"Strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education across the Nation is critical to maintaining a high quality of life for our citizens and ensuring that Americans remain competitive in international science and technology. Public awareness and action are critical to addressing this crisis. Jobs in the 21st century, even those outside STEM fields, will increasingly demand a technically literate workforce. All citizens must have basic STEM literacy in order to be full and active participants in our increasingly technology-based democracy. If STEM education reform is not considered seriously now, the Nation is in danger of failing current and future generations." [From the draft National Action Plan for Address the Critical Needs of the US Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education System – see below for details.]

Insuring that the education system in all countries can produce the next generation of brilliant innovators will require further action. With your support, FAST and its members will be involved.

The Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology (FAST) is an international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging Fulbright scholars and other leaders in partnerships that advance science and society. Membership is open to Fulbright scholars, hosts and friends and to institutions having an interest in our work.

Overview of this newsletter ** ** Membership **

Our goal by the end of the year is fifty in each group. Please help us reach our goal of 50 states, 50 countries, 50 institutional members. If you have a Fulbright friend – your host or a Fulbrighter – in one of the five missing US states or in a country not listed below, consider a gift membership in FAST as a way to help them maintain ties with you and other Fulbright scholars. Student or retired memberships are $25/year, and a regular membership is $60/year.

FAST currently has members in 45 of the 50 US states. The five missing states are Alabama, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma or Tennessee. If you are a Fulbrighter or Fulbright host in AL, MT, ND, OK, or TN, please call us at 207-799-3098 so that we can talk about the benefits of membership. Membership forms are available at our website, or just reply to this email message and we can email the form to you.

FAST currently has members in forth-eight (48) countries: Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Gaza, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, St. Lucia, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, & Yemen. We are looking for two more countries – if your home country isn’t on this list, please send an email to info@FulbrightAcademy.org.

FAST currently has 43 institutional members – 31 in the US and 12 in other countries. They are 28 are academic institutions, and the other 15 are foundations, corporations, non-profit organizations or research centers. If your institutions employs, hosts or produces Fulbright scholars and is interested in building ties with scientific institutions in other countries, please send an email to ehoward@FulbrightAcademy.org so that we can discuss the benefits of institutional membership. The dues for institutional members is $250 - $1,000, depending on the location and type.

US Graduate students in science & engineering can apply for the NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes (EAPSI) program, which offers a unique opportunity to study abroad for eight weeks with researchers in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, or Taiwan. Funded by the US National Science Foundation, the 2008 EAPSI awards have a summer stipend of $5,000, an allowance for international travel, and support to attend a pre-departure orientation in Washington DC. Foreign co-sponsoring organizations will provide additional support to cover EAPSI students' living expenses abroad. The application deadline is December 12, 2007. The EAPSI website is http://www.nsf.gov/eapsi.

US undergraduate students in Biology can apply for travel grants from the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Biology Division. The travel grants, up to $250 each, are for presenting original research results at a regional or national, discipline-specific meeting during the fiscal year 2007 - 2008. (Unfortunately, the FAST Annual Conference does not meet their criteria). Award recipients are required to acknowledge CUR for support of their travel in their talk or poster. Minority students are encouraged to apply. For further information and the application requirements, please visit http://www.cur.org/biostudenttravel.html. The CUR is an institutional member of FAST.

US undergraduate students can apply for internships at NASA centers under the supervision of technical mentors. This prestigious program seeks rising sophomore, junior and senior students in the disciplines of engineering, math, computer science and life/physical sciences. It is a 10-week summer session or a -week spring or fall session. The Undergraduate Student Research Projects (NASA-USRP) provides hands-on, real-life research experiences that challenge, inspire and bring practical application to complement the students’ academic education. Stipends are $6,000 for the summer session and $9,000 for fall and spring, plus a round-trip travel allowance. Application deadlines are October 22, 2007 for Spring, January 31, 2008 for Summer, and February 29, 2008 for Fall internships. http://www.education.nasa.gov/usrp for details. Note: The chief scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab is speaking at our conference in February.

