9603186 Malin The American Chemical Society, working together with the chemical societies or scientific academies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico, will organize and monitor two-month visits by young Latin American scientists to laboratories in the United States. During the two years of the project, the American Chemical Society will select three participants from each country from among nominees identified by the counterpart organizations. As a pilot project, at least two additional scientists will be selected to visit industrial laboratories in the United States. The host companies will furnish the stipends for the industrial visitors. Costs of international travel will be borne by the visitors' countries of origin. A major benefit to the United States scientific community will be the establishment of long-term collaborative research relationships between US laboratories and some of the outstanding young chemical scientists in Latin America. This will facilitate investigation jointly with US scientists of important scientific problems, for example, in natural products chemistry and environmental chemistry. A second major effect of the program will be to strengthen working relationships between US organizations and Latin American scientific societies and academies. Finally, the program will foster interactions between young scholars from the region and US industry, which, in the spirit of the NAFTA accord, will benefit both sides as the Latin American economies continue to expand. This award is jointly supported by the Chemistry and the International Divisions of NSF. ***
