Bell Labs, Corning fund work at Russian labs

In the latest U.S. moves to tap into the science and technology talent of the former Soviet Union, both AT&T Bell Laboratories and Corning Inc. last week announced agreements to fund work at Russian research institutes. Bell Labs has contracted with the Russian Academy of Sciences' General Physics Institute in Moscow for the services of the 100 scientists and technicians in the institute's fiber-optics department. Corning has signed joint research agreements to back basic research on glass by a total of 115 scientists at two institutes in St. Petersburg—the academy's Institute for Silicate Chemistry, and the Vavilov State Optics Institute's Institute of Optical Materials Science. Both Bell Labs and Corning laud the capabilities of their Russian partners. For example, Jacques G. Lemoine, Corning vice president and director of research and technology in Europe, says: "I was impressed by the world-class talent and level of knowledge. This promises to be an exciting exchange." The Soviet ...