Under the theme of “Translational Science, Technology and Innovation: Knowledge for Competitiveness and Prosperity,” the Third Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities on Science and Technology was held on November 17 and 18 in Panama City, Panama. The Minister discussed policies and initiatives to promote hemispheric cooperation, and formulated recommendations to the Heads of State and Government for the Sixth Summit of the Americas to be held in April 2012 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, under the theme of “Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity.”

In the adopted Plan of Action, based on the proposal prepared by the Government of Panama and the OAS Office of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministers reiterated their commitment to create opportunities to advance in the achievement of the goals set for 2025, including: fostering partnerships with key actors in academia, private sector and civil society for common projects, programs and initiatives that help increase the competitiveness of the productive and service sectors; create a knowledge-based society and encourage the development of human and institutional capabilities; promoting innovative thinking and the exchange of best practices for technology transfer, upgrading education; and strengthening collaboration and political dialogue with other ministries and high authorities to attract their participation.

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Jorge Duran, Senior Specialist of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Organization of American States, indicated that, “OAS is very excited about the Ministerial Meeting in Science and Technology in Panama, for amongst its main objectives is the adoption of an Inter-American collaborative agenda in science and technology, geared towards innovation and competitiveness, called Vision 20/25. The Vision is based on four main pillars, one of which is technological development, and this pillar fits perfectly with ARTCA and its objectives”.

As a result of the March 2010 Summit on Research and Technologies in the Americas, in Washington DC, the Organization of American States (OAS) established an strategic alliance with the Advanced Research and Technology Collaboratory for the Americas (ARTCA), through which collaboration is promoted between OAS Departments and ARTCA affiliated research and technology initiatives.

San Jose, Costa Rica, October 7, 2011 (IICA). To enable farmers in the Americas to increase their production, despite their limited quantity of natural resources, and to do it with quality, health and safety, countries must strengthen their national innovation systems and transmit that knowledge to agricultural farms.

In addition to these challenges, small and medium-scale producers must transform their activities into businesses that generate economic and social well-being for rural territories, goals that can also be promoted through technological innovation.

With these prioritary objectives on the agenda, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica (MAG) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) outlined the details of the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2011, to be held in San Jose, on October 19-21.

Laura Chinchilla, President of the Republic of Costa Rica, Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Gloria Abraham, Minister of the MAG and Victor Villalobos, Director General of IICA, will participate in the inaugural ceremony of the Meeting.

Prabhu Pingali, Deputy Director of Agricultural Development Policy and Statistics of the “Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation”, will give the keynote address. One of the strategic axes of this international organization is cooperation on agriculture as a means of overcoming poverty. Its approach has been aimed at the Asian and African regions.

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Two of Nicaragua’s most recognized universities, the Central American University and the National Engineering University, were the hosts for the event. In this context, over a period of two days, members and representatives of the Advanced Research and Technology Collaboratory for the Americas (ARTCA) had the honor of participating as keynote speakers, in a technological session that spanned from topics such as science in our daily life to its importance in innovation and business development. The crowd was especially impressed with Dr. Alan Craig’s, Associate Director at the Institute for Computing in Humanities, Arts and Social Science (I-CHASS) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, presentation on Virtual Museums.

Messrs. Camilo Acosta, ARTCA Coordinator, and Alejandro Montiel, Liaison for the “Emergency Management System” Project between ARTCA and the Costa Rica Social Security Administration Emergency Program, presented on the ARTCA Collaboratory and the EMS Project, respectively. Mr. Acosta, also had the opportunity to present on the University of Illinois “MarketMaker Agribusiness Platform” in the session, “Business Development in Nicaragua”. Gloria Rendon, ARTCA member from the Biomedical Applications Division at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign presented on Academic and Science Portals.

Of particular relevance at the opening session, were the words of Mr. Danny Powell, ARTCA Executive Committee Member and Executive Director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who commented on the importance of inter-institutional and international collaboration for the promotion of inter-disciplinary research projects that offer solutions to the regions’ most complex problems, and NCSA’s commitment in supporting these type of efforts.

Guadalupe Martinez, CONICYT’s Executive Secretary, commented on the event, “The I Week of Science has meant an important advancement in the promotion and spreading of Science, Technology and Innovation among the Nicaraguan population, making a significant contribution to encouraging a culture of research culture within the different sectors of the country, through conferences, awards and fairs of great interest that relate to national reality” and, added, “ARTCA’s support and participation in this important activity was, without a doubt, of great impact, opening the doors for Nicaragua to become part of this international research network which will bring huge benefits for the promotion in the use of technology as a cross-cutting tool for development and as an instrument for transmitting cultural, scientific, academic, business and Government issues to the public”.

