US-Afganistan Workshops: Education and Research Partnership Between US and Afghan Universities in Geosciences and Geoengineering, September 2009

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0961029 SmeallieDescription: This project supports a cooperative project by the Peter Smeallie, American Rock Mechanics Association Foundation, Alexandria, Virginia and Dr. Ezatullah Amed, Chancellor of the Kabul Polytechnic University in Kabul, Afghanistan. The objective of the project is to support US-Afghanistan Workshops on Research and Educational Activities in Geosciences and Geoengineering. Specifically, to have US scientists participate in the Second Hid Kush Conference in Kabul between September 27 and October 1, 2009. That meeting will cover a broad range of topics including: geology and geophysics, soil and rock mechanics, civil and mining engineering, hydrogeology, environmental protection and disaster management. Also to have Afghan scientists attend the 43rd US Rock Mechanics Symposium in Salt Lake City in June 2010, and finally to have a workshop in Kabul in the spring of 2011.Intellectual merit: The proposed partnership has a sound technical basis under the auspices of an established organization, the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA). ARMA is well poised to initiate and catalyze relationships between US and Afghan researchers. The development and verification of useful geomechanical models requires field-relevant data that reflects a wide spectrum of conditions. The partnership with Afghan universities will provide unique access to geological conditions and data that can provide vital ground truth to existing models as well as a basis for the development of new constitutive models which are more robust. The US personnel involved in this project have an excellent track record of fostering collaborations that advance the research agenda in rock mechanics while having an integrated impact on education. One of them, Dr. Bernard Amadei has co-authored two books and approximately 160 technical papers in rock mechanics and engineering geology. He is also the Founding President of Engineers Without Borders ? USA (www.ewb-usa.org) and co-founder of Engineers Without Borders-International (www.ewb-international.org). These organizations have become key instruments to incorporate service learning into the curriculum in many colleges of engineering.Broader impacts: There are very few professional academic relationships between the US and Afghanistan. Although this project focuses on establishing research connections within the field of geology and rock mechanics, it is anticipated that it may lead to similar partnerships in allied fields of science and engineering. For example, part of the support is targeted toward participation in the Second Hindu Kush Conference, to be held in Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition to rock mechanics and geology, this conference will include sessions devoted to forestry, environmental science and climate change. This project is funded jointly be the Division of Civil, Mechanical, Manufacturing Innovations and the Office of International Science and Engineering.