This proposal is a pilot project to provide international experience for undergraduate students from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) to carry out research projects in cyber-infrastracture (CI) in PRAGMA member institutes. Professor Gabriele Wienhausen, Ms. Linda Feldman, and Dr. Peter Arzberger are principal investigators at UCSD and the key members from PRAGMA institutes who will participate in this activity include Dr. Shinji Shimojo, Osaka University, Dr. Fang-Pang Lin, National Center for High-performance Computing, Taiwan, and Dr. David Abramson, Monash University, Australia. This project will have six students each year, 18 for three years, from UCSD conduct research at PRAGMA institutes in Japan, Taiwan and Australia. The students will work on CI related projects with dual mentors, one international and one at UCSD, and spend the summer at one of the identified institutions. At the conclusion of their stay, the students will present the results of their research at an international meeting. The P.I. s are highly qualified and positioned to establish and manage this learning experience for undergraduate students. UCSD has a strong setting for an internship abroad program in the Pacific Rim. Using the PRAGMA network, this project can provide a unique opportunity to train students to routinely use CI for communication and research. This could open their eyes to the immense potential this technology has to impact science. The project is jointly supported by the National Science Foundation and the PRAGMA member institutes in Australia, Japan and Taiwan.
