This travel grant will be used to partially defray the travel expenses of selected university student participants of the 2004 Japan-USA Symposium on Flexible Automation, which will be held in Denver Colorado, July 19-24, 2004. This is an international, biennial symposium that alternates locations between Japan and the US. The Symposium will consist of three days of technical presentations, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, followed by tours to major university research laboratories and industry production facilities. Panel sessions provide forums for identifying future needs. Examples of symposium topic areas include: virtual factories, medical robotics, flexible manufacturing, and green manufacturing. The financial assistance will make it possible for 25-30 students from U.S. universities to attend the conference and learn about research, development, and implementation of flexible automation technologies in Japan and the US. The students will be selected from a pool of applicants who are presenting a paper or serving as a panelist. Special consideration will be given to students from underrepresented groups in the selection process.
