Work by Hai Wang, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was featured in a conference held in Yerevan, Armenia, in July to mark the five-year anniversary of that country's National Foundation of Science and Advanced Technologies.

The event is viewed in the United States and Armenia as a milestone for international collaboration, particularly for the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), which helped create the organization to promote scientific development in the Armenian republic. The foundation's activities strive to advance the transition of weapons scientists to civilian work.

Wang is working with Adolph A. Mantashyan of the Institute of Chemical Physics at the Armenian Academy of Sciences on a process to eliminate the industrial emissions of sulfuric gas.

"The findings could have widespread implications in the global effort to clean up the environment," Wang says. "If they prove successful, the same techniques could be applied in metallurgical and thermoelectric plants around the world." The conference gathered government representatives, scientists and business leaders to recognize accomplishments of the national foundation and to discuss future opportunities for scientific collaboration. Joint teams of Armenian and U.S. researchers, including Wang and Mantashyan, presented the highlights of their work and discussed its impact.

Modeled on Western grant-making science organizations, the national foundation is an independent, nonprofit foundation that promotes scientific research and technological development in Armenia. It awards competitive grants to joint teams of Armenian and U.S. scientists in basic and applied research.

National foundation travel grants enable young Armenian scientists and engineers to travel abroad to conduct short-term research projects at U.S. laboratory facilities.