A Model International Engineering Exchange Program: MSU/RWTH-Aachen, and Kaiserslautern

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This project supports a three year program. This program may serve as a model for future programs to be considered by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This project includes a of undergraduate and graduate level international engineering exchange and research program between the Mechanical Engineering and Chemical Engineering Departments at Michigan State University (MSU) and the technical universities (Rheinisch Westfalische Hochschule (RWTH) in Aachen, Germany and the University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germay. The project supports an international engineering exchange program within the National Science Foundation- enhancing NSF efforts in the direction of mechanical and chemical engineering. This project represents an opportunity to invest in the up-grading of an established program with an unusually strong balance between instruction and research components that goes beyond the traditional research-only or intstuction- only exchange programs. NSF support is provided for a three-phase program. Phase I involves strengthening the undergraduate component of an existing program. Phase II encourages and involves short term collaborative research projects which will explore and develop the bases for long-term, in-depth collaborative research projects involving MSU and faculty at Aachen and Kaiserslautern. Successful Phase II projects will be used as the basis for submitting regular research proposals for Phase III funding which will support multi-year, full-scale collaborative research projects. It is anticipated that German academies will also seek appropriate support from their indigenous funding sources for these efforts. In a supplementary portion of this project, the program will provide partial support for initiating the development and implementation of a few engineering courses taught in German at Michigan State University, and some faculty support to administration and further develop this program.