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.

This issue addresses our winter 2008 events in Boston, Atlanta, Quito and Doha. We also remind you of our involvement in an initiative on science literacy.

For the first time, our annual conference will be held in the USA, and several leaders in American science are scheduled to speak: Dr. Rita Colwell, the former director of the US National Science Foundation; Dr. David Lightfoot, Assistant Director of NSF for Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; Dr. Stanley Bull, Associate Director for Science & Technology, US National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), Golden, CO; and Dr. Dan McCleese, the Chief Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

We also will have a group of experts from the academic and corporate world - as with the other speakers, nearly all are Fulbright scholars and alumni. Staff from our institutional members will also attend. Many of these experts will participate in working groups that will meet on Saturday to discuss joint initiatives and projects with our individual and institutional members.

These initiatives will further enhance the international professional networks of Fulbright alumni and hosts. The outcomes will be several concise proposals that can be submitted to foundations, agencies and other funding sources.

The working groups are addressing topics such as Architecture & urban planning, Soil science & microbiology, Science & business development, Advances in nursing education, Women in Science and Psychology. We also will have a group addressing science in the Middle East and North Africa. Fulbright scholars and hosts can participate in these working groups by attending the conference. If you are unable to attend, but are interested in the follow-up activities, please send an email to ehoward@FulbrightAcademy.org.

Conference registration is $425 for the four-day program, with discounts for students, teachers, retired individuals and persons from developing countries. The conference hotel is $100/night.

The Doha workshop on March 23-25, 2008 will addresses human health and environmental challenges in the Middle East and the implications for nursing in the Middle East. Experts from North America, Europe and the Middle East have indicated their intention to attend.

The program will draw together 70 professionals, academics and policymakers to address three questions. (1) How are environmental pressures such as water, air and noise pollution changing in the Middle East; and how are they likely to change over the next 20-25 years? (2) How will these changes affect the health of men, women and children in the region? (3) What are the implications for the future size, shape and purpose of the Middle East’s nursing workforce?

Meeting outcomes will influence nursing education and practice in the Middle East and will also be used to inform the discussions at the WHO's 61st World Health Congress in Geneva in May 2008.

The following institutions are expected to be represented: World Health Organization, US Environmental Protection Agency, Azusa Pacific University, Yale University, University of Maryland, Washington State University, University of Michigan, Glasgow Caledonian University, Hamad Medical Corporation and Jordan Nursing Council.

The program is supported by the Qatar Foundation, with additional assistance from US universities and other institutions. The three-day program grew out of discussions held at our 2007 Conference in Panama, which focused on the Millennium Development Goals. Several MGDs specifically address public health and health-care needs.

The workshop is limited 70 experts. We are seeking discussion, not speeches, hence the limited size. We have not reached capacity. To nominate yourself to attend this invitation-only program, please send an email to the FAST office: info @ FulbrightAcademy.org. There is no registration fee to attend, but this means that only a limited amount of funds are available to cover travel and accommodations.

The 2007 FAST Annual Conference in Panama led to several partnerships and programs in the region. Earlier this week, the FAST executive director traveled to El Salvador and met with several prospective institutional members. The trip was initiated by Manuel Gutierrez, a leader in El Salvador’s economic development community and a member of FAST’s International Advisory Council. Former Ambassador Gutierrez had been a speaker at the FAST conference in Panama.

While in San Salvador, Eric was one of eight foreign speakers at the "Second International Congress of Innovation, Science and Technology." One of the opening speakers, Eric spoke about business incubators and other economic development initiatives – a field that he had worked in for seven years before starting full time with FAST in 2005. The Congress was organized by the Salvadorian Ministry of Economy, with financial support from the Governments of Israel, Germany and the EU.

Eric will be traveling to Latin America again in January, to participate in a program initiated by Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (the Catholic University of Ecuador), with financial support from FAST and Wilmington College in Ohio. Wilmington will be represented by a group of students accompanied by Professor Al Conklin, a soil scientist/chemist.

In addition to dozens of individual contacts in the region, FAST has five institutional members in the region: Barbados Community College, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán; Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico City); Universidad Metropolitana (Caracas); and Universidad Pedagogica de El Salvador. Dupont-Mexico, Panama’s National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation and the Technical University of Panama have also supported our work in the region.

Thank you. We have partially reached our end-of-year goal of 50 states, 50 countries, 50 institutional members.

The 50 countries goal has been achieved. The 50 institutional members goal is nearly achieved. Our executive director was in El Salvador earlier this month, speaking at a conference at the invitation of the Salvadorian Ministry of Economy. During his stay, he met with several universities. If they (or other institutions anywhere in the world) join, then the 50 members will also be reached. The dues for institutional members is $250 - $1,000/year, depending on the location and type.

We are still missing three US states: Alabama, Montana and North Dakota. If you have a Fulbright friend – your host or a Fulbrighter – in one of the three US states, please consider a gift membership in FAST as a way to help them maintain ties with you and other Fulbright scholars. Student or retired memberships are $25/year, and a regular membership is $60/year. Membership forms are available at our website, or just reply to this email message and we can email the form to you.

For the past 18 months, FAST has been working with Indiana University-Bloomington on a small NSF-funded project to enhance science literacy. The initiative is part of a larger grant related to soil chemistry.

During this time, FAST has been conducting public outreach efforts, such as getting alumni to speak at an agricultural fair on the role of bacteria in turning kitchen waste into compost. We have also produced a video on how to make compost.

If you are interested in soil science, microbiology and science literacy, please contact FAST. There may be an opportunity for us to collaborate.

We are looking for additional opportunities to collaborate with Fulbright researchers and our institutional members. For example, FAST will be involved in a $180,000 five-year initiative to enhance the academic achievement of minorities (more on this next month). Please have your Office of Sponsored Research contact us to discuss our past collaborations.

We like to hear from you - give us your ideas about how we can support your work in the local or international arena. Send them via email, call our office or attend a "listening session" with alumni. Upcoming sessions are in Atlanta, GA (January 10); Quito, Ecuador (January 8); Boston, MA (TBA) and London, UK (TBA). For information on these sessions, send a note to ehoward @ Fulbrightacademy.org.

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.