U.S. and EC officials sign agreement to foster scientific collaboration

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the European Commission (EC) today signed an Implementing Arrangement for Cooperative Activities in the areas of climate research, marine science and technology, seismic risk and hazards reduction, Arctic research and environmental biology. The signing ceremony took place at a meeting of NSF's Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education. Margaret Leinen, NSF's assistant director for geosciences, and Christian Patermann, the EC’s director of environment and sustainable development, signed the document.

According to NSF Director Rita Colwell, the new implementing arrangement will advance NSF's goals and strategies by: fostering the development of an internationally competitive and globally engaged workforce; enhancing NSF's international partnerships; and enabling joint research projects with four research offices and directorates at NSF -- the directorates for biological sciences, geosciences, and engineering and the Office of Polar Programs.

The agreement also links European programs and expertise to NSF priority programs such as global climate change research, biocomplexity, environmental observatories, long-term ecological research and the network of earthquake engineering sensors.

Following the signing ceremony, Leinen expressed confidence that the implementing arrangement would join and extend the human and financial resources of the two organizations in addressing critical global issues.

Patermann also addressed the advisory committee on the priorities and activities of the EC in environmental research and education through its support of Europe-wide, multinational research consortia.

Program contacts:
Louis Brown
703-292-7856/lbrown@nsf.gov
Jeanne Hudson
703-292-8702/jhudson@nsf.gov

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