Tigers in the Lab

Like so many talented young taiwanese, Yuan T. Lee came to the U.S. to study, and then to stay. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. He climbed the academic ladder. Eventually, he won a Nobel Prize. Then earlier this year, at the peak of his career, the 57-year- old chemist made a sweeping U-turn and headed back home to run Taiwan's prestigious Academia Sinica, a burgeoning collection of 21 research institutes.

The departure of such a distinguished scientist signals a dramatic change: the brain drain that has enriched the West with tens of thousands of Asia's best and brightest minds has begun to flow in the opposite direction. The Yuan T. Lees of tomorrow still flock to elite North American and European universities for advanced degrees, but more and more they are seeking employment in Asia, where opportunities to pursue careers in research are expanding almost as fast as sales of designer clothes and cellular phones.

The U.S., which last year pulled the plug on one of its most prestigious science projects, the Superconducting Supercollider, often seems to forget the value of funding research. But Asia has not. Japan has been building up its research capabilities for years, and it is being joined by the so-called Tigers of Asia -- Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. They are collectively plowing billions of dollars earned selling cars and computer parts into their technical universities and research institutes. Their goal is an ambitious one: first to catch up in scientific fields pioneered by the West, then to dominate the industries of the future.

Asia's new willingness to invest in long-term research reflects not just its recent economic boom but also a radical shift in social outlook. "Thirty years ago, when the average person needed rice and bread, who could talk about science?" asks Weichen Tien, head of the Development Center for Biotechnology in Taipei. "Today science is viewed as a necessity."

The change is as remarkable as it is recent -- especially for those scientists making the trip back East. Just 10 years ago, returning to Asia would have entailed enormous personal sacrifice. But that was before the job market for scientists and engineers in the West turned sour and prospects in the East turned sweet. Singapore's six-year-old Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology finds it increasingly easy to attract promising young Ph.D.s with offers that start at $40,000 a year. Hong Kong's new University of Science and Technology, which awarded degrees to its first class of 576 undergraduates last month, can match the handsome faculty salaries offered by top U.S. universities, and has even started to lure some prominent non-Asians. To direct a new $4.5 million environmental-studies program, for instance, Hong Kong recruited Gary Heinke from the University of Toronto. "We're not shy," laughs Hong Kong university president Chia-Wei Woo, whose resume includes a stint as president of San Francisco State University. "When we see someone we want, we can be very sticky."