The United States and Japan have recognized Nanoscience and Nanotechnology as frontier areas of research with potentially widespread societal impact, promising to transform health, electronics, transportation, the environment, and national security. In both countries, significant investments in these areas have been made and their rapid growth is expected to continue in the future. To be successful, research and training efforts in this emerging arena have to be highly interdisciplinary and interactions will have to span not only across fields and professional hubs, but also across international boundaries, so that the strengths and resources available in each country can also benefit other countries. With this in mind, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the support of scientific exchange visits between the two countries. We propose to organize the next exchange visit to several Japanese universities for twelve US scientists early in their academic careers, with research interests broadly defined as Nanoscience and Bionanotechnology. The Japanese government will sponsor a similar trip of twelve young scientists from Japan to several US universities as the counterpart component in this exchange program. The focus on young scientists is driven by the premise that the possibilities for building long-term and meaningful partnerships are far higher if contacts are made early in one's career.
Impact of Proposed Research Links established between scientists in the US and Japan at the very early stages of their academic careers will lay the foundation for a long-term fruitful collaboration over an extended period, maximizing the likelihood for a successful global interdisciplinary effort and productive relationship between these two and other countries.