“Science and Society: The Impact of Science on Policy Formation” is the topic for a two-week Fulbright seminar in Germany in June 2008. The program will begin in Berlin and include visits to other cities in Germany, and will focus on the formation of policies in current issues at the core of modern society such as climate change, food technology, gene technology, stem cell research and the broad scope of education. The seminar will explore how Germany and its European neighbors view the role of science in their societies, examining the factors that result in differing approaches to these issues and the challenges of harmonizing different standards under a uniform EU-policy umbrella. With an eye to the global marketplace and worldwide competition in science, the seminar will also examine the multiple interests which structure relations between national governments, economic corporations, political and supranational bodies as well as research and development institutions. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Scholars from U.S. universities, colleges and community colleges who hold full-time teaching appointments and meet other academic requirements (Ph.D., Ph.D. candidacy or other equivalent degree or qualifications) are eligible. The application deadline is November 1, 2007. Information is available at www.CIES.org or from Tara Campbell, Senior Program Officer, Europe/Eurasia Unit, CIES: 202.686.6240

A new Fulbright program is co-sponsored by mtvU, MTV’s college network - American participants will go abroad to research the music of other cultures and use multi-media technology to create CD’s, documentary films and websites that explore the power of music as a force for global understanding. The mtvU website will allow the students to share their project and findings with the world, allowing the students to keep in touch with people at home, but also to open up new windows into cultures that American student might not otherwise be able to see. Projects include bringing together Israeli and Palestinian students to write and play music together and studing Panamanian reggae and its significance in West Indian-Panamanian culture. Two are making documentary films: about the music culture in Cambodia from before the time of the Khmer Rouge and about impoverished South African students as they are taught music, life skills, and AIDS awareness. http://www.mtvu.com/uconnect/fulbright/winners07.jhtml

In July, the European Union announced that it would increase financing for its Erasmus Mundus exchange program, which is available to students from outside the 27-nation bloc. Just over 950 million euros (1.3 billion dollars) would be spent over five years on exchange and scholarship programs (or approximately $250 million/year). About 2,300 students participated in Erasmus Mundus from 2004-2007. The new phase aims to extend the program to cover doctoral students and not only masters level students, and increase financial aid for participating students.

The EU launched Erasmus Mundus in 2004 to encourage more students to come to European universities while also making it easier for European students to spend time in universtities outside the bloc. EU Education Commissioner Jan Figel said the scope of the program had to be widened so that Erasmus Mundus could become "the trademark for EU cooperation with third countries in the field of higher education."

Referring to the Fulbright program, the EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said, "I think that Fulbright studies are really a brand name in Europe and the friendships, the cooperation and the way of experience that this has brought about, this is exactly what we would like to create."

The main focus of our Third Annual Conference is new developments in energy-related fields, such as energy production, architecture & design, and transportation. Because FAST is a multi-disciplinary organization, we will also explore innovative new ideas coming from Fulbright scholars and researchers in other disciplines. Each session has four exciting presentations, where speakers share their insights, passions, and ideas - rather than deliver typical speeches or remarks. By having speakers from divergent fields, this provides a forum for leaps of innovation across sectors.

Confirmed speakers from the energy arena include Dr. Stanley Bull, Associate Director for Science & Technology at US National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, CO; Dr. Bruce Logan, Director of the Hydrogen Energy Center at Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. Dan McCleese, Chief Scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, CA.

As with our previous conferences, the Q&A and discussion among speakers and audience will occur during breaks, meals, and the off-site tours. The registration fee includes several meals where you can meet and interact with scientists and Fulbright scholars from around the world. We also have tours. The Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences is sponsoring a tour of the medical school and forensics program at Boston University, and we anticipate a tour of a fascinating Origami exhibit at the internationally-acclaimed Peabody Essex Museum.

Our preliminary program will be posted the first week of October (next week). Note that our schedule includes opportunities for you to meet other internationally acclaimed Fulbright scholars in the Boston area.

Openings for speakers and presenters are still available - you do not need to be a Fulbright scholar to participate. Please submit your abstract as soon as possible. Also contact FAST if you need a letter of invitation in order to secure a visa or funding. Registration is $250-$425, depending on your professional status and home country.

(1) The National Action Plan for Address the Critical Needs of the US Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education System – from the National Science Board. (2) International Education and Foreign Languages: Keys to Securing America’s Future – from the National Academies.

