This award will support collaborative research between Dr. David Loper of Florida State University and Professor Ibrahim Eltayeb of Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. By means of a series of working visits, Drs. Loper and Eltayeb will undertake two projects in the broad areas of Applied Mathematics and Fluid Dynamics. These projects involve analyzing the stability of certain fluid motions that occur in a variety of natural settings including metallurgy and geophysics. The proposed research projects are part of the fabric of current scientific interest in the structure and dynamics of the Earth's deep interior, and their successful completion will advance the state of our knowledge of the Earth's core and mantle. An additional benefit of this project is that it will help bolster scientific research in Oman, thereby strengthening the quality of scientific and engineering education with the Sultanate. ***
