9600277 Srivastava This U.S.-Brazil cooperative research effort will be led by Santosh Srivastava at California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Lee Mu-Tao of the Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos in Brazil. They will collaborate on studies related to electron collision properties of atoms and molecules of interest to planetary and astrophysical environments and to the semiconductor industry. Accurate knowledge of electron collision cross sections for more complex molecules than previously studied is necessary for understanding the plasmas found in outer space and those used in the semiconductor industry. The principals in this project are already funded in their respective countries for carrying out cross section measurements, and the laboratories involved have collaborated productively in the past. A new state-of-the art laboratory in Sao Carlos and several students will contribute significantly to the effectiveness of the team. Part of the funding for this project will be provided by the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Program of the Physics Division at NSF. ****
