More export control madness
The Dept. of Commerce wants to treat foreign researchers’ access to scientific technology as export to hostile nations. Which is to say, if you have the misfortune of being an Indian student or a Russian scientist, and you want to say, use a microscope, you will need to fill out a request (complete with your entire life history and an explanation for why you perhaps might possibly not be a terrorist), wait a few months, and perhaps receive a positive reply. For those several months, you are not doing experiments, you are not contributing to America’s GDP, and you are certainly not making any scientific discoveries. And you have to go through this process for every piece of equipment you touch — which can easily be more than a hundred requests per year.
If you are a Chinese, Indian, Russian, or Israeli scientist in the US, you might as well switch professions. I hear the demand for IP lawyers is really high these days…
(for other info about moronic export restrictions, look here)