The Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology (FAST) is an international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging Fulbright scholars and other leaders in partnerships that advance science and society. Membership is open to Fulbright scholars, hosts and friends and to institutions having an interest in our work.

Overview of this newsletter ** Alumni updates ** Opportunities to Share Knowledge ** It's never too late ** Other news and the FAST Press Service ** Membership **

This month’s newsletter focuses on the accomplishments of your fellow Fulbright scholars. Most of these brief bios are summaries of stories published on the Alumni.State.Gov website. Please visit that website to read more about these and other accomplished Fulbright scholars – or to post information about some of your own accomplishments.

With the rapid expansion of the educational system in Ethiopia at all levels, it is important to provide quality and produce graduates that are on par with graduates world wide. Tetemke Mehari, an associate professor of biochemistry at Addis Ababa University (AAU) recognized the declining quality of science and technology students at AAU and looked to secondary school to identify potential issues. On the basis of his research, he inaugurated a series of workshops for science and math teachers with the Bureau of Education in Addis Ababa and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in partnership with USAID. At the same time, he continues to teach and engage in scientific research and is active at promoting international scientific exchange in order to pave the way for further cooperation with U.S. and Ethiopia in education.

Dr. Wayne McLaughlin of Jamaica heads the University of the West Indies’ Department of Basic Medical Sciences and founded forensic DNA laboratory Caribbean Genetics in 2005. Earlier this summer, he spoke at a program organized by the Jamaica Fulbright-Humphrey Alumni Association, explaining the mysteries of DNA and the importance of detailed crime scene investigations to an audience of two hundred at the University's Mona campus. [Note UWI is an institutional member of FAST.]

Fulbright scholar Yves Chan Kam Lon has been a leader in the library and publications community in the Republic of Mauritius. As the Chief Executive Officer of the National Library of Mauritius, his is responsible for internal issues, such as staff development, as well as relations with other libraries in Mauritius and international institutions, such as UNESCO.

Mr. Atanas Kocov is facilitating an e-BIZ project in the Balkans region. Working with the alumni network, Kocov’s project serves the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Slovenia, with the aim of establishing centers for advance engineering technologies. The goal is to help small and medium sized businesses improve their competitiveness on the global market, as well as attract foreign investments. These centers will also develop networks among companies in the region and help them to work collaboratively. Kocov has additionally taken part in the Rector Conference and SPICE group (Science, Parks & Innovations), which focuses on cooperation and joint projects for economic growth in the western Balkans. Kocov was a Fulbright Scholar in 2004 to the University of Washington, Seattle. In addition to being the President of the Macedonian American Alumni Association, Mr. Kocov is also an associate professor at the University St. Cyril and Methodius Skopje and a part time professor at the Tetovo State University.

Ana Mojica Bonilla of El Salvador received the David Woodward Award for Best Electronic Map in the student category at a 2006 competition hosted by the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. Mojica is a Fulbright student in environmental geographic information science at Ohio University, and the prize-winning map presented the results of a 2003 study (commissioned by the government of Nejapa) that investigated the potential geological impact of mudslides on the city. As depicted in Mojica’s animated map, a number of potential slides could strike Nejapa and isolate both the city and the eastern and western zones of El Salvador by blocking important transportation connections.

The Second General Assembly of the Fulbright Philippine Agriculture Alumni Association (FPAAA) is scheduled for this weekend at the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, outside of Manila. The FPAAA seeks to share and disseminate information relevant to agriculture and fisheries; identify issues and concerns that need policy intervention; and introduce Fulbright agriculture scholars to staff and officials from the Philippine Department of Agriculture for possible future collaboration.

The Fulbright Association will celebrate its 30th Anniversary with a special conference in Washington, D.C., this fall. The theme for the conference is People & Planet, and it will be held at The Madison, a Loews Hotel, Nov. 1-4, 2007. The DEADLINE for poster session proposals is Aug. 31, 2007. Details can be found at www.FulbrightAlumni.org. [Note: the Fulbright Association is not affiliated with FAST.]

FAST will be hosting its third annual dinner in Cambridge, MA on October 4 in conjunction with the Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, which honors scientific achievements that first make people LAUGH and then make them THINK. Fulbright scholars and friends of FAST gather for dinner at a local restaurant and then attend the highly humorous program at Harvard’s Sanders Theater. The cost for dinner and the tickets is about $50/person. For reservations, call FAST at 207-799-3098.

The FAST Third Annual Conference will be in Boston on February 14-17, 2008. The theme for the conference is “Energy & Innovation.” The deadline for panel proposals is September 1. The deadline for abstracts for presenting papers is October 1. Our host this year is Northeastern University.

