Gerson S. Sher, PhD, is a retired civil servant and foundation executive who has devoted his career to the intersection of scientific cooperation, international affairs, and global security, primarily with the countries of the former Soviet Union. He is retired from the National Science Foundation and also held positions at the National Academy of Sciences, George Soros’ International Science Foundation (as Chief Operating Officer), and CRDF Global (of which he was the founding president). His most recent publication is From Pugwash to Putin: A Critical History of US-Soviet Scientific Cooperation (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2019).
Science & Diplomacy gathered four perspectives of U.S. scientists and former diplomats who have spent several decades involved in scientific collaboration with the USSR, Russia, Ukraine, and post-Soviet states.
To mark 60 years of U.S.-Former Soviet Union Collaboration, Gerson S. Sher interviewed sixty-two scientists, diplomats, and others from both sides to assess what worked and what did not, and why, to determine what may be useful to consider with regard to other programs and projects of international scientific cooperation.