This award supports the participation of American postdocs and graduate students in a U.S. Australia collaboration that includes: 1) attendance at the International Conference on Electronic Materials (ICEM); 2) visiting a number of facilities at Australian universities, research institutes and industry labs; and 3) meetings with potential collaborators to discuss and plan potential collaborative research projects. The co-organizers are Professor R. P. H. Chang, Director of the Materials Research Institute at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Professor Jim Williams, Director of the Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering at the Australian National University in Canberra. Dr. Williams is also President of the Australian Materials Research Society. Before the visit, a number of potential research teams will be developed. Each of these teams will include at least one senior and one junior collaborator from the U.S. and one senior and one junior collaborator from Australia. They will be encouraged to make contact to discuss their respective interests and capabilities and begin brainstorming potential collaborative projects before meeting in Australia. While visiting the Australian universities, all of the students will work with their senior collaborators to develop collaborative project plans. Then at the end of the ICEM conference, the student teams will make five minute presentations on their collaborative project plans during the Symposium Session on the Materials World Network (MWN). This network connects a diverse community of research centers, government agencies, academic institution, national laboratories, technical societies, and industrial partners around the world. Also, during the trip the student teams will take part in cultural visits and activities arranged by local host institutions. These activities will promote informal networking and project planning.
The co-organizers have complementary scientific expertise in the field. This enables them to evaluate and attract the best postdocs and graduate students to participate in this exceptional opportunity. The proposed project will build U.S. research and education capacities by helping young U.S. researchers develop the professional skills necessary to lead and participate in global research initiatives. In addition, the project will establish a new level of connectivity among U.S. and Australian researchers that will benefit both nations and the global research community for many years to come. Following the meeting, it is the intent of the collaborators to develop a web site which will include the ICEM student presentations. Participants also plan to develop collaborative research proposals for submission to funding agencies.
