The 18th World Congress of Soil Science will be held July 9-15, 2006 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The U.S. National Committee for Soil Science of the National Academies proposes a fellowship program for students and early career scientists presenting papers at the congress. Every effort will be made to select both an ethnically and scientifically diverse group of recipients that will represent all areas of soil science, including ecosystem science and earth sciences.
The congress is being hosted by the U.S. National Committee and the Soil Science Society of America. General information on the congress can be found at the web site www.18wcss.org. The World Congress is held every four years - in 2002 it was held in Beijing, China. The last one held in the United States was in 1960.
These congresses provide a forum for scientists from around the world to present and discuss recent research findings and to define directions for future research work. The congress is expected to attract leading authorities in different fields from all over the world. The intellectual merit of international congresses is encompassed in the setting they provide for the exchange of ideas, the cultivation of working relationships, networking, and the education of graduate students. Even though the Internet has enabled the essentially instantaneous exchange of information, there is no substitute for face-to-face dialogue and discussions. Such interaction enables the development of ideas that exploit the intellectual strengths of the parties involved.
In addition to the intellectual merit of the interactions of researchers from around the world, there are also broader impacts achieved through a fellowship program. Graduate students and young scientists are the foundations on which future scientific advances and the technical well-being of the nation rest. Their attendance at the congress will expose them to the latest developments in soil science, enable them to interact with many of the leaders and pioneers in the field, help strengthen their understanding of basic principles, implant seeds for the future growth and development of soil science, and enable them to establish a more personal relationship with their peers. The increased involvement of all scientists from the United States that this grant will enable will strengthen U.S. soil science research and help build the future of the discipline.
