[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5368-S5369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CHEMISTS WORKING COOPERATIVELY
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to share with my
colleagues news of a truly historic conference of Middle Eastern
chemists held December 6 through 11, 2003, in Malta. Chemists from
Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Palestinian
Authority, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates gathered in
Malta to attend the conference, which was entitled: ``Frontiers of
Chemical Sciences: Research and Education in the Middle East.'' The
conference was chaired by Dr. Zafra Lerman of Columbia College Chicago.
The purpose of the conference was to bring scientists from Middle
Eastern countries together under the same roof to work on different
issues of common concern.
The Malta Conference was a phenomenal success. The multinational
exchange of ideas and information led to the creation of new
partnerships in the areas of science and education. The conference was
so effective that all the participants involved agreed upon the need
for a second conference, tentatively scheduled for 2005.
The Malta Conference permitted participating scientists to address
important scientific issues pertinent to the future of the Middle East,
but it did more than that. All areas within the Middle East were
represented, demonstrating there are some issues that can bring
everyone together around a common goal of improving our world and
society. This meeting reinforced the fact that the advancement of
scientific research and education are vital forces for all nations of
the world, and it demonstrated that science and education can help
nations that are distrustful of each other to reach across borders and
work cooperatively to address common concerns.
The conference chairperson, Dr. Lerman, is the distinguished
Professor of Science and Public Policy and head of the Institute for
Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College
Chicago. Dr. Lerman received her Ph.D. in chemistry from the Weizmann
Institute of Science in Israel. She founded and chaired the Department
of Science and Mathematics at Columbia College, where she developed an
innovative approach to teaching science to non-science majors which
received international recognition. Dr. Lerman is active professionally
with national and international associations in the fields of science,
science education, and scientific freedom and human rights. For 15
years, she has chaired the national American Chemical Society
Subcommittee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights. She also serves as
Vice-Chair for Chemistry for the Board of the Committee of Concerned
Scientists and chairs the International Activities Committee of the
American Chemical Society, in addition to numerous other positions.
Dr. Lerman has received the Presidential Award for Excellence in
Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring and is a 1998 Kilby
Award Laureate for extraordinary contributions to society through
science, technology, invention, innovation, and education. In February
2001, she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.
I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating Dr. Lerman and
the organizers and delegates of the conference for their superb work.
This event serves as a shining example of the progress available to
nations that make the effort to promote understanding and cooperation.
I ask that Dr. Lerman's summary of the conference be printed in the
Record.
The summary follows.
Summary of Malta Conference
From 6 to 11 December, 2003, chemists from Egypt, Iran,
Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian Authorities,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates gathered in
Malta to attend the conference ``Frontiers of Chemical
Sciences: Research and Education in the Middle East.''
The success of this conference tells us that science and
scientific research are not just methods of improving the
human condition but can also be ways of crossing illusive
national and political barriers that bar effective
collaboration among neighbors. The invited participants
included presidents of universities, members of the
respective countries' national academies of science, and a
former minister of science. By engaging a stunning array of
world-class scientists from the Middle East, as well as
selected scientists from England, France, Germany, South
Africa, Taiwan, and the U.S., the resulting discussion
broadly enriched our understanding of specific scientific
issues important to the area's future. The fact that all
segments of the Middle East were represented suggests that
there are fundamental scientific issues that connect us all.
Six Nobel Laureates served as working group leaders on
subjects of common interest to Middle Eastern countries. The
subjects of these working groups included: ``Environment,
Water and Renewable Energy,'' ``Research and New
Methodologies in Science Education,'' ``Cultural Heritage and
Preservation of Antiquities,'' ``The Use of the Synchrotron
to Facilitate Research in the Middle East (SESAME Project),''
among others. Participants committed themselves to continue
working together after the conference via e-mail and through
smaller regional meetings. Among suggestions offered for
future topics were: nanotechnology, computational chemistry,
and solar energy.
All participants wrote that the conference organization
was excellent, that the conference exceeded their
expectations, and that the opportunity to work with the Nobel
laureates was especially appreciated and it led to
stimulating and informed discussion. 100% of the participants
felt that a second conference, probably in 2005, would be
needed. All indicated that they would want to attend and that
they would recommend it to their colleagues. Most expressed
willingness to participate in the organization of such an
event.
A joint proposal between Israeli and Palestinian
participants in the Malta conference was written on water
purification and submitted to USAID-MERC.
One of the conference working groups, which concentrated
on the synchrotron being built in Jordan (supported by
UNESCO) for all the Middle East scientists, raised the urgent
need for scientists trained in the use of a synchrotron.
Dr. Yuan T. Lee, the Nobel Laureate who is science advisor
to
[[Page S5369]]
the President of Taiwan, offered during the conference
three full scholarships for scientists from the Middle
East to spend a year learning to use the synchrotron in
Taiwan. An agreement is already signed, and the selection
of the three Middle Eastern scientists is in progress.
The President of the Technion (Israel Institute of
Technology) offered to provide three full Technion
scholarships for any interested student from an Arabic
country.
A group of Palestinian participants met in February with
their Israeli colleagues in the Weizmann Institute of
Science. As a result, an agreement was signed for Palestinian
students to study for MSc and PhD at the Weizmann Institute
of Science; a committee is now working on financial
arrangements needed to run the program.
One of the Israeli participants has been invited to present
a lecture in Egypt. All the Egyptian participants expressed
their interest in attending his lecture; some extended
additional invitations for him to visit and present seminars
at their institutions.
Dr. Roald Hoffmann, one of the American Nobel laureates,
offered to run an intensive workshop in a Middle East
location for graduate students from all the participating
countries. This idea was accepted quite favorably by the
participants; the location is now being discussed.
Ultimately, all the participants agreed that science is,
indeed, a shared language between them all, and that the
things they have in common are more numerous than the
differences that separate them. The desire among the
participants to continue the collaborations and to meet again
is proof that the conference succeeded in overcoming barriers
heretofore perceived as insurmountable.
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