Welcome to the March 2007 issue of our newsletter. It contains important information about a proposed business plan competition, deadlines for the annual conference, and networking with Fulbrighters in Africa.

With this issue of the newsletter, we inaugurate a new name for the newsletter – “FAST-Forward.” Fast forward is a function on an electronic recording device, such as a voice-message recorder, that permits rapid advancement of the message so that the listener can skip over the less important detains and quickly get to the critical information.

This is our goal as an organization. We want the Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology to be an organization which identifies and presents key information. A think-tank or knowledge broker.

As this newsletter evolves in the coming months, we will be presenting the results of our activities as well as links to work done by others - Fulbrighters or other leaders in science and technology. We hope that you, our readers, will help us in this task by providing these stories or sending links to important developments.

This is your organization. Our members, partners and friends are responsible for the organization and where it is headed. It is your input and involvement that makes it function and makes it successful.

The Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology (FAST) is committed to improving the state of the world by engaging Fulbright scholars and other leaders in partnerships that advance science and society. We help innovative ideas come to fruition by building ties, by supporting individual growth and by advocating for science and technology. Established by alumni of the Fulbright Exchange Program, FAST is not affiliated with the US State Department or the Fulbright Exchange program. FAST is an independent non-profit organization with international membership.

What is the value of FAST programs? Here are selected outcomes from our workshop on Digital Libraries in Morocco and the Conference in Panama.

• Two US participants at the Morocco meeting submitted a joint $500,000 proposal to a US federal agency to support an international digital library project.
• The US government is providing expertise and materials to repair and expand a small Moroccan observatory.
• A Fulbrighter at the California Department of Fish & Game met with a fellow Fulbrighter who can help her on a project relating to consolidating and managing data relating to wildlife.
• Two Moroccans were invited to Boston, New York and Washington to learn about digital initiatives in the US. The US partners include the Library of Congress, Columbia University and Tufts University.
• A Latin American Fulbrighter is proposing that FAST work with him and others in his country on creating a national science & technology advisory council.
• Conference attendees from the nursing and medical professions are proposing a specialist workshop on medicine and the environment for this fall in the Middle East.
• A US professor is working with FAST and several other colleagues on a book proposal that will involve scholars from a dozen countries each contributing a chapter relating to food and agriculture.

Our annual FAST Research Conference provided a forum for some 70 scientists and researchers to present their work and debate its implications for international development. The speakers included notable Fulbright scholars such as Dr. Tanya Popovic, the chief scientist for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and Mr. Philip Yeo, the outgoing head of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research.

We also heard from Fulbright friends, such as hosts of visiting Fulbrighters and people working for our institutional members. Dr. Tom Wang, the director of international cooperation at AAAS, spoke about facilitating science networks, and Ms. Meghan Nesbit of the SalesForce.com Foundation spoke about strategic corporate philanthropy. (These and other powerpoint presentations can be viewed at www.FulbrightAcademy.org)

During the ten panel discussions, the 130 registered attendees exchanged their views and opinions with other scholars and leaders. Additional exchanges occurred during the meals and on the six guided tours – tours of the Panama Canal, the city neighborhoods, a marine education center managed by the Smithsonian, Panama’s newest hospital (an affiliate of Johns Hopkins), the City of Knowledge (a business park for international organizations, businesses and non-profits), and the tropical forest at Gamboa Rainforest Resort.

Every continent was represented at the meeting. Financial support from the UN Development Program through SENACYT – Panama’s Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación played an important role in bringing a strong delegation of scientists to the meeting.

The Annual Conference of the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria (FAAN) focused on the same topic as the FAST Annual Conference – the UN Millennium Development Goals. The topic was very appropriate because Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country (over 120 million), and it is facing many development pressures. Happily, there are over 1,000 Nigerian alumni of the Fulbright program, and some are actively seeking solutions to some of the region’s problems.

Meeting in February at the ancient city of Benin, the FAAN conference attracted over 50 scholars from across Nigerian federal and state universities. At the conference, the FAAN members elected two scientists for leadership positions. Dr. Dung Pam Sha of the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Jos is President and Dr. Patterson Ekeocha from the Department of Economics at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka is National Secretary.

There is high-level interest in the Millennium Goals. In his remarks, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, the Honorable John Campbell noted that “Former President Jimmy Carter visited Abuja and Nasarawa State just last week to lend his support to the fight against several treatable and preventable diseases here.”

The FAAN was established in 2000 at the University of Ibadan. Subsequent annual meetings were held at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (2001); the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2002); the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru – Jos (2003); the University of Calabar, Calabar (2005), and Bayero University, Kano (2006). There was no conference in 2004. The 2008 FAAN annual conference will be hosted by the University of Lagos.

If you would like to build ties with Fulbrighters in Nigeria, please visit the FAAN website. It contains a listing of FAAN members.

The next FAST Research Conference will be in Boston, Massachusetts on February 14-17, 2008. “Science & Technology from a Fulbright Perspective” will coincide with the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and FAST attendees will also be able to attend AAAS symposia and programs. FAST was recently awarded Affiliate Status with AAAS, hence our joint program. AAAS affiliates include 262 societies and academies of science, serving more than 10 million members.

The general format will be similar to our Berlin and Panama conferences - panels, workshops, tours, posters, and discussions. Panel proposals for the FAST meeting will be accepted until August 1. Instructions can be found on the programs section of the FAST website. Individuals who wish to propose a panel as part of the AAAS meeting must submit a proposal at www.AAASMeeting.org before May 2.

FAST is considering a new addition to our suite of programs at the annual conference: a business plan competition. The competition will be modeled on similar competitions hosted by business schools and government agencies. If you would like to be involved in the competition as a (1) judge, (2) mentor, (3) sponsor, or (4) competitor, please send a note to ehoward@FulbrightAcademy.org.

The Fulbright Academy was started in 2003 by people like you, and at the end December 2006, we had individual and institutional members in 37 countries and 41 states and Washington, DC. Our 4th Annual Report, which covers the year 2006, has been posted on the "about us" section of our website.

FAST is a non-profit 501-c-3 membership-based organization that serves scientists, executives, and scholars worldwide. Our sponsors and supporters include individual and institutional members such as universities, corporations, government agencies and foundations. The Fulbright Academy is not affiliated with the US State Department, the US Fulbright Association or the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. We are independently funded, and so your support is very important to us.

By joining the Academy, you will be supporting our work - our conferences, the study committees, and our Fulbright Forums. You will receive invitations to special events, and we also help members link up with other Fulbrighters in their respective fields. Individual memberships start at $60, with reduced rates available for students, retired individuals and those living in low- and middle-income countries.

Institutions in the US and elsewhere are collaborating with the Academy on several projects and programs. As described above, these collaborations typically are funded by a grant or contract from a foundation or agency. The first step is in this process typically is joining as an individual or institutional member. Please join today.

As a fellow grantee of the Fulbright program (Germany '89), I look forward to having you as a member and participant.

Sincerely,

Mr. Eric S. Howard, Executive Director