The objective of this proposal is to obtain partial funding to support the travel of a delegation of scientists from the United States to attend the third ESF NANOTRIBO conference to be held on September 18-22 at Sesimbra, Portugal. The delegation will consist of 12 established and up and coming researchers from various universities and national research labs across the United States with strong expertise in nanotribology and who have been approved by the organizing committee. The research expertise of the group encompasses experimental and theoretical/modeling work which is in line with the aim of the conference to promote collaborations between experimentalists and theoreticians in the field of tribology on the nanometer scale. Funds requested will be used to cover part of the travel costs of the delegation to attend the conference. The conference will cover the room and board expenses of the delegation. The participation of the delegation will aid in fostering collaborative research relations between nanotribology researchers in the United States and in Europe. Some activities that will be pursued as a result of participation in the conference include student exchange programs, visiting faculty opportunities, collaborative research proposals between delegation members and members of the European research community and establishing relations with top researchers in Europe to organize future joint research workshops and conferences on nanotribology and related themes.