The Week of Science culminated with the 3rd Meso-American Fair on Mexican Graduate Degrees in Quality, with participating students and representatives of more than 40 Mexican higher education institutions, as well as the distinguished presence of Mexican CONACYT’s General Director, Dr. Enrique Villa-Rivera and the Mexican Ambassador to Nicaragua, Honorable Raúl López Lira.

The I Week of Science is part of the CONICYT’s continuing effort towards the popularization of Science, Technology and Innovation in Nicaragua.

International partnerships are essential to addressing critical science and engineering problems. In the global context, U.S. researchers and educators must be able to operate effectively in teams with partners from different nations and cultural backgrounds. PIRE promotes excellence in science and engineering through international collaboration and facilitates development of a diverse, globally-engaged, U.S. science and engineering workforce.

This PIRE competition will focus exclusively on the NSF-wide investment area of Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES). The SEES effort focuses on interdisciplinary topics that will advance sustainability science, engineering and education as an integrative approach to the challenges of adapting to environmental, social and cultural changes associated with growth and development of human populations, and attaining a sustainable energy future.

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1. Universidade de São Paulo Brazil
2. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile
3. Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp) Brazil
4. Universidad de Chile Chile
5. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) Mexico
6. Universidad de los Andes Colombia
7. Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) Mexico
8. Universidad de Buenos Aires Argentina
9. Universidad Nacional de Colombia Colombia
10. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Brazil

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Twenty-three years later, Rabinowitz, now the assistant director at the Institute of Classical Archaeology (ICA) at The University of Texas at Austin, is still traveling around the world getting dirt under his nails. And though much remains the same about archaeology since he first picked up a duster brush, a lot has changed.
Adam Rabinowitz

“For a long time, the history of archaeology came from the desire to have pretty objects,” he said. “Then, in the 19th century, the desire to prove the historical accuracy of Greek epic poetry, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, became important as well.”

Documentation has always been important to archaeology, but over the course of the 20th century, it became more important to preserve the contextual associations among objects and layers of history. These changes have altered the theoretical underpinnings of archaeology.

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We will be using Google Wave as a collaborative space for participants to discuss this year´s presentations. To sign up for a free Google Wave account, please scroll to the bottom of the wave.google.com page and select to “request an invitation.” It will take 24-48 hours for your account to be authorized. We encourage you to sign up no later than April 10, 2010, to ensure that your account is active in time to participate in the conference.

A complete list of all waves associated with the HASTAC 2010 conference is available here. We would also like to invite participants to join us in the official HASTAC 2010 “Break Room” Wave to discuss the conference theme of Grand Challenges and Global Innovations with each other. There is also a “feedback” wave, where you can leave your general comments about the conference.

HASTAC 2010 will also host events in Second Life. Second Life is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using free voice and text chat. Visit www.secondlife.com to register for your free account and to begin building your avatar.

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With the goal of expanding the knowledge and scientific interest of the wider Nicaraguan public, September 26th through 30th, Nicaraguan Civil Society, Universities, Businesses, Commerce Chambers, NGOs, Public Institutions, Scientific Associations and Foundations will engage in a series of stimulating presentations and discussions on Science, Technology and Innovation, all completely free of charge.”

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In this sense, ARTCA is currently supporting OAS´ Inter-American Program of Scientific Journalism (PIPC), through a complementary effort entitled “Reimagining Science and Technology Journalism in the 21st Century with Data-Driven Computational Inquiry”, which has been awarded a Hewlett International Conference Grant; and its “Engineering Education for Competitiveness: Improving Engineering Curricula in Latin America and the Caribbean – Industrial Engineering Module” through an effort which contributes to the overall development of the promotion of engineering throughout the Americas in collaboration with the Virtual School of Computational Science and Engineering.

National Councils for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICITs):

As a means to understand the most pressing needs common to the region, as well as the perspectives for sustainable development into the 21st century concerning STEM disciplines, ARTCA, with the support of OAS, has been holding discussions and negotiations with each country´s National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (analagous to the National Science Foundation in the United States). At this time, ARTCA has had conversations with leadership in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Paraguay, resulting in immediate interest in joining ARTCA in the near future.