This award supports the participation of US scientists and students in a US-Pakistan Workshop on Thin Films and Nanostructured Materials to be held in October 2006 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The US organizer is Dr. S. Ismat Shah, Department of Physics, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. The Pakistan organizer is Dr. Arshad S. Bhatti, Department of Materials Physics at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (IIT) in Islamabad, Pakistan. The workshop theme will be thin films, surfaces, interfaces and nanostructures. The meeting is expected to include 75 scientists from countries in the Middle East and South Asia such as India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia and Jordan. The workshop will have supplemental support from COMSATS-IIT and the International Union of Vacuum Science and Technology (IUVST).
The field of thin films, interfaces, and nanostructure is a rapidly growing field. Nanomaterials are at the forefront of many scientific and technological developments. Understanding of the thin films processes and the role of interfaces in physiochemical interactions is of much importance to make this a truly interdisciplinary endeavor. This technical marriage will have affect on as diverse fields as electronics and biology. This workshop will provide a unique opportunity to bring together experts in the fields of nanomaterials, thin films and interfaces speaking form the points of views of a physicist, materials scientists, chemist, and biologists.
Pakistan is at a turning point in its scientific and educational endeavor, having increased its budget for education by an order of magnitude in the last three years, with commitments for further increases in the future. This workshop will allow western scientists to see first hand the current situation and the potential for scientific collaboration in Pakistan. It will also build linkages between US scientists and Middle Eastern scientists who will be using the SESAME light source in Jordan. This project will both strengthen science in the region, as well as provide a solid foundation for collaboration with US scientists. It is expected that at least 30% of the workshop participants will be female and that a significant number of participants and speakers will be in the early stages of their scientific carriers.
