Comment from Iain Stewart

[200.205, 200.340] To Whom it May Concern: I am a full professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I am writing in my personal capacity to oppose the proposed revisions to sections 200.202(e) and 200.220 that would restrict international scientific collaboration and isolate American scientists. I am involved in scientific collaborations with people who are currently professors or senior researchers in Austria, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Korea. In the past I have collaborated with scientists in China and Canada. These collaborations have led to publications in top journals and major advances in the field. Science is a worldwide enterprise. Cutting off US scientists from those around the world will limit the information we have access to, and thus the science we can do, putting us at a disadvantage to those in other countries. This exact approach led to a vast decline in the science done in Russia during the cold war. Many international collaborations involve multi-billion dollar construction projects, including particle accelerators and satellites for astronomy. These are necessarily funded by many countries and require international engagement of US scientists who would otherwise be left out of new discoveries. Bans on collaboration and travel to 'covered foreign countries' such as China, would ensure that US scientists loose access to international research advances that may be critical for the future. In particular, as research has become more international, conferences are often hosted in different countries each year, and cutting off US scientists from participation for conferences in China would be detrimental. Rules that limit US scientists from keeping up with the strongest science in the field by engaging with researchers from around the world, will weaken the US enterprise and economy.