This grant provides support for 12 US and 13 African chemists to participate in a three-day US-Africa workshop on Environmental Chemistry and Water Quality: Exploring Collaborative Opportunities for Research, Applications, and Education, to be held in Dakar, Senegal, July 26-28, 2001. The workshop is being jointly co-organized by Drs. John Malin and Bradley Miller, of the Office of International Activities at the American Chemical Society, and Dr. T. M. Letcher, with the Department of Chemistry at Natal University, Durban, South Africa. The workshop will precede the 8th Annual International Conference on Chemistry in Africa and the 2nd Congress of the African Association for Pure and Applied Chemistry. There will be a total of approximately 30 participants, with expertise in chemical research and remediation methods, analytical techniques, and higher level chemical education. US presenters include investigators from academia, and governmental and industrial institutions. The majority of African participants will be chemists in the early stages of their careers.
Having adequate quantities of high-quality water is a critical component for Africa's social and economic development. Within the workshop's overarching theme of environmental chemistry, the main focus will be on the specific advances in the chemical sciences that can be applied to problems of water quality in Africa. Attendees will share information on their current activities and identify mutual areas of research interest for future collaborative projects. They will also explore ways to build partnerships across chemically related sectors associated with pollution prevention and control. This workshop will serve as a catalyst to provide fresh knowledge of environmental chemistry's strengths and weaknesses in the region. The project supports the participation of two junior US faculty members.
This workshop is jointly supported by the Division of International Programs and the Division of Chemistry.
