Article ID: CBB136612437

Emigration or return? International mobility and Theodore von Kármán's Chinese students and associates (2021)

unapi

This paper traces the experiences of about a dozen Chinese students/scientists who studied with the aerodynamicist Theodore von Kármán at the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s and 1940s. This special group provides an early instance of a situation that has attracted significant scholarly attention since the 1960s—educational migration of highly talented individuals and the difficult choices those individuals faced when they decided to stay abroad or to return home. This study deepens the scholarship on ‘study abroad motivation’ for international students and the push–pull factors related to returning to their homeland or staying abroad. Kármán tried to support his students' decisions whatever they were, without putting pressure on their decision to stay or to return. The thinking of the students was inevitably affected by changes in Sino–US relations and changes in US policy. All struggled to meet their obligation to homeland, family expectations and senses of personal honour against the advanced academic environment they had enjoyed. The stability of America's peaceful society and improved material standards of living compared with China made this a difficult decision. Different people balanced these competing demands differently. The key was how they decided to take advantage—or not—of the new circumstances.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB136612437/

Similar Citations

Article Neil R. Sheeley; (2019)
Memorable Events During a Research Career

Article Katja Guenther; (2022)
How to Train Your Analyst

Article Christian Bracco; (2015)
L’environnement scientifique du jeune Albert Einstein: La période milanaise (1899-1901)

Article Olga Yu. Elina; (2024)
Women’s education and career development in agriculture in Russia in the early twentieth century

Article Decker, Karola; (2003)
Divisions and Diversity: The Complexities of Medical Refuge in Britain, 1933--1948

Article Abel, Emily K.; (2003)
From Exclusion to Expulsion: Mexicans and Tuberculosis Control in Los Angeles, 1914--1940

Article Gregory Bond; (2018)
“Love Him and Let Him Go”: The American Colonization Society's James Brown—Pioneering African-American Apothecary in the United States and Liberia, 1802–1853, Part II—Liberia

Article Dean F. Martin; Vera V. Mainz; Gregory S. Girolami; (2021)
St. Elmo Brady (1884-1966). The First African American Chemistry Doctorate Recipient

Article Ashwin Mohan; Gregory J. Kelly; (2020)
Nature of Science and Nature of Scientists

Article Kai Ming Kiang; Wai Man Szeto; (2021)
Teaching Traditional Chinese Science as a Part of a NOS Curriculum in Hong Kong

Article Charles Winrich; Peter Garik; (2021)
Integrating History of Science in In‑service Physics Teacher Education: Impact on Teachers’ Practice

Article Katherine P. Dabney; Devasmita Chakraverty; Amy C. Hutton; Katy A. Warner; Roibert H. Tai; (2016)
The Bachelor’s to PhD Transition: Factors Influencing PhD Completion Among Women in Chemistry and Physics

Article Michael F. Robinson; (2020)
Shackleton Syndrome

Book John Wareing; (2017)
Indentured migration and the servant trade from London to America, 1618-1718: 'There is great want of servants'

Article Kristrún Gunnarsdóttir; Kjetil Rommetveit; (2017)
The Biometric Imaginary: (dis)trust in a Policy Vacuum

Article Caterina Schürch; (2017)
How Mechanisms Explain Interfield Cooperation: Biological–Chemical Study of Plant Growth Hormones in Utrecht and Pasadena, 1930–1938

Article Emily Simpson; (2020)
Ant Mazes and Astronomy: Harlow Shapley's Entomological Experiments at Mount Wilson Observatory and Pasadena, California

Article Heráclio D. Tavares; Alexandre Bagdonas; Antonio A. P. Videira; (2020)
Transnationalism as Scientific Identity: Gleb Wataghin and Brazilian Physics, 1934–1949

Article Erik Langlinay; (2016)
Albin Haller, chimie et politique (1918-1925)

Book Muñoz Muñoz, Ana M.; (2006)
Presencia y producción científica de las profesoras de la Universidad de Granada (1975--1990)

Authors & Contributors
Abel, Emily K.
Bracco, Christian
Decker, Karola
Girolami, Gregory S.
Guenther, Katja
Gunnarsdóttir, Kristrún
Journals
Science and Education
Bulletin of the History of Medicine
Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences
Revue d'Histoire des Sciences
Bulletin for the History of Chemistry
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society
Publishers
Oxford University Press
Universidad de Granada
Concepts
Science education and teaching
Emigration; immigration
Career development
Education (graduate)
Universities and colleges
Physics
People
Besso, Michele Angelo
Einstein, Albert
Freud, Sigmund
Maric, Mileva
Shapley, Harlow
Wataghin, Gleb
Time Periods
20th century, early
19th century
20th century
17th century
18th century
20th century, late
Places
United States
Great Britain
Pasadena (California)
Brazil
Mexico
California (U.S.)
Institutions
Bell Telephone Laboratories
California Institute of Technology
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Kitt Peak National Observatory
Mount Wilson Observatory
Université de Paris
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment