the field of solid state physics.
Osipyan was born in Moscow and graduat ...
; Dr. John "Jack" Gibbons; Dr. King K. Holmes; Dr. Zafra M. Lerman; Dr. Brian Tucker; Dr. E. Daniel Hirleman; and Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering
Thomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering (born November 5, 1931) is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.
Early life and education
Born in Orange, ...
.[
]
See also
* Brain drain
*Nuclear nonproliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
References
External links
*
crdf.org
(archived)
George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation
(archived)
A Consortium Model for Science Engagement
by CRDF Global CEO Cathy Campbell (archived)
The US Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF)
, Henry L. Stimson Center, updated on June 1, 2007.
{{Authority control
Scientific research foundations in the United States