This story appears in The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society's student newsletter Professional Preface, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 2.

Asia Offers Summer Research Opportunities for U.S. Graduate Students in Science and Engineering

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center (NIH/FIC), and U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) are sponsoring U.S. graduate students to study in Asia during the summer 2000.

The Summer Institute in Japan, the Monbusho Summer Program, the Summer Institute in Korea, and the Summer Institute in Taiwan provide graduate students in science and engineering first-hand experience in Japanese, Korean, and Taiwan research environments; an introduction to the science and science policy infrastructure of the respective countries; and language and cultural training. The primary goals of the programs are to introduce students to Japanese, Korean, and Taiwan science and engineering in the context of a research laboratory and to initiate personal relationships that will better enable them to collaborate with international counterparts in the future. The programs will last approximately eight weeks from mid-June to August.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents; be enrolled at a U.S. institution in a science or engineering Ph.D. program, a M.D. program with an interest in biomedical research, or have completed at least one full academic year in a master's degree program at the end of the calendar year of application. Applicants must be pursuing studies in the fields of science or engineering that are supported by the NSF, the NIH, or the USDA and are also represented among the potential host institutions.

International travel costs to and from Japan, Korea, or Taiwan, in-country living costs (accommodations, food and professional travel), and an allowance of $2,500 for each participant will be provided.

All application materials (including applicant's and recommenders' forms) should be sent by December 1, 1999, to the NSF East Asia and Pacific Program at East Asia and Pacific Program, Room 935, Division of International Programs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230.

A full description of the summer program, including potential host institutions and application instructions, are available at the NSF/Tokyo Web site at www.twics.com/~nsftokyo or by contacting Christopher A. Loretz at NSF/EAP at cloretz@nsf.gov or (703) 306-1701.