2008 Bi-Lateral Workshop Under the Sino-US Earthquake Studies Protocol, May 20-23, 2008, Boulder, Colorado

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0804068EngdahlThis award provides support for a bi-lateral workshop under the SINO-US protocol for earthquake studies to be held in Boulder, Colorado between May 20 and 23, 2008.The Protocol for Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Earthquake Studies among the Chinese Earthquake Administration (CEA), the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) on the Chinese side and the National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on the U.S. side was first signed in January, 1980 and has been extended in five year increments since then. Both sides have affirmed the value of the Protocol and consider it to be one of the most successful S&T protocols between the two countries. Activity under the Protocol covers various aspects of earthquake research, earthquake engineering and hazard mitigation and data exchange. One of the chief reasons the Protocol has been so successful is because it has been flexible enough to take advantage of the evolving opportunities presented by big changes in the science and technology of earthquake research. At the last Protocol coordinator's meeting in Beijing in 2007, it was agreed by both sides that we are now at a point in the evolution of our cooperation where we are truly equal partners in every sense of the word. We both now have large arrays of various kinds of instruments producing vast amounts of data; we both have the necessary tools and theoretical expertise to analyze the data; and we both have now developed the infrastructure to support these activities. It was further agreed that the next step in the evolution of the Protocol should be an increased emphasis on cooperative research projects where scientists from both sides are involved in the fieldwork (be it in China or in the US), in the analysis of the data and in the publication of the results.This workshop will be the first in a series that aims to plan and develop the coordination needed for scientific collaboration to move forward efficiently, effectively, and in a timely fashion. A particular focus will be on promoting the exchange of data, methodology, and software, the training of students and fostering collaboration and exchange of early-career scientists. The workshop(s) will be designed to catalyze scientific collaborations, including plans for extended visits between US and Chinese scientists. There will be three principal research focus areas for the first workshop: (1) Natural hazards; (2) Structure of the crust and uppermost mantle; and (3) Crustal deformation and active continental tectonics. On May 24, 2006 there was a ceremony celebrating the opening of NSF's research operations office in Beijing. At that ceremony, Clark Randt, US Ambassador to China said, "With China's increasing importance as a world science and technology 'player', it is vital for the U.S. to sustain interactions with international counterparts and specifically with China's rapidly growing science sector." In addition, William Chang, director of the new office, pointed out that, "It is important for the U.S. scientific community, especially young researchers, to be aware of and consider collaborating with colleagues in China in this environment" The workshop supported by this award will promote these goals.