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

该奖项将支持一组美国研究人员在哥斯达黎加召开规划会议。这次会议的目的是为一个美国-哥斯达黎加多学科研究项目制定一个科学计划，该项目旨在了解地球大陆形成的过程。该项目的负责人是罗格斯大学的瓦迪姆·莱文博士。他在哥斯达黎加的合作者是：哥斯达黎加大学地质系系主任Teresita Aguilar博士和教授Percy Denier博士，以及哥斯达黎加电力局地震学和火山学部门负责人Guilermo Alvarado博士。会议将讨论的研究项目将试图理解地球科学中的一个基本问题——大陆是如何形成的，以及今天是否正在形成新的大陆碎片。哥斯达黎加被认为非常适合作为研究大陆形成和演化过程的“自然实验室”。这个计划中的项目将为一个真正综合的（多学科和国际的）研究工作提供一个场所，旨在解决我们领域的一个基本问题。此外，它将为在美国和哥斯达黎加培训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.