The National Action Plan on STEM Education – draft for public comment - was released by the National Science Board on August 9. The report focuses on two central challenges to constructing a strong, coordinated STEM education system: (1) Ensuring coherence in STEM learning, and (2) Ensuring an adequate supply of well-prepared and highly effective STEM teachers.

The action plan then lays out a structure that will allow stakeholders from local, state, and Federal governments, as well as nongovernmental stakeholder groups, to work together to coordinate and enhance America’s ability to produce a numerate and scientifically literate society and to increase and improve the current STEM education workforce. Unfortunately, the public commend period has closed, but the draft report is still quite useful as a guide for expected policies in the area of STEM education. It is available as a free download from the NSF website: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/.

The National Science Board, which prepared the report, was established by Congress in 1950 to provide oversight for, and establish the policies of, the National Science Foundation, within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. It also serves as an independent body of advisors to both the President and Congress on broad national policy issues related to science and engineering research and education.

The second report was produced by the US National Research Council; they studied 14 U.S. Department of Education programs designed to strengthen education in foreign languages and in international and area studies -- known collectively as Title VI and Fulbright-Hays. According to the March 2007 report, the Title VI and Fulbright-Hayes programs lack the resources necessary to keep pace with their mission. More support from all levels of the U.S. education system is needed to develop an integrated approach to improving foreign language skills and expertise on other cultures, beginning in the primary grades, the report says.

"The nation's infrastructure for international and foreign language education is weak at a time when the United States faces unprecedented demands for globally aware citizens and professionals," said Janet L. Norwood, chair of the committee that wrote the report, a counselor and senior fellow at the Conference Board Inc., and former U.S. commissioner of labor statistics.

The Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs were created nearly 50 years ago following the Soviet Union's launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite. The surprise launch shocked the United States, leading to large increases in federal spending on education and scientific research. Over the years, the programs' scope has grown to encompass undergraduate and graduate education in foreign languages, international studies, and area studies, which focus on particular regions of the world. The programs also promote greater use of technology, foreign language training and research, and the recruitment of minorities into international service professions.

Copies of the $47 report are available from the National Academies Press (tel. 202-334-3313) or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.

The finalists for US Secretary of State's prestigious 2007 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) are eight US firms operating in the science & technology realm, and the ninth firm has an education focus. ACE finalists are businesses that recognize the critical role U.S. companies play globally in advancing good corporate citizenship, innovation and democratic principles. Their work draws attention to the best qualities that America embodies overseas. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce the 2007 ACE winners in a November 8 awards ceremony at the State Department.

Companies are nominated by US Ambassadors around the world. The ACE finalists are international business leaders who recognize the vital role that U.S. businesses play abroad as good corporate citizens. The nine finalists for 2007 are:

• CalEnergy in the Philippines for activities offering educational opportunities to young adults, environmental stewardship, and its role in infrastructure projects.

• Citi in Indonesia for its work to with disaster relief and enhancement of educational programs.

• Coca-Cola in China for its programs providing and conserving clean water and funding educational initiatives.

• General Motors in South Africa for its commitment to complete key projects in the areas of housing and education.

• Merck in Nicaragua for its public-private partnership efforts to administering its anti-rotavirus vaccine.

• Microsoft in Vietnam for its efforts to increasing capacity building and information technology skills.

• Ruralfone in Brazil for its contributions to entrepreneurship and technology and its investment in telecommunication services for small communities.

• Transnational Automotive Group in Cameroon for its work providing safe, affordable transportation and increasing the local quality of life.

• General Electric in Indonesia for its exemplary role in post-Tsunami relief efforts and its emphasis on employee volunteerism and educational programs.

Dr. Tony Worby, the keynote speaker at our 2006 Annual Conference in Berlin has been elected National President of the Australian Fulbright Alumni Association (AFAA). Dr. Worby was a Fulbright Scholar in 2000, spending a year at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. He is currently leading Australia’s sea ice research program based at the Australian Antarctic Division and leads the World Climate Research Program’s initiative on the marine cryosphere.

Tony and many other Fulbrighters hold interesting positions in government, industry and academia. We like to hear from you - give us your ideas about how we can support your work in the local or international arena.

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