Conference sponsors: FAST is seeking sponsors for panels, tours, and programs. For example, the Nebraska Institute of Forensic Science will be sponsoring a tour of one of Boston’s medical schools. We also have registration sponsors; these entities subsidize the registration for certain types of attendees or provide funds/stipends for travel and accommodation. For example, alumni of German-US exchanges will be able to apply for a reduced registration rate ($50 instead of the usual $300+ fee) as a result of sponsorships from the German-US Fulbright Commission and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

FAST is seeking corporate and individual participants for a joint display on Fulbright activities in health, nursing and medicine. The display will be at the upcoming meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an event that attracts some 6,000 scientists. As a result, it will be an opportunity to promote your work and your institution to an international audience. The AAAS meeting is in Boston on February 14-17, 2008.

Anne and Roy Freed recently published a book at the age of 90, a joint memoir, entitled "Fulbrighters in Retirement: Networking with Bulgarians Keeps Us Engaged." Anne graduated from the Smith College School for Social Work in 1941, after which she went on to practice, taught social work and published many works, including “The Changing Worlds of Older Women in Japan”. Roy is 1940 graduate of the Yale Law School, and he helped revolutionize the field of law with his article “A Lawyer’s Guide through the Computer Maze” published in the 1960. With six others, he formed the International Computer Law Association, now known as the International Technology Law Association.

They went to Bulgaria as Fulbright scholars in 1989 - some 50 years after completing their own academic training. Anne taught psychodynamic psychology at Sophia University while Roy worked with law students, lawyers, marketers and programmers, teaching them capitalist American law. At that time in Bulgaria, information about computer law was severely lacking, and the field of social work was practically non-existent. During the following 13 years, the Freed’s returned to Bulgaria 11 times, helping establish the School of Clinical Social Work at the New Bulgarian University and promoting tourism through a partnership with Elderhostel. Anne and Roy Freed were given Bulgaria’s highest civilian recognition when they were named Cavaliers of the Madara Horseman, First Degree.

Many people were on vacation in July. If you missed our July newsletter, the link to the on-line edition and all of the back issues are posted on the FAST website. (www.FulbrightAcademy.org).

In February, a new Fulbright program was launched in Colombia to strengthen regional institutions through the training of individuals in fields related to scientific or technological innovation. The Graduate Program for the Regions focuses on researchers, academics, and professionals from outside the capital city of Bogota. Applicants must be sponsored by a university, research center, or business incubator that has few staff members with doctoral degrees and that commits to employing grantees upon their return. In 2007, the program will award up to 22 grants to qualified candidates seeking master’s or doctoral degrees in the United States. Candidates must demonstrate a strong commitment to the scientific, technological, and socioeconomic advancement of their individual regions. Over the past 50 years, over 2,300 Colombians have participated in the Fulbright program. The new program is a collaboration between the Colombian Fulbright Commission, the Colombian Ministry of Education, COLCIENCIAS, the Colombian Department of National Planning, LASPAU and the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State.

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding with Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to establish the first World Heritage Digital Center (WHDC) under the leadership of Dr. Ching-chih Chen, information technology Professor at Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science. "The World Heritage Centre considers this an important project with great potential to enhance the humanities for universal access and enrichment through the use of emerging technologies," commented Francesco Bandarin, Director of the Centre. It will greatly promote a better knowledge of World Heritage properties and increase awareness of everyone's duty to protect them. Simmons College is an institutional member of FAST and Dr. Chen participated in our January 2007 workshop in Morocco on Digital Libraries.

Many of our members have interesting stories to tell – innovative research, new discoveries, and important developments. In order to get the message out, FAST has become a member of a press service, which allows us to distribute your press releases to over 4,000 subscribing science journalists worldwide.

Here is how it works: You draft a press release and submit it to FAST via email. We review the press releases and distribute a news story to the journalists through NewsWise.com. Please note that the story must have a connection to FAST, Fulbright scholars or international science. FAST reserves the right to select and edit the stories prior to distribution. This new FAST service is currently limited to our institutional members, who have the opportunity to submit two stories each between now and the end of 2007.

In addition, all of our individual members and newsletter subscribers can receive the wires from NewsWise, either daily or twice-weekly. The NewsWise service contains press releases from some 500 research and higher education institutions in North America and beyond. The press releases are placed into one of four groups: Medical News, Science News, Liberal Arts/Social Sciences News and Business News. You can get all four, or just a selection.

The Fulbright Academy was started in 2003 by people like you. We have individual and institutional members in some 50 countries and nearly every US state. A typical institutional membership is $500.

Many Fulbrighters are in interesting positions in government, industry and academia. We like to hear from institutions and Fulbright scholars to see what role our organization can play in the international policy arena. We also want to share your news with others in the Fulbright community.

FAST is a non-profit 501-c-3 membership-based organization that serves scientists, executives, and scholars worldwide. The Fulbright Academy is not affiliated with the US State Department, the Fulbright Association or the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Our sponsors and supporters include individual and institutional members such as universities, corporations, government agencies and foundations.