This award would allow 11 American scientists to attend a joint seminar with 10 German scientists on electrochemical passivation. The seminar, organized by Professor Richard A. Oriani, University of Minnesota, and Professor Hans J. Engell, Max Planck Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Dusseldorf, Federal Republic of Germany, will be held in Numbrecht, Federal Republic of Germany, on September 8-13, 1987. Passivation is the formation of thin layers of mainly oxides and hydrous oxides on the surface of metals. These surfaces protect against corrosion. Metals owe their utility to the ability to form these surfaces and thereby remain stable in the presence of thermodynamic activities from the environment. Understanding the stability or breakdown characteristics of the passivating layers is of critical importance for the technological use of metals. Many new techniques have recently emerged for the study of passivation, and the bulk of the research is being done in the U.S. and the Federal Republic of Germany. The study of passivation presently includes many disciplines not common to classical corrosion research. One goal of the proposed seminar is to provide an opportunity for American and German researchers and scientists from several disciplines to learn of each others' work. The seminar participants were chosen because they are among the most active in research on passivation. The seminar should provide a useful interchange of ideas between the participants and could lead to additional collaborative research between the American and the German scientists. At the seminar, each participant will present a report on his or her work. Discussion will follow the presentations. Then the participants will be assigned to a small group which will discuss a specific topic in passivation research. The small groups will prepare outlines for position papers on their topics, and they will present the outlines to the total body of participants for discussion. After this, the small groups will prepare written statements of their outlines. The outlines and the other records of the seminar will be converted by the organizers into a summary paper, including recommendations for future research, which will be submitted to a journal for publication.
