US/Costa Rica: Planning Visit at the University of Costa Rica

该奖项将支持一个美国研究人员团队在哥斯达黎加举行规划会议。 会议的目的是为美国-哥斯达黎加多学科研究项目制定一项科学计划，旨在了解形成地球大陆的过程。 该项目的PI是罗格斯大学的Vadim Levin博士。 他在哥斯达黎加的合作者是：主席Teresita阿吉拉尔博士、哥斯达黎加地质系教授珀西·德尼尔博士和哥斯达黎加电力局地震学和火山学司司长Guilermo阿尔瓦拉多博士。 会议将讨论的研究项目将试图了解地球科学中的一个基本问题-大陆是如何形成的，以及今天是否正在产生新的大陆碎片。 哥斯达黎加被认为是研究大陆形成和演变过程的理想“天然实验室”。 计划中的项目将提供一个真正的综合（多学科和国际）研究工作的场所，旨在解决我们领域的一个基本问题。 此外，它将为美国和哥斯达黎加培养未来的科学家提供一个极好的环境。

This award will support a team of US researchers to conduct a planning meeting in Costa Rica. The purpose of the meeting is to develop a science plan for a US-Costa Rica multidisciplinary research project aimed at understanding the processes that form Earth's continents. The PI of the project is Dr. Vadim Levin of Rutgers University. His Costa Rican collaborators are: Dr. Teresita Aguilar, Chairwoman and Dr. Percy Denier, professor of the Geology Department of the University of Costa Rica, and Dr. Guilermo Alvarado, head of the Seismology and Volcanology division within the Costa Rican Power Authority. The research project to be discussed at the meeting will attempt to understand a fundamental problem in Earth science -- how continents are formed, and whether new continental fragments are being created today. Costa Rica is considered ideally suited to be a "natural laboratory" for investigating continental formation and evolution processes. The planned project will provide a venue for a truly integrated (multidisciplinary andinternational) research effort aimed at solving one of the fundamental problems in ourfield. Also, it will offer an excellent setting for training future scientists, both in US andin Costa Rica.