International Planning Visit Proposal to Explore Research and Educational Collaborations in Sustainability

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AbstractProposal Title: International Planning Visit Proposal to Explore Research Educational Collaborations in Sustainability Proposal Number: CTS-0608470Principal Investigator: Kimberly OgdenInstitution: University of Arizona Analysis (rationale for decision):This international travel/planning proposal will foster the development of international research and education programs focused on sustainability between several US universities and schools in Singapore and Australia. The University of Arizona will be the lead university in an international project that involves key U.S. investigators who are conducting environmentally-related research in an NSF ERC on Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Processing and an NSF STC on Sustainability of Semi-arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas. Both the National University of Singapore and the University of Queensland have internationally recognized programs dealing with sustainability of downstream and upstream processing, water resources, energy, and minerals utilization. The goals of the planning grant will be to: 1) determine areas of common research expertise related to environmental sustainability; 2) strengthen international industrial/university collaborations between global companies, U.S. universities, and international universities; 3) lay the foundation for undergraduate and graduate exchanges; 4) develop strategies for further proposal preparation to federal agencies; and 5) discuss approaches for changing the traditional engineering curricula to incorporate sustainability concepts on an international scale. The principal investigators have a strong record of accomplishment in research and teaching, and their collaborative outreach to U.S. and international communities has been excellent.The broader impact of the project will be significant in developing long-term international collaborations between U.S. universities and schools in Singapore and Australia. Collaborative research projects will be established in the near future that are focused on water sustainability. Exchanges of U.S. faculty and students (both graduate and undergraduate) will be initiated at the National University of Singapore and the University of Queensland. Educational reform and planning will be a significant goal of the extended project, since the University of Arizona has recently received a planning grant for developing a U.S. engineering curriculum based on the principles of sustainability. The outcomes of the planning grant will be made available at upcoming (2006) AIChE and ACS meetings during sessions that are devoted to sustainability. Broader international impacts are also likely since the University of Arizona has related projects addressing sustainable resource utilization with other countries such as Mexico.