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Welcome to the January 2004 issue of the Fulbright Academy of Science
& Technology's news bulletin. This publication is sent to educational
innovators and leaders in scientific and technical fields in the US and
around the world. Please look to the end of this email for information
about the Academy and its mission. We can be reached at info@fulbrighter.org
The Academy is an independent non-profit overseen by a dedicated group
of volunteers. The Academy receives support from selected Fulbright alumni
groups, businesses, institutions, organizations, foundations, and
individuals interested in developing a network of leaders in science and
technology, but it is not affiliated with the Fulbright Association, the
US State Department or the Board of Foreign Scholars.
Meet FAST at the AAAS Meeting 
Our winter meeting this year will be held in conjunction with the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting
in Seattle on Sunday February 15th. As the publisher of America's leading
scientific journal, Science, the AAAS has enormous national and
international influence within the scientific community and in Washington,
DC, where the organization advocates for federal scientific funding. The
missions of AAAS include furthering the work of scientists, facilitating
scientific cooperation and improving the effectiveness of science in the
promotion of human welfare. Their motto -- "advancing science, serving
society" -- meshes nicely with the goals of the Fulbright Academy.
Thousands of scientists and eduators will be attending the meeting,
which begins on Thursday, February 12, with addresses by Dr. Mary Ellen
Avery (Children's Hospital Boston and the AAAS President) and Richard
Klausner (Executive Director of Global Health for the Gates Foundation).
There will be over 140 symposium, covering topical areas such as "Higher
Education adn Science Careers," "Learning Science: K-12," "Living Oceans
and Coastlines," "Public Health-Public Risk," and "Science and Society."
FAST Board Members Eric Howard and Bob George will be at symposia,
workshops, and in the exhibition hall on Thursday through Monday. Please
look for our "Are you a Fulbrighter?" sign. We will have a special
meeting for members and interested
parties immediately after the Sunday afternoon symposium organized
by Dr. George, "The Forgotten Forests: Deep- sea coral and sponge beds."
Our winter meeting is a follow-up to our successful meeting in
Washington, DC in October. If you are planning on attending the AAAS
meeting, please contact us via email so that we can make arrangements to
meet with you face-to-face. For additional information on the AAAS
meeting, you can visit their website -- the link is below.
2004 AAAS Meeting in Seattle
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Recent Scholars in the US |
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| Fulbright Academy wants to identify and
recognize science and technology innovators outside of the United
States -- and in particular from developing countries. In our
November newsletter we included a listing of some of the
international scholars currently in the United States as a
Fulbrighter. It is a very long list, so we are taking this
opportunity to share some more of the names. The data comes from the
2003-2004 visiting scholars section of the CIES website (see weblink
below).
** Tsung Chin Lee of Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan:
Research on How to Set Up a Dance Therapy Training Program in Taiwan
** Ismail Mekkaoui Alaoui of Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech,
Morocco: Research on Fingerprint Development With Lasers ** Oliver
Obrou of the University of Cocody in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire:
Research on Improvement of the International Reference Ionosphere
(IRI) Model at Equatorial Latitudes ** Virginia Cavalcanti of the
University of Fortaleza in Brazil: Research on The Meaning of
Depression in the Contemporary World ** Anna Fenko of the Moscow
State Psychology Teaching University in Russia: Research on Gender
Differences in Attitude to Money and Economic Behavior **
Kamarulazizi Ibrahim of the Science University of Malaysia (USM) in
Penang: Research on Organic-Based Light Emitting Devices **
** Falah Al-Ani of the Jordan University of Science and
Technology in Irbid: Research on Mastitis Prevention and Control
Project ** Sayonara Barbosa of the Federal University of Santa
Catarina in Brazil: Research on Web- Based Simulation as A Tool to
Teach Critical Care Nursing ** Lilia Cigrina of the N. Testemitanu
State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Moldova: Research on
Advancement of Medical Education in Moldova - Implementing Hybrid
Curricula in Pharmacology Teaching ** Alexander Nyarko of the
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana: Research
on Activity-Guided Isolation of Bioactive Compounds From a Ghanian
Plant Medicine **
These are some of the 800 faculty and professionals who came to
the US on Fulbrights. Many of those listed above are still in the
US; their Fulbright experience ends in the spring. You can click at
the link below to find their US host or scholars in your discipline
or in your country of interest.
How to Contact
Visiting Scholars »
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NATO Science Research Workshops |
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| Each year NATO hosts a series of Advanced
Research Workshops (ARWs). These are working meetings of about four
days' duration, where scientists and engineers researching at the
frontiers of a subject are able to engage in an intense but informal
exchange of views, aiming at a critical assessment of existing
knowledge and identification of directions for future actions.
Attendance at ARWs is mainly by invitation, but a few places are
available for particularly well- qualified scientists upon
application to the Co-Directors of the particular ARW.
NATO also funds Advanced Study Institutes (ASIs). These are
high-level tutorial courses of two weeks' duration where a subject
is treated in depth by lecturers of international standing.
