This award is to support of a US scientific delegation to the US-Egypt Workshop on Priorities of Desert Studies, to be held in Cairo, Egypt, in March 1998. The US organizer is Dr. Farouk El-Baz, Professor and Director, Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, Boston, MA. The Egyptian organizer is Dr. Mohamed Adel Yehia, Chairman, National Agency of Remote Sensing and Space Research (NARSS) in Cairo, Egypt. The four day workshop will be held at the NARSS headquarters in Cairo. The objectives of the workshop are: review the state of knowledge of the desert terrain with emphasis on establishing priorities of desert studies; exchange information between US and Egyptian scientists to encourage the development of cooperative projects; and the initiation of joint research proposals in areas of established high priority. The topics to be discussed include: Remote sensing, hydrogeology and applied meteorology, geomorphology and applied tectonics, coastal zone studies, and integrated desert studies. Scope: This project will bring together 15 well known American scientists, from different institutions, who are experts in various fields related to desert research, with their counterparts in Egypt to develop an agenda for joint research in areas of mutual interest. Dr. El-Baz has had a long experience in field studies and remote sensing studies in various parts of the deserts in Africa and in the Arabian peninsula. The Egyptian organizer, Dr. Yehia, is the head of the largest remote sensing center in the Arab countries, with extensive work experience in geological desert studies throughout the Middle East. There is a plan to publish a proceedings covering the presentations and the recommended areas for joint US-Egypt research projects. This proposal meets the INT objective of supporting joint U.S.-foreign workshops that are likely to significantly increase collaboration in areas of mutual interest.
