Support Participation in International Scientific Meetings by U.S. Astronomers, Including Participation in the XXIVth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union

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AST- 9980200MarvelAstronomy is a fully international endeavor. Astronomers in the United States must interact, collaborate and meet with researchers from around the world. To participate fully in the international scientific community, American researchers must attend international scientific meetings, not just travel for observing. International meetings provide a forum for interacting with other researchers, forming collaborations, presenting new results and participating in the international scientific community.The attendance at international scientific meetings is prohibitively expensive for many U.S. researchers. Further, funding strictly for travel to international meetings can be difficult to obtain. This is especially true for astronomers from small and/or less-endowed institutions or for individuals at the beginning of their careers. Researchers often must choose between observing trips and travel to scientific meetings, and may avoid international meetings due to the high costs of attendance.Because of the increasingly international nature of astronomical research, the American Astronomical Society (AAS) feels it is especially important to enable American astronomers to participate in international scientific meetings.The American Astronomical Society will administer a three-year international travel grant program for the years 2000 to 2003. The AAS Council will appoint a committee to review applications and the program will be administered by the AAS executive office. During the year 2000, the year of the 24th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, the program will accommodate a larger number of grants (considered separately from normal international scientific meetings) to enhance the strong U.S. presence at this important function.The program would benefit American astronomical research by fostering international collaboration and interaction by enabling U.S. astronomers, especially early-career astronomers and those from less-endowed institutions, to attend international scientific meetings.Grant recipients will be required to submit a report summarizing their travel along with appropriate NSF required accounting information. The report will describe their interactions with foreign astronomers and any subsequent collaborative efforts. An assessment of the program will be undertaken by an ad hoc committee of the AAS and will be published in the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, as a part of the AAS Secretary's annual report and will be included in the final project report to NSF.***