Presentations are made to about 100 scientists or research students
already specialised in the field, or who have an advanced general
scientific background. Suitably- qualified scientists wishing to
attend an ASI should apply to the Co-Directors of the particular
ASI.
For a full list of this year's ARWs and ASIs, please look to the
NATO Science website. The site also includes information on how to
apply for NATO's "Security through Science" grants. Applicants and
scientisits involved must work in NATO member countries.
NATO
Science »
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World Bank Institute Conferences |
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| A Fulbrighter who is a Lead Specialist and head
of the Private Sector Team at the World Bank Institute (part of the
World Bank) send us information on two of their upcoming programs.
The Institute's Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility
Program kindly invites members to participate in a Global
e-Conference organized with its partners on "The Possibilities and
Challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility among Small and Medium
Enterprises". Each of the three weeks is moderated by expert
practitioners, consultants and Entrepreneurs in the field of CSR and
SMEs and discusses questions such as "Can SMEs afford to be socially
responsible?" and "Is conventional CSR research relevant for SMEs?"
The aim of the conference is to generate new insights and ideas for
action on the topic. Findings and recommendations made by
participants will then be shared with decision makers at other
venues, such as the 2004 Inter- American Conference on CSR in
Mexico. The e- Conference is currently active, and will conclude on
February 8th. Participation is open to all and free of charge. Click here to register for the
e-Conference or access the agenda
The other confernece organized by the World Bank Institute's
Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Program focuses on
The Poverty Challenge in a New Millennium - Difining Roles for
Youth and the Next Generation of Leaders. It take place on
February 9 to February 27, 2004. As with other Institute
e-Conferneces, participation is open to all and free of charge.
Recommendations made by participants will then be shared with top
decision makers at a major World Bank conference on poverty
reduction to be held in Shanghai in May 2004. Click here for the poverty
conference.
World Bank Institute &
Conferences »
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Fulbrighter News |
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| We would like to share the news of your
successes with others. This is a new regular column which highlights
significant grants awarded to Fulbrighters or books published by
them.
National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture
are supporting a $475,000 public-private collaborative project to
complete the genomic sequencing of two species of the bacterium
Xenorhabdus. In nature, Xenorhabdus bacteria have a mutually
beneficial relationship with certain soil-dwelling nematodes. As
part of their reproductive process, they infect and kill insects.
Because they can kill agricultural pests, scientists from around the
world are studying this complex tripartite system for its potential
impacts on agriculture. There may be medicial applications as well.
Two complete Xenorhabdus genomes will provide the essential tools
for comparative genomics, biological analyses of molecules and
mechanisms involved in host colonization, pathogenicity, and niche
competition.
The broader impacts include enhanced collaborations between
disparate institutions, especially between companies and academia,
and exposure of young people to science and research. The project
involves a diverse group of institutions - a biotechnology company,
a research institute, two large public research universities, and a
small private undergraduate college. This impact extends into the
future through the development and dissemination of materials for
undergraduate and high school educators. For further information,
please contact Barry
Goldman at Monsanto Company or visit the project website
www.xenorhabdus.org. In 1990 Dr Goldman received a Fulbright
grant to Hungary to study biology.
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Some New Members of the Academy |
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| Rob Wilder is the Coordinator of the
Nature Conservancy's Community Based Restoration Program (CRP) with
the Marine Initiative. His work on marine restoration focuses on
bringing back habitats, fauna/flora, and ecosystems structure in
widely diverse local settings. This work involves partnership
building, leveraging for positive results and developing applied
strategies that link science/policy to bring back marine biological
diversity. As a National Academy of Sciences Young Investigator on
Coastal Ecology, he conducted field work on policy/science in the
Adriatic region and has done similar work in Russia, Hawaii, and
elsewhere. His Fulbright Scholarship was to Fiji in 1992. A
link to more on Rob
Erik Anderson went to Nova Scotia as a Fulbrighter in 1995
to study physics and engineering. He is now in a joint reserach
program at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is researching drag
- the force that slows the movement of an object through air or
water. In the past, the physical and mechanical models fell short of
the biological reality, so scientists were stuck with the
implausible conclusion that the force a dolphin or fish needed to
overcome drag was greater than the force their muscles could
generate. Instead of modeling the forces of drag, Erik combined 21st
century lasers, robots, and cameras with old-fashioned attention to
microscopic detail to build an experiment that measures these
forces. A
link to more on Erik
Bill Bolton is on the board of directors of HealthSpace
Cleveland. Formerly known as the Health Museum of Cleveland, it was
the first museum of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The museum
opened its doors to the public in 1940 and since that time has
provided health education and information in a museum setting. In
addition to providing learning environments on site, HealthSpace
Cleveland can bring real-life learning experiences into your
classroom via the internet. A link to more on the
Museum
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Academy Membership |
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| The Fulbright Academy of Science &
Technology uses the expertise of our network of Fulbrighters and
leaders in science to address criticial problems in education,
scientific innovation and economic development. While projects may
be funded by foundations who share our mission, membership income is
an important part of our annual budget.
Membership renewal notices will be sent to all members the first
week of February. If you are not yet a member, please consider
joining the Academy.
Please join the
Academy »
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